Crowds were brutal????!

[KEANE]

Just back from WL. Stayed Nov.11-15. I realize Disney is the ultimate destination but WoW! We started at MK and it was unbelievable. Monorails,buses, boats weren't really a problem for some reason but the parks ,MK,AK and MGM (super soaps wknd) were just not fun. I realize the holiday didn't help but this was summer busy ! The WL was busy but not overbearing and people seemed to be very pleasant. Love Disney but I'm switching my annual dates . Please tell me why it was so busy? Thanx!

 

[Cinderellagrl]

I was down Nov 6-13. One of the CM's at our resort said it was because of the hurricanes. A lot of people were making up for their lost vacations. I'm sure Super Soap Weekend had a factor, and I also think there was a Realtor Convention, too.

 

[steveanddonna]

One of the CM's at our resort said it was because of the hurricanes. A lot of people were making up for their lost vacations.

It was exceptionally crowded when we were there
Oct. 19-26, too and we heard the same thing from a couple of CMs.

 

[Sammie]

Several reasons. Hurricanes, people rebooked Fall Vacations. Disney does a great job of offering specials and special events to fill the Fall months. Food and Wine Festival, Halloween Party, Golf Tournament are a few.

Internet forums and guidebooks raving about going in the nonsummer months. Many get Fall Breaks of a week now in their schools. Many will do anything to avoid summer crowds and the heat.

 

[rigsby25]

We went down from 11/11 to 11/14 and experienced the same thing. The very worst was Epcot in the evening. You really couldn't even walk. We went to MGM late Saturday and getting on the rides was easy. MK was very crowded Saturday night. I will never go down during soaps weekend/food and wine festival again!

 

[hellooothere]

Not only did people reschedule vacations due to the hurricanes but Disney also gave out a lot of free passes to many companies who helped out with the hurricane relief etc. Those passes were valid until mid December I believe so this may be impacting attendance as well.

 

[hannahryan]

I really think the holiday (Veterans Day) had a lot to do with it. I think many people came for a long weekend. We were at WDW 11/4-11/11. Went to MGM on Thursday 11/4-pretty low crowds. We went to MK on Friday 11/5-moderately crowded. Saturday we went to DTD (we figured the parks would be jammed). Sunday 11/7 we went to Epcot and I was shocked at the lack of crowds. We were able to ride everything easily and World Showcase was not that busy. We were able to find a great spot for Illuminations with no problem. Tuesday 11/9 we went to AK. Very low crowds that day. We walked into the Lion King show two minutes before it was to start. Our fast pass return time for the safari ride was within 1/2 hour. No wait for Dinosaur. Wednesday 11/10 we went to MK. It was great! We rode Splash, Big Thunder and Haunted Mansion with no wait. The crowds picked up a little during the day, but it was very bearable. I even got a great seat on main street for the 3pm parade just a 1/2 hour before it started. Thursday 11/11 we went to MGM for a couple of hours before our flight. I couldn't believe the number of people going in...crazy. I think a holiday draws so many people including all the locals.

 

[cdpa4d]

I think there were several reason why the World was busy this past weekend.
1. Veteran's Day - Most Government workers were off. There are a lot of Government workers out there.
2. Super Soap Weekend - This is one of the most populare weekend events at the World.
3. Food and Wine Fest - This was the last weekend of the Festival. Not only that but Chubby Checker was performing at EPCOT. He is still very popular.
4. Stitch was expected to open this past weekend. That probably influanced some people to go to the World. Especially media.
5. Festival of the Masters - This event was at Downtown Disney and is extremely under-rated. Many people come to the World just for this event. It's all sorts of art from around the world on display.
I am sure the hurricanes changed people's plans. But let's face it. Disney World is extremely popular. The secret is out!

ADP

 

[llrain]

did ya ever stop to think that maybe the days of slow seasons could be changing...or could be even overwith ....or becoming less and less? We are talking historical are we not? Nothing stays the same forever.Everyoine talks "well its always this crowded at this time so I am all set, it cant be crowded"

Everything i keep reading here are people complaining how busy it is when it really isnt supposed to be.Who says it isnt supposed to be busy this time of the year? Oh ya, historical figures..



The times are a changing....Disney came up with a great way to keep the parks full, offeirng great deals to fill the rooms and just by reading here they have accompolished that hands down..

Everything you mentioned about why the parks were so busy is disneys way of keeping the parks full all the time..Where was it i read that each year about 9 or 10 months out of the year now Disney spends celebrating SOMETHING or another.....An example was that they extended the food and wine from 30 days to 45 days...

This my friends is why you are experiencing large crowds at so called low seasons.....And personally if I were running disney I would be doing the same thing..cause its keeping the parks full.

 

[ahoff]

As Yogi says, "No one goes there anymore, it's too crowded"

 

[Mickey Fliers]

We just returned from our trip, 11/7 - 11/13. I didn't think that the crowds were that bad at all. You have to remember, it is Disneyworld so plan for crowds, no matter when you are going. If there aren't any, then what a pleasant surprise.

