Crowds? WHAT crowds?

[Greg K.]

Howdy...this is a little off topic, more like a trip report. But I'm sitting here at Walt Disney World the second week of July and am STUNNED.

Maybe everyone came for the 4th and then left. But at this moment, The World is far from crowded. We've done a couple early mornings, and have been able to do all that we wanted, without elbowing the crowds and without having to stand in long lines. This morning, I ventured into the Magic Kingdom at about 9:15, and did NOT have to wait in line for admission, walked on to Space Mountain with a 10 minute wait (seemed more like 5 to me), rode Pooh with NO wait, had a leisurely breakfast at the bakery with NO LINE and browsed the shops and had my picture taken with Friar Tuck. The mobs, up until 11:30 or so, were nowhere to be seen. Maybe things pick up in the afternoon? Dunno.

Am I disappointed? Not on your life.

We're having a great trip, btw ... two and a half glorious weeks at the Beach Club Villas. Our first stay as DVC members !

I'll post a fuller report later...but for now, everything is just MAGICAL.

Also: weather has been surprisingly pleasant. Hot, yeah, but no worse than New York in July. And pretty tolerable, actually. But I do freak out when I slip into our car, feel the blast of heat, and notice that the thermometer on the dash reads "102."

 

[PaulaJ]

Wow! Thanks for the report. let's hope it continues!

 

[pintrader]

Gotta back ya on that post, Grag. Magic Kingdom opened at 9:00 this morning. I didn't get to the park until 9:30 and I had completed Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder, Pirates of the Carribbean, Enchanted Tiki Room and was in my seat for the start of It's a small world by the stroke of noon.

Yeeeee ha!!! That doesn't happen every Saturday!

 

[adisneynut]

I hope you both have a very magical trip . This will be our first trip in July and I am a little woried about the heat. It has been been cooler here is south Ga. This past week it was a little warmer. I hope we can still enjoy ourselves. We will be there July 26-29. This will be a neice's first visit.

 

[mickeymom629]

We were there the week before you and it was so crowded that I was recommending that people skip ee and e nights, but maybe I will just never plan to go around the 4th of July again! When we were there, the hotels were practically full, I was told.

Enjoy. I envy you and your long stay. One day I vow to do that myself!

 

[CarolA]

Actually if you want longer hours and more attractions you really need to hope it picks up. I was there July 4th and having been there during crowded times in the past I would say crowds are DOWN from several years ago. That explains the decisions to close earlier. I know I enjoy the smaller crowds, but....I worry about the long term effect on the park and it's employees.

 

[antmaril]

That is great news. We will be there Friday - hope the trend continues.

Thanks for posting.

Have fun!

 

[Kallison]

I've been so worried about the crowds for our late August trip. Hope the trend continues. Thanks for the report. In fact I LOVE you right now!!

 

[>>^..^<<]

Hmmmmm.... maybe everyone is over at Universal?

Good for you ~ enjoy this rarity.

>>^..^<<

 

[PaulaJ]

CarolA..You're right ..crowd conditions are a double edged sword. Less crowds can cause cutbacks in staff, hours,etc..etc.. ND WE DON'T WANT THAT. I guess we all want crowds, just not in the park where we are on any particular day. Is that so much to ask????

 

[Minniespal]

Wow!!!!

Thanks for posting.

 

[Jen D]

Originally posted by Greg K.
Hot, yeah, but no worse than New York in July. And pretty tolerable, actually. But I do freak out when I slip into our car, feel the blast of heat, and notice that the thermometer on the dash reads "102."

That's why we like the buses, baby! Get that arctic air conditioner blast!

 

[Tigger1]

Crownds were down the last of May into Middle of June. It felt wierd to walk around fantasyland without a crowd. Line waits were 10 to 45 minutes mostly 10 minutes though. We were at Animal Kingdom on a Thursday and I heard someone say how terrible the lines were at Magic Kingdom the day before, Wednesday. I guess we just got luck as we went to the Magic Kingdom on Tuesday with no crowds. I had already purchased the enight tickets but may not have if I new the lines were short all day Tuesday. In fact, rides were not much quicker during enight.

Less crowds may eventually mean less cast members and less riders per hour on rides. This could mean longer wait time.

Tigger

 

[lenshanem]

Oh, please let it stay that way for our trip!!!

 

[ZachnElli]

Well, this is good news for us! We leave in the morning!! But I have to say, I'm not surprised. We went at about the same time in 2001 and it's just not as crowded mid-month in July. That's why it's "value" season at the deluxe resorts. It's just slower this time of summer and probably this year especially.

 

[bobcat]

I agree it is a double edged sword but for our upcoming trip I am glad to hear it. I usually go in mid August and am plesed with the crowds then but was anxious about mid July fearing heavier crowds. Sounds like just the right amount to me.

Now the heat will be another matter. We have had an extreemly cool summer, really only one week of 80+ temps, so either the heat will feel really good or will kill me. LOL

 

[merrywether]

Crowds were light to medium when I was there as well (June 21-30). It was not the summer nightmare that I remember in years past. The only place that seemed a bit crowded was MGM. However, as my father in law pointed out, MGM is a smaller park, so it may just seem like there were more people.
We used fast pass a few times, but mostly, we were able to do stand-by with no more than a 20 min. wait.

Kim

 

[Greg K.]

One of the cast members told me around July the 8th that this is a great time to be here...because EVERYBODY comes down for the 4th, and there are a couple relatively slow weeks right after.

Now that we've been here just over a week, I can still report crowds are very tolerable, waits minimal (though a few big ticket items, like TofT have a 40-50 minute standby wait around noon time.)

Still...in the mornings it's been bliss.

One more thing: through a friend who is a cast member, I got to ride MISSION:SPACE via a cast preview. What an experience: the attraction was EMPTY, and we rode twice in a matter of 20 minutes. One time, my friend and I were the only two crew members in our pod!

Overall impression: good, not great. The liftoff IS an incredible rush, but mostly it felt like an enhanced STAR TOURS. Which is impressive. But I don't think this is something I would want to spend a long time waiting in line for. And the animation on the monitors leaves something to be desired.

One other impression: Gary Sinise's haircut sucks. I don't know WHAT he was thinking.

More later....

 

[MaryJ]

We had the same experience last year. We arrived on July 2, and the parks were VERY crowded. After the 4th, they really cleared out! I really think it has something to do with the holiday. Here's hoping it's still like that next week!

 

[pintrader]

I was in Epcot yesterday from 1-ish to 4 and I didn't encounter 200 people walking around the World Showcase.