Another look at DHS "super crowds"

[Robo]

After returning from our recent WDW visit, I have to say that I am,
in large part, thinking that you MIGHT want to carefully examine when (timing) you should visit DHS.

There is no doubt, from countless first-hand reports, DHS has become very, VERY BUSY, with ridiculously long lines for nearly every attraction.
If you are averse by standing in long lines, (some one-hour, two-hour, or even longer waits) and you don't have a set of decent FP+, it can be a major decision as to when/if to attend DHS.

So astoundingly many guests who must arrive inside the gates well before rope drop just to just have a CHANCE at riding Rise of the Resistance... is scary!
And, with the eminent opening of Mickey & Mickey's Runaway Railway... well, OUCH!
Think long and hard.

(Re-edited for clarity.)

 

[KateKJ]

I'll be honest, HS has long been my family's favorite park, but we have decided to skip it altogether when we're at WDW in March. As much as I'd like to see Star Wars land and ride ROTR, for us I think the stress and the crowds just wouldn't be worth it. Plus we're staying off-site, so there was no way we'd get any Tier 1 FPs. Hoping things will calm down a bit before our next trip in 2022 so we can get back there.

 

[Sarahslay]

It was just uber crowded the last couple of weeks for a few different reasons, but I was there right before it got crazy and it felt normal to me (and at night it was super easy to get on a lot of rides once the RotR crowds left). Tons of schools were out in the US and UK, plus a run disney event, a look at wait times showed it was busy everywhere. I spent a lot of my last trip at HS, I wouldn't take the crowds over the last few weeks as how it is all the time.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

I’m bummed with what they’ve done to that park. I don’t know why, but DHS gives me the most nostalgia feels.

DHS definitely needed love. It needed it bad. I still don’t think it has overall capacity to handle the crowds theyve crammed in. I wish they went about expansion a different way. GMR should have somehow been left. It would have been nice for another high capacity attraction to be put in to help with the new crowds too. Instead they’ve recently cut back on hours, characters, and I believe shows don’t start right away either, leaving DHS and especially mornings at DHS as an absolute mess.

I’m still holding onto a shred of hope that MMRR helps instead of hurts. There can’t be a whole whack of extra people that are going to show up for that who otherwise don’t for ROTR, right? RIGHT?

 

[SaintsManiac]

https://blogmickey.com/2020/02/dont-visit-disneys-hollywood-studios-right-now/
When I saw pictures of the line to just get into Baseline my mouth dropped open. As my husband said today, “good thing we took those trips and enjoyed what was our favorite park.” I said back then it would be forever changed.

 

[disneygirlsng]

I was there last Friday and didn't find it to be overly crowded at all. Very, very manageable and we were able to FP everything.

 

[Vertical]

I was there today. It was soooo crowded. We had problems with our boarding group (daughter left off group) so had to wait 5 minutes to talk to GET, then waited an hour to get on ROTR only to get half way through and get escorted out when it broke down. We did eventually ride with a FP. We were able to get 4th + fastpasses for smugglers run, toy story mania, star tours. We left at 5:00 to escape the crowds. It has made us seriously consider coming back. Maybe this is just because Star Wars is so new, but I fear this might be the new norm, at least for awhile.

 

[Robo]

And, something I didn't specifically mention.

We could not count on Disney Transportation to get us to DHS in time for the early park opening.
The number of guests waiting in the bus line for DHS an hour before opening time was staggering.

We took Lyft directly from our resort on any DHS morning.

If the park opens very early, the gondolas will not necessarily be running early enough to count on.
Now, Disney CAN fix the transportation issues with more and earlier buses and earlier gondola service.
(But, WILL they?)

 

[DGsAtBLT]

And, something I didn't specifically mention.

We could not count on Disney Transportation to get us to DHS in time for the early park opening.
The number of guests waiting in the bus line for DHS an hour before opening time was staggering.

We took Lyft cars directly on any DHS morning.

And this is totally inexcusable. Resort guests shouldn’t be at a disadvantage because so many of us solely rely on them for transportation.

 

[bryanb]

And, something I didn't specifically mention.

We could not count on Disney Transportation to get us to DHS in time for the early park opening.
The number of guests waiting in the bus line for DHS an hour before opening time was staggering.

We took Lyft directly from our resort on any DHS morning.

If the park opens very early, the gondolas will not necessarily be running early enough to count on.
Now, Disney CAN fix the transportation issues with more and earlier buses and earlier gondola service.
(But, WILL they?)

