Anti- Crowd Level Thread

[wilkydelts]

Looking for a bit more positivity and to draw some attention to all the complaining.
WE GET IT, Disney is crowded and there isn't a "down" season anymore. I started really using Disboards about 2 months ago prepping for my spring break trip to HS and gained a great deal of information especially about Boarding Groups. Lately however these boards are becoming downers and people are just complaining and complaining. They may argue they are just discussing but it is rampant.
New threads are opening regularly regarding "Crowd Levels" and people hop from one to the next and drone on and on, simply restating the same thoughts.
People need to learn to search a topic and comment there and stop creating new threads on "Crowd Levels". I really just hope moderators start combining them instead.

Disney is expensive that doesn't mean Disney owes you anything. Please remember that because if you go in thinking they do you will be greatly disappointed. Disney does not cater to typical guests. Cast Members simply work with in the confines they are given to help make a magical experience.

Plan and have realistic expectations and you will be much happier!

Edit: Hoping this thread doesn't get deleted or moved

 

[ClapYourHands]

Here's the deal: many of us have been on these boards for years. Many of us are experts in the tricks and techniques of dealing with Disney's systems and managing expectations.

What you are seeing with the crowd level thread IS people planning and having realistic expectations.

Yes, we are blowing off steam, but a big part of what we are doing with all those crowd level threads is trying to figure out what we'll need to do if we want to experience ROTR or any of the DHS attractions. We are trying to figure out how many days we'll need to devote to DHS. We're trying to figure out how well previous hacks are working (or not) in the new environment.

For me, traveling alone with a 4-year-old, I'm trying to figure out if DHS is worth it at all this trip. I'm trying to figure out if I should devote two days and try to do all (or most) of it, do one day and get what I can get, or just skip it completely and go for a sure thing in another park where I know my Dis-knowledge will stand me in good stead.

 

[rpb718]

Frankly, the way to get visibility to any issue isn't by hiding it or moving it. And the people who are really starting to complain are the most ardent lovers of WDW.

Sure we know that posting here is preaching to the converted, but if just the "knowledge" that there have been so many posts in the DIS complaining about the crowds can somehow get back to the folks who run WDW it would be a minor victory.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Also, you've been hanging out here for two months. You have gleaned some good advice. That's great.

But you haven't been to WDW yet to see if that advice pans out. You may end up being one of those guests who does everything "right" and still has an app glitch that puts you out of contention for a BG on ROTR.

Some of the people you're complaining about are people who have ACTUALLY EXPERIENCED the DHS crowds. Some of them have been miserable, not because they were unprepared or unrealistic, but because they DID prepare, and their preparation still wasn't enough to get them on the ride.

This isn't to say I hope you have a bad experience. On the contrary, I hope everyone who goes to Disney enjoys their vacation. But you're ragging on people who are huge Disney fans, who know the things you know (and in some cases more than you know), and still were unprepared for how big the crowds are and how poorly Disney is managing the experience. Have a little respect for those who are reporting their disappointments after doing the research, managing the expectations, spending the money, and still being let down.

 

[yulilin3]

Alright folks.
Everyone is entitled to an opinion, the same way the "crowds are high" threads are still open this one will remain open, the OP wants some positive posts, if you cannot do that feel free to move along.
No need for sarcastic statements.

 

[Disneylover99]

Looking for a bit more positivity and to draw some attention to all the complaining.
WE GET IT, Disney is crowded and there isn't a "down" season anymore. I started really using Disboards about 2 months ago prepping for my spring break trip to HS and gained a great deal of information especially about Boarding Groups. Lately however these boards are becoming downers and people are just complaining and complaining. They may argue they are just discussing but it is rampant.
New threads are opening regularly regarding "Crowd Levels" and people hop from one to the next and drone on and on, simply restating the same thoughts.
People need to learn to search a topic and comment there and stop creating new threads on "Crowd Levels". I really just hope moderators start combining them instead.

Disney is expensive that doesn't mean Disney owes you anything. Please remember that because if you go in thinking they do you will be greatly disappointed. Disney does not cater to typical guests. Cast Members simply work with in the confines they are given to help make a magical experience.

Plan and have realistic expectations and you will be much happier!

Edit: Hoping this thread doesn't get deleted or moved

I enjoy reading the crowd level threads. I don’t really find them repetitive. I think they’re interesting and informative and I like to read people’s perspectives. I don’t mind if people chime in on multiple threads.

