Crowds are crazy right now!

[omurice]

MK wait times don't look very busy -- Big Thunder at 30, and Pan at 45 mins that is slower than middle of the week 10 days ago when it was only 50 degrees.
But if it feels too crowded, hop on over to ANY of the other 3 parks.

I would head over to Epcot on the monorail until about 8pm.
EP - It's quiet over there, Soarin' at only 60 mins and Test Track at 40 mins means Epcot is mostly EMPTY. Except for those 2 rides, nothing else at Epcot has a wait over 10 mins except Maelstrom (15).

Studios is similar - RnRC at 30 mins, also TOT at 30 - that park is mostly dead, but it closes at 7pm so not much time to head over there now.

AK - Kilimanjaro at 10 mins, Everest at 20. Also closes at 7PM.

So I would head over to Epcot since 1) you can use the monorail instead of a bus, and 2) you can hop back on monorail to MK

But honestly -- MK looks not bad to me! Big Thunder at 30 mins and Space at 55 mins on a WEEKEND -- that is light crowds, basically a 4 out of 10.
Maybe more people wandering around outside because of higher temps? That crowds the walkways. Just stay out of Fantasyland until it's dark.

Sheesh I wish I'm there!

 

[wisblue]

We went to HS at RD - rode TSM (were in the first batch of cars - ie no 'high score for the day yet as nobody had gone all the way around yet). When we came out the wait was 35 minutes and out the door - that is more than usual (we like to start days at DHS and get TSM in early). So seemed more crowded than usual over there but then went over and ST had barely anyone over there - DH and DD rode twice in a row walk on (no wait - but 10 minute wait posted)

You have to take some of those posted wait times in the first few minutes the park is open with a grain of salt.

For as long as we have gone there, WDW has done some intentional "line blocking" at the most popular attractions, presumably to encourage people to go somewhere else instead of overwhelming one attraction. People see the line coming out of the building and get scared away, but the inside queue may not be full. We have seen that at rides like Space Mountain and Test Track, and at Splash Mountain when it was relatively new.

On one of our "business" trips last year (helping our daughter get started on the College Program), we went right to the standby line at TSMM and the posted time was 40 minutes and the line was outside the building. A woman in front of me with a small boy didn't want to wait that long, but I encouraged her to stay with the line until we got inside to see how full the queue was and how fast it was moving (which is what we intended to do). Within a few minutes, the line was moving like a cork had been let out of a bottle, and we were on and off the ride within 15 minutes.

At Under the Sea, the posted time starts at 20 minutes as soon as the park opens, even if there is literally nobody in line.

 

[delmar411]

We did MK last night and it was pretty dead. We did a ton of rides between 6-10.


DH and the kids were at EP today from noon until 4:30 and did every single thing there even though they had to dodge large tour groups so it was also pretty dead.

 

[johde]

and here comes the first mention of FP+

These threads happened long before FP+ and they will continue to happen long after it's implemented- I don't get why people have the desire to blame everything on FP+

Yes I should have qualified my post even further. There are a multitude of reasons a park can feel crowded without being crowded. The FP return line is just the latest. Most of them revolve around people being in the pathways instead of in the lines waiting. But also, at one stroller parking, especially between IASW and PP made that area feel crowded. Right after the parade certain areas of the park feel crowded.

 

[Softball Mom]

We are just back from a quick visit (Friday to today). The crowds were non-existent in our opinion. Except at HM!
Now...can someone tell me why HM was 40 minutes long??? When did that become such a popular ride?

A tip to get past the tiering at Epcot...
Last night (Saturday), I wanted to change our FP+ for the next day so we could sleep in a little bit. I asked a CM wearing the blue suit with plaid. I only wanted TT changed because we had no interest in any other FP+. He asked me if I didn't want Soaring also. I said, I thought we couldn't have both TT and Soaring. He said, "You can't do it but I can". Guess what? We got both FP+s on the same day one hour after each other. I don't know if it will always work but it's worth a shot.

