Do different parks really have different crowd levels on the same day?

[ChuckGA]

I have seen different discussions about which parks on which days and the whole red/green chart but has anyone verified for themselves there really is a difference in crowd level for two parks on the same day? I mean like a 9 at MK and 5-6 at MGM and then it was a 9 at MGM and 5-6 at MK the following day. The only people that could really verify it would be a large group that went to different parks at the same time or CMs comparing notes. A single group cannot compare because they are only in the one park at that moment and just because the park you are in is crowded or not doesn't mean the others are the opposite or the same.

I know that most guide sites say that day of week is a rather minor factor in wait times and seems to be shown in their data. The summer MK wait times are between 70-90 minutes so they just say 80 minutes every day and claim "See we are always close". They don't predict daily which days are closer to 70 and which are closer to 90.

I am just curious if anyone has seen for themselves (well really their group) that significantly more or less people attended a park compared to another on a given day and if that was a random event or that happens every day. It seems like there would be only a crowd level difference of 1 and it would be somewhat random as to which parks were at 7 and which were at 8.

 

[Willow1213]

Yes, I have seen for myself how accurate these can be. I used Tour Guide Mike for our last trip. On the particular day we were there, he told us to avoid the MK, well, I didn't listen (silly me, I know) and we went anyway. We walked in and over to Space Mountain - 90 minute wait. We turned around and went to Epcot, which he had recommended for the day and Soarin had a 30 minute wait. Yeah, he was right. There really is a difference. Extra magic hours, special events, parades, fireworks, Fantasmic, and all sorts of other things lead to one park being more crowded. It really does make a difference.

 

[anonymousegirl]

I too have seen a difference. I was at WDW in late January and went to DHS one morning for RD. The next morning is was there again for RD but it was much more crowded because this particular day was one of the two days that week that Fantasmic was showing that evening. All the people who did not have park hopper tix were there. The difference between day 1 and day 2 at TSMM was at least 30 mins.

 

[Pig Pen]

I remember going to Epcot on a Wed and it was deserted. We returned on Friday and it was MOBBED. Could not believe the difference in just 2 days.

 

[disneymurtagh]

Extra magic hours, special events, parades, fireworks, Fantasmic, and seasonal events ( beer & wine for example) are really what you can use to predict busy times. It's not a magical study, kinda just plan away from the crowd. MK has early morning EMH one day, they are going to be busy in the AM, try starting at Epcot. When a parade is going down Main St in MK chances are that is where the crowds will be, try AK then. Epcot is busier at night because they have more restaurants in the WSC so alot of people plan for the late day there to eat etc...

 

[ansadler]

Absolutely these are valid reports. I know that TGM and UG use historical data that can predict crowd trends using many factors. I always follow their lead, and they have always been right on. Even at high peak times, if I follow their suggestions, we rarely wait more than 10 minutes for a ride. It sounds a little crazy, but it works!

 

[cjb71870]

Oh, the innocence. It's not just the data they collect, it's common sense if you really think about it. That's my "secret" info - common sense for what's popular at the time and down the list... being 100's of times, there is a plan from park to park and day to day...

 

[rkmassa]

On one of our trips, we went to the park Tour Guide Mike said to go to. Unfortunately, my kids were wanting to go to another park mid morning. Try as I might the logic of TGM was lost on them, so off we went. Even my DH was skeptical. When we arrived at the "other" not so "green" park, we were greeted by lines to just get in the park. After checking out a few long lines, I gave them all the "I told you so" speech, and back we went to our original park. Not a major deal since we were there for 10 days, so losing the time traveling back and forth didn't bother me. It was a lesson well learned by all, except me because I already knew to trust Tour Guide Mike.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

As some of the nighttime entertainment has been cut back it has an artifical affect on the parks. For example, with Fantasmic! only two days a week, DHS will actually have about a 25% greater attendance on the F! days as opposed to other days of the same week. Likewise MK will have a higher attendance level on nights when there will be Spectromagic and/or Wishes! as opposed to the days when they do not have them.

