Shocked with crowds last week.

[TeresaWen]

I suspect the parks to be extra crowed the days we are there next month (2 1/2 weeks away!).

I have ADRs for the places I really want.
I have fast passes for those few attractions I want (including fop for each of our AK dys!!)

Bring. It. On.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

Bring. It. On.

Be careful what you wish for.

 

[Pmlocke]

I don't think there is really a "Low Time" like we used to have ten or fifteen years ago. I read somewhere where attendance has increase by more than one million visitors every year for the last four years. That means 4 million more people went to WDW in 2017 than in 2013. That averages out to an additional 10,959 more people, scattered between the four parks every day than they had in 2013 and who knows how many more are going to attend this year. I can remember walking up to any restaurant without a reservation and only having to wait maybe ten or twenty minutes. I have photos of Main Street and you could shoot a cannon down the street and not hit anyone. Of course I am talking about the good-ole down times that we used to enjoy in early November and December, January or February. I am afraid the down times of old are gone.

 

[anniemae]

I think this summer and fall will be VERY busy due to toy story and opening.

 

[artinlife]

Unfortunately, this is the new Disney. There is no slow time anymore, just crowded and REALLY crowded. They are doing everything in their power to pack the parks. Promos, discounted dining, parties, cheer competitions, specials etc. They want it at full capacity all the time. We still enjoy going and will continue to go until it starts to feel like it isn't fun anymore. Nobody likes crowds, just look at all the threads on these boards i.e. "how slow is the first week of Dec? Which is slower, Oct or Sept? How is the third week of May for crowds? What is least crowded May or June?" and on and on.

I think the slowest time of the year is the week after Labor Day when all schools are back in session. Early May is also a very slow time.

I think you are right about the 'New Disney'. We were at POFQ last May and I asked a cast member about the crowded parks and she said that Disney is trying to 'even out' the attendance throughout the year. No more 'slow times' I'm afraid.

 

[aliciamakino]

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!

Sorry you experienced the insane crowds. I was checking wait times last week, and could not believe it! We were there last year the week of Mother's Day, and it wasn't too bad. We will be return at the end of April and I am nervous by the unpredictability of the seasonable not busy times.

But I wanted to say- you should most definitely do a Disney Cruise! In a lot of ways I enjoy that over the Parks, and there is more time to relax!

 

[richkaryn]

This is exactly how I feel. And, yes, I realize it's not the best for Disney's bottom line, but I don't want a vacation where I'm rushing from line to line through the crowds or spending the entire time on my phone trying to get a fp so I can ride without a 40+ minute wait.

Yes! The last few trips we've made I feel like I spend more time on my phone in the parks than I do just enjoying my vacation. Part of what I loved about vacation (and even more so the "disney bubble") is being able to detach from my phone and the outside world a little bit. With MDE and FP+ it makes so much of vacation dependent on the use of my phone. I will say that our last trip (October 2016) we stayed deluxe for first time (split Poly/AKL) and since I wanted to get my money's worth out of the resorts, I broke from our usual commando touring style and we got there at rope drop or a little after most mornings, took in what we could, and left after or at lunch to go spend 2-4 hours at the resort. There were even a couple days I didn't book FP+ nor had I decided which park(s) we were going to until the night before or even that morning -- a drastic change from my planned down to the hour trips of the past. I really enjoyed this style and am looking forward to trying it again this October (though my sister, niece, and dad are going with us for their first visit, and while I am all for helping them plan, I have also said not to expect me to stay in parks the whole time with them --plus they want to eat different restaurants than us, etc.). We've been so many times now (and still find "new to us" things to do each trip) that I am learning to let go of my commando, detailed itinerary style and just relax a little more as I know I don't have to cram it all in, which in return will allow me to not spend as much time on my phone while in the parks I hope.

 

[richkaryn]

Here's my big problem about Disney making adjustments with staffing: lower park hours. So, say they have staff scheduled to accomplish a 45 minute wait for Peter Pan (just an example) either during a "busy season" or a traditionally low season. During that busy season, the park may stay open until 1am, so you can get more rides in even if they have longer waits. If you get the same wait times in September, the parks may still close around 9pm, not letting you do things!

