Crowd pics

[maryj11]

We'll be there at the same time, and we went two years ago a few weeks into June and while it was busy, it wasn't horrendous. However, this being said, I remember growing up going on family vacations to Disneyland and waiting hours for one ride and that was normal. There was a line everywhere, you just waited your turn so maybe these lines which I don't perceive to be "that long" in comparison don't bother me as much lol

You certainly did not waste your money. Just plan well. Start early, use late hours if you are staying on property, use early morning hours and use your FP+ if you have it in a strategic way and know that just being there is the best part of the vacation. You'll have a blast. Times just back at the resort pool etc are important too. Go in with a positive outlook and enjoy

Yes we will go with a positive attitude and if it gets to be to hot and to crowded we will go back to the resort swim

 

[maryj11]

Sure. These are not my pics, but hopefully it's okay to use them to help you out a little. (Just to give you an idea, this attraction is to the back of the park, in New Fantasyland, behind the new Mine Train Ride, and to the right of Be Our Guest restaurant. It's kind of a narrow walkway (that may become even more narrow after the Mine Train opens up...

This is the front of the Under the Sea Little Mermaid Ride. (This is the Standby Entrance):



On the other side of the ship (where you see Ariel on the bow), there's a clock and this is the FP+ return line (it is to the right of the standby line)



And right next door to the ride (and part of the same main structure) is the Ariel Meet and Greet. The Standby entrance is on the left, the FP+ return is on the right (where the clock is)

Awesome ! Thanks so much, I know which line we are heading to now This will be the first time we have been to the new fantasyland.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

Wow...it seems like every story/account/picture has to do with the Magic Kingdom. Now...I know that the other three parks are really fading quite rapidly but it seems like more people would maybe head over to Animal Kingdom or Epcot instead of cramming themselves into the Magic Kingdom. These are dire times for the non-MK parks.

45 square miles...2 water parks...4 theme parks...and it sounds like everything on WDW property is pretty empty except for a packed-to-the-gills Magic Kingdom.

I know if it was *me* in the middle of a crowd like those in these pictures I'd be hightailing it over to Animal Kingdom/Epcot/DHS.

 

[WeLuvWDWx5]

I'm an AP and this past year and I have been to Disney many times (with a 2 year old) including on 4th of July, Christmas Eve, December 30th, and this past Tuesday (Spring Break) and I can tell you the two worst days I've had as far as crowds and a feeling of "OMG GET ME OUT OF HERE!" was December 30th, and this past Tuesday (both at MK.)

On 4th of July we got there at rope drop (8am) and left around 1pm. I was able to make reservations for The Plaza a few days before. We were able to do several rides and meet several characters (including Mickey, and Princesses). We had a very pleasurable morning and a sit down lunch (even feeling at first like 'where is everybody?") After lunch we decided to go home, and when we left is when we saw the people parked on the grass and found out the park had been closed to capacity. But it never felt insane. (Granted, I didn't stay for fireworks, but we still had a great day in the park.)

Christmas Eve was magical. It was crowded, but not insane. We saw ETWB, Mickey, all Princesses in PFTH, rode Small World and Carrousel and then ate lunch and saw the Christmas Parade. Again, crowded, but not insane or smothering. A very happy day at MK. Left around 4pm.

This past Tuesday we got to MK around 1 and left at 5 and I wanted to shoot myself for ever entering the gates. We had three FP+ (Rapunzel, Little Mermaid Ride and POTC.) Well I posted pics of the POTC return line (we didn't use our FP+ and left the park.) The mermaid area was a clustered zoo, only Rapunzel did we get in and out of quickly, but the meet and greet felt a bit like a 'kiss and kick you out of the door.' (which we NEVER feel like we get when meeting them- but they no doubt knew about the zoo outside waiting to see them.) Small World had a wait of an hour, and I just had to tell my daughter no. The lines for drinks looked to be 3 miles long and you could not manuever from point A to point B without feeling like livestock. (and this is what the week between Christmas and New Year's is like as well.) UGH!!!!! NEVER AGAIN!

