Crowd level changes and touring plan tip (for newbies)

[Nancyg56]

ugh same here. our crowd levels for our Oct AK day have jumped from a 5 to 8! we are keeping things as is because I don't want to switch around all our ADRs. taking things with a grain of salt and seeing if things change from now til Oct.

I believe it is because of all the discounts offered. When I planned our October trip last year I was really surprised at how crowded teh parks were. I knew that the crowd trackers were climbing, but until I experienced it....

I also am not changing my ADR's. I figure we will just roll with it.

 

[lauradis]

I was very surprised when I read that crowd levels had changed so drastically. We chose the last 2 weeks of August because summer crowds would begin to decrease then. Last summer was our first time visiting as a family and my first time planning. And having a detailed plan, albeit one that changed as we toured (both thunderstorm and rides going down! lol) still put me a little more at ease. However, in reading the comments from Disney veterans such as yourself, I figure that my limited Disney experience has much to do with my faith in the crowd calendars. I guess I'll just need to return more often to gain that extra Disney experience!

lol, Im a freak out planner, change, change till im happy too.

https://www.undercovertourist.com/orlando/crowd-calendar/august-2015/#calendar
http://www.easywdw.com/category/calendar/08-august-2015-crowd-calendar/


they look like a max of 6 and min. of 3. with no major events. Crowd calendar are just tools to use that tell us the lowest historical park days. Over the years they have gotten better and better. Now if disney would really stick to their schedule of times, extra magic hours, fireworks at 190/200 days out all would be better.

 

[MouseMum]

Read through these:

http://www.easywdw.com/category/cheat-sheets/

I'm curious about all of your most recommended resources for touring. Who do you all choose? Here's EasyWDW's most recent article. Seems like a great way to tour, but I still wonder what impact crowd levels have on his touring recommendations. Would you tour the same but would everything just take a little longer?

http://www.easywdw.com/uncategorize...t-sheet-touring-plan-in-practice-may-20-2015/

 

[lauradis]

We were there last year around that time. I know what the crowds were like. Quite nice. Now this year, a big change. Since looking at the past dates' historical data wow!!! The crowd levels have really changed!! I cannot begin to tell you the forums and discussions I have been involved in that also comment the same.

Some of that is fp+ they take the peak ride time waits as a pre prediction for crowd levels not actual volume of people. Volume of rooms sold is also mingled in there. Which volume of rooms for conferences and sports events throws off the "crowd levels" even if these crowds at the resorts don't attend the parks.

The big numbers you see on the crowd levels are for the peak parks. dont let them freak you out to much. If you have hoppers and want to keep you dining, just hop in for your dining if you cant change it... things will be more solid 09-75 days out. breath and relax.

 

[lauradis]

I'm curious about all of your most recommended resources for touring. Who do you all choose? Here's EasyWDW's most recent article. Seems like a great way to tour, but I still wonder what impact crowd levels have on his touring recommendations. Would you tour the same but would everything just take a little longer?

http://www.easywdw.com/uncategorize...t-sheet-touring-plan-in-practice-may-20-2015/

I do all three easywdw, undercover, and pay for touring plan, none of them are the holy word of touring, I combine them all and pick what is best for our time frame and desires. at about 190 out for dining, then I adjust it at 90 then adjust it at 70, then make my fast passes at 60 and leave it alone till i get the parks.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

My general approach to Disney crowds/touring is (1) expect the parks to all be crowded between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. every day the entire year (2) expect weekends to be worse (3) take advantage of EMH parks by going to morning EMH or staying late for evening EMH (except for DHS - fewer rides and fact that even with evening EMH park closes early means long waits) (4) always make rope drop, regardless of which park you are visiting.

 

[MouseMum]

And why the heck has Touring Plans upped the crowd levels like they did?! No one else has! Rant over.