For any future trip, I think I will not attempt to plan around crowds. Just book what is the most convenient dates for me, make the assumption it will be busy, and maybe be pleasantly surprised if its not.

Yes, we made our first fall trip in October 2016. I was used to spring break and even a late may/early June trip one year, and parks being open til 11pm-2am. I expected all the early night closings of MK due to MNSSHP, but I was shocked at the other 3 parks closing anywhere between 7:30pm-9pm. (this was before AKL started staying open at night). I was not used to this, and this was also the first trip we'd took mid day breaks from the parks. I ended up shifting a few dinner ADRs to 8:00-9:00 time frames because if I hadn't, we would not have been able to go eat a TS and then return to a park for a few hours. It was definitely a challenge fitting things in during a shorter time frame than what we were used to. We wanted to do Fantasmic again since we hadn't seen it in years and DS was so young when we last saw it that he didn't remember. It was only shown a couple nights during our trip and it was challenging to even fit that in. I am finding more and more we are having to adapt our touring style (not necessarily a bad thing, since we've been several times and no longer have to cram so much in to one trip) but it is definitely an adjustment.

 

[Spencer Wright]

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.

...

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!

I appreciate your honest feedback! I had a trip last August, and while high crowds were not a problem, we had many of the same concerns. In particular, seriously lacking customer service and massive and frequent ride breakdowns were a problem. I'm talking like nasty CM's. In terms of breakdowns, we did receive a lot of FP which made up for it but its still a problem.

We tend to be very early risers and do things early (i.e. lunch at 11 and ADR's at 5), so lines are not a problem; but one day we went to Flame Tree BBQ at about 1130 and waited about 30 minutes even to order, not to mention a long wait for food.

While some guests seem to not mind a long wait, I am in the exact same vein as you in terms of not understanding how you can wait 35+ minutes for every ride and get a full experience.

Since we are generally at the parks at opening and eat early I think we avoid a lot of the issues you mention, but for the massive amounts of money we pay anymore (especially for deluxes), we should not be waiting 45+ for food at 11:30 in the morning.


Last year, after what was admittedly an amazing trip, and having the same issues you mentioned, I felt it was last trip for several years. However, I still love WDW, and was a graduate student for most of last year so I received a generous tax return this year. Therefore, we are headed back, but primarily due to cost and seemingly declining quality (although quality is still high in my opinion); I believe it will be my last trip there for a few years.

I am thinking about taking my first cruise!!

 

[terri33inne]

We arrived last Saturday and also have been shocked by the crowds. In addition to an international cheer competition I understand that a lot of people from Louisiana come down to escape Mardi Gras. The weather has been perfect.

 

[Elsaalltheway]

I'll make a little comment here. I think there is something to be said for the no down time. First up when I was there just a few weeks ago I noticed South American tours that are not there in Sept. Also this last Sept there was the hit with the hurricane and I know some people who shifted their dates to Jan, Feb of this year, so that may be some, but just a small number of people. I think like everybody, people are trying to find a sweet spot. Me, I'll go back to my first week in Sept and enjoy the food and wine, because I think the numbers will taper off if Disney stops offering the free dining for that time of year.

 

[Pdollar88]

I suspect the parks to be extra crowed the days we are there next month (2 1/2 weeks away!).

I have ADRs for the places I really want.
I have fast passes for those few attractions I want (including fop for each of our AK dys!!)

Bring. It. On.

This week has made me less optimistic. We’ll be there March 3-9. It’s my bf’s first time and he doesn’t like crowds so I hope it’s not completely terrible.

But I have some comfort in my ADRs and FPs too.

 

[LMA712014]

We’re first timing this weekend through next week (my husband has been, but myself and our little ones have not) and we basically just anticipate crowded.

Parks in the morning, pool in the afternoon! Thankfully since we’re going into it with toddlers, we don’t have any expectations (and since we won the trip, this is all a ‘bonus’ vacation as it is!)

