Checked out early - Parks too crowded.

[ExpatDisneyLover]

Yesterday we checked out of Bay Lake Towers and left Walt Disney World a day early. The hotel was great but my family of four could no longer take the crowds in the Parks.

I get that it is Spring Break, we have Florida Resident Annual Passes, but having school-age kids means we can only visit during vacations and weekends (we only take our kids out of school for Emergencies). We do plan hotel, dinner and FastPass reservations months in advance; so please do not judge.

On Wednesday evening March 15, Space Mountain had a Stand By time of 215 Minutes before it broke down just after the 9PM Fireworks. Sorry, but 30 minutes is my limit for any ride; I wanted to come back in Fall to try Pandora but now we are not going to bother and let our Passes lapse in November.

Can anybody comment on having a similar experience wanting to check out early?

Yes - having lived in Orlando for eight months a few years ago, I find the crowds really intolerable these days. I went for two weeks in December this past year. I ended up spending more time at Universal which was hugely strange for me as I am a Disney fan through and through and intended to spend at least equal time at both (it was my first Universal trip). I had a great rate at Cabana Bay so just spent my two weeks mostly there - and I had just purchased an annual pass for WDW and Universal. I just found WDW really unpleasant and more work than I wanted to do - I only spent three days there - and now I wonder if I will go again before my annual pass expires.

 

[WhispyPixie]

Here now. Seasoned Disney family (20+ trips) Have come during peak times and low times. Have been here on days when MK was closed for high occupancy. Have always LOVED Disney and will continue to do so. It has been a good trip, mainly because we choose to see it that way. With that said..

• Each & every park, Disney Springs and Resort (POR) is beyond packed. Worse than on several Christmas Days that we have attended.
• Times for top tier rides all are over 200 mins. Majority of low tier rides are over 60 mins. Several if the FP lines were rught at 30 mins wait time. Likely hood of getting a top tier FP after you use your first 3 are none, low tier FP are possible but slim.
• Bag check is easily 30 to 45 mins and then another time wait through the metal detector.
• The busses have been running consistently and we have been fortunate, but they are struggling to keep up with the demands. When we needed to be a Resort dinner reservation, I just called Uber.
• The stores are impossible to shop in because they are so packed with people you can't move.
• Moving around, walking or even just standing is a challenge within its self.
• QS, and snack type meals, the lines are easily 20 to 30 people deep. We are on the dining plan, but HATE using the QS and snacks because we simply don't want to waste the huge hunk of time necessary to get a snack.
• We park hop when one park is not managable to simply arrive at another is equally unmanageable, so you are better off sticking it out at the first park aND not wasting the travel time.
• There is a HUGE hunk of time being spent getting from one place to another.
• We have opened the parks and used Magic Hours to best utilze the options. We are getting 1 premium ride in and by the time we get out, others are at 45 to 60 mins wait times.
• It is difficult for me to accept someone saying, do a craft at a resort, swim in 45 degree weather or do something off Disney property. That is NOT what is being paid for. Sure those are options, but not my options.

Now with all this said, although very frustrating we are still having a good time, because we are choosing to make lemonade out of lemons. I do understand the OP's frustration though.

 

[Nancyg56]

Unless she's asking for your advice, I wouldn't say a word.

Here now. Seasoned Disney family (20+ trips) Have come during peak times and low times. Have been here on days when MK was closed for high occupancy. Have always LOVED Disney and will continue to do so. It has been a good trip, mainly because we choose to see it that way. With that said..

