Checked out early - Parks too crowded.

[TwoMisfits]

I guess. But why post a question sparking a discussion you have no intention of participating in?

I think if the 1st 10 posts had been 100% supportive, then his posting may have been different...but they weren't. Sometimes you post for support - when you don't find it, you leave (I can't tell you how many social media posts I see get deleted entirely by an op when the same "not entirely supportive" trend plays out)...

 

[uccats97]

No. The OP was venting and probably is not in the mood to argue. It's okay with me.

Agreed! Just hoping OP has had time to recharge and reconsider the fall trip that was originally planned.

 

[Nancyg56]

Part of the problem is that it is called the Walt Disney World Resort. Resort implies a place of leisure. Doing fun things! When you don't get to do enough fun things or spend a lot of time waiting on line for food or the bathroom, it doesn't feel like a resort.

Perhaps they should call it the Walt Disney World Very-Hard-Place!

Lol! I think that part of the problem is that people may focus just on parks. That's fine, but you really need to be aware of crowds if that's your reason to be there.

The wdw resort complex really is a resort, but it is not "all inclusive," so many extras cost additional money. There is golfing, pontoon boats, movies, all available. All more money. If as a family you are not prepared or not inclined, and don't like the activities that are free.... well your trip might be a bust.

 

[Nancyg56]

Agreed! Just hoping OP has had time to recharge and reconsider the fall trip that was originally planned.

Several years ago my family had a less than stellar trip and it took a while for me to let the buyers remorse go. It was kind of like childbirth....once I started planning the new one the old pains were forgotten! Lol! But I did not even consider planning a trip for about a year.

 

[BigredNole]

Only 215 minutes? I remember in the 70s that it was 2 hours just to get inside Space Mountain. Then, it was another 2 hours once you got inside. The same went for BTMRR. The line went all the way back to PotC. If you don't like crowds, you need to go during the "slow" periods. Even then, it is now crowded. You either have to learn to deal with it or not go.

 

[dlavender]

I commend the OP for leaving.

Crowds are one thing, but 9 and 10's are really hard to handle. Personally, I would have just done the "boring" shows, CoP, Tiki, Swiss Family, Country Bears. However, if you've met the end of your enjoyment, it's time to go. No need to stick around and do crafts. With small kids, I definitely empathize. Keeping them entertained in a hotel room is 0 fun. The price of the vacation was a sunk cost at that point. No reason to keep pushing through if you were over it. Pack it up and get em next time!

 

[hsmamato2]

I wouldn't...... of course we fly,so we're tied to that schedule too..... I would adjust and go elsewhere mid trip if I had to though.... I'd do the super early parks thing,then use my afternoons and evenings to enjoy WDW minus the crowds..... it's all how you view things IMHO- I've found that when one place in WDW is super crowded, there are other places that aren't..... and hanging by the hotel pool is what I like to do best anyway,or eat somewhere nice.....

 

[ForeverDisney6793]

I have been to Disney during spring break many times. If one park is crowded, I might go to another or we just start Hidden Mickey searching around the park or perhaps head to a resort to have a drink and Hidden Mickey search there. I can't imagine ever leaving early from my vacation, but my sister did just that a year ago because crowds were unbelievable during the Food and Wine festival. Of course she was driving, so that does make a difference. I am one of those folks who say I would rather be at Disney than at work, but super large crowds can be a real bummer. Looking forward to staying at my home away from home, French Quarter, in May.

 

[thornton0511]

We were there last week, and while we never even considered throwing the towel in and leaving early to go home, I will agree that the combination of the crowds and weather did provide make for a bit of a frustrating week. We planned the best we could and did have expectations for Spring Break crowds, but I think even given the expected crowds this time of the year, last week was more crowded than normal. Unless you were physically there to experience it first hand, please do not assume that people who are reporting the crowds as a bit insane are just being dramatic and should have known better. And the cold weather did not help matters as far as finding other things to do. Physically being outside was not ideal. The forecast had not changed by the time we had left (cruise week before parks) so when we got to WDW the cold front was a surprise for us and we were not super packed for it. I do somewhat sympathize with the OP and understand the frustration part anyways.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Lol! I think that part of the problem is that people may focus just on parks. That's fine, but you really need to be aware of crowds if that's your reason to be there.

