Actual crowd calendar...

[Meriam]

We just returned from Disney on Saturday. Overall, it was a lovely trip with one big blemish in the middle. Can anyone tell me where I can find the actual crowd level from last week?
This was our first time to Disney in 18 years, and it was predicted to be a 3 (easywdw), but it took over 2.5 hours to get back to AoA after Wishes Wednesday night. Surely that can't be 3/10?
My kids, the ones that didn't have the luxury of a stroller, were in tears -- as were many others -- kinda bursts that magic bubble. It also resulted in a late start the following day. I'd like to give Disney my review of our stay; what's the best venue for that?

 

[Boski]

 

[jtowntoflorida]

We just returned from Disney on Saturday. Overall, it was a lovely trip with one big blemish in the middle. Can anyone tell me where I can find the actual crowd level from last week?
This was our first time to Disney in 18 years, and it was predicted to be a 3 (easywdw), but it took over 2.5 hours to get back to AoA after Wishes Wednesday night. Surely that can't be 3/10?
My kids, the ones that didn't have the luxury of a stroller, were in tears -- as were many others -- kinda bursts that magic bubble. It also resulted in a late start the following day. I'd like to give Disney my review of our stay; what's the best venue for that?

If you went to the MK on a Wednesday, that was a non-party day during party season and while it's only tentatively recommended by Easywdw if you want to catch the nighttime entertainment, the crowds are still going to be high. Easywdw gives an overall expected crowd level, not a crowd level by park. Unfortunately, crowds flock to the MK on non-party days during party season, and taking 2 1/2 hours to get back to your resort on such a night wouldn't be unusual at all, unfortunately. Also, the Yom Kippur holiday seems to have dramatically increased crowds the week you were there. So that overall 3 doesn't mean that the crowd levels at MK would be a 3. In our experience, going to the MK on non-party days during party season is more like a crowd level 8.

Disney never, ever publishes its attendance, but Touring Plans offers an analysis of what they predicted vs. what they saw. I'm not sure if you need a subscription or not to see this information.

You can email Guest Relations with feedback. wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com

 

[Nigel Channing]

How many buses did you have to wait through in order to board the bus? That may have been a transport issue and not necessarily a crowd issue.

I was also there during the same time period and while the crowds were heavier than we anticipated, we never had to wait for a second bus going back to Coronado at the end of the night.

 

[Kathryn777]

Touring plans also publishes an update to what the crowd they "saw" was. Based on ride wait times they put Wed at a 6/10. But I'm guessing the firework/parade crowd was higher from people park hopping

 

[avic77]

If you went to the MK on a Wednesday, that was a non-party day during party season and while it's only tentatively recommended by Easywdw if you want to catch the nighttime entertainment, the crowds are still going to be high. Easywdw gives an overall expected crowd level, not a crowd level by park. Unfortunately, crowds flock to the MK on non-party days during party season, and taking 2 1/2 hours to get back to your resort on such a night wouldn't be unusual at all, unfortunately. Also, the Yom Kippur holiday seems to have dramatically increased crowds the week you were there. So that overall 3 doesn't mean that the crowd levels at MK would be a 3. In our experience, going to the MK on non-party days during party season is more like a crowd level 8.

Good reason NOT to go to MK on a non party night! Thanks for that insight.

 

[Nigel Channing]

Good reason NOT to go to MK on a non party night! Thanks for that insight.

But if you want to see MSEP and Wishes, you must go on a non-party night. We decided to go on the 19th, went on a ride after the Fireworks were over and caught the first bus that pulled up afterwards.

 

[GreatLakes]

This seems to be something that is coming up more and more.

There is a lot of misconception about crowd calendars. A 4 is not half as crowded as an 8. A 4 means you are in the 40th percentile of attendance. If attendance is relatively flat because Disney has evened out the attendance curve you might not notice any difference between a 4 and 8 because it is only a few thousand people total. A 3 today could very well be much busier then a 7 was four years ago because there is less of a difference in the delta between the low and high points in attendence.

As far as I can tell there also a historical component to all the predictions and the changes Disney has made in recent years has evened out crowds and the data set needs time to self-correct for that kind of change.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

But if you want to see MSEP and Wishes, you must go on a non-party night. We decided to go on the 19th, went on a ride after the Fireworks were over and caught the first bus that pulled up afterwards.