 

[Disneylover99]

Alright folks.
Everyone is entitled to an opinion, the same way the "crowds are high" threads are still open this one will remain open, the OP wants some positive posts, if you cannot do that feel free to move along.
No need for sarcastic statements.

I didn’t get that impression. It really just sounds like a lecture.
But I do agree. Everyone is entitled to an opinion.

 

[yulilin3]

People coming usually ask me for help planning and the first thing I tell them is to plan for heavy crowds. If the crowds are heavy they are prepared, if it's a lighter day they are happily surprised. The beauty of people being on this board is you have all the tools for properly planning. Just have realistic expectations and have fun

 

[Mome Rath]

I try to see the boards as a place to help others with their plans. So, if you are going to somewhere like DHS that has a lot of people at opening, I feel the best approach is to talk about how to tackle that in the best way possible. Further, the advice has to be tailored to the actual people going (for example, if you are going with a 3 year old that is going to look a lot different than if you don't have little kids in your group, that's why I feel general threads don't always benefit planners). The biggest thing for me is; people are going to go to DHS, so why not help them figure out the best plan of attack, not just scare them with how many people are there.

Then if you have a direct experience with the parks and feel something should be changed, yes, you can talk about it here, but also email Disney. And, if you had a bad go of it, offer solutions for others going in the future.

The biggest positive is that now DHS is a park people want to go to now and they actually have new rides and experiences, as well as opening some more breakfast options. There are still ways of riding with FP's if you plan it out right. What would I want to see changed (and this is still a positive); I'd like to see the Skyliner open earlier, as it would decrease congestion, and I love it as a form of transportation.

 

[Farro]

Hey OP! I'm excited to go May 2021 and I am positive it's going to be a mad house!!!

But I know we'll get on the rides, new and old favorites. And if we don't get to ride ROTR, no big loss. Certainly aren't going to base all our plans around it.

So much will be new for us:

Toy Story Land
Galaxy's Edge
Railway Ride
Rat ride
Frozen ride (for me)
Flights of Passage (for me)
Redesign of Epcot's front entrance (yes, I'm excited to see that)
Bunch of new restaurants
Staying at Gran Destino!!!
Also our first time being there during Flower/Garden.

So yeah, we're excited! I have my issues with Disney (looking at you hotel prices), but we wouldn't be going if we still didn't love it.

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

We visited for a couple of weeks over Christmas 2019. Because of this forum, we knew that the parks, hotels, restaurants etc would be busy and knowing that in advance helped us to manage our expectations and enjoy things like Country Bear Jamboree ( I have no idea why people find this so amusing ), Tiki room, Tom Sawyers Island etc. Normally, we would never ‘waste time’ doing things like this, but we just enjoyed what we could do and even laughed in the pouring rain. In amongst the complaints one often finds really helpful advice.

 

[mkla2015]

I posted in one of the other threads yesterday about our experience which I felt was pretty positive overall. We were there Feb 13-22 and the parks were insanely crowded- ALL parks not just DHS but we had a great time, we rode everything we wanted to multiple times, we were able to get boarding groups for ROTR each day we tried. Just be prepared, don't have unrealistic expectations, go in knowing that it will be crowded, chill out, and have fun.

 

[wilkydelts]

@mkla2015 thank you for your post. Yours is the type I was hoping to present. IT IS NUTS, but you can still be successful. You were honest about your experience without freaking people out

 

[QueenElinor]

As a person who can't ride many of the rides, sometimes high crowd levels can be good because then everything is open. Disney will close down food stands and even some attractions if the crowd levels are low, and those are often the ones that I might want to visit.

 

[Gussie Granger 1969]

Maybe it’s just me, I hear “parks are insanely crowded” all the time on here, then we visit and it’s super manageable and doesn’t seem very crowded to me. Idk, maybe because I lower my expectations.

Our usual time is during President’s week. Our last trip (Feb 2019) against the advice on this board I planned a day at MK on a Saturday. It was the only day we could fit it in our schedule and I kept it. I was nervous going that morning. As we approached the castle (our first ride was PP), I was shocked to see only 10 or so people waiting. Of course, the side to go to Minetrain was more crowded but not that bad at all. We arrived about 30 minutes before rope drop, probably less knowing my family. Looking around, I thought it was quite “dead”. Fantasyland felt empty, after PP and we rode Little Mermaid, Dumbo then Teacups with zero wait. This was MK on a Saturday during President’s week. Go figure.