The wdw resort complex really is a resort, but it is not "all inclusive," so many extras cost additional money. There is golfing, pontoon boats, movies, all available. All more money. If as a family you are not prepared or not inclined, and don't like the activities that are free.... well your trip might be a bust.

Absolutely. Problem is (at least for me and these darn school calendars!) is that finding those lower crowd weeks are almost impossible now sad to say.

I also agree that you have to look at the place in its whole and not rely on the parks entirely. I have relatives like that. 3-4 hours at rope drop, always stay onsite, pool time, dress up for a fancy dinner ADR, maybe see some fireworks. Done. And they enjoy their trips immensely

 

[Klayfish]

We were there last week, and while we never even considered throwing the towel in and leaving early to go home, I will agree that the combination of the crowds and weather did provide make for a bit of a frustrating week. We planned the best we could and did have expectations for Spring Break crowds, but I think even given the expected crowds this time of the year, last week was more crowded than normal. Unless you were physically there to experience it first hand, please do not assume that people who are reporting the crowds as a bit insane are just being dramatic and should have known better. And the cold weather did not help matters as far as finding other things to do. Physically being outside was not ideal. The forecast had not changed by the time we had left (cruise week before parks) so when we got to WDW the cold front was a surprise for us and we were not super packed for it. I do somewhat sympathize with the OP and understand the frustration part anyways.

I wasn't there last week, so I can't say first hand. But have you been during Thanksgiving week, 4th of July, Christmas? If so, how would you say the crowd compared to those? I've never done spring break week at WDW, but have done the others listed (4th of July I've done at least 4 or 5 times). Yeah, it's really busy, but at least for us, it never lessened our enjoyment or prevented us from getting on some rides. Certainly, nothing was a walk on, but it's not utter chaos...maybe with the lone exceptions of MK on Xmas Day or 4th of July after 6pm.

I still go back to my earlier thought. It's busy, it always will be. While I definitely and truly understand the reasons behind getting frustrated with large crowds, before you even walk in the door you have to wrap your mind around the idea that you're going to the most visited tourist destination in the entire US...on a holiday week. Set expectations accordingly.

 

[thornton0511]

I wasn't there last week, so I can't say first hand. But have you been during Thanksgiving week, 4th of July, Christmas? If so, how would you say the crowd compared to those? I've never done spring break week at WDW, but have done the others listed (4th of July I've done at least 4 or 5 times). Yeah, it's really busy, but at least for us, it never lessened our enjoyment or prevented us from getting on some rides. Certainly, nothing was a walk on, but it's not utter chaos...maybe with the lone exceptions of MK on Xmas Day or 4th of July after 6pm.

I still go back to my earlier thought. It's busy, it always will be. While I definitely and truly understand the reasons behind getting frustrated with large crowds, before you even walk in the door you have to wrap your mind around the idea that you're going to the most visited tourist destination in the entire US...on a holiday week. Set expectations accordingly.

I have not been there during those times. I would say this is definitely the biggest peak time we have traveled hands down, and we understood that and planned accordingly. I think the only point I am trying to make is that for a lot of us we were expecting spring break crowds (let say just for argument an 7-10) and what ended up happening was 10 out of of 10 and it was just a bit for freakishly busy even for spring break. Obviously I am just making up numbers for argument sake. I don't think anyone that was there last week is saying they were expecting moderate crowds nor do I think anyone is saying it was as busy as Christmas Day. All I am saying is the bar is set so high for spring break and last week exceeded that just enough to make people go from "yup this is what I was thinking spring break would be like" to "wow I was not quite expecting this much" if that makes sense. In no way did it ruin our vacation or keep us from having a great time, but I can absolutely sympathize with the OP as far as just being caught off guard a bit with the combo of higher than expected spring break crowds and the cold snap.