• Each & every park, Disney Springs and Resort (POR) is beyond packed. Worse than on several Christmas Days that we have attended.
• Times for top tier rides all are over 200 mins. Majority of low tier rides are over 60 mins. Several if the FP lines were rught at 30 mins wait time. Likely hood of getting a top tier FP after you use your first 3 are none, low tier FP are possible but slim.
• Bag check is easily 30 to 45 mins and then another time wait through the metal detector.
• The busses have been running consistently and we have been fortunate, but they are struggling to keep up with the demands. When we needed to be a Resort dinner reservation, I just called Uber.
• The stores are impossible to shop in because they are so packed with people you can't move.
• Moving around, walking or even just standing is a challenge within its self.
• QS, and snack type meals, the lines are easily 20 to 30 people deep. We are on the dining plan, but HATE using the QS and snacks because we simply don't want to waste the huge hunk of time necessary to get a snack.
• We park hop when one park is not managable to simply arrive at another is equally unmanageable, so you are better off sticking it out at the first park aND not wasting the travel time.
• There is a HUGE hunk of time being spent getting from one place to another.
• We have opened the parks and used Magic Hours to best utilze the options. We are getting 1 premium ride in and by the time we get out, others are at 45 to 60 mins wait times.
• It is difficult for me to accept someone saying, do a craft at a resort, swim in 45 degree weather or do something off Disney property. That is NOT what is being paid for. Sure those are options, but not my options.

Now with all this said, although very frustrating we are still having a good time, because we are choosing to make lemonade out of lemons. I do understand the OP's frustration though.

YIKES!!!! My friends were in WDW he week before I arrived last December, and like you, seasoned WDW vets. They were blindsided as well. I woudl not do crafts either, but I will say that thank goodness we plan th ersorts as part of our vacation, because if all we wanted was the parks, it would be rough!

 

[snowybelle]

Here now. Seasoned Disney family (20+ trips) Have come during peak times and low times. Have been here on days when MK was closed for high occupancy. Have always LOVED Disney and will continue to do so. It has been a good trip, mainly because we choose to see it that way. With that said..

• Each & every park, Disney Springs and Resort (POR) is beyond packed. Worse than on several Christmas Days that we have attended.
• Times for top tier rides all are over 200 mins. Majority of low tier rides are over 60 mins. Several if the FP lines were rught at 30 mins wait time. Likely hood of getting a top tier FP after you use your first 3 are none, low tier FP are possible but slim.
• Bag check is easily 30 to 45 mins and then another time wait through the metal detector.
• The busses have been running consistently and we have been fortunate, but they are struggling to keep up with the demands. When we needed to be a Resort dinner reservation, I just called Uber.
• The stores are impossible to shop in because they are so packed with people you can't move.
• Moving around, walking or even just standing is a challenge within its self.
• QS, and snack type meals, the lines are easily 20 to 30 people deep. We are on the dining plan, but HATE using the QS and snacks because we simply don't want to waste the huge hunk of time necessary to get a snack.
• We park hop when one park is not managable to simply arrive at another is equally unmanageable, so you are better off sticking it out at the first park aND not wasting the travel time.
• There is a HUGE hunk of time being spent getting from one place to another.
• We have opened the parks and used Magic Hours to best utilze the options. We are getting 1 premium ride in and by the time we get out, others are at 45 to 60 mins wait times.
• It is difficult for me to accept someone saying, do a craft at a resort, swim in 45 degree weather or do something off Disney property. That is NOT what is being paid for. Sure those are options, but not my options.

Now with all this said, although very frustrating we are still having a good time, because we are choosing to make lemonade out of lemons. I do understand the OP's frustration though.

Eek! Is it still like that even today (Sat) ? I've been stalking wait times and M-F looked absolutely brutal and how you described, but today's wait times looked more "normal" for peak season (ie. not 200 minutes and just generally what I would expect at for spring break season.)

Have you had any ADRs? If yes, has your experience been that they are generally running on time, or are they way backed up too?

We're headed down to WDW and are managing our expectations the best we can..

 

[anniemae]

Here now. Seasoned Disney family (20+ trips) Have come during peak times and low times. Have been here on days when MK was closed for high occupancy. Have always LOVED Disney and will continue to do so. It has been a good trip, mainly because we choose to see it that way. With that said..