 

[MouseMum]

ugh same here. our crowd levels for our Oct AK day have jumped from a 5 to 8! we are keeping things as is because I don't want to switch around all our ADRs. taking things with a grain of salt and seeing if things change from now til Oct.

This seems to be the general consensus.

 

[pktbMouse]

Actually, I just did some research and school doesn't start in Florida until August 24 this year. According to current Florida law, schools cannot open any earlier than 14 days before Labor Day.

2014: Labor Day was September 1 and school started August 18
2015: Labor Day is September 7 so the earliest school can start is August 24
I checked some county school calendars for 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 and these were/are the start dates.

OK, I've officially gone off the deep end with Disney planning....

Well shoot....when did they change that without telling me!!...ok ladies we can now all officially go nuts..according to DadsWDW its medium and according to easywdw its a 6 that week..for my own sanity Im going to pretend I havnt seen the rest of them..LOL

 

[lauradis]

Well shoot....when did they change that without telling me!!...ok ladies we can now all officially go nuts..according to DadsWDW its medium and according to easywdw its a 6 that week..for my own sanity Im going to pretend I havnt seen the rest of them..LOL

its part of the planning fun.

 

[wdwpracticalprincess]

yes! officially going nuts!!! LOL!

 

[maryj11]

I'm going to pretend I don't see touring plans crowd levels to !I like easywdw and Kenny the Pirates crowd levels !
What makes me wonder about touring plans crowd levels is that the Saturday at MK when they are having evening EMH is a crowd level of 7 and the Wednesday after that is a 9?

 

[pktbMouse]

I'm going to pretend I don't see touring plans crowd levels to !I like easywdw and Kenny the Pirates crowd levels !
What makes me wonder about touring plans crowd levels is that the Saturday at MK when they are having evening EMH is a crowd level of 7 and the Wednesday after that is a 9?

Right...out of 5 crowd calendar sights I have checked "touring plans" are the ONLY ones that state these high crowd level numbers..sorry but Im sticking whit the majority 6/7 ( and praying Im correct! LOL) when you think about it , it sure would be a good way to boost sales in touring plans by posting high numbers!! Im just sayin..

 

[Rivermonster]

I'm going to pretend I don't see touring plans crowd levels to !I like easywdw and Kenny the Pirates crowd levels !
What makes me wonder about touring plans crowd levels is that the Saturday at MK when they are having evening EMH is a crowd level of 7 and the Wednesday after that is a 9?

I think Kenny the Pirate gives very sound advice. I subscribe to touring plans, but honestly, I trust what Kenny says the most.

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

Well shoot....when did they change that without telling me!!...ok ladies we can now all officially go nuts..according to DadsWDW its medium and according to easywdw its a 6 that week..for my own sanity Im going to pretend I havnt seen the rest of them..LOL

Well, the Touring Plans Crowd Calendar has Summer Break Ends under the "What To Look Out For" column next to Sunday, August 16, 2015. So, apparently no one told them either!

 

[JZCubed]

I'm curious about all of your most recommended resources for touring. Who do you all choose? Here's EasyWDW's most recent article. Seems like a great way to tour, but I still wonder what impact crowd levels have on his touring recommendations. Would you tour the same but would everything just take a little longer?

http://www.easywdw.com/uncategorize...t-sheet-touring-plan-in-practice-may-20-2015/

Take a deep breath.

1st thing is to pick when you are going on vacation. Some people make this decision based on crowd levels; we do not.

Once you've determined when you are going, select which Parks are Best (versus Worst).

I found EasyWdw is likely to have the best information prior to your 180-day dining reservation window.

EasyWdw tells you why parks are best vs. worst; it's not just a best versus worst in a vacuum. These are more guidelines than rules, because you may want to utilize Extra Magic Hours (if staying onsite), and Josh is never going to suggest that a Park with EMH is a Best Park. Also, if you happen to be staying within walking distance to a Park from your resort, a 'worst' Park may not matter to you if your plan is to leave the Park before it gets too crowded, and head back to your resort and/or Park Hop.