I am also an AP holder from Ohio, and we were there last year the week of July 4th, between Xmas and New Year's and have been here this week, leaving tomorrow. I agree that this past week was by far the most crowded we have seen the parks in the last few years. My husband and I are thinking the extreme cold winter is driving everyone South this year. However, while the parks have seemed extremely crowded and difficult to walk through this week, the fastpass+ lines for us have been great. Mostly walk-ons, with the exception of Soarin, which took us 15 min to get on the ride (which I still find acceptable when the stand-by lines are 80+ minutes). We have had fast passes both in the morning, and in the evenings, and all waits were fairly quick for us. I guess we were lucky. We may return over July 4th this year again, and I feel confident that as long as I plan ahead, we will be ok. I just wish I could have one or two more fastpasses, especially for when we park hop. It almost makes park hopping not worth it anymore, since you don't have even a chance of grabbing a fast pass when you go to another park on the same day. But overall, we have had pleasant experiences with fast pass+.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

@WeLuvWDWx5

So was your experience this past week a packed MK and a rather empty "everything else"?

 

[kbelle8995]

I unfortunately am going to be there next week.

I will tackle MK as I tackle any busy holiday and then run for Epcot in the afternoon. I have my FP's set. Since most of the local schools will be back in session. I shall hope for the best.

I plan to be long gone by the afternoon.

 

[WeLuvWDWx5]

@WeLuvWDWx5

So was your experience this past week a packed MK and a rather empty "everything else"?

I honestly found all parks equally packed, except for Animal Kingdom. We were at both Epcot and Hollywood Studios during the day and evening, and found them difficult to manuever through both times. The World Showcase area was about as crowded as I have ever seen it and we go for a long weekend during the Food and Wine Festival each year. I didn't feel MK was more or less crowded than the others (other than Animal Kingdom). We walked through Epcot World Showcase for a lunch reservation around 11:20a, and was just amazed at the crowds that early in the day. It must have opened at 10a.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

I honestly found all parks equally packed, except for Animal Kingdom. We were at both Epcot and Hollywood Studios during the day and evening, and found them difficult to manuever through both times. The World Showcase area was about as crowded as I have ever seen it and we go for a long weekend during the Food and Wine Festival each year. I didn't feel MK was more or less crowded than the others (other than Animal Kingdom). We walked through Epcot World Showcase for a lunch reservation around 11:20a, and was just amazed at the crowds that early in the day. It must have opened at 10a.

Wow...Animal Kingdom was empty even during Spring Break? Disney has got to be regretting ever building that park as it is the most expensive to operate.

Personally, I don't know why so many stay away from the AK. I love it, and can't wait for it to become a night-time park.

I'm surprised that you found Epcot and DHS crowded. It seems like everyone in this thread only gave stories about the MK.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

And that beautiful Deluxe Resort Animal Kingdom Lodge which I'm told remains nearly empty year-round...even during the holidays I'm told there are plenty of vacant rooms.

 

[estherhead]

It's CRAZY crowded. A CM near RnR today said they put out their Christmas lines Wednesday which he'd only ever seen at Christmas. Today at DHS wasn't too bad & the RnR queue did indeed fill up that entire area but today it was empty. I think it's thinning out a tiny bit.

We've had a great time but I think we'll be skipping spring break at Disney from now on.

As for wait times, other than Wednesday they aren't actually as bad as MDE makes it appear.
We've been willing to stand in any line that says 30 minutes and we've discovered they are more like 10-15 minutes. I've finally decided they are putting the ride time & exiting time in with the wait time. With that in mind we did Space with a posted 45 min wait time & it was 18 minutes.

 

[leebee]

Wow...Animal Kingdom was empty even during Spring Break? Disney has got to be regretting ever building that park as it is the most expensive to operate.

