Anyone else scared about the all new crowed levels?

[LindsayGorg]

DBF and I went for 9 days in Sept. before all the crazy crowd stuff hit. The week was rated to be 1-3 levels all week, but when we got home there were reports that they were actually 4-7. I hadn't been in 14 years so I didn't really know any better. I do remember feeling like there were a lot of people for the slowest time of the year, but the only time we really felt like the crowds were unbearable were at MK. We did one morning/afternoon and one evening, and the morning at RD was fine - got on about 6 rides in the first 2 hours - but the afternoon and evening were so crowded we could barely move. The evening we went, we couldn't even walk down main street. That night we ended up just doing Splash and leaving because we couldn't take the crowds. However, we still got on everything we wanted multiple times during the week, and the other three parks didn't feel crowded at all. Not to beat a dead horse, but get there before RD, take a break from 12-3 or 4, then head back in, and you'll do fine. We were also able to get 8 FPP one day at MK.

 

[PirateSAM]

We are going the first week of February and I'm nervous about crowds.

We are pulling the kids to avoid crowds and horrible temps, plus lower prices and sneaking in a trip before our youngest 2 turn 3 in June.

I'm very worried about the crowds. We were last there the first week of June in 2010. We never waited more than 30 minutes with the exception of soarin which was about 45-50 minutes because we got to epcot in the evening when all of the fast passes were gone (old system.) The 30 minute wait was for Dumbo which I could have skipped but the THEN 5 year old wanted to ride and our disney trips are all about the kids. Other rides were 20 minutes if we couldn't get fast passes. I'm very worried about long waits with the new fast pass system and huge crowds.

I always go the first week of February. It used to be empty, but has slowly been getting more crowded the past couple years. Even then, I still manage to have a great time and do everything that I want. Sometimes multiple times! This year, I am going a week earlier and staying through the first week of February. Don't worry about it, plan what you want to do and go for it. Hopefully your fastpass plans are for the really crowded rides such as 7 dwarfs mine train and toy story midway mania. My only suggestion is get park hoppers. If a particular park is too crowded for you, switch parks. Odds are it will be less crowded than the one you left.

Best of luck!

 

[jmccoy18]

Ehhhh... we have been during the week between Christmas and New Years many times. (In fact that seems to be the only time we like to go, if you check out my siggy.) As long as you get there at RD and have a decent touring plan you can hit a good 10 (possibly more ) attractions before lunch. We did this easy with level 10(+) crowds.

 

[halfpintpeggy]

We've found that the crowds have gotten really terrible, almost out of hand at times when you can barely walk. That being said, like others have suggested, get there at rope drop! I think this has become a must regardless of the time of year. The days of sleeping in a bit during "off season" seem to be gone unfortunately. Also, if you have anyone vacationing with you that has anxiety issues such as panic attacks in crowds...I would suggest you plan to only be in the parks for a few hours a day due to the crowd levels. We have a couple of family members like this & the increased crowds are extremely noticeable to those with anxiety/panic attack issues.

 

[isabellea]

Not at all but like some of the pp we do most of our rides at RD and the rest of day we take it easy. Either a nap or just a lazy stroll in the parks with a few rides and shows here and there. We have been to WDW often enough that we don't need to fit everything anymore.

 

[alliecat523]

We have only done RD once in all of our years and we typically go during Spring Break. That being said, the crowds still don't scare me. We still manage to ride everything we want without waiting for ages in line. Flexibility and a little bit of planning can definitely work in your favor.

 

[prettypatchesmsu]

We went the last week of Sept into the first week of October this past year, and it was more crowded than we thought it was going to be. It was definitely more crowded than our previous October 2013 trip. It was not horrible or anything (I have been in June ACK!), but it was noticeable. Ride time waits were longer than I thought they were going to be and MK was kind of crazy a few times. We still had a great time. RD is your friend, and we did a lot in the early hours. Later in the afternoon and even late evening had steady higher waits and little 4th FP+ availability. So we just did the best we could, and did most of the "must dos" early in the morning. I made the mistake of doing our FP+ choices earlier in the day to try and maximize being able to get 4th, 5th, etc FP+. Nope. I will not do that again. It totally did not work out. This year, I'm going to do RD and FP+ at our evening or later in the day park. I think I might try for a Wishes or Parade one.

