Anyone know why it's so busy right now?

[WillowRain]

Like for real, is this normal? Its like Disneyland times 2, I was expecting much lower crowds from all the research I did. The schedules I made on touring plans have barely been accurate. I'm discouraged, but still having fun.

 

[bumbershoot]

Different people have different breaks. And aren’t we coming up on a three day weekend?

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Marathon last weekend, holiday this weekend. Record cold in the US too, everybody would like some Florida.

 

[pitpat]

Waits don't look bad at all at MK right now. Can you be more specific?

I'm seeing BTMRR, HM, Buzz, Jungle Cruise and Pirates all at 30 minutes or less.

Even Soarin and Test Track are 35 and 30.

I think those are lower than I've seen in months.

 

[wdw&sonny]

It's always busy.

 

[jjjones325]

165 minutes for FOP over at AK according to MDE. I'm not there right now, but that seems downright desolate compared to the normal wait time of 240 minutes.

 

[Action City]

Yes, this week has been MUCH more crowded than I anticipated. It has put a bit of a damper on our trip.

 

[MischaOz]

If I was to wager a guess, I would say because Monday is a holiday. Lots of folks not working on a Monday take a long weekend trip.

 

[CAS239]

Slow times and Disney don't go together

 

[gillep]

I just left yesterday evening and I thought this week was pretty low crowds. End of last week/this past weekend was pretty bad, as I anticipated, but starting Monday morning I thought it was pretty great as far as crowds go!

 

[anomamatt]

It's always busy.

This.

And Monday is a holiday that is historically very busy at WDW.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

Crowd predictions are not an exact science.

We don’t ever hunt for the “perfect time” to go. Nobody really knows how crowded it will be when. We go when our whole party of 10-12 can go. Sometimes it’s busy times sometimes it’s slower.

But, we don’t ever expect low crowds. Then if they’re low we are pleasantly surprised. We’ve had amazing trips during bonkers bananas crowded Easter/NYE trips and amazing trips at the beginning of Sept. when there have been very low crowds. Don’t let the crowds get you down. Next time, just assume it will be jammed no matter when you go and you might be pleasantly surprised

You’re also approaching a pretty busy holiday weekend for WDW.

Have a great trip!

 

[shellyj]

I agree with the OP. We all know Disney is never slow, but in Disney terms, it is surprisingly crowded for this time of year. And I don't think they expected it. Not enough buses running at the beginning of the week, but that's better now. We knew Sunday would be crowded, but it's been packed every day. MK had 40+ min waits for almost everything on Mon and Tues. Never waited so long for the tea cups before! Or the people mover. We're having a blast and glad to be here. Weather is gorgeous for touring and warm enough to brave the pool. I do wish they would have given us more extended evening hours, but early park closings mean dinner at Boma

 

[Donalyn]

I think people have very different impressions of what is "crowded." And DL times 2? Well, the busiest time that I've ever had in a Disney park was at DL last trip. I've been watching wait times and I thought that they looked pretty good.

 

[joyjoy]

165 minutes for FOP over at AK according to MDE. I'm not there right now, but that seems downright desolate compared to the normal wait time of 240 minutes.

Exactly what I was thinking.

 

[Disneylovingmomof2]

Like other said, MLK day on Monday. I think a lot of schools have a teacher in service day tomorrow too.

 

[otten]

I think a lot of it is relative to what you're used to/your expectations too. We were there Jan 6-10. Jan 6 at AK felt very busy. 4 hour lines for FOP and Dinosaur was 1.25 hours in the afternoon. On the other hand on Jan 7 at Epcot we only ended up using our FEA FP because nothing else we wanted to do had much in the way of a wait. MK on the 9th was still very manageable. But the last time I came was October over Columbus Day and it was insane so this past week was nothing by comparison.

I do think the shorter days make it seem more crowded though. You don't have the later hours where the park empties out. No one is waiting until later to do any of the rides and it seems more people stick it out from rope drop to close.

 

[Shanti]

Like for real, is this normal? Its like Disneyland times 2, I was expecting much lower crowds from all the research I did. The schedules I made on touring plans have barely been accurate. I'm discouraged, but still having fun.

1. It's a holiday weekend.
2. Everyone has read online that January is a low-crowd time to go, so more people schedule January trips in search of low crowds. When enough people do that, there is a boomerang effect. That's what happened to fall at WDW.

 

[anomamatt]

I just looked at wait times across all parks and it looks pretty good to me (not that crowded). As someone else said, I guess it depends on your frame of reference.

 

[ArielSRL]

Everyone has read online that January is a low-crowd time to go, so more people schedule January trips in search of low crowds. When enough people do that, there is a boomerang effect. That's what happened to fall at WDW.

And reverse psychology for summer...”don’t go in summer...it’s crazy busy!”
Summer seems to be on the downtrend.