Crowds REALLY large right now?

[hllb]

It's because of the pro bowl. January never used to be bad this week historically, but that all changed last year. We were there and it was crazy until the Saturday of the ProBowl and then the crowds died off. Sadly we were only able to enjoy the Parks for our vacation one day w/o those crowds.

Oh well.

I’m hoping you’re right!

 

[epcotty]

We experienced success like this on the Saturday of MLK weekend 1/13. By hitting rope drop we were already 3-4 rides in before we hit our first FP. We then used the "tap/modify/add" strategy on the app, and ended up using close to 10 FP that day to have a huge and successful day when standby wait times were pretty elevated.

I have noticed, though, that regardless of ride waiting times the walkways always seem more crowded than the used to. We were in MK on 3 different days during our trip and the ride times fluctuated, but the walkways always seemed crowded.

What does the tap/modify/add strategy entail?

 

[MickeyWaffles]

You’re not doomed. There might be more people than you were expecting.

My tip is to always expect it to be super crowded and if it’s not, then you’re not disappointed. People are always on here expecting to be slow and then it’s more crowded and it’s like their trip is ruined. Don’t ever expect it to be slow. You’re setting yourself up for disappointment. Expect it to be busy and you might be surprised

Also, we alternate going during busy times like Easter and New Years and slower times like September and May. I’ve never felt “doomed” during the super crowded trips. We have a great time no matter when we go and just roll with it.

 

[subtchr]

What does the tap/modify/add strategy entail?

I've heard it described as "tap/grab/modify".

Once you are into extra FP territory (after you use your pre-booked FP), as soon as you use a FP, you can look for another. So...

TAP - Scan your MagicBand at the FP entry

GRAB - Go immediately into MDE and grab a FP for another attraction, even if it's not the exact attraction or time that you want (of course, if the one you want is there, grab that one!)

MODIFY - Continue touching MODIFY for that new FP to see if another one you would prefer, or an earlier time, becomes available.

 

[quandrea]

One moment in time on a January afternoon has very little bearing on July. WDW doesn't have slow times anymore. Ride times ebb and flow during the day...things like IaSM can have big spikes followed by emptiness. It can be a 5 minute wait, then jump to 45, then go back down. Perhaps it was offline for a while.

As for FP+ helping or hurting, that's debatable. In my eyes, it helped tremendously. We never wait in a line more than 20 minutes, FP+ made it so that there's no reason to do so.

Completely agree. @Klayfish’s touring style seems similar to ours. We don’t ever have a need to wait. Fastpasses are available beyond your first three. You just have to grab them. We were there early August. I found it easier to navigate than January.

In addition to tap/grab/modify, I suggest moving up your second and third fastpasses after using the first. As soon as you scan through for the first, modify the second to an earlier time, and so on. We generally move seamlessly from Fastpass to Fastpass.

 

[ww52]

Wow - I had no idea I'd trigger a three page thread (and counting).

Forgot about the Pro Bowl - yes, that may have been a factor. This week will tell.

We are somewhat veterans - 8 trips but spanning nearly 30 years now. Getting there at opening has always been our strategy. So successful we'd never do it any other way.

We do need to spend a LOT more time planning - in part due to a larger group this time. We're already realizing it may be too cumbersome to have the whole group together the whole time at the parks. (7 adults and two small children)

I'm using the TouringPlans site (subscription based but pretty cheap) and we're starting to put in some preliminary ideas of attractions to see within certain time frames and let them optimize.

To my surprise - I put in 8 MK attractions between 9AM-Noon for a particular day in July (not EMH) and it came up with a plan that did NOT suggest any FastPasses at all.

However, I think the estimated walking time was too aggressive given the small children we'll have and their natural "distraction factor". Still - encouraging. I suspect we'd get 5-6 in, so we can use our allotted 3 FP+ for another park later in the afternoon.

The FastPass+ strategy will require a lot more thought. I'm sure there are other threads to read on this - so I don't want to ask suggestions here for things I'm sure are well covered elsewhere.