I hope to report back that we survived this weekends crowds! Hahaha.

 

[aliciamakino]

We’re first timing this weekend through next week (my husband has been, but myself and our little ones have not) and we basically just anticipate crowded.

Parks in the morning, pool in the afternoon! Thankfully since we’re going into it with toddlers, we don’t have any expectations (and since we won the trip, this is all a ‘bonus’ vacation as it is!)

I hope to report back that we survived this weekends crowds! Hahaha.

Enjoy it!! I 100% agree with you, when we go with our toddler, I try really hard not to have any expectations. In the grand scheme of things, if she has fun and we all avoid sunburns, it was a magical day at Disney regardless of the # of rides we get on.

 

[LMA712014]

Enjoy it!! I 100% agree with you, when we go with our toddler, I try really hard not to have any expectations. In the grand scheme of things, if she has fun and we all avoid sunburns, it was a magical day at Disney regardless of the # of rides we get on.

Thank you! We’re excited for the warm weather and I’m with you - no major tantrums, no lost children and no sunburns! Hahah.

 

[momimouse27]

I'm trying not to worry too much about it, because it won't do me any good... But I originally planned arriving for our trip at the end of next week hoping to miss crowds with the die down of President's Day crowds and winter breaks.

Now I'm not so sure. I expect Sunday 25th to be busy, but I'm hoping it eases off a bit as the week progresses. Crossing my fingers. Honestly, I'll be happy if the crowds are just moderately busy. To me moderately busy is 1.5 hour waits at Space, Splash, and 30-45 at things like Pooh and IASW.

 

[dreiwhit]

We got back from our trip to WDW late last Saturday night. We were in the parks from Sunday, February 4th through Thursday, February 8th. We went to MK twice, Epcot twice, and DHS once.

We had been to WDW recently twice before - from 29 Feb - 4 March 2016, and then the week after Thanksgiving in 2016. On this trip, Epcot was the most crowded that I have ever seen it. MK and DHS were also more crowded than the other times we had gone. We did not go to AK.

Just some impressions and random thoughts:

- We stayed offsite and booked out FPs 30 days out. When I booked the FPs each day, there were plenty of FPs available for the popular attractions, such as 7DMT, Peter Pan, Soarin, TT, FEA, TSMM, RnRC, etc. So many that I thought the parks weren't going to be crowded at all. Boy were we mistaken.

- Ride times on the popular rides got very high. very frequently. I would check the wait times at the other parks other than the one we were at, and I would be stunned at how long the waits were. I remember seeing Space Mountain with a posted 190 minutes. TSMM was over 100 minutes at one point. Shows like Frozen and Indiana Jones were completely full!

- We arrived at Epcot on Monday 30 minutes early. The crowd was being held at the tapstiles, and the lines for each were already butting up against the buildings directly in back of the tapstiles! I have never seen that kind of crowd at Epcot at RD! In the past when i've gone to Epcot at that time, the CMs are letting folks in early. The CMs started to let people in at 9am. We raced to Soarin at RD and at 10 minutes after 9, it was already a 40 minute wait. At one point, the line for Figment was out the door, in queue ropes leading out of the door and along the side of the building. I have NEVER seen Figment that busy. The FP queue at Spaceship Earth extended out into the park, out of the queue ropes, and the standby lines did so as well. We had to go by guest services, and there was a 20 minute way at Epcot Guest Services. So many people were in line that the CMs set up poles and queue ropes at guest services!

- At one point, my 10 year old daughter told me "Disney used to be magical, now its like an overcrowded amusement park." She has been to other amusement parks, the state fair, et al, when its crowded. That speaks volumes when a 10 year old girl isn't having a great time due to the crowds.

- It was really difficult to walk around. The crowds could be pretty big, and some areas, like Mexico at Epcot and between Peter Pan and Small World, are choke points. There was a constant starting and stopping, people cutting in front of you, etc. Walking got to be frustrating at times.

