Anybody there RIGHT now? How are the crowds?

[Antonia]

We'll be there this very week in 2006. Just wondering how the crowds in the parks are? What about at the resorts? We'll be at WL.

 

[FirstTimertoDiz]

Hi, we just came back yesterday- we were there since last Thursday. The crowds were great- we never waited for more than 15 minutes for anything. The only crowds we really encountered were at MGM for the Osborne lights, but when we were there during the day, it wasn't crowded at all. We didn't do all of the thrill rides since we had ds2 with us, but the lines I saw were very very short. We watched people coming down Splash, and the line said there was a 5 minute wait, but there were a lot of empty boats coming down!

We walked right onto Buzz, Pooh, Peter Pan and IASM at MK, and I even walked right onto Test Track in Epcot, so it was perfect.

We stayed at ASMo, and our parking lot was maybe half full at best. Very light crowds. We ate at WCC in WL, and there were people in the lobby sitting, but even there it didn't seem too crowded.

Have a great time next year- it is a perfect time to go!!

 

[vicceja]

Hi!

We got back on Wednesday and pretty much everthing was walk on or 10 minute wait. The only ride that we had to fast pass was for TestTrack. We rode Soarin 3 times and we literally walked right through. It was great!

 

[jmclester]

I agree. We were there 12/9-12/13. The longest wait we had was at security in the Orlando airport! Didn't need a FP except for Soarin and TT. Walked on TOT, RnRC, Space Mtn many times with no wait. I will be back again in Dec.!

 

[Feralpeg]

Please be aware that this last week was the lull before the storm. It always seems like the crowds are very large immediately following Thanksgiving. They fall off for about a week and a half and then pick up dramatically. I expect the crowds to grow a great deal by the end of this week. I base this on my observations of DTD and the parks which I visit a least once a week.

 

[CAD3655]

We were there from the 5th to the 12th, and it was pretty busy...in the past we would have walked right onto rides...definitely not the case this year it was a 100 minute wait for TT (we fastpassed), 90 minute wait for Soarin (FP again), Peter Pan was 60 minutes, Pooh 60 minutes, Space Mountain 90 minutes same at the big attractions at MGM

 

[KathyFP]

We are here right here now. The crowds have been fine. We have never waited more than 10 minutes for any ride. The only exception was the Spectro parade on Wednesday night. DH went to get us a seat an hour early and the street was already packed. We will wait.

 

[carol-lamb]

We were there 12/8 thru 12/12. I thought it was pretty crowded. I usually go at Easter and in June, so I know what crowded is!!! Definitely not as crowded as then, but more than I expected. AK was not crowded, but it rained the whole day we were there. Epcot was fairly crowded, but did not have to wait much for any attractions. MGM was also pretty crowded, but again, the waits weren't bad. We went to MK a few evenings and it was fine. We were there this Monday and it was very crowded. Most of the crowds were in Fantasy Land, which is to be expected. Long wait times for attractions there. The rest of the attractions weren't bad at all. Had an absolutely fantastic trip. This was my first time at Christmas and it was unbelievable.

 

[Patty3]

We were there from 12/3 to 12/10. I thought it was very crowded at the parks, never made it to AK. We were also there from this August, 8/20 to 8/27. It was more crowded in December than it was in August. I wanted to buy some Ghiardelli candy, on 12/3 afternoon, the line was wrapped around the store. I did not wait, the line was just too long. We were very disappinted in the crowds.

 

[pjv]

We were there Nov 29th - Dec 4th and I thought there were a lot of people, more so than previous years, Soarin was night was 70 minutes to wait ,and Peter Pan was 50 minutes, but one warm day, we only waited 5 minutes for Splash Mountain. Saturday night December 3rd there were ton's of people! But, I still enjoyed myself. Just would pick a different week next time.

 

[SyracuseWolvrine]

Peter Pan isn't necessarily the best indicator of wait time ... No matter how few people are in the park, it seems to always have at least a 30 minute wait.

 

[jwfla422]

We got here yesterday (12-15) and will be here until Wed (12-21). Last night we went to MGM. Low crowds, of course, this was at 5:00. Playhouse Disney show not even half full. Osborne lights were just great walking through around 7:15 - while Fantasmic was on. Didn't feel like cattle this year LOL!! Good plan, but bad when leaving as we left when Fantasmic let out, yipes, bad timing!! Ended up walking back to resort, boat definitely had a 2 boat wait and after walking 15 min a boat finally showed going in the direction of MGM!

MK today not bad in morning, probably comparable to Oct. or May. I think the longest wait we saw was 25 minutes. But, started to get more crowded by afternoon.

I expect the crowds to increase more day by day as schools go on winter break starting this weekend. Dinner was packed at Cape May Cafe. I am definitely glad I made ADR's for this trip. CP was booked solid today as well.