But the two strategies in conflict I read are
1. Get and use your 3 early in the day, so you can get more before they run out
2. Don't waste FastPasses early in the day if you get there at opening. Use them for headliners later in the day. (BTW - the optimized Touring Plan seems to confirm this idea.)

I'll be honest - right now I'm inclined to think the FP+ overall makes it worse. While there is some comfort in knowing we have a reservation for a headliner like Frozen, I'm not sure it's better than the old way of getting there early - getting in line - and if too long, then get a FastPass.

We'll see. The only thing I know for certain, FP+ was done after a lot of research by Disney to optimize the money spent by guests. As the original FP was. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

 

[LSUmiss]

That's my big problem with FP+, and part of the reason we haven't been back since 2012. I keep coming over to these boards as I want to return "home". But FP+ seems to be the same. Former walkons like Pirates are now long waits thanks to needlessly putting FP there.

While I agree & used to get aggravated w/ this for this very reason, the good thing is that FP+ is almost always available as a 4th FP t/o the day even during the busiest times. You may have to refresh a few times, but usually it's there. I have found this to be true w/ all of the rides that used to be walk on.

 

[WEDWDW]

Unless something has changed since our last January visit, this is one of the two times of year when WDW sees a major spike in tour groups.

Yes,the South Americans are on their Summer Break,so The 15s are touring now-it is mainly Brazil in January and mainly Argentina in February so there should be a changeover from Portuguese Chants to Spanish Chants soon!lol

There are also over HUNDREDS of Brazilian College Students on their Summer Break working at WDW right now on the ICP.

Start noticing Name Tags and you will be AMAZED at the number of current CMs who are from Brazil-they are EVERYWHERE.

And they are FANTASTIC Cast Members-excited to work for The Mouse,energetic and very conscientious-we told them WDW will not be the same when they leave!!!!

 

[disneydreamer1980]

I remember the days (late 90s, early 2000s) when January was a ghost town. I remember CMs telling us we could just stay on the rides after they were done if we wanted to ride again because there was no one in line. Just walking onto any and every ride, those were the days.

 

[LSUmiss]

You’re not doomed. There might be more people than you were expecting.

My tip is to always expect it to be super crowded and if it’s not, then you’re not disappointed. People are always on here expecting to be slow and then it’s more crowded and it’s like their trip is ruined. Don’t ever expect it to be slow. You’re setting yourself up for disappointment. Expect it to be busy and you might be surprised

Also, we alternate going during busy times like Easter and New Years and slower times like September and May. I’ve never felt “doomed” during the super crowded trips. We have a great time no matter when we go and just roll with it.

This is great advice. I use to get so disappointed b/c I chased the elusive "slow time". It doesn't exist! I have learned to master FP+ & it has given me more freedom to go when we want. We went during NYE 2 years ago & are going during Thanksgiving this yr. Those are times I would have never considered before. Also, since FP+ we have gone a few times during hot or summer mos. I would have never done this before, but since Fp+ limits waiting in lines, the heat doesn't bother us as much. We just go from ride to ride.

 

[GatorChris]

While I agree & used to get aggravated w/ this for this very reason, the good thing is that FP+ is almost always available as a 4th FP t/o the day even during the busiest times. You may have to refresh a few times, but usually it's there. I have found this to be true w/ all of the rides that used to be walk on.

But with the Legacy system, or the system at DL, I'm getting about 6 FPs a day. And that's getting multiple FPs for E-tickets like Space Mt or Indiana Jones. If all I got was 4 FPs, that would be like me showing up at the parks at Noon and leaving after dinner. Adding more FP machines just tends to mess things up. Seems like they broke something that didn't need fixing. But....I haven't tried it for myself yet, so I probably shouldn't judge yet. It just SEEMS awful. And perception is nine tenths of the law, right?

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

I remember the days (late 90s, early 2000s) when January was a ghost town. I remember CMs telling us we could just stay on the rides after they were done if we wanted to ride again because there was no one in line. Just walking onto any and every ride, those were the days.