- The South Americans were there in force, either in small groups or large tour groups. There were times you heard nothing but Spanish spoken around you. At the Indiana Jones show, which was packed (I'd never seen that before either!) when a person from Brazil was picked, the crowd roared. Totally unscientific, but it appeared that half the crowd was from Brazil! IMHO, if it wasn't for them, I think the parks would have been much less crowded.

- We had many problems with the South American tour groups. When they were going somewhere, they would barrel through an area, walking fast as a group, making you get out of their way. I finally had enough and stopped, making them go around me! One group of about 40 was singing some song in their language very loudly while walking through Mexico in front of the pyramid. If we were in line with them, we would get jostled, hit, bumped and one of them almost knocked down my 10 year old daughter! They also would cut in front of us in line. We WILL NOT go back if the South Americans are there.

- There were some cheerleaders and dancers in the parks, but not in huge groups, maybe 5-8 in a group at at time, and there really didn't appear to be that many groups of them.

- Although they weren't running the 2nd instance of Dumbo, I saw plenty of cast members there. While they may be scaling down some cast members, the rides that were running had plenty of them, and the same with the gift shops. We brought our food into the park, so we didn't go to any QS restaurants. We did one character breakfast, and that appeared to be well staffed. To cut to the chase, most of the time, I don't think the "fewer" number of CMs really did much for wait times that week in the places we went and the things we did. We've heard that causes an increase in wait time, but it did not appear to me at least that this was the cause when I was there. It came back to having way more people in the parks at this time than people are used to.

- There were a lot of little kids there. Parents aren't hestitating to take their children out of school for a trip to WDW these days.

- From our first recent trip, until now, the crowd levels have grown with each trip.

- Ride breakdowns were probably the least that we've had one any recent trip at WDW. I remember People Mover was down for some time on one night, as well as Space Mountain. Spaceship Earth broke down once while we were on it, and those were the only breakdowns that we saw or experienced.

To be honest, I don't think that you could say that February and from what i've read, January, are slow months anymore. Again, from what i've seen on this board, January and February have turned into busy months. Like summer months, you've got to have FPs and a good plan. We got everything done we wanted, and then some, each day.

The large crowds did not keep us from having a good time, but they did make the vacation not as relaxing as we've had in the past. To be honest with you, going to Disney when it wasn't crowded was a plus for us, a plus we apparently won't have any more. Sadly, with the increase in crowds, regular price increases, and everything else competing for the family budget, we really can't go back for some time. Maybe also a little "don't want to go back" for some time.....

 

[Linkura]

We got back from our trip to WDW late last Saturday night. We were in the parks from Sunday, February 4th through Thursday, February 8th. We went to MK twice, Epcot twice, and DHS once.

We had been to WDW recently twice before - from 29 Feb - 4 March 2016, and then the week after Thanksgiving in 2016. On this trip, Epcot was the most crowded that I have ever seen it. MK and DHS were also more crowded than the other times we had gone. We did not go to AK.

Just some impressions and random thoughts:

- We stayed offsite and booked out FPs 30 days out. When I booked the FPs each day, there were plenty of FPs available for the popular attractions, such as 7DMT, Peter Pan, Soarin, TT, FEA, TSMM, RnRC, etc. So many that I thought the parks weren't going to be crowded at all. Boy were we mistaken.

- Ride times on the popular rides got very high. very frequently. I would check the wait times at the other parks other than the one we were at, and I would be stunned at how long the waits were. I remember seeing Space Mountain with a posted 190 minutes. TSMM was over 100 minutes at one point. Shows like Frozen and Indiana Jones were completely full!

- We arrived at Epcot on Monday 30 minutes early. The crowd was being held at the tapstiles, and the lines for each were already butting up against the buildings directly in back of the tapstiles! I have never seen that kind of crowd at Epcot at RD! In the past when i've gone to Epcot at that time, the CMs are letting folks in early. The CMs started to let people in at 9am. We raced to Soarin at RD and at 10 minutes after 9, it was already a 40 minute wait. At one point, the line for Figment was out the door, in queue ropes leading out of the door and along the side of the building. I have NEVER seen Figment that busy. The FP queue at Spaceship Earth extended out into the park, out of the queue ropes, and the standby lines did so as well. We had to go by guest services, and there was a 20 minute way at Epcot Guest Services. So many people were in line that the CMs set up poles and queue ropes at guest services!