 

[ALDSMD]

We were there at Thanksgiving last year. We left the MK on Thanksgiving Day due to crowds. We made rope drop did a few things and then left the park, but we went back to our resort and had a great time swimming and having lunch at the pool. We all had a much better time at the hotel than fighting crowds at the park that day. I don't think we would ever leave vacation early due to crowds.

We are going to Disney for Thanksgiving for the first time with extended family. Seeing you were there last year I would love any advice that you could give us. One of the families is going for the first time and want to make it as stress-free and enjoyable as possible. Would love any suggestions. Thank you in advance.

 

[elaine amj]

We are going to Disney for Thanksgiving for the first time with extended family. Seeing you were there last year I would love any advice that you could give us. One of the families is going for the first time and want to make it as stress-free and enjoyable as possible. Would love any suggestions. Thank you in advance.

Plan, plan, and plan some more. We found Christmas week manageable with lots of planning (we even went slow and did a lot of "smell the roses" type stuff. Having reasonable expectations is another good thing. We had to skip stuff like Spaceship Earth because standby lines there was nuts less than an hour after rope drop. Also had a 20 min line at Journey of The Little Mermaid late in the evening. If you are willing to go about 45 mins before rope drop to be ahead of the crowds and plan your ride order strategically, your morning will go a lot smoother.

We went super early one morning and knocked off 7DMT and Space with no wait. But then my father wanted to play in the arcade with my son followed by a snack for breakfast. That ended up causing us to wait 20 mins for BTMR (it would have been a walkon if we had headed there without stopping). It wasn't a big deal since the moments were more important to us (but it did get my planner self a little edgy - kept my mouth shut though lol!)

Whoa.... each to their own, but you used your phone so much while at WDW that you drained your battery + in just one day at the parks??
That just seems wrong somehow.

MG

Yes, I was irritated when I was there in September. I was checking for FPs, and checking MDE constantly - my phone would last about 1/2 to 3/4 of the day. It is an iPhone 5 so not as good a battery life as the iPhone 6. One time, I had to drop my phone off at Guest Services to charge it there (and argue with them to print me a list of my FP+s - dude at first said he couldn't do it until I showed him the list another CM had printed for me the day before!). Part of it is me though - I tend to like looking at my FP+ list very frequently so that sucks up juice. Add photos and videos to the mix and its easy to run out.

 

[starjazz]

We were there the week before. Definitely not as bad for crowds, but we purposely only scheduled 2.5 days with week on the beach following because we knew it would be a madhouse. We were glad we did.

 

[Crystal824]

We are going to Disney for Thanksgiving for the first time with extended family. Seeing you were there last year I would love any advice that you could give us. One of the families is going for the first time and want to make it as stress-free and enjoyable as possible. Would love any suggestions. Thank you in advance.

We have spent two Thanksgivings there now. Definitely make your ADRs and and FP+ as early as you can. Have a plan but don't try to cram too much into each day as it will be crowded. Also be willing to be flexible. We did a few things on Thanksgiving Day and then left and spent the rest of the day at the resort. I would personally avoid MK on Thanksgiving day and the weekend of Thanksgiving if possible. I didn't take my own advice on that our last trip. Try to manage everyone's expectations if you can and find out what things are priorities for everyone and try to incorporate those things into your plan. My best advice is if it gets too crowded, just leave and go back to the resort. If you aren't having fun, it isn't worth it. Go back, rest, and regroup.

The first year we did MK on Thanksgiving about five years ago. It was crazy crowded. We used our FPs, but after those we weren't have too much fun. Lines were just too long. We wondered around MK and soaked in the atmosphere but we didn't do many attractions. We only stuck around because we had a dinner reservation at Kona. We were staying at POFQ that year. We didn't want to leave and come back for dinner. Last year we stayed at Poly. We went to MK at rope drop ( I told you I didn't take my own advice- we only went there because we were staying so close and I knew we wouldn't want to be at a park all day). We used our FPs+ and did two the Pirate Adventures in Adventureland MK, which my kids loved. It was really crowded though. We watched the Move It, Shake it Parade on our way out and we went back to the Poly a little after noon and spent the rest of the day there. We had lunch at the pool, the kids swam and participated in the kids actives at the pool. We had dinner at 'Ohana that night. It really was a nice day much better than the Thanksgiving we had many years before wondering around the MK trying to figure out what to do.