I can try to answer any questions you have. DD is going to try to write a trip report (I hope).

 

[matt1979]

They probably are not running the rides to capacity which makes it feel more crowded.

But according to the ride time apps, it's not very crowded and waits are reasonable. Like previous poster said no ride more than 50 minutes and splash is closed........and this at 3 pm....that is great.

That's the one caveat a friend who has gone several times in early Feb gave me about my upcoming trip. While it's technically one of the least crowded times of year to go...many attractions will cut back staff so you won't necessarily see a drastic change in wait times on many rides. That said...I agree, the big rides don't have 60+min wait times, then it's probably not too bad.

 

[freckles04]

We were just there 1/20-1/25 and thought the crowds were fantastic. The only wait time I EVER saw over 60 minutes even during peak times of the day was (of course) Toy Story Mania.

We did [mostly] follow EasyWDW and went to the recommended parks.

 

[loveshak22]

I don't know if it's all about expectations but my goal is to travel during the "light" season so I don't have to get up at park opening and rush to get FP's first thing to avoid lines. I also personally think anything over 20 minutes is too long if I've specifically planned a trip during the slow season. I don't go nearly as often as other folks on here but I've started to find that there are no real slow seasons anymore.

I was at WDW the last week in January 2013 and I followed the easywdw recommendations and I felt like the crowds were high - in all 4 parks. There were also a lot of tour groups that made DHS and Epcot miserable. Many of the rides have over 45 minute waits - I know that's nothing compared to the summer/Christmas season - but for people specifically trying to avoid crowds it is a long wait. At Epcot we had to leave the night we were there because we couldn't get by the tour groups without hitting another group.

When I went in late January 2006 there were zero lines at all 4 parks all day and I didn't use a single FP or get to the parks that early. I didn't plan anything but a few ADRs and what park we were going to on which date. When I went in September 2010 it was also pretty packed for a slow season IMO. We also went at Christmas in 2008 but I knew that would be chaos and I was fine with it because my expectations were set that it would be packed.

I think it truly is about expectations. I am sure there are days and times when crowds are lower, or you can get to the parks at opening to avoid crowds, or use FP and plan the day to avoid crowds but overall I feel like there is not a consistently slow time anymore. OP - I was disappointed in January 2013 because I know exactly how you feel. I expected much lower crowd levels than we encountered.

My DH was on two of the trips I've been on since 2006 and he loved our trip in 2006 but wasn't as excited about the crowds in 2013. If we go again in the next couple years I'll probably try the end of January again but I am nervous. One more trip with crowds and I think he'll be done with WDW and that would make me sad

 

[btk2333]

I don't know if it's all about expectations but my goal is to travel during the "light" season so I don't have to get up at park opening and rush to get FP's first thing to avoid lines. I also personally think anything over 20 minutes is too long if I've specifically planned a trip during the slow season. I don't go nearly as often as other folks on here but I've started to find that there are no real slow seasons anymore.

I was at WDW the last week in January 2013 and I followed the easywdw recommendations and I felt like the crowds were high - in all 4 parks. There were also a lot of tour groups that made DHS and Epcot miserable. Many of the rides have over 45 minute waits - I know that's nothing compared to the summer/Christmas season - but for people specifically trying to avoid crowds it is a long wait. At Epcot we had to leave the night we were there because we couldn't get by the tour groups without hitting another group.

When I went in late January 2006 there were zero lines at all 4 parks all day and I didn't use a single FP or get to the parks that early. I didn't plan anything but a few ADRs and what park we were going to on which date. When I went in September 2010 it was also pretty packed for a slow season IMO. We also went at Christmas in 2008 but I knew that would be chaos and I was fine with it because my expectations were set that it would be packed.