- At one point, my 10 year old daughter told me "Disney used to be magical, now its like an overcrowded amusement park." She has been to other amusement parks, the state fair, et al, when its crowded. That speaks volumes when a 10 year old girl isn't having a great time due to the crowds.

- It was really difficult to walk around. The crowds could be pretty big, and some areas, like Mexico at Epcot and between Peter Pan and Small World, are choke points. There was a constant starting and stopping, people cutting in front of you, etc. Walking got to be frustrating at times.

- The South Americans were there in force, either in small groups or large tour groups. There were times you heard nothing but Spanish spoken around you. At the Indiana Jones show, which was packed (I'd never seen that before either!) when a person from Brazil was picked, the crowd roared. Totally unscientific, but it appeared that half the crowd was from Brazil! IMHO, if it wasn't for them, I think the parks would have been much less crowded.

- We had many problems with the South American tour groups. When they were going somewhere, they would barrel through an area, walking fast as a group, making you get out of their way. I finally had enough and stopped, making them go around me! One group of about 40 was singing some song in their language very loudly while walking through Mexico in front of the pyramid. If we were in line with them, we would get jostled, hit, bumped and one of them almost knocked down my 10 year old daughter! They also would cut in front of us in line. We WILL NOT go back if the South Americans are there.

- There were some cheerleaders and dancers in the parks, but not in huge groups, maybe 5-8 in a group at at time, and there really didn't appear to be that many groups of them.

- Although they weren't running the 2nd instance of Dumbo, I saw plenty of cast members there. While they may be scaling down some cast members, the rides that were running had plenty of them, and the same with the gift shops. We brought our food into the park, so we didn't go to any QS restaurants. We did one character breakfast, and that appeared to be well staffed. To cut to the chase, most of the time, I don't think the "fewer" number of CMs really did much for wait times that week in the places we went and the things we did. We've heard that causes an increase in wait time, but it did not appear to me at least that this was the cause when I was there. It came back to having way more people in the parks at this time than people are used to.

- There were a lot of little kids there. Parents aren't hestitating to take their children out of school for a trip to WDW these days.

- From our first recent trip, until now, the crowd levels have grown with each trip.

- Ride breakdowns were probably the least that we've had one any recent trip at WDW. I remember People Mover was down for some time on one night, as well as Space Mountain. Spaceship Earth broke down once while we were on it, and those were the only breakdowns that we saw or experienced.

To be honest, I don't think that you could say that February and from what i've read, January, are slow months anymore. Again, from what i've seen on this board, January and February have turned into busy months. Like summer months, you've got to have FPs and a good plan. We got everything done we wanted, and then some, each day.

The large crowds did not keep us from having a good time, but they did make the vacation not as relaxing as we've had in the past. To be honest with you, going to Disney when it wasn't crowded was a plus for us, a plus we apparently won't have any more. Sadly, with the increase in crowds, regular price increases, and everything else competing for the family budget, we really can't go back for some time. Maybe also a little "don't want to go back" for some time.....

Nice report. Just an FYI, Brazilians speak Portuguese, not Spanish.

 

[dreiwhit]

Nice report. Just an FYI, Brazilians speak Portuguese, not Spanish.

You're welcome.

Correct - I know they speak Portuguese instead of Spanish. Strangely enough, I don't recall hearing any Portuguese spoken around us. I knew Brazilians were there, but didn't hear them, except for the cheering at Indiana Jones.

Edit: Thinking about it, the tour group loudly singing were singing in Portugese. I didn't hear the Brazilians as often as the Spanish speaking South Americans.

 

[Linkura]

You're welcome.

Correct - I know they speak Portuguese instead of Spanish. Strangely enough, I don't recall hearing any Portuguese spoken around us. I knew Brazilians were there, but didn't hear them, except for the cheering at Indiana Jones.

Very strange!! Again, love the detailed report.