Crowd At Parks And Resorts Past Two Weeks

[subtchr]

I asked them that, they said 7DMT was the only ride you can't do that on. I asked several cast members at
The ride over the course of a couple of days, and got the same response each time.

Did you specifically ask at the PhotoPass desk? Because I have heard of many people who have been able to access their pics that way. Sorry it didn't work for you.

 

[crazedprincess]

We were there Nov 29-Dec 9 and it was busy but manageable. MK was always crazy unless it was a party day. We went into it assuming that there would be more hustle and bustle due to the excitement of the holidays, and with the discounts and free dining, I knew it wouldn't be a ghost town.

 

[wee-haggis]

And yet you say that Universal's Express Pass works better than FP+ -- that's because they make people PAY for it! I appreciate the fact that every guest at WDW can use FP+.



It's a bit of a pain, but you CAN get those pics by stopping at a Photopass desk, or calling, and giving them the time you rode and what your family was wearing. They can find the pics and add them to your account. Not ideal, but you can get them.

Yes....Universal Front Of The Line is much better.I did not pay for it because I was staying at a Universal hotel (I suppose I was paying for it indirectly). But, the fact that there is no limits as to how many you can use during any given day at the 2 parks is a big plus.

 

[DisneyRobin]

Are there now black out days btwn xmas and new years for annual pass holders?

I think I remember hearing about that being new last year. If so, maybe more locals are going earlier in December than usual?

Maybe that last week won't be as crowded as it has been??

 

[subtchr]

Yes....Universal Front Of The Line is much better.I did not pay for it because I was staying at a Universal hotel (I suppose I was paying for it indirectly). But, the fact that there is no limits as to how many you can use during any given day at the 2 parks is a big plus.

Oh, I agree it's "better" in that it is unlimited, more efficient, etc., but the REASON it is all those things is that they are charging for it (directly or indirectly). Don't get me wrong, we stayed at Royal Pacific and loved every minute of having the EP! I just thought it was a bit ironic that you aren't happy with Disney nickel and diming, but then praise Universal for doing just that.

 

[wee-haggis]

Oh, I agree it's "better" in that it is unlimited, more efficient, etc., but the REASON it is all those things is that they are charging for it (directly or indirectly). Don't get me wrong, we stayed at Royal Pacific and loved every minute of having the EP! I just thought it was a bit ironic that you aren't happy with Disney nickel and diming, but then praise Universal for doing just that.

Believe me, it was NOT a full blown praise for Universal. The price for a standard room at Hard Rock was ridiculous (they are as guilty as Disney for gouging) but the fact still remains that their FOTL is superior to FP+ in several ways.

 

[thingwithwings]

We were there 12/4 - 12/10, and while the parks weren't as incredibly quiet as I remember them being on a similar trip when I was much younger (read: 20 years ago, ha ha!), they were noticeably less crowded than on my last trip, in May of 2011. Wait times weren't spectacularly low at all times, but we were able to get same day FP pretty easily for the more popular rides, and the buses weren't too crowded either (that's always my indicator: how long does it take to catch a bus and how crowded is the bus?).

MK was definitely the busiest park--I'd go so far as to say that we didn't see any slow days while we were there, even on party days. Epcot, HS, and AK were all pretty typical in terms of crowds.

 

[bnhonest]

As a side note, this trip was the first visit in which we were able to experience the latest Fastpass method and I have to confess that I hate it. Being able to book them in advance only encourages laziness and favours onsite guests. (Overheard many in lineups grumbling about this).I didn't see any problem with the old method of Fastpass distribution.

I used to love the old fast pass system. Because we always stayed onsite and got park hoppers, I would always RD the EMH park, going to the hottest attraction with key cards to get FP for my entire family while they slept at the hotel. I would actually get the cast members to print them off once my key didn't work, which allowed me to get FP for every attraction in the park. I would then head to a second park to get a second handful of fast passes.

Later, around 11 or 12, my family would meet me at the park with our full stack of fast passes. We never had to wait in any lines. And since they didn't enforce fast pass windows, we could show up any time. It was an awesome system. I don't know why they did away with it either.

 

[Imagineer5]

We were there December 8-13. On Saturday December 10th, the Magic Kingdom crowds were CRAZY. We knew that going in, and spent basically the mornings in the parks then had dining reservations for dinner outside. Still was able to get a ton of stuff done. FP beyond the first three were limited but we were able to find things to do (just not the headliners, although persistence in this area had me checking MDE every so often and I was able to get some things I really wanted).

