So it appears the crowds are very high right now even though some sites predicted low crowds. Is there a reason why the uptick?

[OhhBother]

We were there last week and found the crowds to be low - especially as compared to our trip in March during spring break. Unfortunately, my husband caught COVID despite the manageable crowds!

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

British school summer holidays last until the first week of September so that’s probably a large chunk of it. Some Scottish schools go back in August though because they break up for the year earlier.

Lots of UK guests during our visit earlier this month. Had some nice conversations with several families. My kids loved their accents!

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

In addition to all the other factors cited above, Disney can estimate attendance based on ticket sales and can adjust staffing, number of ride vehicles, etc., which keeps ride lines longer.

Gotta remember though that the 4 day magic tix are still a thing, we used that deal and we didn't have park reservations so for a good portion of this summer, disney doesn't know exactly where/when those guests will be unlike the others buckets of guests like AP and regular tix sales. They may know how many they sold vs used but guests have until september something to redeem them.

 

[CoasterGT24]

Based on past wait time data, today would be considered just below average.

 

[pangyal]

We have come the last two weeks of August for over a decade and this is by far the busiest I have ever seen it at this time. Add in the ridiculous heat that is higher in index than normal and it’s making for a bit of a frustrating visit in all honesty.

 

[RedHead0186]

Also, Epcot Food & Wine started earlier then ever this year I think.

It actually started about a week and a half later that it did last year. I planned a trip in July for the same week it had opened last year, only to find out that I would miss it as I was there too early this year.

 

[focusondisney]

Sounds more like an IT issue.

No, I’ve seen that done before on busy days to get crowds into the park.

 

[smrice95]

We've been here since the 19th. The walkways are not full of crowds but ride wait times have been insane. As I mentioned in the here and now thread I think ride breakdowns are the biggest issue. It was so busy at opening of HS yesterday they shut off finger prints when entering.

We were there at the beginning of August and typically go the end of August. We felt exactly the same way: the ride lines very long but the walk paths not bad. Typically at some point you can walk on it's a small world. Even though it wasn't a terrible wait, it was a wait.

 

[SmallWorld71]

We were there last week and found the crowds to be low - especially as compared to our trip in March during spring break. Unfortunately, my husband caught COVID despite the manageable crowds!

Same; we just got back on Sunday and thought the crowds were pretty low. Much lower than when we there in April 2022. We used a combo of Genie+ and rope drop and didn’t wait more than 15/20 minutes for anything. There were a lot of ride breakdowns, but we were generally able to work around then.

 

[saraheliz]

We were there August 8-16. The wait times seemed similar to last year same timeframe, but the walkways etc felt much emptier. There were a few points I looked around and was like "whoa." One point I was walking through that space between IASW and PP which always feels packed and it was so empty. There were definitely some ride breakdowns (looking at you HS) but somehow we were zigging when the rides were zagging until our last day when we went to AK for one last ride on EE and it was down until we were walking out (to catch our flight).

We had zero rain until we were waiting for our bus to the airport our last day. ZERO. In August. It was brutal and people were dropping like flies- but we did avoid any weather related ride of skyline issues, which was a plus.

It certainly wasn't crowded by any means, we pretty much walked on Rise about 15 minutes before park closing one night, and FoP wasn't much longer another evening. Those strategies worked brilliantly to avoid paying for ILL.

 

[DisneyTeacher]

Your definition of quiet must be different than mine because I was there during July/August and it was as crowded as I have seen it in years past.

I agree. We were there in June and thought the crowds and wait times were very typical of our past summer trips. I read all the reports of low crowds but we didn’t feel it.

 

[thinkerbell]

We were there August 10th - yesterday (22nd). It seemed pretty crowded to us. We felt like most people we heard talking around us were speaking in a British accent. Also heard several Canadian families. One was actually a teacher so they must still be on break.
We went at the beginning of May and it wasn’t too bad. We have been many times in the summer and the crowds this past couple of weeks were more in line with regular summer crowds.

 

[Renarr]

We were just there the 12th - 23rd. There were definitely many moments where the park felt as crowded as our usual summer trips. There was one moment when we walked through Adventureland on the 13th that I could have twirled around like a Disney Princess looking up to the sky in song and not run into anybody for a good couple of minutes, though, and it was eerie. (We got five decent Genie+ rides done before our 11:15 lunch reservation.) There were a few other signs of traffic lighter than usual, but they were definitely just here and there things, and we had chalked it up to the heat.

 

[Upatnoon]

Back on July 4th it was reported that crowds were low likely resulting in thousands of people booking trips to take advantage.

I think all these crowd predictions and observation stories and posts can create a false impression of what you will see at the parks when you get there.

Also, what you consider to "feel" crowded could be considered "slow" to someone else.

Attendance could be down 10% -- but if that means you wait 90 minutes for a ride instead of 100, it still feels like a long wait.

People love to talk about crowds. Everyone wants to book that perfect time with no crowds. Everyone is seeking that insider knowledge.

All this drives lots of clicks and discussion, but I don't know how useful it really is.

 

[Minniesgal]

Your definition of quiet must be different than mine because I was there during July/August and it was as crowded as I have seen it in years past.

If you look at what Disney has been saying about the parks this summer they have had the fewest visitors in ten years.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Here now.

Wed we did not follow the strategy I recommended and went to MK on a non-party day. It was very crowded so we mainly did lower popular stuff Carousel if Progress, People Mover, etc. TP predicted a 2 and reality was a 7 which it definitely felt like.

Yesterday we were at Epcot and it was much more manageable! We were a group of 8 yesterday and did all rides between 9 and 4 except Frizen which was down. We did not have G+ so waited standby for all. A big time saver was single rider for TT. I was posted at 75 but a walk-on for single riders.

Today back to MK on a party day so hoping it’s better.

 

[scrappinginontario]

We encountered strange crowds the first week of August. It felt crowded in gift shops and walkways, but randomly at the 10:30 a.m. one day Peter Pan’s flight was a walk-on for like an hour.

We didn’t encounter long lines at food places or any wait for mobile orders and always found a place to sit (even Cosmic Rays at noon), but then Monsters, Inc Laugh floor had a wait.

It was bizarre.

We’re experiencing similar. My theory is everyone is in AC as much as possible. Yesterday we literally went from ac to ac, not slowly wandering and looking at things as we have in the past. Not sure if others are possibly doing the same?

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

I’m here now, staying at the Poly. AK today was busy, and headed to the Halloween party soon. Pirates has been down all day. Crowds are very heavy since I arrived Wednesday evening.

 

[Mle8308]

We’re experiencing similar. My theory is everyone is in AC as much as possible. Yesterday we literally went from ac to ac, not slowly wandering and looking at things as we have in the past. Not sure if others are possibly doing the same?

Did you book the Dining card package? Was wondering how it was working out and if you found any place that would not accept the dining card that you thought would. Curious if it can be used at Gideon's. Hope you are having a great trip!

 

[bwang123]

an uptick may be that last vacation before the summer ends

this might be true. we just ended a 2 week non-Disney vacation right before the kids are planned to go to school.