I think it truly is about expectations. I am sure there are days and times when crowds are lower, or you can get to the parks at opening to avoid crowds, or use FP and plan the day to avoid crowds but overall I feel like there is not a consistently slow time anymore. OP - I was disappointed in January 2013 because I know exactly how you feel. I expected much lower crowd levels than we encountered.

My DH was on two of the trips I've been on since 2006 and he loved our trip in 2006 but wasn't as excited about the crowds in 2013. If we go again in the next couple years I'll probably try the end of January again but I am nervous. One more trip with crowds and I think he'll be done with WDW and that would make me sad

Unfortunately (or fortunately if you are Disney...), the parks year long are more busy then they were in January 2006. You are correct that there is not a consistently "slow" time by your definition anymore. TSM will never have a 20 minute or less wait at 1:00 PM. If that is your expectation you will be disappointed. This is a result of the success that Disney has enjoyed in recent years.

 

[loveshak22]

Unfortunately (or fortunately if you are Disney...), the parks year long are more busy then they were in January 2006. You are correct that there is not a consistently "slow" time by your definition anymore. TSM will never have a 20 minute or less wait at 1:00 PM. If that is your expectation you will be disappointed. This is a result of the success that Disney has enjoyed in recent years.

And that makes me sad...

It's a business and I expect them to want to pack the parks full year round so I'm not naive...but it I loved the parks when the "rush" and "crowds" are gone and you can relax and have fun at your own pace. My DH and I don't have kids so standing in line to ride Peter Pan for 45 minutes in a slow season loses it's excitement quickly. I'm worried that eventually the love of WDW won't be able to overcome my hatred of crowds - which is fine because that's my choice and WDW is a business and will have millions of more people planning vacations to fill my spot!

 

[DividedSky]

EasyWDW has MK as not recommended today - it sounds like he's right.

the day is listed as a 3 however.

it is not recommended in relation to the other parks, but an overall rating of 3 indicates no park should be that busy, right?

 

[loveshak22]

the day is listed as a 3 however.

it is not recommended in relation to the other parks, but an overall rating of 3 indicates no park should be that busy, right?

I would agree with that but my expectation of a 3 must be off when I travel to WDW these days!

 

[shalom]

it is not recommended in relation to the other parks, but an overall rating of 3 indicates no park should be that busy, right?

Josh at EasyWDW often says that it's more important to avoid the busy park in the lower ratings (3 or below). Disney doesn't open the second "track" on rides (or add a second Mickey when meeting characters, whatever) when it's offseason, and there are fewer CMs on call and sometimes fewer places to eat open and fewer carts and just generally less of everything around, plus the overall rating is an average, all of which means that if one park is drawing a larger percentage of that smaller overall number, waits can be surprisingly high.

At least I think that was his explanation. At any rate, I know he's said that it's more important to pay attention to busiest park with the smaller overall numbers, because the difference between busiest and least busy is much more extreme.

 

[stinkpickle]

We got a LOT done at MK last night, but we didn't arrive until 7pm and stayed until the end of EMH at midnight. The posted wait times were probably double on all rides. The only FP+ we used was for Peter Pan, and I doubt we even needed it. There were a lot of people around, but waits were short. It carried over today at Epcot. In fact, Mission Space had a 40 min posted wait for the orange side, but we rode it twice with a 10 minute wait, tops! Test track had 40 minutes posted shortly after opening, but I doubt it was even 15 minutes. We hoped to AK this afternoon and rode EE seven times. I hope this keeps up. We are just ignoring the posted times.

 

[3happydancers]

We got a LOT done at MK last night, but we didn't arrive until 7pm and stayed until the end of EMH at midnight. The posted wait times were probably double on all rides. The only FP+ we used was for Peter Pan, and I doubt we even needed it. There were a lot of people around, but waits were short. It carried over today at Epcot. In fact, Mission Space had a 40 min posted wait for the orange side, but we rode it twice with a 10 minute wait, tops! Test track had 40 minutes posted shortly after opening, but I doubt it was even 15 minutes. We hoped to AK this afternoon and rode EE seven times. I hope this keeps up. We are just ignoring the posted times.

