Crowd Calendars

[HollyJoy]

How accurate are the crowd calendars from Touring Plans?

 

[Robo]

Varies.

Which is to say, sometimes they are "on it" and sometimes they "miss."

 

[dlavender]

As accurate as they can be...

Just like a 3 month weather forecast...

 

[gharter]

i use them as a guide, but never believe them. I haven't found one yet to be really accurate. I don't think even Disney can tell you days or weeks ahead how busy a park will be on any given day. Its a best guess scenerio based on limited data.

 

[Klayfish]

How accurate are the crowd calendars from Touring Plans?

On par with Madame Leota...the psychic in the Haunted Mansion.

 

[alh2011]

I used to follow base all my park days off of EASY WDW's crowd calendars and had great success!!! Unfortunately he is no longer posting them which sucks because now I cant decide what one I want to use.

 

[MYD714]

I used to follow base all my park days off of EASY WDW's crowd calendars and had great success!!! Unfortunately he is no longer posting them which sucks because now I cant decide what one I want to use.

Me too!I miss them so much! I've checked three different crowd calendars for my upcoming trip and I've gotten three contradicting opinions. Easy WDW was always so detailed and accurate.

 

[vleeth]

I tried it once and it didn't work for me at all.

 

[maryj11]

I have used Touring Plans for several trips and they were close to accurate but this past trip were way off on crowds I thought. Crowds were higher then what they posted.

 

[maryj11]

I used to follow base all my park days off of EASY WDW's crowd calendars and had great success!!! Unfortunately he is no longer posting them which sucks because now I cant decide what one I want to use.

Easywdw was my number one pick on crowd caledars. I wish he would start doing them again

 

[OneinThree]

How accurate are the crowd calendars from Touring Plans?

Let me break down the crowd calendar index for you:

1-5 very, very busy
5-8 even busier than that
9-10 how bad do you really want to go?

In all seriousness, international travel and Disney promotions have really made it so the difference is negligible. You might catch lightening in a bottle here and there, but I find that to be simply random.

 

[Nancyg56]

I agree with all of the above, Disney is busy. Some days are less crowded than others, however some are busier. It is not easy to predict any longer, so I just use TP as a guide, and then make my plans to fit us, not the schedule. And I plan on busy. I warn my family it will be busy.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

There are no slow times anymore. If you are considering a trip to Disney, well so are ~20,000 other people. Plan for your family's needs and wants.
There are some periods where the crowds ARE very large, but those coincide with Disney's special festivals and events, so if you really want to be at Disney during Christmas... you're just going to have to cope with the fact that ~30,000 other people also want to go during Christmas.

 

[FastPasser.]

There are no slow times anymore.

While there may not be any slow times, there are slower times.

so if you really want to be at Disney during Christmas... you're just going to have to cope with the fact that ~30,000 other people also want to go during Christmas.

Your numbers are way too low.

 

[Eve & Wall-e]

I look at and compare crowd calendars from several different sources. I also look at park hours, using one year ago if the current year isn't available. Then I come up with my own daily plan. Once I have my plan I stick with it and don't try to over analyze it.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

While there may not be any slow times, there are slower times.
Your numbers are way too low.

ha! so very true!

 

[old feller]

I try to remember all the things easywdw use to say in his talks about crowds....if a park has extra magic hours ..the next day would be a good chojce

 

[dreamit]

I try to remember all the things easywdw use to say in his talks about crowds....if a park has extra magic hours ..the next day would be a good chojce

This. I'll also add that party days tend to be less crowded.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

The problem with crowd calendars is lots of people read them and plan accordingly, which means the crowds are higher than predicted. I don't pay much attention to them or I always pay attention to them after I've booked my plans. Seems to go well with me every time. Last trip we booked 3 parks with evening EMH and they were great, though I've always read not to.

 

[SarahC97]

This is the million dollar question. Josh at Easywdw doesn't do them anymore because Disney stopped providing the information he based them on. They also have reduced staffing at lower crowds times, which can make lines just as long as when there are twice as many people in the parks - according to what Josh has said on his website. It's a new ball game and I don't think any crowd calendar can give you predictions as accurate as they could two years ago.

Having said that, I do think the model Touring Plans uses is the most data-driven. You can use it as a loose guide, but I wouldn't live or die by them when planning a vacation.