Columbus day weekend crowds?

[HollyEpcot]

Just wondering what the crowds were like on Columbus Day and the other days of that weekend this year. Thanks!

 

[Sophie_2003]

It was supposed to be terrible, but...

It POURED all day Saturday, and the longest we lined up was IASW for 20 minutes since the queuing area is covered. We walked on everything else, did Space Mtn three times in a row at 8pm. All the parades got cancelled as far as I can tell, but the fireworks went on in the rain.

Sunday the weather got marginally better and the wait times at Soarin and TT were the standard 60-90 minutes, but by being there by 9am, we rode Soarin 3 times (1 standby and 2 FP).

So, if it had been a beautiful weekend weather-wise, I think it would have been pretty busy. Lucky for us, we were poncho-ready and enjoyed a very quiet and productive Disnet weekend...!

 

[t_catt11]

We found the lines at MK to be somewhat long for the indoor rides early on Saturday - In the early afternoon, Pooh was at 75 minutes, Peter Pan was at 90, Snow White was at 70. Haunted Mansion was at 45.

However, we walked right on to Splash (duh). Haunted Mansion dropped to 20 not too much later, and by the evening, we were able to ride Pooh in 20, walk right on to Snow White, rode (and stayed on for a second ride) of IASW.

Sunday was more of a typical crowd day, we thought - like PP stated, Epcot had Soarin at 90 minutes, Test Track at 60-70, etc. We did feel that the world showcase was much emptier on this day that it had been earlier in the week; we were actually able to get several good samples from F&W booths without stupid waits.

 

[AlixaLock]

Just wondering what the crowds were like on Columbus Day and the other days of that weekend this year. Thanks!

We found the crowds to be, generally, lighter then we expected Sat/Sun because of the horrible weather. Monday felt marginally more crowded because everyone flocked back as the weather improved. In short, I don't think you can use this past Columbus Day as a gauge of the holiday weekend in general, it was a very unusual weekend at WDW!LOL!

 

[SteelerCountry]

 

[jnfr2424]

We were at AK that weekend and we walked right on the Safari and EE
the only thing we had to wait for was Lion King. Then we went over to Epcot and F&WF was still going on strong even with all that rain - the lines were long and trying to eat in the pouring rain was just horrible!

 

[HollyEpcot]

Thanks! Glad everyone had a nice time despite the rain. Sometimes those rainy days @ Disney wind up being the best days!

 

[NYEmomma]

We flew in Sunday and just went to DTD which was incredibly busy. We barely got rained on but it was really overcast so I'm guessing most people decided to skip the parks and hide out in the stores at DTD instead.

We were at Epcot on Monday and it wasn't too awful -- seemed to be pretty typical, but by the time we left World Showcase around 8 p.m., it was REALLY packed back there. A pain to navigate with the stroller & I was glad to be exiting the park.

 

[Scubee]

As others have stated, the Saturday weather dampened the crowds. Most of AK was near walk-on.

Sunday at Epcot was great in the morning (still a few lingering showers), but the afternoon picked up to a moderate crowd. Still very manageable.

Monday at DHS was a healthy moderate. TSMM climbed to 80 minutes, Star Tours peaked around 50 minutes, the Indy stunt show was standing room only in the first 2-3 shows, Backstage Tour was 30 mins. Granted it was an evening EMH park with two Fantasmic showings and was likely a park to avoid. We were only there for a few attractions and had planned a half day. No problem with a RD arrival.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

We were at EPCOT on Sunday. It rained all morning. Living Seas was practically empty, walked right on Nemo. The Land was really crowded with people trying to get in from the rain. Waitied 15 minutes for The Land boat ride. We had fastpasses for Soarin'. Once the rain let up in the afternoon, the crowds weren't bad around World Showcase.

We were at AK on Monday. It was fine in the morning, had a 10 minute wait for Safari and 10 minute wait for EE. Afternoon, it was really hot and really crowded!

 

[Finally08]

We were at Epcot Saturday (the worst day!) and it was NO fun. There were still decent sized crowds...we skipped most of the usual attractions because the kids didn't want to wait (they were soaked and annoyed from the moment we arrived that morning).
I couldn't get over food lines being 20+ people long in that weather. Folks were walking around with drinks and plates of food and it was all just getting poured on, or blowing in the wind. I did notice the only people that seemed to really be enjoying themselves were the drinkers.

That night we went to the outlet mall and got rain boots, sandals, and real Columbia waterproof jackets. We hit MK Sunday morning with a completely different attitude and much better attire and it really made a world of difference. DS also brought along his sombrero that we purchased at Epcot the day before, but it didn't survive real well.

I haven't had a chance to edit much but here's some quick ones. We took very few photos because of the weather (and I have a waterproof housing on my point and shoot)

We were greeted by a firetruck in Tomorrowland trying to find a way out...

 

[Fire14]

Saturday was wet, cold walk on for most part kinda day at HS. Sunday was quiet in Am but crowds picked up towards 11 a at Epcot.

 

[PHXscuba]

We arrived Sunday afternoon and went to MK about 7 p.m. Crowds were lighter than I thought based on my research -- we walked on everything in Adventureland and had no trouble finding a spot in Liberty Square to watch the 10 p.m. MSEP. I saw a lot of people in ponchos even when it wasn't raining, so I think the rain earlier sent more people home earlier. We left after the MSEP in a light rain.

Monday at Epcot wasn't bad, IMO. The weather was good and the only crowds we found were around the Food and Wine booths. Since we knew we had 2 days at Epcot we didn't push hard. We found OK spots for Illuminations near Mexico with about 20 minutes to go and a kind person let my two short kids stand in front.

Honestly, I thought crowds were lighter that weekend than the next Friday at MK and Sunday at HS.

PHXscuba

 

[vinotinto]

We've been twice during Columbus Day weekend - in 2009 and this year. I thought this year the crowds were lighter, but as others have said, it rained Friday afternoon, all of Saturday, Sunday morning, and Monday started overcast, although by 9:00 am, the sun came out. The rain on Saturday and Sunday morning was not a light rain. It was a heavy downpour, non-stop, sometimes windy rain. We wereat DHS on Saturday for EMH, and it was not bad. We rode TSM standby first thing in the morning, and I think we only waited like 20-25 minutes. Not many were braving the ridiculous rain. We did TOT standby and it was only 10 minutes. I think many were discouraged by the outside line. Sunday we were at Epcot and it was pouring once again. The Land had a 20 minute wait, the busiest I've seen, as folks were waiting for Soarin' FP windows to open, instead of going somewhere else. Once the rain cleared in the afternoon, Test Track got very busy, over 60 minute wait. It had been closed during the rain.

I thought overall Columbus Day weekend was doable with a good plan in place. It's a holiday, some are out of school (my kids got 2 days off school), but it's not like Christmas, Easter, or Thanksgiving.