I find it interesting you said you were last there in December 2014, but I went June (and August) 2014 and used the FP+/magic band system at that time. I have grown to LOVE the system as it allows you to enter a park mid-day and already have 3 FP waiting! It's awesome.

 

[Orsino]

I used to love the old fast pass system. Because we always stayed onsite and got park hoppers, I would always RD the EMH park, going to the hottest attraction with key cards to get FP for my entire family while they slept at the hotel. I would actually get the cast members to print them off once my key didn't work, which allowed me to get FP for every attraction in the park. I would then head to a second park to get a second handful of fast passes.

Later, around 11 or 12, my family would meet me at the park with our full stack of fast passes. We never had to wait in any lines. And since they didn't enforce fast pass windows, we could show up any time. It was an awesome system. I don't know why they did away with it either.

I would guess that this post is exactly why Disney replaced old fastpass. Don't get me wrong, we abused paper fastpass with great regularity as well, but the fact is, paper fastpass hurt guests who didn't game it. FP+ is more equitable for all. Bad for power users, but better for everyone generally.

 

[mom2rtk]

I would guess that this post is exactly why Disney replaced old fastpass. Don't get me wrong, we abused paper fastpass with great regularity as well, but the fact is, paper fastpass hurt guests who didn't game it. FP+ is more equitable for all. Bad for power users, but better for everyone generally.

That was not the way legacy FP was designed to work. If that PP was able to do that, it's only because the CM's at the machines let them. The machines were set up to decline issuing a FP if the ticket had not been used to enter the park.

 

[subtchr]

Believe me, it was NOT a full blown praise for Universal. The price for a standard room at Hard Rock was ridiculous (they are as guilty as Disney for gouging) but the fact still remains that their FOTL is superior to FP+ in several ways.

We are talking in circles here, but yes, the fact is that FOTL is superior. I agree. But the REASON it is superior is because it is limited, by design. When only a fraction of the guests are using it, of course it is going to work more efficiently. Disney could use the exact same design, but instead they have decided to offer a system available for every ticket holder at no extra cost. To hold it up to Universal's system is not an equitable comparison.

 

[subtchr]

...going to the hottest attraction with key cards to get FP for my entire family while they slept at the hotel. I would actually get the cast members to print them off once my key didn't work,

As others have pointed out, the only reason this plan worked for you is because cms were nice. Ticket cards that were not used to enter the park did not work in the FP distribution machines. Ever.

(Having said that, we were FP hoarders, too, we just did it when we were all in the park together. I had several pairs of Columbia nylon shorts that had a zipper pocket on the leg. Even away from Disney, my kids used to call that "Mom's fastpass pocket"!)

 

[HopperFan]

Are there now black out days btwn xmas and new years for annual pass holders?

I think I remember hearing about that being new last year. If so, maybe more locals are going earlier in December than usual?

Maybe that last week won't be as crowded as it has been??

Yes, the lower priced APs that only FL Residents can get are blocked out but there are still APs that are not. But you could be right.

It is also a popular time to go because the hotel rates are lower. I know if we go in December it would have been last week.

To OP -
- Disney's main goal is no slow time and they will cover all angles to be close to full capacity.
- For early December it is lower hotel rates and Free Dining.
- Disney is more crowded than it was a few years back
- I personally don't think you can believe any Crowd Calendars anymore. It's a new ballgame.
- FP+ started in 2013 so you should have experienced it already on your 2014 trips.
- They have fine tuned it a few ways and guests can now get their rolling 4th FP+ on their phone.
- We love the new system and it seems to be working well for Disney.
- We have no issues getting FP+ for most any attraction last minute.
- We have often picked up hard to get ones even the day of.
- And just like the old days, sometime you have to strategize.

 

[bnhonest]

I would guess that this post is exactly why Disney replaced old fastpass. Don't get me wrong, we abused paper fastpass with great regularity as well, but the fact is, paper fastpass hurt guests who didn't game it. FP+ is more equitable for all. Bad for power users, but better for everyone generally.

As others have pointed out, the only reason this plan worked for you is because cms were nice. Ticket cards that were not used to enter the park did not work in the FP distribution machines. Ever.

(Having said that, we were FP hoarders, too, we just did it when we were all in the park together. I had several pairs of Columbia nylon shorts that had a zipper pocket on the leg. Even away from Disney, my kids used to call that "Mom's fastpass pocket"!)

