Park Crowds today [4/15/19] like turning on a faucet

[CMNJ]

At Bay Lake Tower-storms came through not long ago but honestly this morning didn’t see too bad at MK. It was busy but no busier than I’ve seen it on other Friday EMH days. I really think the weather coming this afternoon made a lot of day guests stay home.

 

[Love Tink]

Oh yeah - that does not sound legit. I'm confused by how they can get in the parks "45 minutes early". I think this sounds way shady. Then again, I got annoyed when two of the younger women I was traveling with (company trip) decided it would be funny to guys girls costumes (they're thin enough they could fit in the largest sized girls dress) and show up to our company dinner at California Grill (private room) wearing them. I told them I didn't think it was a good idea and they did it anyway. I'm a rule follower.

This is perhaps the oddest comment I have ever read on the Dis.

 

[jbish]

This is perhaps the oddest comment I have ever read on the Dis.

You mean about what those two young ladies in my office did? Or that I made a comment about it? I was livid about what they did. I had told them that adults were not supposed to dress as characters because it could cause confusion to the younger guests who might think they were the real princesses. They didn’t care.

 

[Lorelei18]

I am the OP and have a few subsequent thoughts after returning from our trip

1) park crowding is REAL. We have visited 10 times in the past 15 years and our perception is crowds have gone markedly up.
2) it really can impact how you FEEL about being there. We left during the mid-days for many days where we might not have done so prior. We just did not want to compete with the crowds.
3) planning is CRITICAL but you cannot overcome the crowds with good planning. No matter how much someone on DISBOARDS tells you you can do everything you want... that is a stretch. There is a real impact to the crowds. You will miss seeing some things or not getting as many repeats as desired.
4) you can still have a great time. We were able to obtain good FP+ prior to the trip, but missed FP+ for certain headliners. We used RD & park-close to take advantage of those. We also enjoyed some of the "lesser" attractions and realized in many ways they are not "lesser" at all. We had a great time and we were so happy to be together as a family laughing and enjoying one another company it may have been the best trip ever.

After a lot of trips we don't mind (too much) missing a few things. Even if you don't get repeat trips - don't let it get you bummed. I expect for many people traveling with friends & family the time disconnected from the rest of the world and having a great time together is really where the magic is - so absolutely enjoy it.

Will we go again this time of year? Not a chance . But to be sure... Disney is doing its best to make sure their parks are PACKED 365 days a year and they are doing a pretty good job.

My advice to anyone planning to go during spring break or other very busy times is to read the posts from people like you who have gone and done well during those times. We felt like we did pretty well this week and had a great time, by pretty much doing everything you said above!

 

[Lorelei18]

Our experience overall this week after having been in years past during either spring break, week before Christmas, and MLK weeks (which do get crowded to an extent), was that the crowds werent any worse than what we experienced in the past, and in some cases for us, were actually much better than past experiences. However, I think Disney needs to find a way to manage the FP system better. Wait times shot up early on Tuesday at MK because PP was closed down the first 2+hours the park was open. Then immediately after that BTM was closed down for an hour or so. Everyone with a FP for those rides during those windows got an anytime any ride FP good for the whole day. Plus, all of the people who would have been in standby on each of those rides were now dispersed to all of the other headliners very early. This leads to those insane lines you see photos of once those rides open up again. We managed this by finding places where the crowds werent and staying nearby the closed rides to see if they would open, which worked well. Midday, there is overlap of people who rope drop and stay til dinner and people who arrive around lunchtime planning to stay until midnight, making the afternoon extra crowded. Which is why we always leave by 2 and come back after dinner unless we have a reservation.