Anyone there now?? Crowds???

[PamNC]

My mom, her two sisters, my first cousin and two second cousins are there right now. Geeez...talk about a grand gathering. Too many people for me, that's why I'm still at home and planning a trip with just me and DH in just under 3 weeks.

Anyway, they went to MGM today and she said it was the most crowded she's ever seen. I think it could be due to Star Wars Weekend. I've never been during that time so I can't say for sure. Are the parks more crowded than usual? Anyone there now who can give us the lowdown? I'm worried about my mom, she's freaking out. But, she won't listen to any of my advice about beating the lines. She arrived at MGM at 11:00 - FIRST MISTAKE. You just can't tell folks anything.

PamNC

 

[ADisneygirl]

We just returned and I can tell you that yes it is crowded. I think summertime is always more crowded due to kids being out of school. We went to MGM on Wednesday so I can't really say that the crowds were due to Star Wars weekend. We did notice a humongous line to just enter a store that was selling all the Star Wars merchandise. Let me tell you, I like Star Wars movies as much as any action/adventure movie, but nothing could make me stand on line to just get in a store!

We just took advantage of FP for the rides we could, returned to the resort to rest/swim in the hot afternoon, and then went out again. Take it from me, a former theme park commando, it really helps to make your vacation more relaxing and enjoyable in the heat of summer to give up the commando style and take an afternoon break back at your resort.

 

[mickeymom629]

Well, today MGM has evening EMH, so anyone who wanted to take advantage of that (maybe some had no hopping tickets) would have been there today.

 

[mrzrich]

just got back two days ago and thought it was more crowded now than last year when I was there in July. I then realized while talking to others on my bus that many of them were Fl residents with seasonal passes. Saturday was the last day before blackout till August 18th. I should have realized this because I too am a resident there for the same reason!

 

[crazyj4488]

I was listening to a podcast with a guy who was just in the parks today. He said the heat was so bad that his wife almost passed out on him. It got dangerous because they weren't hydrating properly. The tropical storm really increased the humidity. They didn't really get on any rides because the lines were too long. They live in Orlando and, typically, goto the parks for the events and other things though. I don't think the crowds are pleasant at all right now and I don't expect this to change until Labor Day.

 

[lbgraves]

WOW! We were there last week and I expected the crowds to be much worse & us not be able to see half of everything in the park. We did MGM on Tuesday for the early hour & thanks to using FPs & CS FPs we did everything we wanted to...and some thing twice! It was extremely hot & humid & we all made sure that we drank alot of water. We had only been to MK in late November & early December so expected it to be MUCH more crowded than we were use to. Even with the downpours on Thursday in MK we did ALOT. We were thankful for the rain though since it cooled the temps down alot. We never used a FP before getting another one. DD & I even stood in line to see Ariel while DH & DS used our Buzz & BTMRR FPs.

 

[Bob P]

I don't think the crowds are pleasant at all right now and I don't expect this to change until Labor Day.

I agree, this is it for the long haul...but the crowds always get better around the middle of August when many schools start to open. Then after Labor Day the parks will be pretty empty again.

Bob

 

[AladdinsPrincess]

To anyone who was there this weekend - did it rain a lot? DH and I were planning to go up for the day on Saturday and we scrapped our plans at the last minute because the forecast was for rain all day. It turned out to be a beautiful day in Tampa though, so we were regretting our decision the rest of the weekend!!

 

[Bob P]

I wasn't there, but accuweather.com says Orlando got .07 inches of rain on Friday, .64 Saturday, and 2.26 inches yesterday. After twelve days in June, Orlando has already received more rain than the average for the FULL MONTH of June. So far June 8 has been the only day this month (and the only day since Memorial Day weekend) without measurable rainfall.