• Each & every park, Disney Springs and Resort (POR) is beyond packed. Worse than on several Christmas Days that we have attended.
• Times for top tier rides all are over 200 mins. Majority of low tier rides are over 60 mins. Several if the FP lines were rught at 30 mins wait time. Likely hood of getting a top tier FP after you use your first 3 are none, low tier FP are possible but slim.
• Bag check is easily 30 to 45 mins and then another time wait through the metal detector.
• The busses have been running consistently and we have been fortunate, but they are struggling to keep up with the demands. When we needed to be a Resort dinner reservation, I just called Uber.
• The stores are impossible to shop in because they are so packed with people you can't move.
• Moving around, walking or even just standing is a challenge within its self.
• QS, and snack type meals, the lines are easily 20 to 30 people deep. We are on the dining plan, but HATE using the QS and snacks because we simply don't want to waste the huge hunk of time necessary to get a snack.
• We park hop when one park is not managable to simply arrive at another is equally unmanageable, so you are better off sticking it out at the first park aND not wasting the travel time.
• There is a HUGE hunk of time being spent getting from one place to another.
• We have opened the parks and used Magic Hours to best utilze the options. We are getting 1 premium ride in and by the time we get out, others are at 45 to 60 mins wait times.
• It is difficult for me to accept someone saying, do a craft at a resort, swim in 45 degree weather or do something off Disney property. That is NOT what is being paid for. Sure those are options, but not my options.

Now with all this said, although very frustrating we are still having a good time, because we are choosing to make lemonade out of lemons. I do understand the OP's frustration though.

Wow! That's crazy. I understand that they are promoting big crowds with all the free dining, marathons, special deals, parties etc. But I wish they would make it better for guests, nobody wants to spend hours traveling and getting through the bag check and metal detectors. I don't know what they could do other than add staff. There needs to places for all the people to go, another park would be ideal, but would take forever to build.

 

[WhispyPixie]

Eek! Is it still like that even today (Sat) ? I've been stalking wait times and M-F looked absolutely brutal and how you described, but today's wait times looked more "normal" for peak season (ie. not 200 minutes and just generally what I would expect at for spring break season.)

Have you had any ADRs? If yes, has your experience been that they are generally running on time, or are they way backed up too?

We're headed down to WDW and are managing our expectations the best we can..

I am sure your trip will be awesome! Please dont think we are not having a good time.. we are!! It does does great planning...and my DH did an awesome job! We also are happy with what we do get to do rather than what we don't!

We have had ADRs each day and gething ready to head to Raglan Road soon. Yeap we know with St patty's this weekend will be insane there...lol. Our ADR'S have gone perfectly! No delays..great food..happy servers. We even got front row table at Hoop Dee Doo Musical...we couldnt stop smiling. Lol

Epcot was Spring Break managable but busy and hot today

 

[thornton0511]

Here now. Seasoned Disney family (20+ trips) Have come during peak times and low times. Have been here on days when MK was closed for high occupancy. Have always LOVED Disney and will continue to do so. It has been a good trip, mainly because we choose to see it that way. With that said..

• Each & every park, Disney Springs and Resort (POR) is beyond packed. Worse than on several Christmas Days that we have attended.
• Times for top tier rides all are over 200 mins. Majority of low tier rides are over 60 mins. Several if the FP lines were rught at 30 mins wait time. Likely hood of getting a top tier FP after you use your first 3 are none, low tier FP are possible but slim.
• Bag check is easily 30 to 45 mins and then another time wait through the metal detector.
• The busses have been running consistently and we have been fortunate, but they are struggling to keep up with the demands. When we needed to be a Resort dinner reservation, I just called Uber.
• The stores are impossible to shop in because they are so packed with people you can't move.
• Moving around, walking or even just standing is a challenge within its self.
• QS, and snack type meals, the lines are easily 20 to 30 people deep. We are on the dining plan, but HATE using the QS and snacks because we simply don't want to waste the huge hunk of time necessary to get a snack.
• We park hop when one park is not managable to simply arrive at another is equally unmanageable, so you are better off sticking it out at the first park aND not wasting the travel time.
• There is a HUGE hunk of time being spent getting from one place to another.
• We have opened the parks and used Magic Hours to best utilze the options. We are getting 1 premium ride in and by the time we get out, others are at 45 to 60 mins wait times.
• It is difficult for me to accept someone saying, do a craft at a resort, swim in 45 degree weather or do something off Disney property. That is NOT what is being paid for. Sure those are options, but not my options.