Whether Crowd levels are 1 or 10, you'd still pretty much tour the same way for each Park based upon your needs. If your objective is to maximize rides, then going at Park opening (a/k/a rope drop) is the way to maximize rides.

Difference with crowd levels is that you see more with lower crowds and less with higher crowds, but you should follow a similar touring plan because standby lines will fill in the same way - just faster on a higher crowd level day.

Crowd levels will not matter once you are there; Best vs. Worst is what matters.

So my answer is - crowd level should not change the way you should be touring…..because you are going on vacation when you are going on vacation, and Best Park for any given day has nothing to do with crowd level (believe it or not).

The simple reasons are two-fold:

1.) if one Park is a 10-crowd level, the remaining three will not be far from the '10'. Similarly, if there's a 4-crowd level, the remaining three Parks will be similar. Even if all Parks are a 10 - there ail be a best vs. worst.
2.) Weather matters. If Magic Kingdom was a 'worst' Park on Tuesday, but it rained all day on Tuesday - then if Magic Kingdom is a 'best' Park for Wednesday…..all those people from Tuesday will pack the Park…..making MK a so-called 'worst' Park on a the 'best' Park day. Similar things will happen if Fantasmic! is cancelled - it will be more crowded the following evening because there will be people who really want to see the show. This is beyond your control.

Let's recap:
-- Select when you want to go on vacation. If crowd levels matter to you, this is when that's important.
-- Map out best vs. worst parks….I found easywdw to be best because Josh gives you reasons (which should educate you).
-- Select ADR's at 180 days.
-- Select FP+ at 60 days for onsite (30 days for offsite).

I'm going to give a 'for instance'. We stay at Bay Lake/Contemporary and can walk into Magic Kingdom. We are morning people. It will be hot during our stay that ends on July 4th. We are going to be at Magic Kingdom on a crowd 9 day (the other Parks may be 8's) that is a worst park according to easywdw. We are doing this because we'd rather be at a 8am rope drop (follow Josh's cheat sheet, kinda') and be done by 11am-12pm when the crowds and temperatures are peaking. We are doing a similar thing on Animal Kingdom day for us - because we are heading back to MK that night. We use a different 'calculus' than Josh. We are electing to go to some Parks on 'worst' days because we will be utilizing cheat sheets and be done before the crowds get ridiculous….then enjoy the hotel swimming pool or shopping at Downtown Disney Springs.

There is no right way or wrong way to tour if you are making an educated decision.

Crowd levels are determined long before you arrive at any Park and there is little you can do about it.

Sorry if I was redundant, I'm simply trying to help by repeating myself.

 

[MouseMum]

Take a deep breath.

1st thing is to pick when you are going on vacation. Some people make this decision based on crowd levels; we do not.

Once you've determined when you are going, select which Parks are Best (versus Worst).

I found EasyWdw is likely to have the best information prior to your 180-day dining reservation window.

EasyWdw tells you why parks are best vs. worst; it's not just a best versus worst in a vacuum. These are more guidelines than rules, because you may want to utilize Extra Magic Hours (if staying onsite), and Josh is never going to suggest that a Park with EMH is a Best Park. Also, if you happen to be staying within walking distance to a Park from your resort, a 'worst' Park may not matter to you if your plan is to leave the Park before it gets too crowded, and head back to your resort and/or Park Hop.

Whether Crowd levels are 1 or 10, you'd still pretty much tour the same way for each Park based upon your needs. If your objective is to maximize rides, then going at Park opening (a/k/a rope drop) is the way to maximize rides.

Difference with crowd levels is that you see more with lower crowds and less with higher crowds, but you should follow a similar touring plan because standby lines will fill in the same way - just faster on a higher crowd level day.

Crowd levels will not matter once you are there; Best vs. Worst is what matters.

