Crowd Report

[jwfla422]

Thanks for the crowd updates. This time of year has been increasingly become more busy than previous years. We are planning to be there this weekend. I know each day especially after this weekend will become busier and busier as the holidays near.

Would love to see the castle lighting but getting a bit nervous about how busy MK nights are now. Whether MVMCP or not I've been hearing real busy. I'd like to see the castle lights and then pretty much head out to dinner over at the WL.

Yes its been unseasonably warm in FL this week, which really isn't unusual for this time of year...BUT, I know a cold front is on it's way (that's why the rain threat over the weekend). Actually this is pretty normal for this time of year so if you're headed to WDW this weekend do bring clothes for both warm and cold weather. It may be warmer in FL than anywhere else even when it's cold but remember you're walking outside most of the time and at night it can feel quite chilly in Orlando even if it's in the 50's (especially if it's accompanied by drizzle).

 

[C.Ann]

I was there November 26th - Dec. 4th - and was quite surprised at how crowded it was - compared to our trip last year the first week of Dec.

Spoke to a couple who go the last week in Nov. and first week of Dec. every single year and they confirmed the crowds were much higher..

I think the "secret" is out..

 

[attackwithnorth]

I just returned today (12/12) from the World. I was there from 12/7-12/12 and my experience with crowds was for the most part, very manageable. The biggest wait I saw was for Soarin', which was 75 minutes at the longest and consistently at about 65 minutes. We did manage to ride it Monday night right before Illuminations with only about a 25 minute wait. Test Track was the only other really long wait I saw- about 65 minutes but we were also able to get on that several times without waiting more than 20 minutes. MGM had very light crowds most days and times. We walked on TOT and RRC 3 times each in the span of about 45 minutes. On Tuesday, the longest wait in MGM was for the Great Movie Ride, and that was 25 minutes. The Magic Kingdom had light crowds as well, especially in the evening and of course during the VMCP. The longest wait there was Peter Pan's Flight. Animal Kingdom was busier on the weekend, but very slow yesterday. We walked on Expedition Everest, Kali River Rapids, and Dinosaur. My experience was that this was the prime time to see it all in the parks.

 

[landryfam]

How is the crowd?? Just found out my wonderful night at MVMCp on Dec 18 is a sold out night.

Wonder what that means for the rest of my week. I truly hope we get to see as much as we can

 

[dawgsgirl]

We were there for a quick weekend trip 12-7 to 12-10. The crowds were light for the Osbourne Lights on Friday night. Saturday, we were at Epcot for the CP. I guess it was pretty crowded, but nothing bad. We had the Dinner package. Early Sunday morning at MK was great, but the crowds really poured in later as we were leaving. The Christmas party on Sunday night was the worst. Disney should be flogged for selling so many tickets to this event, and it was not even a sellout. A security guard told me it was not as crowded as it can be. It was a great Disney weekend. Reality has now set in!

 

[Funwith4kids]

Isn't it interesting how people have such different experiences at WDW at the exact same time? We are leaving this afternoon and my sister has been there for a week already and has reported extremely light crowds, walk ons all week.

Agree with it is all about perspective and what you expect the crowds to be. We go every year at Easter...some call us insane because of the crowds but we don't have a problem. Where we may think this week is dead others may think it is crowded.

Key is to work with the crowds and have a good time - your @ WDW (ice here)

 

[Sophie_2003]

Well, we thought crowds were very manageable. We have a few ground rules: get up early, avoid EMH parks, eat at offpeak hours and have a plan. It's amazing how many people just run around and end up missing so much!

Our plan always allows for distractions if a walkon ride is on our path, but we stock to a general itinerary. makes everybody happier, when you don't wait in line!!!

 

[Southernswthrt1]

We really EXPECTED the crowds to be lighter. When we were there in Dec 2002 from the 19th through 25th, the crowds were much, much lighter (except for Christmas Eve). I chose this week because I thought it would be rather light. I felt as though it was crowded. I did expect somewhat thicker crowds due to what I've read on the DIS, but was surprised by the crowd level.

We did follow a plan, which meant we either walked on or waited 20 min or less for most rides. We used Fastpass for all the major rides and got to ride Soarin' and RnR twice because were were there at rope drop. It was manageable, as others have said.

Don't get me wrong - We had a great time (well I did), but I will begin looking into another time of year for my next trip...maybe September/October. For those who've never visited during December, I still think this is a good time of the year to visit if you've never seen WDW at Christmastime.

 

[MiaSRN62]

...how has the weather been?
__________________

The weather from Dec 5-12 was simply perfect ! Sunny and reached anywhere from 82-89 during the afternoon. The nights dipped into the upper 50's and low to mid 60's. My kind of holiday weather
Right now, I'm sitting here in PA with 28 degrees and freezing rain and sleet coming down. Everything is coated in ice right now I just packed a thermos of hot choclate for my ds who is on his way out to get in line at Target for the Wii.......I wish him luck in this awful weather

As for crowds.......we found for this Dec trip that we needed to use almost the same strategy as for our summer visits. Get up early as others have stated.......get those fast passes early (especially for Soarin' and TT because they ran out by 1-2 pm)......avoid EMH and nights the park is open late (i.e., the MK was open until midnight on 12/8 and was a ZOO !). Osbourne Lights on Friday, Dec 7 was a zoo---we went last year on Dec 2 or 3rd and it was practically empty. I think Pop Warner and Mousefest had something to do with the crowds this year. POFQ was mobbed with cheerleaders Got awakened by them early in the morning. One morning, they were throwing a ball from the ground to the second floor balcony exterior hallway and yelling. We were not happy. Just be prepared for this. I think they stay at POR and POFQ during this time period----wish wdw had given us a head's up about this and we probably would have booked elsewhere. But oh well........

