Anyone just back...how are the crowds???

[dvcgirl]

We're heading to the world in about ten days and were just wondering what the crowds are like?? Thanks!!

 

[stevepete]

We're going then too and would also like to know what the crowds are like.

 

[Magic2000]

We were there July 2-10; and didn't find the crowds to be bad at all. With fast pass, we were able to ride everything with little wait. Almost every afternoon, we got some rain showers.

But it was definitely HOT!!! Afternoon breaks are a must (nap/swim time!)

 

[QuickGold]

Here are some recent wait times at the Studios: http://www.mgmstudios.org/wait.html

 

[KarenB]

We just flew flew home last night. We went on the 7 night Western Magic then went to WDW July 10-14.

Saturday July 10-kids went to Disney Quest that evening for about 3 hours. They said the lines were short around 8 pm, then it got packed, then died down around 11pm. Adults went to Fulton's Crab House and waited for 40 minutes for a table.

Sunday July 11-Animal Kingdom (am) and MGM (pm and rainy). Crowds weren't too bad except for the Kali River Rapids.

Monday July 12-Blizzard Beach-9am-4:30pm. No or short lines at opening, longer and crowded by lunch time.

Tuesday July 13-MK (am) walked on Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Haunted MAnsion, Pirates, Jungle Cruise withing the first 2 hours. Then it became packed. We went to Epcot around noon-got fast pass for Test Track (return 4:45). People were waiting for Test Track for 2 1/2 hours on stand by!!!
Back to MK-mountain lines about 45 minutes!

Karen

 

[sugermouse]

Just got back (July 2- 11) Its WDW, so its hit or miss with crowds and wait times. One day we waited 30 min. for Mission Space, next day at the same time it was 5 minutes. Crowds were pretty heavy, but they did not ruin the magic. Try MGM at night towards closing. You can get a ton done. Take advantage of early entry and erides.

 

[MagicalMom]

We just got back yesterday. We went to US, IOA & MK. At MK we rode almost every ride early in the morning, with no wait. In the afternoon we used fast passes. At US we again rode nearly every ride with no wait. We worked the park counter clock wise, it worked great. We did end up skipping Shrek, by that time I was so spoiled, that I refused to stand in any line! At IOA we used fast passes when needed, but many of the rides were 10 min. or less wait. We had a great time.

 

[ladybugz11]

WE have about 14 days left, I can't wait! I hope our plan for touring works well.....

 

[zurgswife]

July 6th to July 13th...crowds were heavy....but that isn't what bothered me the most...I must admit the HEAT is what did us in.....extrememly HOT!!!!

We did Christmas Crowds...much heavier and did tons more stuff each day....but the heat in July really slowwed us down....

 

[Lovetherodent]

We were there July 7-14. I have only been to WDW in the summer months, and I can't say the parks were any more crowded than they've ever been. By using fastpass, the longest we had to wait for any ride was 25 minutes.

Last year, we went in early June, thinking we'd avoid some of the crowds. Well, in early June, the MK had Spectromagic and fireworks only on certain nights. So, when we went in to see those events, the park was jammed, jammed, jammed with people.

I do have to say it was really hot. It didn't rain every afternoon like we expected. In fact it only rained 3 of the 8 days were were there--two were brief showers like you'd expect and one rain event lasted several hours. Without that afternoon rain, it got really, really, hot and it didn't cool off much in the evening. Even with an afternoon swim break, we were feeling the heat by day's end.

 

[BCKatie02]

We were there from July 8th through the 12th. The parks were fairly crowded, but we did not have any problems with lines. The longest we waited was about 20-25 minutes--but we really utilized Fast Passes a ton for anything that posted a long wait time. Also, we went to an E-Ride night and did all of the EMHs while we were that and those both really let you get a lot of the popular rides in before the crowds get big.

Hope this helps!