So my answer is - crowd level should not change the way you should be touring…..because you are going on vacation when you are going on vacation, and Best Park for any given day has nothing to do with crowd level (believe it or not).

The simple reasons are two-fold:

1.) if one Park is a 10-crowd level, the remaining three will not be far from the '10'. Similarly, if there's a 4-crowd level, the remaining three Parks will be similar. Even if all Parks are a 10 - there ail be a best vs. worst.
2.) Weather matters. If Magic Kingdom was a 'worst' Park on Tuesday, but it rained all day on Tuesday - then if Magic Kingdom is a 'best' Park for Wednesday…..all those people from Tuesday will pack the Park…..making MK a so-called 'worst' Park on a the 'best' Park day. Similar things will happen if Fantasmic! is cancelled - it will be more crowded the following evening because there will be people who really want to see the show. This is beyond your control.

Let's recap:
-- Select when you want to go on vacation. If crowd levels matter to you, this is when that's important.
-- Map out best vs. worst parks….I found easywdw to be best because Josh gives you reasons (which should educate you).
-- Select ADR's at 180 days.
-- Select FP+ at 60 days for onsite (30 days for offsite).

I'm going to give a 'for instance'. We stay at Bay Lake/Contemporary and can walk into Magic Kingdom. We are morning people. It will be hot during our stay that ends on July 4th. We are going to be at Magic Kingdom on a crowd 9 day (the other Parks may be 8's) that is a worst park according to easywdw. We are doing this because we'd rather be at a 8am rope drop (follow Josh's cheat sheet, kinda') and be done by 11am-12pm when the crowds and temperatures are peaking. We are doing a similar thing on Animal Kingdom day for us - because we are heading back to MK that night. We use a different 'calculus' than Josh. We are electing to go to some Parks on 'worst' days because we will be utilizing cheat sheets and be done before the crowds get ridiculous….then enjoy the hotel swimming pool or shopping at Downtown Disney Springs.

There is no right way or wrong way to tour if you are making an educated decision.

Crowd levels are determined long before you arrive at any Park and there is little you can do about it.

Sorry if I was redundant, I'm simply trying to help by repeating myself.

Wow! Awesome response!

Reading posts like this makes me feel a lot more relaxed. And that's where I should be...it's a vacation for goodness sake!

And no redundancy, just clarity.

Actually, I just did some research and school doesn't start in Florida until August 24 this year. According to current Florida law, schools cannot open any earlier than 14 days before Labor Day.

2014: Labor Day was September 1 and school started August 18
2015: Labor Day is September 7 so the earliest school can start is August 24
I checked some county school calendars for 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 and these were/are the start dates.

OK, I've officially gone off the deep end with Disney planning....

You go back to school so early! You must surely end the school year, say, after first week of June?? I'm a Canadian teacher. We go to the last Friday of June then don't return until after Labour Day, well at least the kids don't...this year they've booked a meeting for us teachers on the 3rd! Could have hit Disney the first week of September if it were not for that...and rushed back to work, unprepared and exhausted! Lol Not!

 

[bigcrit]

They also have a weather prediction for those days. My local guys can barely predict tomorrows weather let alone 3 months out......

 

[maryj11]

I say as long as you have a good plan you can have a good time crowded or not. I just go not expecting to do everything but make our fastpasses and try to ride the popular rides at rope drop or right before closing.

 

[I M Fearless]

And honestly, there is no quiet time to go any more, pretty much every day of the year is going to be busy these days. I think you just have to adjust your plan based on what you find on the day.

I think having a basic plan is important, but deviating from the plan is equally important when circumstances dictate that you should. We find a lot of success with a heavily planned rope-drop and get as much done as possible before the lines get too busy, then we take it more easy, watch a few shows, stop for a snack etc.

Either head out for a water park or some pool time and save your fastpasses for later in the day, or use your fastpasses and then head back. For us rope drop was the key, particularly at MK.