Shocked with crowds last week.

[NicholeB630]

We just retuned Saturday from a 8 night stay at Beach Club. I did so much research as to when to visit. I choose that week because of predicted low crowds. I realize its not guaranteed. We've been the second week of December and right after labor day. Both times were pleasant and we did everything we wanted with no crazy crowds. Except at holiday parties. I was IN SHOCK how crowded last week was and everyday at every park. It was literally wall to wall people in many areas. Rides like carpets and dumbo saw 35-40 min waits by 10am!!! Also Ive never encountered so many rides being shut down due to issues. Many we were in line for or actually on the attraction. It was really disappointing. There were many things we never got to do because they crowds. Even fast pass lines would be backed up way past the queues. Dont get me wrong we had fun and did a lot but all the crowds def make a difference in your experience and especially how much you pay for everything there. It makes me sad they just shove more and move people in the parks. Its really not enjoyable anymore. Im sorry when you can hardly walk and every ride is over 35 minutes how can anyone really have fun. We never even ate lunch at AK because all the food lines were horribly long so we just got snacks.

Beach club was a let down as well. We've stayed at AK Lodge and Contemporary both times were 1 bedroom villas, very spacious and had more than one bathroom (at least toilet area) Beach club had 1 and the layout was awful. So many doors in one little space. Check in was not up to par and I couldn't get something that I had paid for delivered because there was no one to deliver it?? It was just a let down thats for sure especially for a deluxe resort.

Some good things. We took a Minnie Van one morning to MK that was great! Fantasyland Early Morning magic is well worth it especially if its high crowds! We rode Mine train 4 times! FOP holly molly hands down the best ride Ive been on in my entire life. We were lucky and had fast passes!! We didn't get to do Navi river after we hiked there at rope drop with the herds of people to only find it broken down ( shocker) we were on our last day ... and by the time it was up and running the wait was well over an hour and half. I was just happy we got to do FOP because it was incredible.

Sad our trip wasn't as magical as past years as we wont be going back for a long time, I think we'll try a cruise in the next couple years though!

 

[Praying Colonel]

Sorry crowd levels weren't to your liking. Week after Labor Day is probably going to be the slowest time of the year, as you probably know from your experience. Many say there isn't a truly slow time of year anymore.

Also, Disney can do things with operations (e.g. shorter hours, fewer ride vehicles operating for certain attractions, etc.) that can make it feel "busier" in that wait times are higher than you'd expect. This effect can be compounded if there are technical issues with attractions.

 

[DisneyDaddy17]

Great to hear such a fresh report from the parks! Thank you!

My family and I leave for WDW early this Friday morning, with several FP's and ADR's for the weekend already booked! Wish us luck Haha!!

Quick question for you though, How were the queues to get in to the parks primarily AK and MK?? I would hate to be help up passing through the gates/security for anything longer than 10 minutes!
(I appreciate that Disney checks all guests for contraband/weaponds my main priority is keeping my family safe, but I'm anxious to go on FOP!)

 

[BayouQueen]

@NicholeB630 how was the bus transportation from BC? Were wait times super long, with all the crowds, or did they seem to have plenty of buses rolling?

(I'm asking because we have a YC trip planned and I'm thinking of dropping down to one of the mods, if there's not much difference in service, but such a huge price difference.)

 

[Shanan]

We also got back from WDW. We had split stay 1/30-2/10. Had been last year for 5 days at the first of February The difference between both years was unbelievable. 2017 - maybe a 3 out of 10 on crowd calendar. 2018 - I second the observations of OP - there were times we could not see pavement
even the CMs I chatted with where surprised at the crowds. Have a friend that works at AK & was told that 1 day AK had expected/staffed for 26k guests but actual attendance was 33-37k.
Luckily we had FP+ for the headliners
Rode those and then would leave.

 

[NicholeB630]

Great to hear such a fresh report from the parks! Thank you!

My family and I leave for WDW early this Friday morning, with several FP's and ADR's for the weekend already booked! Wish us luck Haha!!

Quick question for you though, How were the queues to get in to the parks primarily AK and MK?? I would hate to be help up passing through the gates/security for anything longer than 10 minutes!
(I appreciate that Disney checks all guests for contraband/weaponds my main priority is keeping my family safe, but I'm anxious to go on FOP!)

It was extremely easy getting in all parks. Never took longer than 10 minutes. And all the parks we were let in early which was nice because that did help with the herds of people at Rope drop that used to happen. They do still hold you back at areas but it was at least spread out within different areas. The only park I am not sure of is Epcot because one morning we had a ADR at 8am so we were in early anyways and then the other epcot day we didnt go till 11. But all the other parks were super easy getting in. I advise being there early though and waiting at whatever land area you want to go to first.