It’s never as bad as I think it’s going to be. I always approach my planning with this attitude now.

 

[Disneylover99]

As a person who can't ride many of the rides, sometimes high crowd levels can be good because then everything is open. Disney will close down food stands and even some attractions if the crowd levels are low, and those are often the ones that I might want to visit.

That is true. As long as Disney is expecting the crowds. Sometimes they are taken by surprise and the crowds are unexpectedly there but staffing is not.

One of the reasons I love going to Disney over Christmas is because they are so well staffed that week. Park hours are longer and everything is running at full capacity. The crowds seem manageable.

 

[wishicouldgomoreofte]

I posted in one of the other threads yesterday about our experience which I felt was pretty positive overall. We were there Feb 13-22 and the parks were insanely crowded- ALL parks not just DHS but we had a great time, we rode everything we wanted to multiple times, we were able to get boarding groups for ROTR each day we tried. Just be prepared, don't have unrealistic expectations, go in knowing that it will be crowded, chill out, and have fun.

Wow. You had a very successful trip.

 

[rpb718]

@mkla2015 thank you for your post. Yours is the type I was hoping to present. IT IS NUTS, but you can still be successful. You were honest about your experience without freaking people out

A post is just an opinion - different people react differently to various crowd levels. One person's manageable is another person's anxiety attack. If someone freaks out reading the post and then posts a message, that is not on the OP - that is on the person responding.

A lot of the messages complaining about crowd levels are also based on assumptions folks made when they booked their visits. If you look at both January and February, you see some holiday weekends and maybe a race at some point and may also be aware of late February school breaks up north. You assume that the holiday crowds will die down fairly soon after New Years Day, and avoiding the other mentioned weekends or breaks think you know when the crowds will be low - and come to find out you would be wrong. I know someone will say "why didn't they look at the crowd calendars?" Well maybe they did but sometimes when you're booking your stay a year or so out the crowd calendars may not be too accurate. I can do a search online and see right at the top of the results there's a site saying that the best times to visit at the beginning of the year is Jan. 7-11 and Jan. 23-Feb. 14 - so maybe someone booked dates in the Jan. 23-Feb. 14 timeframe. Unfortunately this year there were still high crowds, or more correctly higher then normal crowds than in the past. So either everyone is looking at the same website or making the same type of assumptions on when they think there will be lower crowds.

The issue about crowd level posts for most are that it's not a happy message. Usually the OP isn't a happy camper about it. And of course there will be posts by folks who say that while it's crazy crowded it's manageable and "they" were able to do everything they wanted. The problem here is what does "they" mean. One person's "they" is a couple going to WDW with no kids, and another is a family group closer to a dozen or more people of various ages. I would expect a couple or smaller family group to have a much more manageable time then a larger family group, since they can pivot a lot faster. You get a larger family group along with all the ADRs and FP+s made well ahead of time and there is no pivot room.

I have a planned trip for later this year and so far my itinerary is in a total state of flux due to unknowns (park hours, MMRR, Ratatouille, RotR still doing BG or moved to FP, schedule of EMM and/or DAH - if any, etc.). I'm not freaked out, but will definitely be including a plan B and in some case plan C to be able to quickly pivot.

 

[lcc2]

My first post was deleted by the mods for being sarcastic, so let me just say that as a long-time member who posts my experiences to help others, I am HIGHLY offended by the OP.

Wonder if I am allowed to say that?

Probably not allowed to say it. Looks like if we disagree with OP, the post gets deleted.

 

[wilkydelts]

A post is just an opinion - different people react differently to various crowd levels.

Forgive me if I am interpreting this wrong. I don't think a post is just an opinion, people come here to read stories of experiences. What you experienced isn't just a simple opinion. When people come on here stating they had their worst experience ever, and how miserable and crowded it was, and that Disney has lost them for ever that is not just an "opinion". I agree people need to be more particular and add context as you stated especially so people can see if it matches there setup/family. The point was I was trying to bring to light is how much sky is falling mentality we have been seeing lately. Even when someone like @mkla2015 writes something positive in the other threads it is lost in countless other threads of freaking out or complaining.