Bottom line : Best stragedy for getting on rides with less wait times is early morning. Because at 11 am on Dec 8, in Epcot, I can't even describe the hoards of guests trekking to the Land to get on Soarin' I witnessed
Just a sea of people........

 

[knelson]

GEAUX TIGERS!!!!!!!!!!

Hope you are enjoying your trip We leave out Friday morning...hoping for nice crowds and weather.

We leave out - Friday evening. Hope we both have nice crowds - great weather and even a better Christmas

 

[kimmar067]

I arrived 12/4, left 12/11. The weather was always in the high 70's, low 80's during the day, never below the high 50's in the evening. The previous week was also mostly warm and sunny, although I remember seeing a couple of rainy days in the weather forecast. It sprinkled for 5 minutes one day in the afternoon. This was in WDW, Universal/IoA, Seaworld, and Busch Gardens (Tampa). The locals I spoke with said that this weather was very unusual, the weather channels all commented on it. So, take it for what it's worth...

Accuweather.com is predicting cooler temps later in the week. But they were predicting that for my vacation week, too, at 10 days out. Never did cool off.

...well, I sure hope that the weather stays like this all NEXT WEEK....

 

[kimmar067]

We leave out - Friday evening. Hope we both have nice crowds - great weather and even a better Christmas

...I 'second' that......

 

[shamrock30]

DH and I were also at WDW from Dec 5-12. We've been many times in late November/early December, and this was our best week ever in terms of weather. It was absolutely perfect every single day! It was quite a shock to come home to a New England winter in full swing.

We thought the crowds were somewhat heavier than usual, but as others have mentioned, it was very manageable if you planned carefully. The longest we waited for a ride was 25 minutes, and we only did that a few times.

 

[Mich Mouse]

Just back from five days of glorious sunshine and warm temps in the 80's. Stayed at BWV, and parks were not crowded at all!

The weather and crowds could not have been better....I posted before how interesting it is to see how people who are at WDW at the same exact same time can have such different expereinces! We arrived at the parks at opening, stayed until after around one and then headed for the pool. (Still can't believe that the weather was so warm that we swan everyday!) We got fast passes in the morning that we used for later in the day when we returned to the parks.

Honestly, we waited for nothing except Spaceship earth and that was about fifteen minutes!

Hope everyone going this week enjoys beautiful weather and low crowds as well!!! The forecast looks very nice!!!

 

[knelson]

Great news - we cannot wait until Friday to get out there - just mapping out our strategy.

 

[NHTikiBeckie]

We used Tour Guide Mike each day last week and walked onto absolutely everything all week. It was the deadest I had ever seen it and we usually go in January. I will always be using TGM now!!!

 

[girlbomb]

We're just back from 9 heavenly days of beautiful weather and low crowds, except for the night of Friday the 14th at Epcot (it was EMH, and the ride lines were looooong) and Sat. the 15th at MK (wait times up to 40-50 minutes for the big rides, and crowded walkways). But the 7th through the 14th were amazing -- we walked onto Tower of Terror with no wait eight times in a row!

 

[kimmar067]

-- we walked onto Tower of Terror with no wait eight times in a row!....

....

 

[Karnak]

I just returned from a visit to WDW, Sunday 9th - Saturday 15th. I found the crowds to be much larger than past years during this general time period. But very manageable at all four parks with the noteable expection of the Magic Kingdom. I spent all day in the Magic Kingdom on Tuesday the 11th, and on Friday the 14th, and had party tickets for both those dates as well. On both days the park was packed from about 5:00 on. The crowd throughout the park did not seem to lessen after 7:00. It is my considered opinion that WDW needs to cut down on the number of party tickets sold. One CM told me that they sell only enough tickets to equal one-third of park capacity. WOW! If that is correct, full capacity would be a real nightmare.

Enjoy, but consider skipping the Magic Kingdom in the evenings whenever it's a party date.

 

[joeathome167]

I didn't read the entire thread, so I apologize if I'm repeating something already said. But, we were there from Dec. 9-15 and I found the crowds extremely light from the 9-14. The big rides had long waits but were easily navigated with fastpass. My son and I rode thunder mountain twice in 10 minutes the night of EMH and could've continued all night. Most smaller rides (except Peter Pan and Dumbo) had almost 0 wait. However, On the 15th we started the day at Epcot and it was ok, but we hopped to MK for our final afternoon and the crowds were HUGE. It came close to ruining the whole week. The wait for Small World was 30 minutes all week prior to Saturday it was walk on. We ended up riding a few rides with fastpasses and leaving a little earlier than expected. I assume this was the Xmas crowd starting to arrive. Good luck to all you daring folks.