crowd calendar

[friendoffigment]

Does anyone still trust crowd calendars. If so which one do you consider the most reliable.

 

[scrappinginontario]

I use Touring Plans. Have for years and still find them well worth the small cost for all they offer.

 

[stinkpickle]

They can be close, but actual crowd levels and "feels like" crowd levels can vary widely.

 

[juxtapose]

I feel like they're all pretty good at large crowd weeks (Christmas/New Years, spring break, etc) but they all aren't that great at finding the crowds during non-major holidays and just seem to guess. I think with Disney's pricing, and crowd calendars, the crowds are more evening spread out throughout the year. Touringplans is probably the best, but I think most crowd calendars underestimated January crowds this year so we'll see how the rest of the year goes.

 

[Obi-J Kenobi]

For me, it's not a matter of trusting or not trusting crowd calendars. I have a tough time understanding the difference between a 4/10 versus a 7/10 on the crowd level meter. I don't attend the parks frequently enough to say to myself, "Thank goodness today is a 4/10 versus a 7/10." The WDW parks just feel crowded whenever I attend.

 

[mackaylc]

I also still subscribe to Touring Plans, and enjoy looking at previous years data comparing what they predicted to what they actually saw. I also go to the free calendars wdw prep and disney tourist blog and compare. I am a bit of a data nerd though! In general they has been pretty accurate for what I have used them for.

 

[ucf_knight]

Does anyone still trust crowd calendars. If so which one do you consider the most reliable.

Its always busy. I'll never understand why people look at crowd calendars, you'll only end up disappointed when the calendar says 4/10 and end up waiting 95 min. for an attraction. Just go when its best for your schedule.

 

[PaladinButters]

Its always busy. I'll never understand why people look at crowd calendars, you'll only end up disappointed when the calendar says 4/10 and end up waiting 95 min. for an attraction. Just go when its best for your schedule.

The best they can do for you is highlight holidays and events to avoid (Run Disney weekends, Soooo many cheerleaders). Any one of us can tell you August / September is the slower season and Christmas week is nuts. No need for a calendar for that stuff.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I like the narrative month by month a disney tourist blog does. For instance here is april 2024.

 

[JackosinDIS]

I like the crowd calendars, but often find them not to be particularly accurate, but it gave me something to plan around when making park reservations. Now I suppose you can just hop straight away if a park is busier than you through it would be!

 

[_19disnA]

I think they are useless and you may as well just pick a number out of a hat. No 3rd party can predict how busy a park will be 4 months in advance. Even Disney has no idea how many locals with AP's will just show up some day when the weather is good. I doubt Disney shares future reservations info with 3rd parties and clearly many guests stay at non-Disney hotels.

I think that one site has some mumbo jumbo that indicates crowd figures aren't the same as how many people are there or something like that. Peak times at the parks are historically around major holidays, so there is really no magic to 'predict' that.

I would never pay for any 3rd party just to see their 'forecast' of the future for either parks or rides.

 

[Upatnoon]

Does anyone still trust crowd calendars. If so which one do you consider the most reliable.

Disney offers a crowd calendar as they charge more for tickets on more popular days. They also block out more periods from most annual passes.

In the end, how you tour the parks is much more important than when your visit is.

Having a strategy for your visit makes the difference between "getting a lot done" vs. just winging it or looking at a number on a chart.