This.

The last time I was there was end of January 2005. We will be there starting this Thursday. I have a feeling my experience will be a lot different this time around.

 

[LSUmiss]

But with the Legacy system, or the system at DL, I'm getting about 6 FPs a day. And that's getting multiple FPs for E-tickets like Space Mt or Indiana Jones. If all I got was 4 FPs, that would be like me showing up at the parks at Noon and leaving after dinner. Adding more FP machines just tends to mess things up. Seems like they broke something that didn't need fixing. But....I haven't tried it for myself yet, so I probably shouldn't judge yet. It just SEEMS awful. And perception is nine tenths of the law, right?

No I meant 4th FP+ on. We FP everything now. I never wait in lines anymore even during crowded times. FOP, Navi River & maybe Mine Train are the ones that I don't expect to ride multiple times in a day. All of the others are generally available if you refresh enough.

 

[jodifla]

Looking right now, about 6:15 Monday night, the wait times except for the really big rides look to be about 10 to 15 minutes.

 

[Farro]

I remember the days (late 90s, early 2000s) when January was a ghost town. I remember CMs telling us we could just stay on the rides after they were done if we wanted to ride again because there was no one in line. Just walking onto any and every ride, those were the days.

Oooh, see we would hate that! We like moderate crowds.
Last October people said it was insane and we agree it was crowded, but not that bad and we enjoyed it.

We like the hustle and bustle.

 

[WaywardMemphian]

Everyone needs to keep in mind that a winter storm hit right at the end of Christmas Break for lots of places especially the Northeast. I suspect some of what we saw that second week of Jan was folks that had to wait for flights to get rescheduled and hitting the parks again in the meantime on top of new arrivals.

The Pro Bowl may have something to do with things. Looking at the weather, it's 70 and cloudy in Orlando as I type this at 7:00pm(1-30-18). The wait time at Flight of Passage is 90 minutes. That's the lowest I've seen since I started paying attention a couple of months ago. I'd hit that line considering how plussed the que is.

 

[disneygirlsng]

But with the Legacy system, or the system at DL, I'm getting about 6 FPs a day. And that's getting multiple FPs for E-tickets like Space Mt or Indiana Jones. If all I got was 4 FPs, that would be like me showing up at the parks at Noon and leaving after dinner. Adding more FP machines just tends to mess things up. Seems like they broke something that didn't need fixing. But....I haven't tried it for myself yet, so I probably shouldn't judge yet. It just SEEMS awful. And perception is nine tenths of the law, right?

I usually get around 10 FPs in a full day at MK, and I've gotten as many as 15 in one day, though that was 2 years ago. That number is lower at other parks simply because there are less rides, but I typically get anywhere from 6-8 or so during a full day at the other parks as well. And this includes multiple rides on E-ticket rides. I was there a few weeks ago and used 9 FPs in 6 hours at MK. I MUCH prefer the new system. Just as many if not more rides, and a lot less work with no running around from one ride to the next to then have to go back to that ride later in the day to ride it.

 

[DaisyNY]

We use FP+ 60 days out to book all our favorites for our upcoming March trip. That said, we visit two-three times a year and don't feel like we have to hit everything. If this was my first visit or an upcoming visit during the busiest time, I would be upset about the craziness of scheduling ADRs and FPs.

 

[rinnythepooh]

Just got home Satuday. Way, way busier than previous Januarys. We think its crowded because:
. PANDORA, PANDORA, PANDORA
. Several couples told us they booked last min trips due to awful winter weather
. More tour groups than past years

 

[Babs1975]

Although we don't go in January, so I can't speak to that...if you haven't been in 5 or 6 years, you will see quite the difference. My family loved the old paper fp system and when it changed, I do feel it "punished" (in a sense) those of us who got up early and rope dropped and used fp to it's greatest advantage. IMO, the fp system now does contribute to longer lines and you'll see many people speak to that across these boards. That being said, it's the system we've got so it is what it is! It's still doable.