 

[LisaRay]

We were also just there Nov. 7th-13th. And we thought the crowds were terrible! We have gone every year for the past 12 years but not always at the same time.

The last 3 years were in Jan. low crowds but cold!!
the 2 years before that were in Nov./Dec. the week after thanksgiving. low crowds. but i think that week has caught on more in the past couple of years.

This year we only picked the week we went because my DH had a business thing in Tampa the 1st week of Nov. and we couldn't add a week before it so we added the week after it.

But the person who was at MK on wed. the 10th and said it wasn't crowded ?? there was a 50 minute wait for splash and a 45 minute wait for big thunder. Now these may not be as bad as summer but we have never in the past years of off season traveling saw waits like this at all! The only day we had a good time and got in alot of things was on Tues. the 9th and that is because it rained and really thinned out the people!

We meet up with some cousin's from a different state than us while we were down there and before we even brought up the subject they brought it up and said that they have been coming either the 2nd or 3rd week of Nov. for the past 5 years and they just couldn't believe how much busier it was. They said they decided to go to Universal one day unplanned and it was nice over there.

Now i will say that i expected it more crowded then Jan. as i knew that Food and Wine, super soap, and vetern's day would play a part but we were all dissapointed in our park days on this trip. We usually get so much more done. Another thing that really bothered us was that the MK would close at 7pm in Jan. on a slow day but here we were in the MK and we were waiting and using fast pass like crazy and it honestly seemed like at least twice the amount of people as Jan. but the park was still only open till 7pm!! One of the things about shorter hours is usually less crowds and more can be done. But the hours were the same as our Jan. trips and yet the crowds were alot bigger.

Also we stayed at POP and there was a big difference there between our Jan. trip and this trip!! TONS more people in that food court, gift shop, arcade, and on the buss's!!

 

[mom-2greatkids]

My 2 cents worth--

We go to WDW every January, and it isn't crowded at all (except MLK weekend). DH and I went for a quick trip Oct 20-23, and we were pleasantly surprised by how short the lines were. I had anticipated over 60 minute waits for the big attractions in the afternoon, but I don't think we waited more than 30 minutes for anything. I did have a "plan" going into it, as we only had 2 days and wanted to do all 4 parks. We made great use of FP and were able to do much more than we thought.

I guess when going to WDW I'd rather anticipate larger crowds and be surprised with smaller ones than the other way around.

 

[ElizabethB]

Just returned from BWV trip Nov. 5 through 15. Crowds were very, very heavy. We pretty much avoided the parks (except for Epcot on weekdays) and did solely Food and Wine Festival Events (Exquisite Evenings at Epcot, Signature Dinners and Food & Wine Pairings). We finally found a little slower time at Magic Kingdom on Sunday morning, Nov. 14, but that was it).

The first half of November used to be a good time to go, but no more. I do not believe it was due to rescheduled hurricane trips. Rather, Disney has worked at it and now does a great job of filling the parks at what used to be slow times. Remember, early November is no longer value season at the deluxe resorts starting in 2005. That should tell the tale.

Between the F&W Festival, Super Soap Weekend, Festival of the Masters, Jersey Week, Election Day, Veteran's Day and what seemed to be a lot of convention activity, well it seemed about as crowded as we've ever seen it and we've been there in May, June and August previously, as well as 6 previous trips during the first half of November. If I had wanted to do the parks with children, instead of an adult trip with limited seating F&W events, I would have been very disappointed.

 

[RustManFan]

New Jersey Teachers Convention on the 11th and 12th gave people a 4 day period without school. I went with my kids twice during this period and almost EVERYONE was from NJ ! (like us)

A week later crowds have always been much lighter....

 

[nowellsl]

My daughter was there from 11/11 - 11/14. Keep in mind that we have been many times in the last few years - probably at least 25 - all times of the year except the traditionally crowded times (summer, holidays). She says that it was more crowded this past weekend than she has ever seen it! Crowds don't usually bother her (I hate them!) so they must have been reallly bad for her to comment on them! Kind of makes me glad I stayed home!

 

[KEANE]

Originally posted by nowellsl
My daughter was there from 11/11 - 11/14. Keep in mind that we have been many times in the last few years - probably at least 25 - all times of the year except the traditionally crowded times (summer, holidays). She says that it was more crowded this past weekend than she has ever seen it! Crowds don't usually bother her (I hate them!) so they must have been reallly bad for her to comment on them! Kind of makes me glad I stayed home!

Thanks FYO. I don't like crowds when they make it imp. to enjoy yourself. Plus the little ones get overwhelmed!

 

[KEANE]

Thanks for the feedback. I realize crowds are part of it but at some point it takes the fun out of it! Not to mention small children. My kids actually asked us if we could skip the parks halfway thru our stay. We agreed and did not go near the parks and enjoyed our resort (WL) the rest of our stay.. They were so happy. What does that tell ya?