It the rare situations like this when WDW's "blessing of size" is more of a curse. When I go experience Rise of the Resistance, I think I'm going to be far better off doing it at Disneyland.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Josh has been posting updates on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1233059777590288384

 

[DGsAtBLT]

It the rare situations like this when WDW's "blessing of size" is more of a curse. When I go experience Rise of the Resistance, I think I'm going to be far better off doing it at Disneyland.

Certainly makes the crescent lake resorts look even more appealing (not that they weren’t already awesome).

 

[DGsAtBLT]

Josh has been posting updates on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1233059777590288384

Ive been following along today too.

A little OT but:
I really appreciate his brutal honesty when it comes to the parks. His little rant about the Disney Creators stuff and other “hosted” influencers was spot on. I know people like to rag on the inaccurate Disney advertising (the classic examples being frolicking with characters in front of the castle), but I’m way more bothered by all the stops they pull out for these influencers who then post themselves having amazing days that are not attainable for regular guests, not even with VIP guides (hello effortless ROTR access for them). Guess how many #disneycreators shared the realities about crowds? Most people realize the ads we see on TV are not realistic, I think with the influencers it’s harder to notice.

Anyways, easyWDW is where I go first if I want a review, as nearly everyone else is just there to rave about it all.

 

[Mzpalmtree]

And this is totally inexcusable. Resort guests shouldn’t be at a disadvantage because so many of us solely rely on them for transportation.

This is what I’ve been thinking for awhile. Not only have resort guests not been given ANY type of advantage but they’ve actually been put at a disadvantage due to transportation issues. I really wish disney would fix that.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Ive been following along today too.

A little OT but:
I really appreciate his brutal honesty when it comes to the parks. His little rant about the Disney Creators stuff and other “hosted” influencers was spot on. I know people like to rag on the inaccurate Disney advertising (the classic examples being frolicking with characters in front of the castle), but I’m way more bothered by all the stops they pull out for these influencers who then post themselves having amazing days that are not attainable for regular guests, not even with VIP guides (hello effortless ROTR access for them). Guess how many #disneycreators shared the realities about crowds? Most people realize the ads we see on TV are not realistic, I think with the influencers it’s harder to notice.

Anyways, easyWDW is where I go first if I want a review, as nearly everyone else is just there to rave about it all.

When they canceled people’s ADRs in GE to have a media event I officially entered disgust mode with “influencers.” I thought josh seemed a bit bitter when he made that rant, but I get it now. He was very sincere today about this crowd situation. I appreciate his blunt demeanor.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

It was just uber crowded the last couple of weeks for a few different reasons, but I was there right before it got crazy and it felt normal to me (and at night it was super easy to get on a lot of rides once the RotR crowds left). Tons of schools were out in the US and UK, plus a run disney event, a look at wait times showed it was busy everywhere. I spent a lot of my last trip at HS, I wouldn't take the crowds over the last few weeks as how it is all the time.

Out of curiosity, were you there for a 7am or 8am open?

The chatter seems to be that things have gotten decidedly worse since the 8am opens have started. Considerably more people think they can make it in time to get a RotR group at 8am than 7 and are overfilling the park from the moment it opens.

 

[Rwsm0319]

We're going over Spring Break, something I said I would never do but got talked into by some friends, and I'm nervous! That being said we have FP for all of the big rides back to back over two different evenings and one day. I think my plan right now is to just hit our FP, maybe catch a show, and get out of there!

 

[Tinkerbellmom43]

The pictures from Josh on Twitter are crazy! I've been randomly following along since Jan. and it doesn't look like it's gotten any better. I'll be there in May and I'm thinking about not even going to DHS. I'll see how FP plays out. Even if I get my fast passes, I don't want to walk with wall to wall people. If it's still that crowded, I'm canceling and going to another park. That is not enjoyable at all. They should bring back the extra extra magic hours in that park. Cramming all these people in with less hours is ridiculous!

 

[mattpeto]

I was there in early/mid February.

This is what I would do I were the OP.

If the crowds stress you out, bag Rise.

Go at 5 or 6 pm when it's opened until 10:30 pm. Everyone starts getting ready for the night shows or exiting and you're entering in the perfect time.

 

[persnickity2020]

I was there in early/mid February.

This is what I would do I were the OP.

If the crowds stress you out, bag Rise.

Go at 5 or 6 pm when it's opened until 10:30 pm. Everyone starts getting ready for the night shows or exiting and you're entering in the perfect time.

Too bad there's only one day a week when they are open til 10:30.