We'll hop over on a non-party night, but spending the day there isn't a lot of fun because the crowds are so heavy.

 

[Nigel Channing]

We'll hop over on a non-party night, but spending the day there isn't a lot of fun because the crowds are so heavy.

Agreed. We did something similar, went to Blizzard Beach during the day then MK for the evening entertainment after dinner at Maya Grill.

 

[JennyDrake]

[QUOTE="GreatLakes, post: 54501190, member: 559950"A 3 today could very well be much busier then a 7 was four years ago because there is less of a difference in the delta between the low and high points in attendence.

As far as I can tell there also a historical component to all the predictions and the changes Disney has made in recent years has evened out crowds and the data set needs time to self-correct for that kind of change.[/QUOTE]

DITTO.

I don't put any faith in crowd calendars; I have been going to WDW 3-4x/year (non peak seasons) for 10 years. There is no such thing as "low" crowds anymore. There is crowded, really crowded, miserable and packed.

MK is ALWAYS crowded after 12 pm. Always. For me, it makes a park hopper or AP a necessity; I just can't handle those crowd levels.

Even going on previous year's attendance doesn't help as it is more crowded every year.

PPers are correct that Disney never releases its attendance.

 

[iheartglaciers]

I've found the buses can be really slow at the end of the day no matter what. I went last September when the crowds were really low and before Halloween party time. Most rides were practically walk ons... more popular rides like Toy Story Midway Mania were only a 30 min wait. At the end of the night at MK we waited forever for a bus back to Pop. And that's with hanging out in the park at least 40 mins after wishes.

 

[Meriam]

I knew the crowd would be up, but it was our only chance to see the fireworks, because of the parties. I just had no idea it would be such a nightmare getting back! Disney desperately needs to rethink its transportation system.

For others reading, a cab won't get you back much quicker. When we got back to our hotel, we ran into some people who said it took just as long to get walk to Contemporary and wait for a cab.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

There is a lot of misconception about crowd calendars. A 4 is not half as crowded as an 8. A 4 means you are in the 40th percentile of attendance. If attendance is relatively flat because Disney has evened out the attendance curve you might not notice any difference between a 4 and 8 because it is only a few thousand people total. A 3 today could very well be much busier then a 7 was four years ago because there is less of a difference in the delta between the low and high points in attendence.

This was a great way of putting it - I love the analytical take!

The other thing I think that can be forgotten is regardless of the crowd level there is a flow to the crowds:

Trying to exit MK after the afternoon parade or MSEP...always going to be crazy (Busy in Sept, Busy in July, Busy in December)
Arrive for rope drop...parks will be slow for a little while, especially if you have a good plan (granted the park will fill up quick in Dec than Sept)
Animal Kingdom after 4-5pm...almost always slow
Leaving MK after Wishes...Always Crazy regardless of crowd level

I'm sure there are other general "consensus crowd flows." My thought is even on a crowd level 1 EasyWDW recommended day at MK...after Wishes there will be a stampede, it's just how it is.

 

[GreatLakes]

This was a great way of putting it - I love the analytical take!

The other thing I think that can be forgotten is regardless of the crowd level there is a flow to the crowds:

Trying to exit MK after the afternoon parade or MSEP...always going to be crazy (Busy in Sept, Busy in July, Busy in December)
Arrive for rope drop...parks will be slow for a little while, especially if you have a good plan (granted the park will fill up quick in Dec than Sept)
Animal Kingdom after 4-5pm...almost always slow
Leaving MK after Wishes...Always Crazy regardless of crowd level

I'm sure there are other general "consensus crowd flows." My thought is even on a crowd level 1 EasyWDW recommended day at MK...after Wishes there will be a stampede, it's just how it is.

True. I think you'll have some times of the day that the concentration of people will make the crowds appear larger then they are. Walking through the hub 20 minutes before a parade or leaving right after a night show for example. The hub may feel like a 10 while other parts of the park are as close to a ghost town as MK will ever get.

For the parties the areas around the castle shows and parades or Main Street during the fireworks might be packed while you can go re-ride the mountains like you used to at low attendance times.

 

[stinkpickle]

MK at closing is always fun.

 

[hakepb]

The "good" thing about peak times (I.e. Christmas) Disney knows it's a peak time and appropriately schedules a ton of CM's to work, directing in park traffic, old busses are brought into service ....