Now with all this said, although very frustrating we are still having a good time, because we are choosing to make lemonade out of lemons. I do understand the OP's frustration though.

I completely agree with this. We just got home last night from our trip staying at AKL and it was very crowded and the weather was miserable. We still had a blast but it had its obstacles for sure. I don't think we will plan on doing March or Spring break again. Live and learn

 

[mbrown2097]

Still here today. Crowds were 'Odd' today. Parts of the park 'Peter Pan / Small World' were packed immediately at rope drop (50 min) while other areas were manageable until about 10:30ish. Gone were the 200 min time but still had large waits at most rides today. I believe today's crowd was largely parents with young children. Fantasy land was a zoo. Probably more of a strong 7-8 this morning but this afternoon, crowds certainly picked up some. I don't think it got back to a 9 IMO.

 

[mbrown2097]

Oh, Weather was much better today. Not sure what the high was but I got sun burned. Light jacket in the morning and had to lose that by about 11. Down right hot this afternoon. Pool weather. Water parks were back open as well.

 

[GrumpyFamilyof5]

Ds and I just came back on the 15th, it was very chilly the few days we were there and windy. Yes it was also very crowded..I usually try not to go when it shows high crowd levels on the crowd calendars, but I will say it seemed a little more crowded then expected... BUT, not once did we say or even think about leaving our little vaca early. With proper planning it is do-able. Be there at rope drop and get on what you can before it starts getting crowded, be wise about what fastpasses you get and for when. When it starts getting to crowded for your liking, then leave and go relax back at the hotel for awhile, or even visit something else. There is so much to do around the area. Ds and I went to Old Town and played putt putt... then when it calms down toward evening go back to enjoy the park some more! just my suggestion

 

[AngiTN]

• It is difficult for me to accept someone saying, do a craft at a resort, swim in 45 degree weather or do something off Disney property. That is NOT what is being paid for. Sure those are options, but not my options..

What would your option be? To go home? You can't make the crowds go away. You have to, as you said, find a way to make lemonade out of a lemon. Which to me, is what a suggestion of going to the resort to eat or watch a movie is. Swimming isn't the only option left other than a park. I can understand frustration. Can't understand throwing in the towel though. I'm like you, I'd find something to have fun. And yeah, be disappointed I wasn't in the parks but if it's too crowded, it's too crowded. Doing something about them is out of my control

 

[Dug720]

Oh, Weather was much better today. Not sure what the high was but I got sun burned. Light jacket in the morning and had to lose that by about 11. Down right hot this afternoon. Pool weather. Water parks were back open as well.

FWIW, sunburn has ZERO to do with temperature. I've gotten sunburned in very cold weather when hiking in Colorado. It's about exposure, not temperature. If you are not protected from the sun, you run the risk of sunburn.

And ditto cloud cover. People are generally actually MORE likely to get sunburned on a cloudy day because they don't think about applying sunscreen when it's cloudy. But you can still get a nasty burn.

 

[DOOM1001]

Is it possible that the NCAA tournament games in Orlando had an impact on park attendance? The pairings were announced last Sunday and included U of FL, FSU, UNC Wilmington, UMD, UVA among others. Fans of those teams who chose to travel may have decided to go to WDW during their down time since the weather was cold.
Just a thought.