This is good to know!

 

[stinkpickle]

I think the exaggerated waits for second tier rides at Epcot might be attributed to the leftover FP+ selections that nobody wanted to make back when they had to choose three. I am just assuming that Disney is accounting for them to show up in their wait times. Not sure, though.

 

[m5mike]

Crazy we were in MK yesterday and today and it seemed really smooth and easy to get around
We did arrive at rope drop and already had fast passes which may have helped
But definitely less people today

 

[DividedSky]

Josh at EasyWDW often says that it's more important to avoid the busy park in the lower ratings (3 or below). Disney doesn't open the second "track" on rides (or add a second Mickey when meeting characters, whatever) when it's offseason, and there are fewer CMs on call and sometimes fewer places to eat open and fewer carts and just generally less of everything around, plus the overall rating is an average, all of which means that if one park is drawing a larger percentage of that smaller overall number, waits can be surprisingly high.

At least I think that was his explanation. At any rate, I know he's said that it's more important to pay attention to busiest park with the smaller overall numbers, because the difference between busiest and least busy is much more extreme.

touring Plans explains when crowd levels are low, picking which park you go to is less important. I put way more stock into touringplans.

The reason I put more stock in touringplans and their rating system is they quantify things, and also disclose after the fact what they got wrong and what they got right.

for instance, yesterday they rated MK as a 3. They then proceed to show how long they predicted wait times for rides, and how long those rides were.

For instance, they predicted the average wait time at Space Mountain to be 30 minutes, the actual average wait time that day was 21 minutes.

EasyWDW says you should avoid a park when Space Mountain had a wait of 21 minutes. So right off the bat EasyWDW is less useful for how I want to use crowd predictors.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

touring Plans explains when crowd levels are low, picking which park you go to is less important. I put way more stock into touringplans.

The reason I put more stock in touringplans and their rating system is they quantify things, and also disclose after the fact what they got wrong and what they got right.

for instance, yesterday they rated MK as a 3. They then proceed to show how long they predicted wait times for rides, and how long those rides were.

For instance, they predicted the average wait time at Space Mountain to be 30 minutes, the actual average wait time that day was 21 minutes.

EasyWDW says you should avoid a park when Space Mountain had a wait of 21 minutes. So right off the bat EasyWDW is less useful for how I want to use crowd predictors.

Funny, I've always found touringplans to be WAAAAYYYY off on their recommendations.

 

[Magpie]

touring Plans explains when crowd levels are low, picking which park you go to is less important. I put way more stock into touringplans.

The reason I put more stock in touringplans and their rating system is they quantify things, and also disclose after the fact what they got wrong and what they got right.

for instance, yesterday they rated MK as a 3. They then proceed to show how long they predicted wait times for rides, and how long those rides were.

For instance, they predicted the average wait time at Space Mountain to be 30 minutes, the actual average wait time that day was 21 minutes.

EasyWDW says you should avoid a park when Space Mountain had a wait of 21 minutes. So right off the bat EasyWDW is less useful for how I want to use crowd predictors.

Averages aren't much use to you if you show up when Space Mountain is 60 minutes, versus back when it was 5 minutes.

It's not like an average of 21 minutes ensures that you'll only ever have to wait 21 minutes for a ride, any time of the day. You still need to know what time is best to ride. And if you already know what time is best to ride, then why would you care about the average ride time that day, anyway?

I used to use Touring Plans. I found them inaccurate one too many times and their for-pay customized touring plan calculator program was very frustrating to try to use. Yes, they tell you when they were wrong, which is admirable. However, it's too late by that point!

Josh's logic makes sense to me. He hasn't steered me wrong once in the last three trips.

I've let my Touring Plans subscription lapse and I'm sticking with what works!