Crowds at MK today

[chris1212]

I know there has been lots of concern about crowds being higher than usual recently. We were at MK today and the crowds were definitely low. We have been going this week for the past 4 years and the crowd level was definitely on par with past years.

Before lunch the wait at mine train was listed at 30 minutes. SM was frequently around 15-20 minutes. Splash stand by line was basically the same length as the FP line and moved at the same speed in the afternoon. Many rides were almost walk on throughout the day. Just after lunch we waited barely 5 minutes for Small World.

We were also at MK last week Tuesday and Thursday and there is no comparison. Last Tuesday it felt very crowded and lines were long. So glad to see that this week really still has low crowds if you pick the right parks on the right days!

Also, we were at AK yesterday and it was also very low crowds. Everest was practically walk on in the afternoon.

 

[Accident]

This week is a lot lower than last week.. it's been nice

 

[chris1212]

Definitely much nicer! We have two young kids and were able to do 25 rides/characters today. Think we did a pretty good job!

 

[Blue32]

Any speculation on why last week was much busier? Was it Jersey week? Something else?

 

[Accident]

Any speculation on why last week was much busier? Was it Jersey week? Something else?

There was like 10 things going on at the same time, including jersey week. last week of f&w, pride was rescheduled for last weekend, dapperday, a rundisney event, veterans day, some big conferences, first week of MVMCP, people that came in early for destination d to enjoy the last weekend of f&w and MVMCP for the week, etc etc etc.. it was just a perfect storm of reasons for others to be at disney or in the area to visit disney.

 

[notrub98]

I had the opposite experience yesterday at MK! It was horrible! Wait times were insane after lunch (which was expected at that time) but I must have walked the opposite direction as you because I waited 70 minutes just to meet Rapunzel/Tiana and ran over to Mine Train for a 90 minute wait.

 

[peteykirch]

I thought yesterday was quite busy at MK. Peter Pan was at 85 minutes, Small World was over 30. We got there at rope drop, did everything we wanted to and left around 1

 

[Tribe]

As my mother would say when my brother and I were kids, "Somebody's Lying"
Seriously though, it is funny how we can get two opposite reports on the same day.

 

[wfjny]

Probably a lot of it is what your expectations are.

We were at MK on Saturday. At one point, 7DMT was 120, while Space mountain was 140 min, and Peter Pan was 90 min. Parking lots were full (almost full). People parked on the grass, and people parked in the left lane of the parking lot exit. We finally bailed about 4:00.

We were part of that perfect storm last week. Kids off from school on Friday, we turned it into a 4 day weekend. Very busy Friday and Saturday.

 

[Micca]

it is funny how we can get two opposite reports on the same day.

For further examples of this phenomenon see Disney restaurant reviews. One person's inedible mess is another person's best meal of the trip.

 

[crazedprincess]

Wow! At first I was going to say, GOOD NEWS! But now reading the responses, it looks like it's a case of being in the right place at the right time. Or the wrong place at the wrong time!

 

[sharadoc]

Is it possible the OP was talking about Monday and other folks who responded were discussing Tuesday??

 

[chris1212]

We were there Tuesday. We went on Small World about 1pm, posted wait was 20 minutes and changed to 25 while in line, however we waited only about 5 minutes actually. Magic Carpets in the afternoon we waited no more than 5 minutes. Carousel was compete walk on late afternoon.

Yes rides like PP and princess meet and greets will always have longer lines, but we plan those types of things for first thing or FP them.

Posted wait at Dumbo was 10 to 15 minutes for most of the afternoon. Last week Space was always posted around 75 mins, yesterday afternoon it went as low as 10 minutes at some points.

I think it's just planning your touring efficiently, no matter how low the crowds are rides like PP will always have line ups.

I don't know how many rides/characters people normally do in a day, but 25 yesterday was our record. And we did this with 2 little kids that need lots of bathroom breaks and snacks in between.

 

[kathy884]

We went Monday and crowds IMHO were quite heavy (a lot heavier than I expected). Touring plans had predicted a crowd level 5, but to me (and maybe I'm thinking of old visits when the parks weren't as crowded -- it felt like at least a 7). Fantasyland in particular was packed. I think these parties really affect crowd levels getting more people to go on days when there is no party so they can see evening fireworks and the projection show. Thanks goodness for FP+ and line wait apps. That gave us some control and meant we after doing one horrible line, we only did things with waits of 20 minutes or less or lines where we had a FP+ (got two more after using out first three). 7DMT was our one horrible line. Touring plans had predicted 50 minutes two weeks ago, the line said 70 minutes, but our actual wait time was 95 minutes. Yuck. After that, though, it was three fast passes in a row, walking around, enjoying ourselves, shopping, going on attractions with short waits and doing two more fast passes. We also did the parade, Wishes, and the projection show - -all fun. // If you happen to go on a week with parties, though, and can skip nighttime entertainment, going on a party day is so much better crowd wise (something I've done on previous trips). I'm noticing that the people reporting low crowds seem to have gone on party days. We had one and only one Disney day, though, and I catered to DS (21) who wanted to see Wishes and the projection show.

As a stockholder the crowds and Disney double dipping with revenues from both people with day tickets and parties is great; as a guest I really don't like it and resent having to deal with increased crowds on party weeks if you want a full day starting in the morning with evening fireworks, etc. and only want to buy a one day regular ticket. // All that said, though, Disney gets to call the shots. Despite heavier crowds than I would prefer we had so much fun, and I would do it again in a heart beat.

 

[undertheseas]

We have found the parks to be much more crowded than we expected. By 2:00 it's nuts and you can't walk. We are rope dropping and using FP and the rest of the afternoons are spent doing stuff like Sorcerers. It's been 4 years we have been here but this feels like summer crowds to us.

I forgot say we did MK on Monday and Wednesday, both non-party days which I am makes a difference. Disney Springs tonight was also packed, maybe because MK closed early.

 

[chris1212]

Yes we plan our MK days on party nights. Our kids are little and wouldn't last through the evening as well as the day. So we take advantage of the lower crowds during the Xmas party days.

 

[scard192]

We did MK on 2 party/early close days and got a ton done

 

[aviva5675]

anyone know why MK closed at 430 yesterday?

 

[aviva5675]

never mind

 

[TropicalDIS]

Was there Tuesday at 4 for the party. 4-7 was very nice. Low waits, some walk-ons and low crowds. Loved it.

There today till 7, party night. Place was jammed. 8-10 wasnt too bad but after that it was brutal. Long lines, 120 min at 7DMT, 60-90 at some of the other big ones.

And this was a party night! Havent seen it that bad in a while myself.