When and how to avoid Star Wars

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Donna M

DIS Veteran
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Aug 8, 2008
I have no interest in Star Wars and haven't been following it much, but I know it will be huge. I don't know when it is supposed to open or what it involves. We go to Disney every year.

What will be impacted and when? What to stay away from? Will all of Disney be affected?
 
Expect SWGE to have a bigger impact on DHS than Pandora had(still has) on AK.
OTOH, once SWGE opens, at rope drop almost everything else in HS will probably be nearly walk on for the first hour or so.
 


We're good just seeing it, but don't need to ride the rides or eat or shop. HOPING that the rest of the park will be empty so we can enjoy Toy Story Land to ourselves ;)
 
We have a trip planned 12/8-12/14 but I'm very much leaning to moving it to 11/10-11/16 in hopes of avoiding the opening. I truly hope we miss it, it'll be a huge mess.
 


Expect SWGE to have a bigger impact on DHS than Pandora had(still has) on AK.
OTOH, once SWGE opens, at rope drop almost everything else in HS will probably be nearly walk on for the first hour or so.

I think it will be the opposite. The GE area will quickly reach max capacity, probably within 30 minutes of opening. All those other rope droppers and early comers will overwhelm the other areas.

I truly think we are getting ready to see crowd levels of the like that have never been seen at WDW before.
 
I think it will be the opposite. The GE area will quickly reach max capacity, probably within 30 minutes of opening. All those other rope droppers and early comers will overwhelm the other areas.

I truly think we are getting ready to see crowd levels of the like that have never been seen at WDW before.

THis is what I am afraid of. I have a tentative trip booked December 6th, and am really concerned about the impact. DHS is a small tight park on a good day, and I rememeber when Osborne Lights closed. That park was nuts, with parking moved to DAK, transportation tied up. And this was just one "attraction" going dark. Adding a much anticipated land with fan base off the charts is going to be a challenge for WDW to manage, IMO. Once that little park fills, guests are going to go somewhere, and it's not back to the resort to cool their heels, so where to go? MK. DAK. Epcot. The only park that can really handle extra traffic is Epcot. Remember MK is closed early 4 days a week during the holiday season. DAK is a claustrophobic mess still with Pandora, and very crowded in many spots with the traffic patterns, leaving Epcot as the only park set up with wide enough pathways to handle foot traffic easily.

I can see that even though I am not typically a daily rope dropper, if I keep this trip I am going to need to drag my family out early no matter how much they whine. And get teh heck out of Dodge when the rest of the World wakes up.
 
I am going to need to drag my family out early no matter how much they whine. And get teh heck out of Dodge when the rest of the World wakes up.
This is the strategy we have used since our second trip to WDW. We hate crowds no matter what causes them, and we get up early and get to the parks before rope drop. We leave before lunch unless we have a reservation in the park. We have stopped returning at night to the parks and instead enjoy signature restaurants; viewing fireworks from our resort/signature restaurant/fireworks cruise; and have a much more enjoyable time. We are in the parks 6 out of 7 mornings with one full day in a cabana by the pool. On our July trip, we avoided DHS altogether because of Toy Story Land opening. We didn't miss it. We focused on MK, Epcot, and one day at AK. Pandora wasn't worth it, and AK has always been our least favorite. We definitely have zero interest in Star Wars and the crowds it will attract, so DHS will also be skipped. It looks like our mornings will be at MK and Epcot on our future trips.
 
I think it will be the opposite. The GE area will quickly reach max capacity, probably within 30 minutes of opening. All those other rope droppers and early comers will overwhelm the other areas. I truly think we are getting ready to see crowd levels of the like that have never been seen at WDW before.
I think the crowds will be big, but I don't think that it'll have such an impact that people would be well-advised to avoid WDW entirely because of how GE will affect crowding beyond HS. Sure - skip Christmas week 2019 and maybe Easter week 2019, but other than those two weeks, I don't see a reason to be concerned about a visit to the other three theme parks.
 
I think the crowds will be big, but I don't think that it'll have such an impact that people would be well-advised to avoid WDW entirely because of how GE will affect crowding beyond HS. Sure - skip Christmas week 2019 and maybe Easter week 2019, but other than those two weeks, I don't see a reason to be concerned about a visit to the other three theme parks.
People seem to think overflow will lead to the other parks being crowded. Not everyone that wants to go will fit in SW land. I just wonder how many people will be buying multi-day tickets for all the parks vs one-day tickets just for DHS Star Wars.
 
I was thinking of renewing our AP's during our trip in July but maybe I'll wait... I want to see Star Wars but I can wait. :thumbsup2
 
I just wonder how many of the SW goers will be multi-park ticket holders vs DHS one-day ticket holders. I mean the diehard SW fans that only plan to go there for SW GE.

I do believe there will be overflow unfortunately.
 
I don't think there will be the kind of spillover that some people are guessing will occur.

But where do you think they will go? As I have already said, I got to see what one attraction that was going dark affected not just DHS, but additional parks. DHS is a very small park in comparison with DAk and Epcot, with very little area so space people out. The park was mobbed, had late closings announced the afternoons they occurred, people were bussed in from DAK parking lot because there was no room, and many just stayed in Epcot or DAK, or left for other parks. Transportation was a nightmare. And this was just one attraction mind you.

Now look at the timing, and how people generally travel. I know my trips are not just one day, one park. I buy a package of tickets for my length of stay, and for this one will add hoppers. If I cannot get into one park, I am not just going to call it a day and swim. No. I am not throwing ticket money away but will go to a different park. Then consider the timing. The MK already is a crowd filled congested cluster on the three days the park is open past 6 PM. FOr the remaining 4, many people skip that park because it is not always cost effective to visit a park that is not open for evening entertainment. Those people go to the remaining three parks. Remove DHS and what is left? DAK and Epcot. DAK is still congested especially as you approach Pandora.

I would love to be optimistic in planning that if I avoid DHS I wil not be impacted by the number of folks who want to go there, but gauging by the congestions that is TSL, a relative blip on the radar in comparison to GE, I am planning worst case scenario.
 
Now look at the timing, and how people generally travel. I know my trips are not just one day, one park. I buy a package of tickets for my length of stay, and for this one will add hoppers. If I cannot get into one park, I am not just going to call it a day and swim. No. I am not throwing ticket money away but will go to a different park.
Good point. The other guests visiting for regular DW vacations and who don't want to attempt to do SW with crazy crowds will absolutely just go to the other parks.
 
Sorry, but I just can't see what Star Wars has to do with Disney. To me, Disney is Mickey, Minnie, the Princesses, etc. I'm still struggling to figure out the Muppets and Winnie the Pooh.
 
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