 

[dsdeleon]

What we tend to do is unusual but avoids heat, rain and crowds. I change my entire families sleep schedules to sleep in 2 shifts, like 12PM-5PM and 1AM-6AM. We basically hit RD(or Uni EE), get out of the parks at about 10:30-11 and then show back up at night. I am so excited to get more AK hours in this summer in the night time, will work out perfect for our AKL stay in August.

 

[mumumouse]

I am not a true "newbie" but still sort of new to dis boards. Not new to Disney, but looking for ideas. So hope it is okay to post under Newbies.

I cannot for the life of me find where to post a whole new thread or question on Dis boards. Maybe I am a dis. Found it before, but can't now....

Can anyone give me some idea on what to do our first night of Disney other than the parks? Staying at Pop, so I guess we could cross the bridge and check out AOA??

Not sure if warm enough for pool on March 12th. We could pack our swimsuits in our carry on.

Not Disney Springs.

We have done Chip N Dale campfire, might do that.

Can anyone do the Night Goggles at AK lodge resort?

Thanks for any ideas.

I have AK as a half day on our last day/departure. I guess technically I could change it up and hit a park that night. We arrive at the hotel about 5pm.

Thanks everyone!

 

[kwbrad]

I am not a true "newbie" but still sort of new to dis boards. Not new to Disney, but looking for ideas. So hope it is okay to post under Newbies.

I cannot for the life of me find where to post a whole new thread or question on Dis boards. Maybe I am a dis. Found it before, but can't now....

Can anyone give me some idea on what to do our first night of Disney other than the parks? Staying at Pop, so I guess we could cross the bridge and check out AOA??

Not sure if warm enough for pool on March 12th. We could pack our swimsuits in our carry on.

Not Disney Springs.

We have done Chip N Dale campfire, might do that.

Can anyone do the Night Goggles at AK lodge resort?

Thanks for any ideas.

I have AK as a half day on our last day/departure. I guess technically I could change it up and hit a park that night. We arrive at the hotel about 5pm.

Thanks everyone!

We are arriving the afternoon of March 12th as well. Our plan is a nice dinner then early bedtime. Sunday the 13th is time change, and we live in Texas, so getting up at 6 Sunday morning to get ready for rope drop will be like 4am the day before.

 

[ChimCher-ee]

We went last year the week of 4th of July. I set our expectations very low because of when we were going (some friends of my children were turning 13 on the 4th of July so the timing was unchangeable since the point was for them to be at MK on their bday). We had an amazing time and the ongoing joke of the week was the longest we waited all week was for the stop light at the exit of our resort to turn green. It is totally possible to have an amazing time no matter the crowd level. Of course everyone's strategies will be different but we did RD on the 4th and by the time we sat down for our lunch ADR we were amazed how much we had accomplished. Each night before going to bed I would ask my children (13 years old) if they wanted to sleep a little or RD and the answer was always RD because they loved how much we got done each morning. Our plan of attack was RD, TS lunch then all of our FP in the mid afternoon when lines for the major attractions seemed to be at the highest then a CS dinner and the night time entertainment. We are not take a break mid day people so we did RD and closed pretty much every day. It sounds like a lot but since we were in a time share and each had our own bathroom we only had to get up about 30 minutes prior to wanting to head out which usually meant 7:30am or so which gave us 7-8 hours of sleep which was enough for us to feel rested (probably since those hours we slept we slept like rocks). I was pleasantly surprised by how much we accomplished in our week that is generally known as one of the busiest and wouldn't hesitate to go back during that time. For point of reference, the last time we went was in October when the crowds were significantly lower but I can't say that trip was better because of that.

We were there the exact same time last year (and the year before, and July 2016) and we had a great time. The RD/afternoon FPs combo really works for us, too! We also take advantage of the single rider lines wherever possible.

