Slow Season - RIP?

[dclpluto]

We were there D2c 2 to Dec 9th. Felt as busy as going in July.

I was there exactly the same time. Yes it was bad.

 

[SpaceMountain77]

As I have posted, there isn't any slow times anymore. If attendance is down, they close the parks early, if you want to vacation during a holiday, you will have to pay extra for a party ticket. Last week the MK closed at 4:00 for a CM party, just think if you came for your vacation and the one park that you wanted to visit closed at 4:00.

Bill

We visited Magic Kingdom the day of the 4:00pm closure and it was phenomenal! The walkways were clear and, with the exception of the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, everything was either a walk-on or 5-10-minute wait.

 

[WDWLODGE]

We were there from the 6th - 16th. We were at the MK on the 10th and felt that it was busy. We also noticed that the crowds gradually increased starting on the 14th. For the most part though we found the crowds very manageable. We rope droped most mornings and I feel like we managed our FP's pretty well. This was our first time using the app to book 4th, 5th, etc. FP's and we were able to get some pretty good ones after using our first 3. Other than character meet and greets, I can count on 1 hand the number of times we waited longer than 15 minutes in a standby line.

 

[BoPeepDH]

The current slow seasons are:

Midwinter: mid-Jan through February, except for holiday weekends, and

Midsummer, except for July 4th

Is mid-July really slower than June or August? I ask because we are planning next year's trip and are deciding when in the summer to go. Looking at touring plans crowd calendar hasn't really helped us make the decision except to say we should avoid July 4th.

 

[disneyseniors]

I called it slow. And while it might not be the slowest of slow times, last week was easily double what it had been on the various weeks I had been there between Thanksgiving and Christmas between 2012-2016.

Comparing it to comparable weeks over the previous 5 years, there was no comparison. The difference was night and day.

Also, Pop Warner was not the week I mentioned, it was the week before.

DVC adventure season is Jan, Sept. and the 1st two weeks of Dec.

I was there 12/10/2016 - 12/18/2016 and 12/9/2017 - 12/17/2016 so, basically the same week. If there is no slow time then so be it. But week #50 in 2017 was double what it was in 2016. I was also there week after Labor Day 2016&2017. plus last week of sept. The September weeks had a mild increase this year over last. Nothing compared to what I experienced last week. And, labor day week this year had F&W, unlike 2016, and the increase for that week was minor.

OP, I think it is partly due to the hurricane and rescheduling those folks vacations.
Also all the parties that are now scheduled are seriously cutting in to the regular park hours for guests who don't partake in the parties.
I for one, don't do the parties, and I don't like that Disney lets the party goers in at 4:30 or 4pm when the party starts at 7pm. That significantly cuts into the day for regular guests. I was at MK once when the hordes were let in at 4pm, and you could not walk with that crowd, let alone ride any rides. Never again for me.
We used to go the first week of December too, but haven't for years. Even the "jersey week" crowds weren't bad. just my 2 cents worth

 

[Shanti]

Is mid-July really slower than June or August? I ask because we are planning next year's trip and are deciding when in the summer to go. Looking at touring plans crowd calendar hasn't really helped us make the decision except to say we should avoid July 4th.

I can't compare it to June or August as I've never been during those months. I can just say that mid to late July has had very reasonable crowds in recent years.

 

[linzjane88]

I've been going down that first week or so in Dec for almost 17 years now. It's gotten worse and worse over the past 5 years. I think my last trip will be my last at this time of year. We arrived the day after Thanksgiving, the 24th, I left on Dec 6. I have never seen crowds like I saw then. I know some people think the crowds weren't all that bad, but for me, when I think of how it used to be? Nope, 45 min waits for IASW aren't my cup of tea!!!
I was there from Labor Day on...got trapped due to Irma, so stayed about 3 days longer than I had planned. The crowds were hefty then too!!! Same for race weekend! We got to do the FP attractions we had booked, and maybe one other ride. But that was it.
I'm looking forward to going the end of January to see what the crowds are like then!

We seem to be on the same schedule. September is our usual travel time but did our big family trip Thanksgiving day to December 4th instead this year. I found the crowds to be rather overwhelming. Now that might be the usual difference between December and September but man alive! I won't be doing that again. I expected the crowds thru Sunday of Thanksgiving week but they never really slowed much. We were in Epcot on either a Friday or a Saturday (not doing that again either!) and it was so busy in WS we didn't really stop much. We kept trying to find a little peaceful spot away from elbows and strollers and before we knew it we made the loop without looking at a darned thing. We added in a few non park days on the fly because we were all sort of overwhelmed by it. I think I'll stick to my September trips.

My husband and I are doing a quick little 4 night stay at the end of January. Hopefully crowds will be nice like they were last year at that time. Even if it is busy we don't have kids or anyone else to worry about so I don't care.

 

[hakepb]

Is mid-July really slower than June or August? I ask because we are planning next year's trip and are deciding when in the summer to go. Looking at touring plans crowd calendar hasn't really helped us make the decision except to say we should avoid July 4th.

The past 2 years, early July has had the lowest wait times...closer to old October wait times than typical summer madness. It seems the combination of seasonal pass blackout dates (less locals), peak ticket pricing (scared away some typical Americans) and less international tourists (ie Brazil recession) dramatically altered crowd levels.

Since I’m going at the beginning of July this year, instead of late July, I’m sure it will be busy again