There are a lot of events going on at this time,even if its just a small percentage of people from each event hitting the parks it just adds on to the regular spring break crowds and those who chose to go south to Disney to get out of the cold.Some of the events going on are bike week in Daytona,the Arnold Palmer golf tournament,the Winter Park arts festival,there's a country music festival in Kissimmee,spring training crowds,etc...Today I hit the Winter Park arts festival and then went to Sea World for the ZZ Top concert at their Seven Seas food and wine festival.The concert started at 4pm and I left Winter Park at 2:20,I thought I would get there with plenty of time,instead I got to the Bayside Stadium where the concert is held at 4:15 and they weren't letting anyone else into the seating area as it was full,we could sit in a hilly grass area to the side with a bad view but its a view.How did it take so long to get to Sea World,it goes back to the the topic of this thread,that there's a lot of people in town and apparently many heard ZZ Top was playing at Sea World as I spent 50 minutes sitting in line to get to the parking toll plaza booth at the entrance,and then after going through the booth it was like another 15-20 minutes.I have APs so I wouldn't pay for parking but good job by Sea World as they weren't charging to park,I've seen a backup before to park there before a concert but nothing like today!!I had ideas to go to Universal tonight for Mardi Gras for the Jason Derulo concert but no way,I dont think I can deal with more crowds or getting stuck in some sort of traffic jam again,plus I gotta get up like at 4-5am to run a race in Melbourne.

 

[Klayfish]

I agree that crowds are crowds, but I have to disagree that Disney is doing all they can to alleviate the impact heavy crowds have on guests. I admit that I am somewhat of a Disney apologist, but based on my experience over a Thanksgiving Holiday, I get the OP's issue. It was the only time I came home with a case of Buyers Remorse. WE stayed at the BC while Hurricane Hannahs was down for refurbishment, and because we were staying CL that trip ( We knew about the crowds and knew we would be using the resort more so we had a bit of a backup plan) WE missed the worst of the impact, however it was clear the resort management had no idea how the CM's were burdened, perhaps because they figured folks would head to Epcot. No....a lot of us were using the resort to miss the crowds parks. This resort was UNDERSTAFFED to the point they would pretend not to see a guest who was looking for food service, at the makeshift CS areas. It was terrible, and was contagious, with stressed CM's in all areas of customer service that handled food, such as the marketplace.

Now I am not at all sure that Disney really knows how some of the cuts in place have filtered down to the guest level, but no matter how hard individual CM's work to please guests, and I know how dedicated they are, they cannot solve the underlying issue if there are not enough people. Disney can help by lengthening hours of operation of existing restaurants, but that means more staffing. They can increase the number of gate personnel, maintenance cast members, and folks managing the attractions to ensure that folks are all assisted. We know that entertainment cast members were reduced, and that has an adverse effect in the parks because folks that would be enjoying them are no in queues. The notion that removing entertainment boosts spending is just foreign to me. The shops are crowded, but how many are going over their predetermined budget because they are sick of lines? I am more likely to call it a day, head back to the resort and have a glass of my own wine.

You an I usually agree for the most part, and I agree with many of your points here, but I do think that Disney has dropped a pretty important ball in terms of customer satisfaction with regards to the staffing in the parks. They can and should be booting attendance, but they also should factor how to keep those folks entertained during these incredibly busy weeks.

Well, I guess we'll never really know what the reality is as to what they're thinking or what they're trying to do to make their guests experiences better. Wouldn't you love to be a fly on the wall in high level boardroom meetings? It would be fun to listen in. I'm giving them some benefit of doubt, because when you run a business based 100% on your guests enjoying their experience, it's not good business sense to not try your hardest to make your guests walk out happy. Having guests walk out mad and then vent to anyone who will listen can drive business away. I have no doubt cost cutting comes into play, but there's a balance to be had I guess.

I don't disagree that more CMs can help keep the park cleaner, gives more interaction with guests, etc... But it won't shorten the lines, which is what the source of frustration often is. That's a simple capacity issue, the rides can only go so fast. I suppose that's a "good problem" for WDW to have, because it means people are coming into the parks, but darn...that's one heck of a hard problem to solve if you're WDW leadership. In that respect, I don't envy them in trying to deal with that issue. We were just at Six Flags over Georgia this afternoon. The crowds there are miniature compared to WDW, and they do a horrible job with lines, etc...so it puts what WDW does into perspective for me.

