Crowds throughout the day? Is DHS miserable all day? (obviously subjective question)

[ClapYourHands]

Heading down in May with DD (age 4). I think she will love MMRR, love TSL, love the shows, and she is so excited to wear her Rey costume and see "Star Wars Land." Selfishly, I really want to ride RotR, and to a lesser degree MFSR. Outside GE, I'm also hoping to catch some Citizens of Hollywood, as they are perhaps my favorite thing at WDW. I had planned two days for DHS, with the expectation that we'd go early to try for a BG, do something at RD, use our pre-booked FP, and see a show before bailing for the resort pool and a rest in the afternoon. Then come back in the early evening for another show and whatever 4th FP we can get, and stay for fireworks or F!.

That said, recent reports of wall to wall crowds have me worried we will be miserable. The rope drop pictures make me concerned we won't even be able to walk in that sea of humanity. Last trip I ended up in Epcot on a night that turned out to be a 10/10, and I was claustrophobic in the walkways.

While I know the RD crowds are going to be insane as long as the BG procedure remains as it is, do the crowds dissipate at all during the day? I don't mind busy, I'm a "refresh" champ, and I'm really looking forward to the non-headline attractions (yes, even Muppets as DD has not seen it). We don't have hoppers (and with the ticket price increases are not going to buy them), so if I go to HS for the day, i'm committed to that park. I don't go to Disney just to check off the rides I've gone on - can someone reassure me that there is still some ambiance left? I'd love to wander GE and be able to imagine ourselves in the Star Wars universe, but will I even be able to take in the details in the crush of people?

 

[Harlaxton]

Today, a random Thursday in February, was absolutely miserable at DHS. More people than last Saturday, ridiculous lines for everything, cold, Slinky Dog down most of day, ROTR down at least twice wiping significant back up groups off the board.

Perhaps MMRR eats up some people but ugh, thankfully today was my last trip here for a while since honestly, it sucked.

 

[brad813]

Heading down in May with DD (age 4). I think she will love MMRR, love TSL, love the shows, and she is so excited to wear her Rey costume and see "Star Wars Land." Selfishly, I really want to ride RotR, and to a lesser degree MFSR. Outside GE, I'm also hoping to catch some Citizens of Hollywood, as they are perhaps my favorite thing at WDW. I had planned two days for DHS, with the expectation that we'd go early to try for a BG, do something at RD, use our pre-booked FP, and see a show before bailing for the resort pool and a rest in the afternoon. Then come back in the early evening for another show and whatever 4th FP we can get, and stay for fireworks or F!.

That said, recent reports of wall to wall crowds have me worried we will be miserable. The rope drop pictures make me concerned we won't even be able to walk in that sea of humanity. Last trip I ended up in Epcot on a night that turned out to be a 10/10, and I was claustrophobic in the walkways.

While I know the RD crowds are going to be insane as long as the BG procedure remains as it is, do the crowds dissipate at all during the day? I don't mind busy, I'm a "refresh" champ, and I'm really looking forward to the non-headline attractions (yes, even Muppets as DD has not seen it). We don't have hoppers (and with the ticket price increases are not going to buy them), so if I go to HS for the day, i'm committed to that park. I don't go to Disney just to check off the rides I've gone on - can someone reassure me that there is still some ambiance left? I'd love to wander GE and be able to imagine ourselves in the Star Wars universe, but will I even be able to take in the details in the crush of people?

I have a friend down there right and, from what I can tell, she hasn't had much trouble navigating through Hollywood Studios. She even managed to get some pictures. That said, it's really hard to say what you will get when you get down there. You may luck out and get a lighter day or you may get a heavier day. It's really the big issue with new attractions, you just don't know what you will get. As for what to do while waiting on a boarding group to be called, I would recommend doing non-Star Wars rides, or one of the appointment based activities(if you want to do them). Seems most of the morning crowds make a bee-line for Galaxy's Edge.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

Do you have a 60 or 30 day window?

With access to 60, you’ll be able to walk in with FP in hand for MMRR (or SDD should you choose that), TSMM and AS2 if you want to cover your TSL needs. You’re familiar with refresh which should help with at least one of SDD/MFSR with a little luck. You aren’t planning to spend all day there. You have a 2nd day.

I’d bet on it being crowded, but you’ve got a lot working in your favour if youve got the 60 day window. SWGE absorbs people decently, and I would assume this is more true as the day goes on.

 

[skuttle]

We just returned last night. We were at DHS Monday. Crowds were very high; higher than I was expecting to be honest, but not unbearable. We had FP for RnR, ToT, and MFSR. We entered the park around 715 for an 800 opening and lined up for Slinky. We were off of slinky by 850. We ended up with boarding group 33 and road RotR before lunch. We waited for TSMM, but the wait was shorter than it said it would be.