 

[KSgirl]

We were there from July 7 - 11. It's true what they say about the summer months, heat, and crowds. Get to the parks EARLY...you can get so much done! Take a break in the early afternoon (you'll need it), and return in the evening, refreshed and more energetic. Also use Fast Passes wizely. Get rides done in the morning that develop long waits later in the day, and plan to do attractions at the end of the day which are relatively easy to get on....CoP, TTA, Hall of Presidents, and other large loading attractions. We found MK always PACKED by noon to park closing. We visited AK after 4pm and crowds were leaving by the hoards...and the temps were starting to go down, which was a benifit. No problem seeing Festival of the Lion King or TTBAB. We thought MGM and Epcot to be extrememly manageable. Be prepared for the heat....bring water bottles, walk in the shade when possible, and occassionally seek air-conditioned attractions. If you're smart, you can have a wonderful time despite the heat, humidity, and crowds!

 

[WDW_bn_dt_gb]

We were there July 11th thru 18th. I was pleasantly surprised at the crowds. We usually go in Nov., late May or early June. This was our 1st July trip. We were there when the parks opened and toured till about 1:00pm. At this point the parks were becoming very crowded. We left and took a nap/swim break at Pop Century. We returned to the parks at 4:00pm. The crowds were a little lighter by 4:00. They really started to thin out within the next hour or so. We toured until closing. Take advantage of FastPass.

 

[disneyatl]

We were there July 11th-16th. I was quite surprised by the crowds. We normally go in October and I was expecting the crowds to be shoulder to shoulder. We didn't think it was that bad. Yes, parade and fireworks time it was extrememly crowded but that is expected.

Our first day, it rained for several hours but we stayed at MK anyway. A lot of people had left the park.

 

[cortegro]

Can anyone compare the crowds of July (next week) with the Spring Break madness we were in back in March?

We saw 75+ minute waits on splash/space/test track/Peter Pan/ and others!

 

[barb3779]

Just back too - we were there 7/8-7/16. Touring went great !!-things way more manageable than I expected. I wonder if we had such an easy time walking onto attractions because we were there before park opening every day/ then back to the hotel by early afternoon, returning to the parks after dinner (the UG always states that most people don't even bother to arrive until 1-2 hrs after opening and don't have a plan to tour by) - or were crowds just lighter than usual for summer (its been awhile since I had been there in summer so I don't have a comparison)? I'm curious on the observations of any dis vets and cm's.

 

[disneygrl16]

We just got back July 3-18 it was ok there were crowds especially tour groups. We were surprised by how many were at Disney. Epcot was only crowded on early entry because we were getting a fast pass for Mission Space at like 8:41 and it was for 10:41 but we couldn't get another until 10:45 so when we went to Test Track the next available fast pass return time was 5:30! We couldn't do it since we had reservations at the Crystal Palace for dinner. MGM was very crowded on early entry day too the line for Beauty and the Beast was down by the shops at Sunset Boulvevard. The tour groups made the crowds heavier. I won't go to the parks on early entry day next year or if we do we have to get there as soon as it opens and go to a different park towards the afternoon.

 

[swilphil]

Originally posted by zurgswife
July 6th to July 13th...crowds were heavy....but that isn't what bothered me the most...I must admit the HEAT is what did us in.....extrememly HOT!!!

I was there July 10-July 15. I agree with Zurgswife, it's not the crowds but the heat and humidity that bothered us. We went at opening which helped with the heat and the crowds. We were able to do a lot of things before 10 a.m. and we used fast passes a lot

 

[clutter]

We were there the 10th to the 18th. It was generally less crowded than I expected. Less hot, too. Guess that was because we were there during a May heat wave (90s/90s, no breeze), so it was rather comfortable for us.

We did all the night things, didn't manage to get out early much at all. I still thought the crowds were manageable but unpredictible. There were times we walked onto rides (Kali at 10:30, then Dinosaur at 12:30) and times the lines were outrageous. Basically, the best bet was to stay away from the massive tour groups.

We also found that e-ride nights were well worth the money!

 

[barb3779]

I also thought the heat wasn't as bad as we were anticipating - keeping our water bottles filled (Disney has way more water fountains than anywhere I've ever been) and squiriting ourselves down periodically really helped when it got closer to noon. We avoided using earlyentry purposely as TGM starting reporting in June that earlyentry crowds were far worse this summer than before.