It's really not an issue when we're deciding vacation dates...Enjoy!

 

[suse66]

We are arriving March 12th as well! Our flight gets in around 11 so we are hoping for a relaxing afternoon soaking up some much needed warmth at Stormalong Bay. We have dinner reservations at O'hana, then are planning to head to MK for a couple of hours. Simply can't wait to be back at Disney!

 

[myadventurebook]

Like many have mentioned, it really is about how you look at it and your expectations. We went in on our mid-December trip expecting "horrible" crowds, and found things to be absoltely perfect crowd-wise. There were no waits over 20 or 30 minutes other than a few headliners here or there and no crowded walkways. On our MVMCP night everything was quite literally a walk-on. That was actually the only day we went to MK because we rode everything multiple times, and we still were able to see the parade, fireworks and get hot chocolate too! We got done everything we wanted and then some in the other parks and got to try new things as well. I really have only once experienced crowds when you could barely walk, and that was in 2012, well before FP+. It was also on a Saturday in MK when there was extended hours and no MVMCP. If you plan well, you should be fine no matter the week you go (other than a few select weeks of course). Have fun!

 

[edolee]

Disney has done a great job of limiting their slow times. Good for them, not so good for us.

Our park strategy has worked well for us, even during very crowded dates. It should work for you too.

1) ropedrop at a non-emh park* (see below for an exception to the emh rule)
2) TRY to ride one attraction that builds lines quickly, if the wait is 10 mins or less. space mountain, peter pan... be careful of 7dmt and the frozen meet and greet. they can have long lines even at opening
2') after the one headliner, NO, NONE, NIX waiting in line the first 2-2.5 hours. Even on REALLY busy days the first couple hours tend to be light for everything but the most popular attractions. (for example, you might walk by 7DMT and see a 40 min wait. damn reasonable for that ride... but during that 40 mins you might get 2 or even 3 others done. so skip it and do iasw, haunted mansion, and be over getting ready to ride btmrr and splash in the same amount of time) if you do this right, you should be able to ride 7-10 attractions in the first 2.5 hours.
3) use fp+ whenever, as long as you honor rule #2. this choice will largely depend on night time plans, the desire for more fp+ etc. you might start using fp+ immediately if you want extras. you might start using them at say, 11am when the crowds grow, or, you might save them all for the evening after you return from a break. (we like to do this)
4) get some lunch. try "be our guest" save time by ordering lunch before you arrive at the park
5) after lunch, do some less popular but still great stuff... ride the train, peoplemover (surprisingly cool), philharmagic, etc.
6) by now, you are at 1:30 or 2, and the park is getting nasty crowded.
7) go to your room, villa, or whatever and get a swim or grab a nap.
8) go back to the park... 3-4 hours or so before closing...
9) use the fp+ you have left on your favorites
10) one note... if you can swing it, try to ride 7dmt during the fireworks. i was a little disappointed in that ride at first, but during the fireworks it is a different & magical experience!

* i avoid emh parks if at all possible... but if you get there at ropedrop, and are willing to deal with even bigger crowds during the rest of the day, they can work very well.

 

[Queen2PrincessG]

Theses days WDW is a year round traveled park for people all over the world. Pulling kids out of school? Never worth it. Also "crowded" is subjective. Have you ever lived in a city with mass transportation, say NYC at 8am on the A train. THAT my friend is crowded. Yes, parks getting to Phase 1, crowded but its really a subjective idea any time in the year other than Christmas, New years and Easter weekend.

Also, i never avoid EMH. Its the last perk of staying on site.

You're asking for advice on something that is a personal feeling.

 

[BlueFairy]

We are arriving the afternoon of March 12th as well. Our plan is a nice dinner then early bedtime. Sunday the 13th is time change, and we live in Texas, so getting up at 6 Sunday morning to get ready for rope drop will be like 4am the day before.

Oh gosh!! We are doing the same thing except we have to wake up at 4am CST on Sat. 3/12 to make our flight. That's going to make Sunday morning even harder. I totally forgot to look for the time change! Thanks for mentioning it.