Personally, I don't know why so many stay away from the AK. I love it, and can't wait for it to become a night-time park.

I'm surprised that you found Epcot and DHS crowded. It seems like everyone in this thread only gave stories about the MK.

She didn't say it was empty, just that it wasn't as equally packed as the other three parks.

 

[MickeyOCD]

We were there Tues. This is how our day went:
march 25, 2014, Tuesday. EasyWDW has MK as a 9 & its a recommended park. there was no EMH at MK today. Park open at 9
Walked on POTC, then Jugle Cruise, then BTMRR by 9:45
Cinnamon Roll @ Gastons then Dumbo - by 10:20 The bad thing about FP+ on POTC is that they load FP on 1 side & STBY on the other. We went STBY & had to wait while FP boats went empty.
Pooh - posted stdby said 35 min, got in line at 10:22 - got on ride at 10:47. Rode Tomorrowland Speedway, Stitch, & Tea Cups Stby by 12:09. MK was very busy; it's Spring Break. FP+ kiosk in Tomorrowland was insanely long, there were at least 100 people in line - NUTS!! - and this was at 11:30 am.
We did BOG FP lunch. We had a FP for Splash at 1pm but changed it (at 11:30 am) to Space Mtn. The only avail return time was 8:30-9:30pm. (i tried to see if there was an earlier return time, there were none). Done with lunch at 1:15, went to Philharmagic (10 min. stby, NOT a walkon) There are 6 FP Kiosks here & there were 4 CMshelping guests, there was no wait at the kiosk at 1:20 pm. At 1:52 pm, headed over to Tom sawyer Island. The kids drive what we do, & they wanted to head over to the island. While walking to the rafts, noticed that the posted stby time for HM was 75 min & IASW was 45 min at 2 pm. Watched The 3 pm Fantasy parade then Played the Pirates game, takes about 15-20 min per scavenger hunt. Stopped for a Dole Whip. Used FP for Haunted Mansion at 4:25pm. Finished the pirates treasure hunt (there are 5 maps to be used) by 6:15 pm. Stopped for a Nutella fruit waffle at Sleepy Hollow for dinner. Shopped a little. FP for BTMRR at 7:50pm. FP for Space Mtn at 8:30pm. Then Laugh Floor at 9 pm (10 min stby, had a high of 45 min earlier in the day). Watched Wishes at 10pm. Then rode the Carousel, Barnstormer, under the Sea, & IASW by 11:30. Finally left the park. 14.5 hrs and we are tired. Pretty much banged out the park. At the end of our night, I checked return times on MDE, Space Mtn was 70 min & Peter Pan was 25 min.
So use Rope Drop, it is your friend. And be ready to either amuse yourself on non-rides (Tom Sawyer, Sorcerers game, etc) during the peak afternoon or go back to your resort to swim. Schedule FPs for evening. And Good Luck!

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

She didn't say it was empty, just that it wasn't as equally packed as the other three parks.

True...but I took her comments to mean it wasn't very crowded. To *me* it sounds like the AK would be a nice oasis from the MK this week(especially in the late afternoon/early evening).

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

It's CRAZY crowded. A CM near RnR today said they put out their Christmas lines Wednesday which he'd only ever seen at Christmas. Today at DHS wasn't too bad & the RnR queue did indeed fill up that entire area but today it was empty. I think it's thinning out a tiny bit.

We've had a great time but I think we'll be skipping spring break at Disney from now on.

As for wait times, other than Wednesday they aren't actually as bad as MDE makes it appear.
We've been willing to stand in any line that says 30 minutes and we've discovered they are more like 10-15 minutes. I've finally decided they are putting the ride time & exiting time in with the wait time. With that in mind we did Space with a posted 45 min wait time & it was 18 minutes.

Estherhead...have you been to all four parks this week?

