Any reports on recent attendance levels?

[GoofysPrincess]

Just wondering how crowds have been in the parks lately. Seemed like all the hotels were pretty booked when we made our ressies, so just wondering if it's more crowded than usual this time of year. We leave 11/14, and we're hoping for short lines!

Thanks!

 

[tigger&tigerlover]

We just got back on Oct 26, the CM when we checked in said the resorts were "at capacity". When we went to the parks, it looked busy, but we walked on to many things, and wait times were rarely longer than 15-20 minutes.

We didn't do any early entry parks, but were at the park when it opened, and went back to the resort and took a nap during the afternoon.

Basically, the crowds were enough to have good hours and good firework schedules, without being too crowded.

 

[Doyle]

We just got back on 10/27 and although I heard the Disney resorts were booked, we didn't think the crowds were bad at all. We had a 5 minute wait for Test Track at 10am on a Thursday morning and were able to get a seat a Fantasmic on Friday night just 30 minutes before it began.

 

[Ted and Holly]

We bumped into our CM friends at MK last Thursday night after Wishes. The park was pretty busy on Main Street, but the attractions were not that bad. They did mention that the parks have been seeing some surprisingly higher attendance than usual lately. They did not have any theories as to why, however.

Ted

 

[QuickGold]

To get a listing of wait times at the Disney-MGM Studios every week, go to http://www.mgmstudios.org/wait.html We update it every sunday

 

[markºoº]

We were there 10/24 - 10/28 and thought the parks were very crowded, especially Fri, Sat, and Sun.

It sure looked to me like Fantasmic was standing room only well before the show started on Fri 10/24.

Although the parks seemed crowded, we managed wait times very well and never waited more than 15 minutes. I think FP really helped avoid crowds.

MK on Sunday for MNNSHP was packed. We watched the late parade from Liberty Square and it was wall to wall people. This area had the story telling of the headless horeseman so other areas might not have been as crowded.

EPCOT was also packed on Sunday but was much less crowded on Monday. Some of that is probably due to locals comming for the Food and Wine Festival.

The CM driving the monorail on Sunday said WDW has seen a big increase in crowds over the last couple of months.

 

[3for Me]

Same here - all the CM's and cab/bus drivers, etc... said it was busy, but we really did not see it that much. California Grille on Satruday night was PACKED - but this is true during the "slow" season too. MNSSHP was crowded, but nothing took long to ride and candy lines moved quickly. We saw the first parade on Sun. night, and although it was crowded in Liberty Square, it was not "packed".

We stayed at the Dolphin which was "at capacity" with a convention and yet, the boats were not full, the pool had plenty of people, but I wouldn't say it was crowded. Never had to wait long for transportation, and only took one bus the whole week where people were standing up.

All in all, I would say the crowds were VERY managable, much to my surprise and delight!!!

I will say this - make PS's if you really want to eat somewhere - I did see many people being turned away or asked to wait for a long period of time if they did not have a PS - this happened at several different places at several different parks.

 

[Ducky4Disney]

My DH and I just got back. We went from 10/24 to 10/31 and it wasn't that bad. It was busy but not crowded.

We took it easy Friday, but went to MGM on Saturday and walked on to RnRC twice with a 5 minute wait. We got FP for TOT and when we went back it was "out of order" but we used them later - no problem. We walked on to Star Tours and Muppets.

We were at MNSSHP on Sunday the 26th and it was busy but we walked on to EVERYTING. POC, HM (twice), Splash Mtn, Timekeeper. The longest wait was for the Peter Pan ride!

The rest of the week was great. Epcot didn't feel busy at all and the food and wine festival was good.

I think it was a good time to go.

D4D

 

[Ted and Holly]

We went to Epcot yesterday afternoon. I got there somewhere around 2:30 and we parked in Create 49. Holly got there at 4:15 and she parked in Create 54. There isn't much further OUT than Create 54. Inside the park, it was pretty busy. Of course, with F&W and Three Dog Night playing, it might have been a special circumstance.

When I got there at 2:30, the wait for TT was 35 minutes and M:S was 45 minutes. The FP return times were 8:00pm. As the night went on, the lines for the F&W booths got longer and longer.

Since we had a busy weekend, we left early, so we did not get to see how the crowds were when the park closed.

Ted

 

[Jen S]

My husband and I just got back from being there 10/25 - 11/1. Epcot was packed on Saturday, 10/25. The lines for the F&W booths were awful by early afternoon. Likewise, MK was packed on Sunday, 10/26. It was a tactical error on my part to try to do early entry. We ended up leaving by 1:00. We did do MNSSHP that evening and I really didn't think it was as crowded as it had been earlier in the day. We were able to walk onto most rides including the Haunted Mansion and the Riverboat ride and saw both parades at Liberty Square.

The crowds did seem to let up quite a bit by Tuesday. Most of the F&W booths were walk-ups on late-afternoons and evenings. MK was also much less crowded on 10/31.

We wouldn't hesitate to do it again this same time of year. The weather was absolutely beautiful, with only one day of sprinkles/showers and by the middle of the week the crowds were very manageable.

 

[sy1203]

Just returned from Oct. 24 thru Nov. 1 and found the crowds were not too bad.

I did have a plan of attack and avoided early entry days except for Sunday Oct. 26th (EMH). Only went in the morning and returned to our resort (Port Orleans Riverside) after 10:00 breakfast at Cinderella's Castle to rest up for MNSSHP that night. I did find the party to be too crowded for me but was glad we did it. I was Cruella DeVille and I must have been very convincing as guests were asking me for my autograph.

We avoided the crowds with all the tips from this web site and Tour Guide Mike (excellent advice). If I had not done the extensive planning I think we would have dealt with more crowds than we did.

Crowd Advice:

DO NOT go to MK on Saturday except for Spectro/Wishes. If there are 2 spectros see the later one.

Avoid early entry days.

Arrive at park opening and ride popular attractions first. If park opens at 9:00 be at bus stop by 8:15.

Go to Typhoon Lagoon during the week. (Not on weekends)



Best Food Advice:

Le Cellier in Canada

California Grille in the Contempory Resort



Worst Food:

Mickeys Back Yard BBQ (very disappointed) Should have gone to Hoop De Doo instead.

We had a wonderful trip and hope you do too.

I hope this helps anyone going soon. If you have any questions feel free to reply.

Enjoy!

 

[Alison Wonderland]

I just got back and agree--early entry days--go to another park. We walked on to almost everything at every park we went to. This past 4 days was great--perfect weather and no long lines.