Will the new Fantasyland cause bigger crowds?

[lucifie]

We're going in January in value season so we're not all that worried about crowds. I have checked out touring plans to see what their projected crowd levels are for the days we're there and they don't seem too bad, but I was wondering if it's likely that the new Fantasyland will attract bigger than projected crowds. I just have no idea if it will draw that many extra people or if the park is big enough that the extra people won't be noticeable. Or is it far enough out that it will no longer be "new"? I'm assuming it would mostly draw FL residents since most people who have to travel very far don't just pop in for a day to see what's new. It's certainly not a deal breaker - since we don't have a lot of flexibility on dates we're going when we're going, but if it's likely to be more crowded than it usually is that time of year, we'll make more of an effort to be there for rope drop, etc.

 

[flicx]

I don't see that big of an impact coming from the expansion. You may see slightly larger crowds ,but nothing even remotely like the Harry Potter expansion at universal!

 

[DisneyEhCA]

Hey Amy -
Looks like I'll be there just a week after you. I've been worried about crowd levels too, but all my research points to pretty low to moderate crowds. Even if MK is busier than usual with the new Fantasyland, maybe the other parks will be even lower.

Here's hoping!
~Cass~

 

[larryz]

We're going in January in value season so we're not all that worried about crowds. I have checked out touring plans to see what their projected crowd levels are for the days we're there and they don't seem too bad, but I was wondering if it's likely that the new Fantasyland will attract bigger than projected crowds. I just have no idea if it will draw that many extra people or if the park is big enough that the extra people won't be noticeable. Or is it far enough out that it will no longer be "new"? I'm assuming it would mostly draw FL residents since most people who have to travel very far don't just pop in for a day to see what's new. It's certainly not a deal breaker - since we don't have a lot of flexibility on dates we're going when we're going, but if it's likely to be more crowded than it usually is that time of year, we'll make more of an effort to be there for rope drop, etc.

Well, if TSM is any indication, being a month old will not help Fantasyland in the crowd department.

Crowd level predictions are based on historical attendance. As discussed in other threads, a) attendance in early December has risen above historical levels, and some sites have yet to update their projections, and b) this is the biggest refurb in MK history, and I fully expect LOTS of people will be there this holiday season (and thereafter) to see it. Hopefully, by the time you get there, overall crowds will be down.

I hope I'm wrong on the crowd predictions, but I think it'll be higher than anyone here apparently expects.

 

[nansmama]

I would bet there will be bigger crowds, but not a crazy amount. January is less busy for solid reasons. It's the coldest month out of the year, plus most people have just had a big chunk of time off for Christmas/New Year's and have no choice in going back to work/school. The new Fantasyland is not going to change that.

TSM is a special case of a newish ride in a park that doesn't have enough rides in the first place. I don't think it can be directly compared to the Fantasyland expansion.

 

[sven1277]

Slightly off topic, but we were in the expansion area today during an unannounced soft opening and crowd levels were not bad at all. I half expected crazed mobs, but it was pleasant. Wait times weren't bad

 

[mesaboy2]

Slightly off topic, but we were in the expansion area today during an unannounced soft opening and crowd levels were not bad at all. I half expected crazed mobs, but it was pleasant. Wait times weren't bad

Makes sense, since it was unannounced and nobody will have planned their vacations to be there today for it.

 

[fla4fun]

I think it will be a mix. I don't see it creating the huge mobs that HP did over at US. I also think there are some infrequent visitors who will be postponing until the entire area, including the Dwarf's coaster, is complete because they can't/won't visit twice.

Of the people that do go to MK, I think a lot of them will spend a lot of time in the new FLE, which may make other areas of the park less crowded than they might otherwise have been. Restaurants might be busier, but I really expect people to try to dine at BOG for at least one meal, and some may go for lunch and dinner if they got an ADR, since the meals are so different.

I will be there for 10 days in January. I plan to check on the FLE once, maybe twice if necessary, and then focus the rest of the trip elsewhere.

 

[Dudetrue]

I have plans for Nov 10th arrival. We go every year at this time to see the Christmas decorations start to go up. I am a little freaked this year finding out about the AP visiting the new expansion that weekend. I wondered why so many hotels were booking up. We are taking part in tours and other activities there but with the latest dining ADR glitch I am wondering how much it will affect the restaurants in the parks. I guess most of the visitors will just go for the expansion and not for a week but I don't know. We are not crowd people. We go to relax and dine.

 

[GovieMom]

Well, if TSM is any indication, being a month old will not help Fantasyland in the crowd department.

I hope I'm wrong on the crowd predictions, but I think it'll be higher than anyone here apparently expects.

I agree with you on both counts. A new attraction at WDW being a month old means nothing when it comes to higher crowds. Even being a year old means nothing!

 

[GovieMom]

Slightly off topic, but we were in the expansion area today during an unannounced soft opening and crowd levels were not bad at all.

"unannounced soft opening." That is why!

 

[lucifie]

Well, if TSM is any indication, being a month old will not help Fantasyland in the crowd department.

Crowd level predictions are based on historical attendance. As discussed in other threads, a) attendance in early December has risen above historical levels, and some sites have yet to update their projections, and b) this is the biggest refurb in MK history, and I fully expect LOTS of people will be there this holiday season (and thereafter) to see it. Hopefully, by the time you get there, overall crowds will be down.

I hope I'm wrong on the crowd predictions, but I think it'll be higher than anyone here apparently expects.

That's kind of what I'm wondering. Since the crowd predictors are based on historical data, I wonder if any of them are taking the Fantasyland expansion into account. We're only planning on spending 2 of our 5 days at MK so even if it's really crowded it won't ruin our trip by any means.

 

[lucifie]

Restaurants might be busier, but I really expect people to try to dine at BOG for at least one meal, and some may go for lunch and dinner if they got an ADR, since the meals are so different.

I've tried a few times to get ADRs at BOG and couldn't do it. I was thinking about having our TA work on it, but I figure we will most likely go back within a couple of years and we can try it then. Maybe we'll try it for lunch one day, but we'll see.