 

[NicholeB630]

@NicholeB630 how was the bus transportation from BC? Were wait times super long, with all the crowds, or did they seem to have plenty of buses rolling?

(I'm asking because we have a YC trip planned and I'm thinking of dropping down to one of the mods, if there's not much difference in service, but such a huge price difference.)

We rent a car. So we used minnie van once and only twice did we use bus because my daughter and I decided to stay late at MK and we only waited about 5 minutes at the end of the night. So I am not sure how they are leaving the resorts. We did have to get off the monorail one day becasue I was trying to get to TTC to go to epcot and the track was having issues so we had to get off at MK then get on a bus back to beach club . that was a pain.

 

[NicholeB630]

We also got back from WDW. We had split stay 1/30-2/10. Had been last year for 5 days at the first of February The difference between both years was unbelievable. 2017 - maybe a 3 out of 10 on crowd calendar. 2018 - I second the observations of OP - there were times we could not see pavement
even the CMs I chatted with where surprised at the crowds. Have a friend that works at AK & was told that 1 day AK had expected/staffed for 26k guests but actual attendance was 33-37k.
Luckily we had FP+ for the headliners
Rode those and then would leave.

Glad to know someone else was there that felt the crowds were crazy. I guess so many people see these boards and blogs about low times and there just isn't anymore. Id do Sept again but I cant handle that heat. Ive also never encountered so many Brazilian tour groups and families. Not that they are bad but they were EVERYWHERE and in HUGE groups. I mean just 1 group would be enough to hold up an attraction wait time. And it wasn't just groups, it seemed that I saw just as many families from other countries as I did americans.

 

[jo-jo]

Beach club was a let down as well. We've stayed at AK Lodge and Contemporary both times were 1 bedroom villas, very spacious and had more than one bathroom (at least toilet area) Beach club had 1 and the layout was awful. So many doors in one little space. !

A few years ago we stayed in a one bedroom with a newly potty trained DGD. One day she was in a panic running around. What's wrong??? I have to go potty and I don't know which door it is!!!

 

[NicholeB630]

A few years ago we stayed in a one bedroom with a newly potty trained DGD. One day she was in a panic running around. What's wrong??? I have to go potty and I don't know which door it is!!!

Thats hilarious. But I really found it a poor layout. You have like a 5x5 bathroom space and literally three doors in that tiny room. One that opens into the other part of the bathroom so it would hit anyone standing at the sink.

 

[720L]

A lot of people I know were at the parks for dance competitions last week.

 

[MSPeeler]

We also had friends there for dance and cheer competitions for the last two weeks.

 

[NicholeB630]

A lot of people I know were at the parks for dance competitions last week.

Yes we saw lots of cheerleaders. My daughter does competition cheer and we were down in FL earlier in December so they def stand out to us. But there were not nearly as many of them as there was tour groups from Brazil.

 

[GreatGoofini]

We just got back on Saturday from an 8 day trip also. I haven't been to Disney World in 23 years so I don't have recent frame of reference but I too was disappointed in the crowds. I did a ton of research to pick the date, did touring plans, FPs, etc for our daily schedule and my plans each day were useless after about the first ride. The routine was to show up exactly on time per plan, get to the first ride, see the wait time was already 30 minutes when my plan predicted 5 or 10 minutes and then the plan would go further and further off course. We simply spent more time in the parts to compensate, but wow what a waste of planning. We had a really great time and did a ton, but yeah, those crowds were a surprise.

 

[Shanti]

We just retuned Saturday from a 8 night stay at Beach Club. I did so much research as to when to visit. I choose that week because of predicted low crowds. I realize its not guaranteed. We've been the second week of December and right after labor day. Both times were pleasant and we did everything we wanted with no crazy crowds. Except at holiday parties. I was IN SHOCK how crowded last week was and everyday at every park. It was literally wall to wall people in many areas. Rides like carpets and dumbo saw 35-40 min waits by 10am!!! Also Ive never encountered so many rides being shut down due to issues. Many we were in line for or actually on the attraction. It was really disappointing. There were many things we never got to do because they crowds. Even fast pass lines would be backed up way past the queues. Dont get me wrong we had fun and did a lot but all the crowds def make a difference in your experience and especially how much you pay for everything there. It makes me sad they just shove more and move people in the parks. Its really not enjoyable anymore. Im sorry when you can hardly walk and every ride is over 35 minutes how can anyone really have fun. We never even ate lunch at AK because all the food lines were horribly long so we just got snacks.