I'm not sure what your dates are, but we were there for two weeks last November. The week before Thanksgiving and the week of Thanksgiving. It was really nice the week before Thanksgiving. Crowds were manageable. On Wednesday the week of Thanksgiving, it started to get really crowded.

 

[ALDSMD]

We use the Lines app from Touring Plans and find this to be true too. We always have to go during busy times like Christmas and I think the Lines app is one strategy that helps us stay out of long lines. We won't get in line for anything longer than a 30 minute wait.

We have been there for New Year's, Spring Break, Christmas, 4th of July, and Thanksgiving and several of those times, parks were closed for capacity. You definitely have to have your A game on for touring. We try to cram as much in to rope drop or late night EMH and then take a slower pace for the middle of the day.

That said, it does sound like a perfect storm last week. I'm glad that most were still able to have a good time. We don't like the crowds either, but we always try to make the best of it because it's the only way we can go. I think sometimes it's a matter of luck and zigging when everyone else is zagging. I thought the crowds on Thanksgiving at MK last year were easy but saw that a PP thought otherwise. I do think it's possible to have a completely different experience in the same park. Some of it can be perspective and strategy. But sometimes, I think it's just how the cards fall and lucking out to be in the right places at the right times for that little extra pixie dust. I've been there when it's crowded and everything goes your way and also when everything is a struggle. I always figure that we will have at least one "bad" day when things don't go as smoothly. But even on the "bad" days, we still have a great time!

Wishing everyone who is headed there some pixie dust and lots of success with their touring strategies!

Hello! Seeing you have been for Thanksgiving week and we are going for the first time with extended family I would love any advice or suggestions you could give.

Thank you.

 

[BigredNole]

Crowd calendars today are nothing like crowd calendars before. People look at them and think ok, it is a 7 and not too bad. First, there is no reference for that 7. Second, a 7 now is about an hour wait for anything. Many of us were spoiled from trips after 9/11, through the recession, and to where we are now. I do not think there are any 7 days anymore.

At the end of the day, WDW has found a way to get people to come to the parks regardless of what they charge. They are going to find a new way in the next 5-10 years to control the crowds. No, not how to manage them, but to actually control them. They will have enough resort rooms to fill their parks. They will change it from being able to buy park passes to only being able to get park passes through a room package. This will eliminate the offsite guests and then they can increase the room rates to reflect the change. At the end of the day, this will completely block many from going.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I'm late to this party, but I can sympathize with the OP.

While I can't say I've ever ended a WDW vacation early, I can say at least once I wanted to go home early at WDW, and multiple non-WDW vacations.

I've been to WDW over many a peak holiday week. That has never been the problem.

Crowds, in themselves don't bother me, but rude/annoying people do. I've had multiple trips where the overall crowds were not that bad, but the bad behavior I experienced was just atrocious.

I daresay, on multiple trips, the bad behavior was caused by my (extended) family. Other times, I just got fed up with extreme rudeness we saw from other guests- (getting my ankle stabbed to bleeding by a wheelchair foot rest. OUCH! No apology.) Other times, Disney failed us.

For me, WDW's policies have also crossed into no-way would I ever return with extended family territory. The flexibility at WDW used to offer was my trip insurance. I knew that IF we had to leave early, at least my park tickets could be used on a return trip - mostly even after they added the fees. (though they eventually got too high to be worthwhile.)

 

[stinkpickle]

Crowd calendars today are nothing like crowd calendars before. People look at them and think ok, it is a 7 and not too bad. First, there is no reference for that 7. Second, a 7 now is about an hour wait for anything. Many of us were spoiled from trips after 9/11, through the recession, and to where we are now. I do not think there are any 7 days anymore...

Correct. The '7' is just relative to the other days in that year. This year's '7' might be last year's '8'....and a '10' five years ago.