Best crowd calendar?

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

Now that easyWDW is no more ……what is everyone using for crowd calendars and best times to visit?

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

I either use Touring Plans or WDW prep school. Both are good resources but more times than I can count, have gotten the crowds predictions very wrong. What I like about TP is that they have the park hours, special events, morning/eve hours, parades, fireworks times, etc listed all in one place so I really use it to help with my plan. It's also nice since they will note the crowd level they predicted and what they're actual crowd level assessment was.

 

[CarolynFH]

Now that easyWDW is no more ……what is everyone using for crowd calendars and best times to visit?

Historical data from before Covid-19 has proven to be useless in forecasting crowd levels since the reopening, and attendance patterns have changed constantly since reopening as well. Until things settle down more, any forecast is a guesstimate. So pick your resource based on factors that are in addition to their forecasts.

 

[Mr. Drauer]

Now that easyWDW is no more ……what is everyone using for crowd calendars and best times to visit?

FYI - the person who ran that website (Josh) died.

 

[gharter]

I also use Touring Plans, but don't find them that accurate as well. It's nice having all the information in one spot. they continue to update the crowd calendar up to the week before or less.
With all of the changes that have occurred, previous data is not helpful.

 

[Scalemaster34]

You can just search Crowd Calendar Walt Disney World and there are a few of them... how much is site A copying site B???? And at this point how much does ten sites all saying that one day is better than another for a specific park, doesn't lead to the opposite being true as most folks search for these.

I have a Touring Plans subscription... but previous data doesn't really help predict the future now. And Gene+ and current crowd levels just don't match up to what they say you should see. I do think they are collecting the most current data, but Disney has better data and they are using it to push changes, so next year the third week in Nov might not be as good of a time to go as it was in the past.

 

[Praying Colonel]

I'm a longtime TP.com user, but I always think of crowd calendars like the Pirate Code: they're more like guidelines than actual rules.

 

[Wdw1015]

We are going next week and I’ve been reviewing thrilldata.com to get an idea of how crowds were in these days leading up to our trip. So far, crowds seem fairly manageable for the first few days of July.

 

[JayMass]

Another TouringPlans fan here. But I like what @Praying Colonel said above about it being more like guidelines than rules. It can give you a sense of what to expect but don't rely on it to be incredibly accurate. It MIGHT be really accurate or it MIGHT not be.

I think if you rely too much on any crowd calendar you are going to be disappointed--especially after the COVID closure.

 

[Upatnoon]

Now that easyWDW is no more ……what is everyone using for crowd calendars and best times to visit?

I just use the official Disney crowd calendars. Disney charges more for tickets on busier days. You can also look at the annual pass blockout dates. They block out the dates that are busiest.

How you tour the parks really makes the biggest difference.

 

[ocalla]

FYI - the person who ran that website (Josh) died.

What????? When did that happen??

 

[_19disnA]

"BEST" is subjective and based on who you think might have the better crystal ball to predict the future. All 3rd parties produce these 'forecasts' likely based on historical data, known Holidays, etc. It is a bit like predicting the weather or other future random events. Sometimes you get it right, sometimes not. If you mean which one is easiest to use probably depends on how easy it is to lookup the information you most often use. I wouldn't pay to see anyone's guess of future crowd levels months into the future.

 

[Brett Wyman]

I prefer Tom Bricker's advice. They refrain from rating specific days and rank months/weeks based off a lot of different factors(school breaks, holidays, weather, etc).

https://www.disneytouristblog.com/when-to-visit-disney-world/

IMO anyone trying to give you a single number for a single day is just guessing right now.

 

[ccudmore]

What????? When did that happen??

March 10
https://touringplans.com/blog/s6-easywdw/

 

[godfather927]

Really tough to gauge now that things are so fluid with pent up travel demand and what not, but I use a combo of Undercover Tourist and TP. For info on which days have competitions, races, or conventions, use WDWPrep. Though the best ground truth source is Thrill Data's historical aggregated daily wait times for all 4 parks.

 

[michaeldorn1]

Really tough to gauge now that things are so fluid with pent up travel demand and what not, but I use a combo of Undercover Tourist and TP. For info on which days have competitions, races, or conventions, use WDWPrep. Though the best ground truth source is Thrill Data's historical aggregated daily wait times for all 4 parks.

Question for you: I'm finding that Undercover and TP for the week we are going are showing exact opposites in crowd levels. How do you gauge what park to go to on any given day based on opposing info? Exp. We are going Aug 30-Sept 6 and TP is showing Sept 3 as a level 1 for EPCOT but Undercover is showing EPCOT as an 8 and the Worst park to go to. Of course, we planned our trip a year ago based on TP's predictions!! Sigh

 

[Landry]

Question for you: I'm finding that Undercover and TP for the week we are going are showing exact opposites in crowd levels. How do you gauge what park to go to on any given day based on opposing info? Exp. We are going Aug 30-Sept 6 and TP is showing Sept 3 as a level 1 for EPCOT but Undercover is showing EPCOT as an 8 and the Worst park to go to. Of course, we planned our trip a year ago based on TP's predictions!! Sigh

I would advise not going to EPCOT on a Saturday during Food & Wine, or if you do, make sure to park hop out in the evening to avoid the night crowds that flow in for the booths.

 

[Smugpugmug]

I would advise not going to EPCOT on a Saturday during Food & Wine, or if you do, make sure to park hop out in the evening to avoid the night crowds that flow in for the booths.

I agree with this 100%. I went to Epcot during the last weekend of Food and Wine last year and it was a nightmare crowd wise. It was wall to wall crowds in some areas of World Showcase.

 

[Scalemaster34]

Question for you: I'm finding that Undercover and TP for the week we are going are showing exact opposites in crowd levels. How do you gauge what park to go to on any given day based on opposing info? Exp. We are going Aug 30-Sept 6 and TP is showing Sept 3 as a level 1 for EPCOT but Undercover is showing EPCOT as an 8 and the Worst park to go to. Of course, we planned our trip a year ago based on TP's predictions!! Sigh

Monday Sept 5th is Labor Day - 3 Day Holiday Weekend, Food and Wine, two new attractions open.... I would hope for the best, but plan for the worst.

 

[bdrex28]

Question for you: I'm finding that Undercover and TP for the week we are going are showing exact opposites in crowd levels. How do you gauge what park to go to on any given day based on opposing info? Exp. We are going Aug 30-Sept 6 and TP is showing Sept 3 as a level 1 for EPCOT but Undercover is showing EPCOT as an 8 and the Worst park to go to. Of course, we planned our trip a year ago based on TP's predictions!! Sigh

do you have a link for undercover crowd calendar for September? I can't even find it for some crazy reason....