Bob

 

[lbgraves]

We were there last Monday - Saturday and it rained a little on Monday afternoon when we arrived. It didn't rain Tuesday or Wednesday, even though the forecast was the same of thunderstorms every day that week. We had three downpours that passed fairly quickly in MK on Thursday and Friday we had one shower at DTD that didn't last long at all. Saturday it rained for a few minutes around 1, then again at 3:30 when we were leaving. Overall, I was very happy since I had expected to be sloshing around WDW all week.

 

[AladdinsPrincess]

Thanks for the responses! Sounds like we should have gone. I'll take Disney in a light rain over Disney on a hot, sunny day anytime! Oh well, I guess this time of year it's better to just risk it. The darn forecast is always going to say "chance of rain!"

 

[stonecreekboys]

We just got back last night. It wasn't empty but it wasn't the worst we've seen. We had a ball!!! Seemed like most people at our resort (BC) were from Texas. Maybe our strategy avoided most of the crowds but it wasn't bad at all and we have an infant in tow with two older kids.

 

[stonecreekboys]

Oh- and yes it rained a lot, but not continually. Thursday (AK) seemed to be the worst, but we loved the rain sprinkles. Not much heat and lots of cloud cover that kept us fairly cool, but we're used to humidity. Anything is better than the blazing sun!

 

[Nazareno]

we were there all last week.

All parks except for Epcot were close to unbearable.

You must arrive early - leave in the afternoon - and return in the evening.

Only do fastpass for the major attractions.

Stay away from the extra evening hours. We tried them out for MGM and it was a joke - there was no noticeable difference in the crowd - I guess everyone there were staying within the resorts.

E-ticket nights were far less crowded and a much better strategy.

 

[PamNC]

we were there all last week.

All parks except for Epcot were close to unbearable.

You must arrive early - leave in the afternoon - and return in the evening.

Only do fastpass for the major attractions.

Stay away from the extra evening hours. We tried them out for MGM and it was a joke - there was no noticeable difference in the crowd - I guess everyone there were staying within the resorts.

E-ticket nights were far less crowded and a much better strategy.

I'll tell you - I totally agree with you about arriving early, leaving in the afternoon and returning later. But, my crazy family (I'm the OP - read the first post) won't listen to me. They went to MGM yesterday for Star Wars' sake. I told them to be there when the gates opened. Guess what time they arrived? 11:00-ish. Which means 11:30 really. I couldn't believe it. Then the complained about how unbearable it was and how they couldn't get on anything. How hot it was, etc etc. You know, you try to tell people and they just don't listen. Its like they think you're trying to trick them. So, today was Epcot day for them. I called their room at 8:45 a.m. and thank goodness they weren't there.

PamNC

 

[carol1231]

PamNC, I was eager to hear the responses you received. We are leaving in 10 days, I've heard mixed reviews on the crowds. Some say that it is crazy crowded and others have said it wasn't as crowded as expected. I'm expecting it to be a little more crowded than usual, but I've been there at Easter, so this should be easy.

Have a great time!! You'll probably be arriving when we're leaving. Are you flying?, if so, maybe we'll pass you by at the airport.

 

[maccumby]

We just got back yesterday- were there since June 5th. This was our first family trip- I went once as a child (many,many years ago We didn't do any parks on extra magic hours day. I didn't think any of the parks were nearly as crowded as I had expected. We went to Epcot on Saturday avoiding the Star Wars thing at MGM so I don't know anything about that.

 

[LSUDis]

We've been to WDW May 29ish-June 10ish for the past 3 years. We arrived this year on May 30 and left on June 10. This year was the most crowded yet. It did rain almost every day of the first week, then 2 days of hot sun, then, thankfully , rain again.

The Extra Magic parks are zoos after the first hour or two of the day. We stayed at MK for a late night and the lines were still terrible. An example--by 4:30 to 5:00 all of the fastpasses were gone for most rides, standby was 40-85 minutes, and Extra hours did not start until 11:00. So, what are you to do for those hours????

Again, very crowded compared to past 3 years.