 

[JennyMP03]

Wow...Animal Kingdom was empty even during Spring Break? Disney has got to be regretting ever building that park as it is the most expensive to operate.

Personally, I don't know why so many stay away from the AK. I love it, and can't wait for it to become a night-time park.

I'm surprised that you found Epcot and DHS crowded. It seems like everyone in this thread only gave stories about the MK.

It certainly has never seemed "empty" to me! But many people on these forums consider it a half-day park, based on some threads I've read. I entirely LOVE it, but I'm a sap for precious animals.

That tree does things to my heart, too. One of the most pleasant memories from my last trip was drinking a frozen jungle juice from one of the snack stands while sitting in a little cove of tables with a good view of the tree, and identifying carvings in it with my husband.

Such a lovely park! It could use more attractions to keep people invested, though-- especially those not interested in things like the trails and conservation station (I'm a weirdo who loves both).

 

[ariel326]

So glad that we went in January. Yes it was cooler, but the lines were nothing like this.

 

[estherhead]

Estherhead...have you been to all four parks this week?

Yes. We went to AK Monday and it wasn't too bad. But we were only there from 9am-1pm. We didn't use any FP+ there and were able to do everything we wanted with limited lines, except at noon we did ITTBAB and it had a 30 min line.

Then we have hoppers so the rest of our days were mixed together. Epcot has been lovely, but it's a large park so
It can handle tons of people.

DHS has had its moments but yesterday it was lovely and not too crowded at all.

MKs issues are it has filled to capacity this week and it shouldn't have so many FP rides. The lines that come into the walkways are truly ridiculous. Plus there are construction walls. It was a madhouse of chaos.

By the way, it only takes a few minutes for you to get thru those FP+ lines. It isn't at all annoying to be standing in them. They are only annoying because they clog main traffic flow.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

Yes. We went to AK Monday and it wasn't too bad. But we were only there from 9am-1pm. We didn't use any FP+ there and were able to do everything we wanted with limited lines, except at noon we did ITTBAB and it had a 30 min line.

Then we have hoppers so the rest of our days were mixed together. Epcot has been lovely, but it's a large park so
It can handle tons of people.

DHS has had its moments but yesterday it was lovely and not too crowded at all.

MKs issues are it has filled to capacity this week and it shouldn't have so many FP rides. The lines that come into the walkways are truly ridiculous. Plus there are construction walls. It was a madhouse of chaos.

By the way, it only takes a few minutes for you to get thru those FP+ lines. It isn't at all annoying to be standing in them. They are only annoying because they clog main traffic flow.

Thank you estherhead for the response.

Yep...what I'm coming away with is that the 3 non-MK parks have been relatively peaceful(or "lovely" as you put it). Either people just have no interest in the non-MK parks or they don't have park-hoppers. I would really love to see Disney put some more effort into the non-MK parks so the MK wouldn't be so unbearable during peak times.

It's ridiculous to have 45 square miles and everyone is only attracted to the one small spot called the Magic Kingdom.

 

[estherhead]

Thank you estherhead for the response. Yep...what I'm coming away with is that the 3 non-MK parks have been relatively peaceful(or "lovely" as you put it). Either people just have no interest in the non-MK parks or they don't have park-hoppers. I would really love to see Disney put some more effort into the non-MK parks so the MK wouldn't be so unbearable during peak times. It's ridiculous to have 45 square miles and everyone is only attracted to the one small spot called the Magic Kingdom.

I couldn't agree more. And I think they know that. AK is under construction and my guess is that DHS will soon follow. I just wish Epcot would make the list sooner versus later.

By the way MK is also lovely today. So I think earlier this week was rate and not the norm.

 

[Mamiamjo]

We've been to WDW during Christmas, Thanksgiving, Memorial Day and Fourth of July and have never seen lines like the ones shown here. I really hope that WDW works out the issues with FP+
I'd even be happier with them bringing back the old FP over this mess