Beach club was a let down as well. We've stayed at AK Lodge and Contemporary both times were 1 bedroom villas, very spacious and had more than one bathroom (at least toilet area) Beach club had 1 and the layout was awful. So many doors in one little space. Check in was not up to par and I couldn't get something that I had paid for delivered because there was no one to deliver it?? It was just a let down thats for sure especially for a deluxe resort.

Some good things. We took a Minnie Van one morning to MK that was great! Fantasyland Early Morning magic is well worth it especially if its high crowds! We rode Mine train 4 times! FOP holly molly hands down the best ride Ive been on in my entire life. We were lucky and had fast passes!! We didn't get to do Navi river after we hiked there at rope drop with the herds of people to only find it broken down ( shocker) we were on our last day ... and by the time it was up and running the wait was well over an hour and half. I was just happy we got to do FOP because it was incredible.

Sad our trip wasn't as magical as past years as we wont be going back for a long time, I think we'll try a cruise in the next couple years though!

We went in early February 2014 and were disappointed by the crowds. Not as bad as you're describing, but not nearly low enough to justify missing school to go. After that, I decided to ignore crowd calendars and just go during school breaks, and it's worked for us. When we went in late July 2016, we were shocked at the lower crowds & waits. I hadn't seen crowds that low in several years.

 

[Sparkly]

We went in early February 2014 and were disappointed by the crowds. Not as bad as you're describing, but not nearly low enough to justify missing school to go. After that, I decided to ignore crowd calendars and just go during school breaks, and it's worked for us. When we went in late July 2016, we were shocked at the lower crowds & waits. I hadn't seen crowds that low in several years.

Weird, we went in Feb 2014 the week of Valentines Day and it was fine, actually pretty quiet! Our HS day was great!

 

[Shanti]

Weird, we went in Feb 2014 the week of Valentines Day and it was fine, actually pretty quiet! Our HS day was great!

We were the week before. Our AK day was packed, and as I said, the rest of the trip wasn't horrible, but it wasn't really low crowd like we'd experienced in 2009. It wasn't worth traveling at an otherwise inconvenient time.

 

[bryanb]

Dang! I was thinking that February might be a good time to go to WDW based on both the weather and crowds. Thanks for reporting your experience. As other threads have mentioned, Disney usually has lower staffing during the "off-season" but the patterns have been changing a lot, which partially explains the wait times. From your report, it sounds like the actual crowd size is higher too.

It makes me sad they just shove more and move people in the parks. Its really not enjoyable anymore. Im sorry when you can hardly walk and every ride is over 35 minutes how can anyone really have fun.

As for shoving more and more people into the parks, that's not so simple. Any guest who has gone Christmas week can attest to how crowded the parks can actually get before there are occupancy caps. With on-site hotels selling out year-round, most guests are coming in from off-site and it's a bad guest experience (and bad business) to turn people away if you don't have to. The best way to bring demand and supply back into balance, and smooth out demand, is to keep adjusting ticket and hotel prices.

I've gone during the last two summers and the crowds actually felt quite light for "peak" season. Seems like it's all hard to predict right now.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Thanks for the report! I find these very helpful

We went Presidents Week of 2014. It was nice. Not empty but not bad

So we went back in 2015, same week, and it was nuts. We ended up leaving early most days at the parks and just enjoying the nice weather.

 

[HydroGuy]

As other current threads similar to this one are currently discussing, there is a suspicion that data Disney is gathering using FP+ is being used to schedule park staff in such a way as to disrupt any park planning at all.

I have always been a firm believer in "try to avoid the EMH park". I would wait at buses in the AM and see the long line in the morning for the EMH park and the short line for the park we are planning and would smugly think, "Aha! I am so glad I am not going to the EMH park that day!".

But if Disney has caught onto this using FP+ and staffed accordingly, they can totally ruin this strategy. In fact, they can ruin any strategy by using staffing management to make all lines at all rides be what they think is best for all days at all parks.

I will say that if Disney is in fact doing this, as much as I love WDW, I will either stop going altogether or at minimum cut back on my WDW trips. And whatever anyone thinks of the TP folks, they seem best positioned to tell us if this is happening and provide some kind of analysis. So personally I will keep my eyes and ears open to @lentesta and his staff.

Finally, if all the above is in fact the case, then choosing "best parks" and "best time of year to visit" is pointless. The folks in this thread who say "just choose whatever you want and go with it" will have the right idea.

Sounds like February is turning out to be as bad as January. This sounds ominous. I posted the above yesterday...