My point was simply that there were ways to game the legacy fastpass system. Easily! I did it and many others did too. I wasn't going to spend $4k to take my family to Disney only to find all fastpasses for Splash Mt gone by noon. Right or wrong, I played by the same rules as everybody else.

That said, and as a retort to the OP, the new fast pass system doesn't allow that. Sure, it benefits onsite guest and those that plan ahead. But it's the best way to manage the sheer volume of people coming through the turnstiles every day. It's a problem Universal doesn't have.

 

[mom2rtk]

My point was simply that there were ways to game the legacy fastpass system. Easily! I did it and many others did too. I wasn't going to spend $4k to take my family to Disney only to find all fastpasses for Splash Mt gone by noon. Right or wrong, I played by the same rules as everybody else.

That said, and as a retort to the OP, the new fast pass system doesn't allow that. Sure, it benefits onsite guest and those that plan ahead. But it's the best way to manage the sheer volume of people coming through the turnstiles every day. It's a problem Universal doesn't have.

There are so many more ways to game FP+ than there ever were for legacy that it's not even a fair comparison. Really.

 

[miamimi]

There are so many more ways to game FP+ than there ever were for legacy that it's not even a fair comparison. Really.

Next time I go I am gathering extra magic bands to schedule rides at the kiosks, I'm going to buy extra tickets on a separate MDE account and book FP+'s through that, but I won't activate the tickets at the turn styles. I'll book a throw away room so that I can get additional MB's that I can use in the parks at the kiosks.

I figure that FP+ allows me to ride all of my favorite attractions and never set foot in a stand by line. I love it!

 

[mom2rtk]

Next time I go I am gathering extra magic bands to schedule rides at the kiosks, I'm going to buy extra tickets on a separate MDE account and book FP+'s through that, but I won't activate the tickets at the turn styles. I'll book a throw away room so that I can get additional MB's that I can use in the parks at the kiosks.

I figure that FP+ allows me to ride all of my favorite attractions and never set foot in a stand by line. I love it!

Don't get me wrong. I'm not above doing any of those things. But don't try to hold the new system up as one that is less likely to be gamed.

 

[SuperTink]

Disney could use the exact same design, but instead they have decided to offer a system available for every ticket holder at no extra cost. To hold it up to Universal's system is not an equitable comparison.

Disney will get around to doing this. Probably sooner rather than later.

 

[BK2014]

DW and I were at WDW from December 1-9. We stayed at the Boardwalk Villas. It was the first trip to WDW for either of us in at least 5 years. We are in our mid-30s and have no kids. We thought the crowds were very manageable the entire time we were there, and that FP+ worked great. But, I suspect that is because we are only two adults with no children or other people in our party.

As far as FP+ is concerned, we usually arrived at rope drop and got on as many rides as possible before our first FPs started about an hour after park opening. At MK, we were able to get a lot done right after rope drop, especially when there were morning EMH. The most crowded day we experienced was at MK on Dec. 7, when there was evening EMH until 1:00am. We arrived at 3, just in time for the parade. We had not expected to make it in time for the parade, but I was very glad we did, it was much better than I had anticipated. It wasn’t too long, but the floats were all very well done.

We had FP for a meet and greet with Tinkerbell, Buzz Lightyear and Jingle Cruise that evening. We also had a 4:20 ADR at Be Our Guest. As soon as we checked in for our last FP at about 8:30, we were able to stand in line and book another FP using the app. So we did this another 4 or 5 times until FP closed at 10:00pm. Since your FP is considered used as soon as you scan into the line, you don’t have to wait until the hour window is up to book another. On a couple of occasions there would be nothing available, but then something would pop up a few minutes later. Now, these weren’t for the Minetrain or other big rides, but we got on the Tea Cups, It’s a Small World, Buzz Lightyear and some other this way – riding with very little wait.

We would often take breaks in the middle of the day, and I would randomly check FP availability at the parks. It was not unusual to find Soarin’ FP pop up in the middle of the day for 9 or 10 at night, depending on the park hours. But again, that was looking for only 2 people. Even on our EPCOT morning, after using our Soarin’ FP at about 11:00am, there were FP available for most of the non-tier 1 rides.

I was surprised that our wait in any FP line during out trip never really exceeded 10-15 minutes, but was usually much shorter.

The other thing that DW and I both thought is that both MK and EPCOT are a lot darker at night than they used to be. But we could just have faulty memories.