 

[FunSunDisney]

Who or what is Tour Guide Mike? Could someone explain the color chart. I have never heard of that before or where I can find it. Sounds very helpful! Thanks!

 

[DT83097]

Well if the resort bus stops can tell you anything, TGM is right on! DH and I were there in Aug. 2007 and followed TGM's advice every day. Every morning we arrived at our bus stop to head to 'our' park. There were usually 8-10 or more of "them" standing there as well. 'They' literally all got on the bus to one of the other parks and DH and I would be the only two getting on the 'green park' bus. This was the case EVERY morning we were there - I even commented to my DH about it. TGM Rocks!

 

[Sleeping Becca]

There is no question that crowd patterns are different in each park on a particular day.

TGM gives the best park on what day advice.

Last year we did a last min weekend trip, and I didn't look at TGM before we left (we decided to leave the evening before). When went to Epcot on a Sat and were met with a wall of people, we left and went to AK and the crowd was half; sure enough when I checked TGM that evening Epcot was red and AK was green.

 

[OSUChad]

Who or what is Tour Guide Mike? Could someone explain the color chart. I have never heard of that before or where I can find it. Sounds very helpful! Thanks!

Check the top of this page. He is the sponsor of this site. I've used tourguidemike.com for three trips now. His recommendations are excellent. All of my friends are using him as well now.

He has a color chart for each day. It tells you whether it will be red, yellow, or green. Go to the green parks. You'll have a much better day.

Chad

 

[OSUChad]

Oh, the innocence. It's not just the data they collect, it's common sense if you really think about it. That's my "secret" info - common sense for what's popular at the time and down the list... being 100's of times, there is a plan from park to park and day to day...

I once gave a faculty training workshop and had a teacher come to me and the superintendent after the class and say, "All you did was teach us a bunch of common sense. But it was excellent. I absolutely loved it."

I responded, "Common sense is not very common. And common sense packaged really well, is very valuable."

I agree a lot of it is common sense. But my first trip I did what the crowds did. Then I started following some of this common sense stuff that wasn't so common to me, and my family had much better trips. I say Tour Guide Mike is worth a one time payment of $25 or so when I'm spending thousands.

Chad

 

[chemysterygal]

I have to do a "me too" for TGM! For the amount of money spent on our trip, it was WELL worth the $20 or so to get advice about which parks which days, and also a plan for the particular parks and the order one might consider doing the rides in.

We tailored the ride info to suit us, but I would gladly pay again (and will when we get another chance to visit WDW) for the advice. It really helped make the trip much nicer. My original plan was to do the extended hours park each day. Just think how well THAT would have worked out.

 

[ChuckGA]

I guess I was thinking more along the lines of summer time when MK has Wishes and parades every night, Epcot has Illuminations every night, and MGM has F! most nights so that people do not have to schedule around events. I also wonder if Disney is using EMH to balance things out. The previous day of week advice says that MK on Tuesday has far fewer people than on Thursday but MK is now am EMH on Tuesday.

 

[Pixieflip]

And what about over Christmas and New Year's weeks? Is it worth it? Or is it just so packed it might not matter?

 

[emileee]

Ugh....we are 21 days out...have adrs....and I think I might have goofed...should I try and switch it all around....(we only booked 30 days ago).

 

[Jennifer in WA]

Ugh....we are 21 days out...have adrs....and I think I might have goofed...should I try and switch it all around....(we only booked 30 days ago).

Don't worry, we did the same thing. I booked an ADR at CRT a LONG time ago. Booked it for my DD actual 12th birthday. What could be more special than having breakfast in the castle on your birthday?? Well, now I see that it's a RED day on TGM and UG. Oh well, we aren't changing it now. It's a special day, and we will just pack extra patience. She will get the birthday fast passes for the whole family, so we hope that helps. If it's REALLY horrible, we'll hop somewhere else if we have to. I did our ADRs before really looking at the schedule, but I'm not changing them all now. Most are at resorts anyway, so that helps. I'll try to follow the guide for the other days and hope for the best.

 

[emileee]

Thanks for the tip Jennifer... I like the "pack extra patience"...clever.