 

[SleeplessInTO]

At DHS today. To be honest, the crowds were bad. We got in around 10am, did our 3 FP, ate a snack and left. Was able to get additional decent FP but had to work at it and then we decided it wasn’t worth it to stay in the park. Left around 3.

It felt much busier than October or even December 2019.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

At DHS today. To be honest, the crowds were bad. We got in around 10am, did our 3 FP, ate a snack and left. Was able to get additional decent FP but had to work at it and then we decided it wasn’t worth it to stay in the park. Left around 3.

It felt much busier than October or even December 2019.

October 2019 was a dream in DHS (and really all 4 parks). We arrived at DHS around 15-30 mins before the 6 AM opening, can’t remember, and we were done all the main attractions way before the 9 AM opening. That was with doing some multiple times, and wandering around. We found ourselves killing time in a good way (not in a holy crap, everything is 1.5+ hour waits) until our lunch ADR.

Thanks RotR.

 

[mustinjourney]

I don't care if you're a "refresh" wizard right now -- the only FPs available -- outside of the occasional same day drops -- are muppets and mermaid show, with the occasional Frozen, Indy and BATB. Sure, if you sit there on your phone for 30 minutes you might find something for TOT or RNRC -- but all TSL rides and MF:SR are pretty much slim to none. Once they moved MF:SR to tier 1 and all the other rides to tier 2, it really changed the refresh game in that park. Not to mention, you now have triple the amount of people in the park, so refreshing is just not all that helpful.

Notwithstanding the above -- just go in with your 3 FPs and plan on catching a show or two and then bouncing to epcot or your hotel pool for a bit. Evening crowds aren't nearly as bad as the mornings. Rope drop is an absolute cluster.

 

[mustinjourney]

I have a friend down there right and, from what I can tell, she hasn't had much trouble navigating through Hollywood Studios. She even managed to get some pictures. That said, it's really hard to say what you will get when you get down there. You may luck out and get a lighter day or you may get a heavier day. It's really the big issue with new attractions, you just don't know what you will get. As for what to do while waiting on a boarding group to be called, I would recommend doing non-Star Wars rides, or one of the appointment based activities(if you want to do them). Seems most of the morning crowds make a bee-line for Galaxy's Edge.

the morning crowds go everywhere now. I'd venture 40% go TSL, 40% star wars and 20% TOT/RNRC. A month ago, I was there for rope drop and it took 45 minutes to ride TOT first thing. 7 am opening, and the only things I managed to do by 8:30 am was TOT and SDD (with FP). Compare that with October 2019 -- I did all 6 rides without FPs within that same time period. It's absolutely insane right now. I love ROTR -- but it is just not worth the hassle right now.

 

[SleeplessInTO]

I do want to add that MK yesterday didn’t have much in terms of crowds. Easy to get FP. Epcot today and two days ago were also easy to get around. Seems to be just HS madness right now.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Do you have a 60 or 30 day window?

With access to 60, you’ll be able to walk in with FP in hand for MMRR (or SDD should you choose that), TSMM and AS2 if you want to cover your TSL needs. You’re familiar with refresh which should help with at least one of SDD/MFSR with a little luck. You aren’t planning to spend all day there. You have a 2nd day.

I’d bet on it being crowded, but you’ve got a lot working in your favour if youve got the 60 day window. SWGE absorbs people decently, and I would assume this is more true as the day goes on.

We’re going for 7 days on property, so I’m pretty sure we can book good FPs. Plus it’s just the two of us, so refresh is a bit easier than if we were going for a larger group. On the flip side, there’s no other adult to help if DD starts melting down and no one to hold our place on line if she has a bathroom emergency!

 

[Hutt]

Heading down in May with DD (age 4). I think she will love MMRR, love TSL, love the shows, and she is so excited to wear her Rey costume and see "Star Wars Land." Selfishly, I really want to ride RotR, and to a lesser degree MFSR. Outside GE, I'm also hoping to catch some Citizens of Hollywood, as they are perhaps my favorite thing at WDW. I had planned two days for DHS, with the expectation that we'd go early to try for a BG, do something at RD, use our pre-booked FP, and see a show before bailing for the resort pool and a rest in the afternoon. Then come back in the early evening for another show and whatever 4th FP we can get, and stay for fireworks or F!.

That said, recent reports of wall to wall crowds have me worried we will be miserable. The rope drop pictures make me concerned we won't even be able to walk in that sea of humanity. Last trip I ended up in Epcot on a night that turned out to be a 10/10, and I was claustrophobic in the walkways.