 

[DiannaVM]

Honestly, before going this last October I didn't feel the need to "research" crowd levels because in my mind October was always a "slow" period and we would be able to tour the park leisurely at our own pace with little waits. Boy was I wrong. That said, the only real horrible day was our second day at MK, which happened to be the only day they weren't having a MNSSHP that week, so that was why it was so freaking crowded. Like walls of people, very difficult to walk around. I don't usually need a break except for lunch and dinner while at the parks, but for our sanity we had to take some breathers. I feel we didn't get much accomplished and by the end of the day we were only going on any ride that we would get on that had less of a 30 minute wait. I will never do MK on a non-party day if I ever go around that time of year. I will just have to sacrifice the MSEP if need be (which was the reason why I chose that day to go in the first place).

However, my sister had gone in the summer towards the tail-end of July/early August and I remember telling her not to expect to ride or do much since it would be crazy. However, it turned out the crowd levels were quite manageable. She said it never got as bad as I described that day at MK in October. She was able to do all the rides she wanted (which at MK is most) and still had time to meet some characters, which in years past was never our priority.

We are planning on going to MNSSHP on the 31st October or 1st of November and stay there until the first MVMCP, which gives us several days to do things. Since we are planning on strictly focusing on party stuff on both party nights, we are already planning on having two full days at MK to make the most of our time because we are already going with the mindset that it WILL be crowded, and not half empty like it used to be 10 years ago.

 

[MrInfinity]

We haven't been since 2012, but we used to go every other year. Always in Sept or Oct. We are planning Sept this year. I always pull the kids out of school, because I don't want to go when it's super crowded, wall to wall people, waiting in long lines for everything. Based on these all new crowd levels, anyone else second guessing going back? I love Disney and it's always been my favorite destination spot, but lately it just sounds awful with all the crowds. Even if I get the FP's I want, if all the other FP's are gone and our only option is to wait in long lines to ride anything else...are we only going to get 4-5 rides in?? We've always gone at RD and would plan to do that this trip as well....but, I have to say...I'm definitely worried about enjoying this trip.....Anyone else feel this way???

I wouldn't worry... People have been suggesting that the non-busy times aren't as good as they used to be since the beginning of non-busy times.

2015: "October ain't what it used to be".
2007: "October ain't what it used to be".
2005: "October ain't what it used to be".

People go to Disney World, see that it is busy and come back and post so, thinking back upon the wonderful memories of trips past and how great they were... forgetting all about how it was crowded back then, too.

So go, it'll be fine. We went in December this year and it was amazing! We were there for a week and rode rode rode all day long... Except for a couple things, we didn't wait over 20 min the entire trip, riding all the headliners again and again. We did do the basic planning... used FastPasses, Rope Drop, etc. 4-5 rides is not going to be a limit unless that's all you want to ride... you can ride that many in the first two hours without using any of your FastPasses. We were riding constantly, the limiting factor for us was not how much we could ride but how we rode everything we wanted and hit a point where we weren't needing to keep riding.

In light of being there on a holiday weekend and having it not be all that bad, we might even start going in the summer. I think the new FastPass has a lot to do with it... when you can do 3 popular attractions during the busiest time of the day, it makes the middle of the day seem so much more productive than before. September was great... if you can miss that first week of school. Lots of heat and rain showers. One of the few things I did not care for regarding the holiday times was the early-close hours for the party nights. So our next trip will not be December for that reason. Other than that, totally not second-guessing going back -- can't wait!

 

[wildviper]

We went four straight years during our daughters' two week spring break from school the last two weeks of March. We never had an issue with crowds. In fact, it was very fun! We love it when there are a lot of people there enjoying the parks. I do concede that it has been 4 years (gasp!) since we were last there and a lot has changed but I know we would still enjoy it!

One strategy we used to make the most of our vacation time was to have a non-park day in between our park day visits. We had 4 day park passes but we would not go to the parks on back to back days. The non-park days were spent at one of the water parks, the beach, shopping, lounging around the resort or visiting other resorts at DW at a leisurely pace.