Anyone else scared about the all new crowed levels?

[slbgnb]

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???

 

[kj2mom]

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.

 

[dlavender]

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 was nervous as well going this past October. I was certain I would get no FP's, as we only booked two weeks out. We were going to the MK, on a Saturday, and I wondered if it would even be worth it. I was able to get Space Mountain, Buzz, and Dumbo 2 weeks out, and we hit up RD. Got like 10 rides in before 10! That day ended up as a 9 level crowd. You definitely could "feel" the crowds around 2, but by that point, we had already done almost everything we set out to do, and still had 7 hours to go! My advice, if you go at RD to MK, go straight to Frontierland. It is a ghost town for that first hour. You can clear Frontierland and Adventureland in that hour, even on a busy day.

 

[AngiTN]

No, not at all.
I won't pull DGD out of school so we only go in summer or other break time
I don't think it's hard to get things done at all.

 

[1tripandIfell]

I am a little nervous because of all the horror stories lately. But like the PP we are going in with lower expectations and anticipating high crowds. If they are low great surprise, if not we will be with great friends and family so we will just be thankful that we are able to be there at all. We usually do parks open to close and get what we can done and not worry about the rest. Of course this is easier for us since all the kids in our group are usually older (16-20)

 

[han22735]

I'm not worried either. If you plan well and arrive early you can get a ton done even on higher crowd level days.

 

[DHisaDisneyScrooge]

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.

 

[tlmadden73]

I was nervous going in late August with my extended family. I was afraid it would be crowded AND hot. It was less crowded than I thought .. and not as hot .. though it did rain every day (which drove crowds away probably).

My little family (wife,son and me) (because I insisted on getting to parks at opening (or using EMH) and staying later) got on a lot of rides, while my in-laws did not as mcuh .... but since we were there with toddlers (and generally were moving slow as a big group), rides wasn't our main goal .. just enjoying the "experience" as a family was all we cared about.

You just may have to adjust how you do things.
As stated above .. if you go early .. you can get tons done no matter what the crowds look like mid-day.
At MK Fast Passes are readily available for most rides EXCEPT a few big ones (SDMT, A&E M&G) and getting a 4th, 5th or 6th fast pass is sometimes not an issue. I got 6 Fast Passes for rides on a day in October (that was much more crowded than I though).

If your goal is rides, you just need to be driven to do that as efficiently as possible. Just like going to ANY theme park .. get there before the park opens, get the big rides done in the first few hours before most people arrive, then take a break in the afternoon when everyone else is there and crowds are peak (go see shows, take a long lunch .. just relax) .. then plan on hitting more rides in the evening while people with kids are having dinner, leaving, or setting up for the night shows.

You'll get plenty done and won't be exhausted despite a long day.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I've realized the only week left that we can ever go is the last week in August since we won't pull the kids out anymore and that is the only low-crowd week when they are also out of school.

I refuse to go during Christmas, Presidents Week or Easter week which are our only school breaks. I can deal with some crowds but at a certain point it's not worth the money to us.

 

[Chelle's Belles]

Thanks for posting this. I was wondering if I was the only one thinking about not going through with our planned trip. I appreciate that I'm not alone AND all the reassurance from everyone. We'll stick with our usual MO of arriving at RD. That seems to still be the best plan.

 

[Jess30]

Not worried. We've gone in 2012 (oct), 2013 (October), 2015 (may/June), and will go in 2016 (sept).

As long as we've planned well, we've never had a problem with crowds, and get a ton done.

Even people that went over the holidays said the crowds weren't bad if they planned well.

 

[mshanson3121]

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???

We went this year last week of June leading up to July 4th (last day in park was July 3rd). And we had a GREAT time. Yes, it was crowded. But we easily got 6 rides and 6 character M&Gs done in the morning, just by rope dropping. We saved our FP+ for the "big" rides, and then focused on using rope drop for the other rides. July 1st was our last day at MK, it was a morning EMH day, red, non-recommended, crowd level 8, and we were off-site. Should have been a miserable time right? It was probably our best day there. Between 9-11:00, we were able to do all the character M&Gs at the Circus place (4 characters), Under the Sea, Enchanted Tales with Belle (FP+), Mad Tea Party, Alice & Rabbit M&G, Tomorrowland Speedway 2x, and Monsters Inc. Had we not bothered with the M&Gs, we easily could have gotten more rides done, including the bigger rides if we'd rope dropped them. We took an afternoon break, then went back for the evening where our FP+ included A&E, Peter Pan, as well as reservations for BBB and CRT.

 

[Dis703]

I'm not worried at all. Honestly, I've seen quite a few reports of insane crowds in specific parks on days when I was there and didn't feel it was any different from usual. Or in fact I thought the crowd level was pretty low and ride waits were awesome yet others thought it was completely unmanageable (as happened with a sold out Halloween party this year). So I tend to take these reports with a grain of salt. What others perceive as crazy crowds may not be what I think of as crazy crowds.

We had been sporadically in years prior up until about 5 years ago and since then have been pretty regularly. In that time I haven't noticed a difference. I'm sure actual numbers have increased, but not in a way that has impacted our vacations.

 

[Ikeifer]

what is "RD" ?

 

[Dis703]

what is "RD" ?

Rope Drop. Arriving at the park when they open.

 

[slbgnb]

Thanks everybody!! This makes me feel much better. We always do RD, so it sounds like we should still be OK. THANK YOU!

 

[Ikeifer]

Rope Drop. Arriving at the park when they open.

Duh me....I have been telling everyone we have to get there in plenty of time for rope drop. Thanks

 

[Disneylover99]

Scared about the crowd levels? No. But then again, I love to be in the parks during Christmas/New Years.

 

[btk2333]

Absolutely not- I probably wouldn't want to go for New Years or Christmas but the first week of November- January- February I've had no problems with my trips regarding crowds the last year

 

[WIcruizer]

Maybe I'm crazy, but I love going when it's crowded. It just seems more exciting that way. We have been there when it's not very busy and it seemed weird somehow.

With that said, EMH are your friend. We have always taken full advantage of late hours and rarely have had any trouble getting on everything we wanted to. Sure, once in a while we didn't fit in something not very high on our list, but that's fine. We miss something every trip due to a ride being refurbished anyhow.

Like you said, if you go every other year (that's about our schedule too) yea you may miss something here and there, but you'll get to it next trip. All the more reason to go back! You're a pro by now I'm sure, so it's not like you'll only get a few rides in now matter how busy it is. It's just a matter of taking full advantage of FP+ and EMH.