While I know the RD crowds are going to be insane as long as the BG procedure remains as it is, do the crowds dissipate at all during the day? I don't mind busy, I'm a "refresh" champ, and I'm really looking forward to the non-headline attractions (yes, even Muppets as DD has not seen it). We don't have hoppers (and with the ticket price increases are not going to buy them), so if I go to HS for the day, i'm committed to that park. I don't go to Disney just to check off the rides I've gone on - can someone reassure me that there is still some ambiance left? I'd love to wander GE and be able to imagine ourselves in the Star Wars universe, but will I even be able to take in the details in the crush of people?

It clears out a LOT towards the end of the day. It’s downright lovely once the sun sets and galaxy’s edge is all lit up. I would suggest getting a boarding group, hanging out for a few hours then leaving for the bulk of the day and come back mid to late afternoon.

 

[skuttle]

I do want to add that MK yesterday didn’t have much in terms of crowds. Easy to get FP. Epcot today and two days ago were also easy to get around. Seems to be just HS madness right now.

we were at MK Tuesday and thought it was super crowded, more so than our trip last June. Almost everyone was at least 40-50min waits, and the darn app was often wrong by the time we would arrive at an attraction. Only time it was nice was during fireworks. We did a lot during those last couple of hours!

 

[Remy is Up]

I don't care if you're a "refresh" wizard right now -- the only FPs available -- outside of the occasional same day drops -- are muppets and mermaid show, with the occasional Frozen, Indy and BATB. Sure, if you sit there on your phone for 30 minutes you might find something for TOT or RNRC -- but all TSL rides and MF:SR are pretty much slim to none. Once they moved MF:SR to tier 1 and all the other rides to tier 2, it really changed the refresh game in that park. Not to mention, you now have triple the amount of people in the park, so refreshing is just not all that helpful.

Notwithstanding the above -- just go in with your 3 FPs and plan on catching a show or two and then bouncing to epcot or your hotel pool for a bit. Evening crowds aren't nearly as bad as the mornings. Rope drop is an absolute cluster.

I love that people feel this way. Hopefully it continues. I hope people keep hearing the parks are too busy. Most dont know about refresh anyway. I also hope they raise prices some more.

 

[disneygirlsng]

I don't care if you're a "refresh" wizard right now -- the only FPs available -- outside of the occasional same day drops -- are muppets and mermaid show, with the occasional Frozen, Indy and BATB. Sure, if you sit there on your phone for 30 minutes you might find something for TOT or RNRC -- but all TSL rides and MF:SR are pretty much slim to none. Once they moved MF:SR to tier 1 and all the other rides to tier 2, it really changed the refresh game in that park. Not to mention, you now have triple the amount of people in the park, so refreshing is just not all that helpful.

Notwithstanding the above -- just go in with your 3 FPs and plan on catching a show or two and then bouncing to epcot or your hotel pool for a bit. Evening crowds aren't nearly as bad as the mornings. Rope drop is an absolute cluster.

I was there last Friday and we pulled SDD, TSM, Saucers, and Star Tours with minimal effort. 5 minutes max for SDD, almost no time for the others. Saw MFSR on several occasions, as well as TOT and RnR. We started with ToT, RnR, and TSM as our initial 3, so weren't looking for those much.

 

[badeacon]

Since MFSR started having FP, does anyone know if close to closing ,it is still short wait time or has the FP's made even evenings long wait for MFSR?

 

[lisa cameron]

I was there last Friday and we pulled SDD, TSM, Saucers, and Star Tours with minimal effort. 5 minutes max for SDD, almost no time for the others. Saw MFSR on several occasions, as well as TOT and RnR. We started with ToT, RnR, and TSM as our initial 3, so weren't looking for those much.

Were you a party if 1? And what time of day did you pull these FP?

 

[Kevin42565]

Since MFSR started having FP, does anyone know if close to closing ,it is still short wait time or has the FP's made even evenings long wait for MFSR?

We visited when they transitioned to fastpasses for MFSR. Prior to fastpasses, I heard it was almost a walk-on at night. When we visited (after fastpasses) it was 60 minutes at park close.

 

[brad813]

the morning crowds go everywhere now. I'd venture 40% go TSL, 40% star wars and 20% TOT/RNRC. A month ago, I was there for rope drop and it took 45 minutes to ride TOT first thing. 7 am opening, and the only things I managed to do by 8:30 am was TOT and SDD (with FP). Compare that with October 2019 -- I did all 6 rides without FPs within that same time period. It's absolutely insane right now. I love ROTR -- but it is just not worth the hassle right now.

Good to know......though TOT still gives me nightmares.

 

[mustinjourney]

I do want to add that MK yesterday didn’t have much in terms of crowds. Easy to get FP. Epcot today and two days ago were also easy to get around. Seems to be just HS madness right now.

You might have been lucky bc the crowds from buses were stuck outside security. My parents were in line for 45 mins yesterday morning outside MK.