Pirates of the Caribbean wait times

What it is

A boat ride through pirate raids, cannon fire and a burning town, with a short drop near the start. Captain Jack Sparrow makes several appearances.

Thrill level: ●●●●● Mild (2/5) · mostly in the dark · drops · no height requirement

Opened: 15 December 1973 (53 years ago)

Best time to ride

Quietest: around 8am (typically ~5 min posted). Busiest: around 12pm (~25 min). In the first 15 minutes after the park opens it typically posts ~5 min.

Typical means the median posted wait across every day in our log at that hour; crowd level, weather and breakdowns move it. For a specific date, the planner adjusts for that day’s forecast crowd.

Typical posted wait by hour

Bar = median; numbers on the right = typical range (middle half of days).

By day of the weekaverage 10am–6pm

Through the year2015–2021 history

Average posted wait by month from 2015–2021 records. Waits ran higher before the current Lightning Lane system, so read this for the seasonal shape — which months are busiest — not for today’s numbers; the hourly table above is current.

Posted vs real wait

Disney’s posted waits run high. For Pirates of the Caribbean, a posted 60 minutes at 2pm has typically meant about 40 minutes in line, and at 8pm about 38 (from timed waits people recorded, 2015–2021 — before today’s Lightning Lane system, so treat it as an estimate). DisneyIQ shows both numbers on the live board.

Did you know?

The 1967 Disneyland original was the last attraction Walt Disney personally oversaw.

Magic Kingdom didn't open with it: it arrived two years later after guests asked for it.

Ride facts

About 9 minutes including boarding · Seating: boat benches, ~4 across · Lightning Lane: Tier 2