 

[Nancyg56]

Well, I guess we'll never really know what the reality is as to what they're thinking or what they're trying to do to make their guests experiences better. Wouldn't you love to be a fly on the wall in high level boardroom meetings? It would be fun to listen in. I'm giving them some benefit of doubt, because when you run a business based 100% on your guests enjoying their experience, it's not good business sense to not try your hardest to make your guests walk out happy. Having guests walk out mad and then vent to anyone who will listen can drive business away. I have no doubt cost cutting comes into play, but there's a balance to be had I guess.

I don't disagree that more CMs can help keep the park cleaner, gives more interaction with guests, etc... But it won't shorten the lines, which is what the source of frustration often is. That's a simple capacity issue, the rides can only go so fast. I suppose that's a "good problem" for WDW to have, because it means people are coming into the parks, but darn...that's one heck of a hard problem to solve if you're WDW leadership. In that respect, I don't envy them in trying to deal with that issue. We were just at Six Flags over Georgia this afternoon. The crowds there are miniature compared to WDW, and they do a horrible job with lines, etc...so it puts what WDW does into perspective for me.

Don't get me started on six flags!!!

 

[Scar1199]

We were there 3/7-3/16, up until Monday the 13th the parks were what I was expecting, busy but manageable. Then Monday hit and it got stupid crazy. We've only been to WDW 3 times and they've all been over spring break because both my wife and I work at a school, usually end of February start of March. I think it was just a perfect storm that no one could see coming, like others have said the temps dropped and no one was at the pools or the water parks so they all ended up at the parks. I was talking to one of the workers at the popcorn cart by Space Mountain and he said he's worked there for 3 months and has never seen the line that long. The fastpass line for Big Thunder was halfway back to Splash. Star Tours was 90 minutes, but 2 days earlier we did it back to back. Our son rode Everest twice, using the single rider line, in about 10 minutes, but later in our trip that was a 60 minute wait. We did our fastpasses and our ADRs, our boys did swim a bit, basically had the pool to themselves. It sucked because it was probably our last trip for a while, with the Canadian exchange its just too pricey. I get that its Disney and that it will be busy, but Monday to Thursday this week was not fun. I feel bad for any family that saved and this was going to be their only trip to WDW.

 

[jwfla422]

FWIW, sunburn has ZERO to do with temperature. I've gotten sunburned in very cold weather when hiking in Colorado. It's about exposure, not temperature. If you are not protected from the sun, you run the risk of sunburn.

And ditto cloud cover. People are generally actually MORE likely to get sunburned on a cloudy day because they don't think about applying sunscreen when it's cloudy. But you can still get a nasty burn.

Sun was very hot today and it made it feel hot even thought air was cool and it was glaring, not one bit of cloud cover...even though the temps were in the low 70s and low humidity it still felt hot. This time of year starts the strongest sun in Florida and you will fry if not careful. Sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen...absolutely - was the first thing we did before hitting the park today! (we are seasoned Floridians)

 

[Dug720]

Sun was very hot today and it made it feel hot even thought air was cool and it was glaring, not one bit of cloud cover...even though the temps were in the low 70s and low humidity it still felt hot. This time of year starts the strongest sun in Florida and you will fry if not careful. Sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen...absolutely - was the first thing we did before hitting the park today! (we are seasoned Floridians)

Yep! It's also easy to get dehydrated when it is cooler as well. You don't sweat as much, so you don't realize you need water, but you do!

 

[ncc1701]

Not in my opinion. The folks that truly care about March Madness aren't going to plan a trip to WDW.

One of the sites for the 1st two rounds is in Orlando. Once they know their team is there and they can get a room in the area they may go to a park on the off days.

 

[thornton0511]

Oh, Weather was much better today. Not sure what the high was but I got sun burned. Light jacket in the morning and had to lose that by about 11. Down right hot this afternoon. Pool weather. Water parks were back open as well.

GAH it was cold the whole time we were there and finally yesterday as we were leaving the weather started to warm up. Made it soooo much harder to leave!!!!!