One thing I did notice in the past few days was the transportation, it's been slow...buses, boats and monorail. Took us practically 45 minutes to get from MK to GF today!! Waited 20 min for the monorail and then it just kept stopping between stops, we stopped at least 6 times til we got to our destination. Seems like there should be more being that peak holiday time is just around the corner.

 

[BrianD]

We're at the Grand Floridian now, and honestly, the crowds are worse in the lobby here than in the parks. I think all the Travel Channel & Food Network exposure has gotten the word out. The lines at the Gingerbread house have been very long at times. I saw someone wait in line for the shop to open for 45 minutes, and they were selling out of shingles & ornaments early on in the day. Things settled down a bit around mid-week, but now they've picked up again. Again, the park crowds have been pretty good, though.

 

[triplefigs]

We're at the Grand Floridian now, and honestly, the crowds are worse in the lobby here than in the parks. I think all the Travel Channel & Food Network exposure has gotten the word out. The lines at the Gingerbread house have been very long at times. I saw someone wait in line for the shop to open for 45 minutes, and they were selling out of shingles & ornaments early on in the day. Things settled down a bit around mid-week, but now they've picked up again. Again, the park crowds have been pretty good, though.

Have fun at the GF! We stayed there Nov 29- Dec 7 and had a fabulous trip. It was just wonderful. I can still smell the Gingerbread in the lobby!

 

[BrianD]

Have fun at the GF! We stayed there Nov 29- Dec 7 and had a fabulous trip. It was just wonderful. I can still smell the Gingerbread in the lobby!

Yeah, thanks, we love it here. This is quickly turning into an annual December tradition for us. We've been snacking on all sorts of gingerbread all week!

 

[triplefigs]

Yeah, thanks, we love it here. This is quickly turning into an annual December tradition for us. We've been snacking on all sorts of gingerbread all week!

You are making me jealous. We stayed in Sugar Loaf, and I loved having all those gingerbread cookies at night. And we bought shingles to bring home, but they are all gone. We are already booked for next December and can't wait. Hope you have a magical time. Post a trip report when you get back on the GF thread. Can't wait to hear how the crowds are as we'll be there Dec 16-22 next year.

 

[BrianD]

You are making me jealous. We stayed in Sugar Loaf, and I loved having all those gingerbread cookies at night. And we bought shingles to bring home, but they are all gone. We are already booked for next December and can't wait. Hope you have a magical time. Post a trip report when you get back on the GF thread. Can't wait to hear how the crowds are as we'll be there Dec 16-22 next year.

Sugar Loaf, huh? Now you're making me jealous. We're staying lagoon view for the first time (in Boca Chica) and have already been discussing making the concierge plunge next year. I just wish Sugar Loaf had lagoon views though. I'm loving the view, but I have a feeling I'd be loving the concierge amenities even more! (It would be nice to actually be able to get a last minute dining reservation - they are nowhere to be had anymore, at least for us non-concierge dwellers! )

All right I better go to bed. Tomorrow's our last day, and there are two young alarm clocks in here that will be ready to get up around 6:30! I'll post a full report when we get back!

 

[triplefigs]

Sugar Loaf, huh? Now you're making me jealous. We're staying lagoon view for the first time (in Boca Chica) and have already been discussing making the concierge plunge next year. I just wish Sugar Loaf had lagoon views though. I'm loving the view, but I have a feeling I'd be loving the concierge amenities even more! (It would be nice to actually be able to get a last minute dining reservation - they are nowhere to be had anymore, at least for us non-concierge dwellers! )

All right I better go to bed. Tomorrow's our last day, and there are two young alarm clocks in here that will be ready to get up around 6:30! I'll post a full report when we get back!

Have a great last day! BTW, we got SLC for $391 which was less than LV at rack rate through AAA. I really appreciated the conciege service and loved the snacks! Have a safe trip home.

 

[LoriZH]

We're at the Grand Floridian now, and honestly, the crowds are worse in the lobby here than in the parks. I think all the Travel Channel & Food Network exposure has gotten the word out. The lines at the Gingerbread house have been very long at times. I saw someone wait in line for the shop to open for 45 minutes, and they were selling out of shingles & ornaments early on in the day. Things settled down a bit around mid-week, but now they've picked up again. Again, the park crowds have been pretty good, though.

Hey we were there today too! (we're home now :-( ) anyway, did you see Lou Diamond Phillips? We saw him a couple of times walking around and in Gasperilla's.

Okay the crowds were very managable over the weekend (a bit crowded) but the week was smooth sailing with the exception of maybe soarin (which we LOVED!!) Weather was touch and go though. However, Christmas in Disney was well worth it, one of our best trips ever!

 

[raven69david]

Just got back and the crowds were AWFUL. Too many people. From other threads, MVMCP was sold out for 12/16 & 12/17 so that should tell you how bad it is. The resorts were packed too. If you used your car to go out at night and you had a premium parking spot you can be rest assured it would be gone by the time you got back. I had to park 2 stories up from my hotel last 2 nights cuz the parking was so bad after i made a quick trip to McDonalds by AK. I was at SOG.