Crowds

[Joy4Ron]

A question to those of you who have much Disney experience.
What is oyur estimate of the crowds during Free DDP periods. Have youi noticed that the parks are dramatically more crowded?
I would love to get off cheaper, but at what expense? I don't want to have to stand in crazy long lines... What are your thoughts?

 

[luckyluch]

I've been on a few trips during free dining and honestly,the crowd really is not that bad the attraction lines are roughly 15-20 min waits.The one ride that was crazy last september but i believe is all the time was Toy Story Mania.That was like 90+ mins with fast passes being gone before noon.The crowds is not what you have to worry about ,it's the weather...So humid.Everyday one of us would say,"is it possible it's hotter than yesterday?"That was us,others might have a different take on this.hope this helps.

 

[Faldred]

The whole point of free dining is to attract guests at an otherwise non-busy time of year. As such, you'll likely find the parks relatively moderate in crowd size, but packed in the dining establishments.

 

[TDC Nala]

The parks will not be overly crowded, but the restaurants will be. (There won't be complete walk-ons to every attraction like there used to be before free dining, but it won't be anything like peak period crowds)

Toy Story Mania is the current "big thing" and will likely be crowded no matter what.

 

[Joy4Ron]

We don't normally do TS meals anyway, so that likely won't be a problem. We are kind of a go-go-go family, and don't want to miss out on the rides and attractions. I think this trip we will likely do at least on TS meal, but that may be at DTD anyway. Have a nice night out.
When we are in the parks we try to strategize to make the most of it.

 

[harpinjean]

You will want to have ADRs during the free dining because things book up fast. The parks don't seem that crowded. You might have to use FP for the popular rides, but that is par for the course.

 

[TDC Nala]

If the OP is going to Downtown Disney to eat, it's likely they are looking to select a restaurant that doesn't accept DDP. Those won't book up as fast. (If you choose any restaurant that accepts DDP you probably need to book it ASAP if you want to be sure to get in without a long wait.)

 

[tami82]

we went August 22-29 last year and crowds at the restaurants werent bad. I guess I was smart as i made my dinner reservations early for either 4:30 or 5:00 and only waited about 5 minutes for one dinner. I think the later you eat the more chance of wait times. The crowds in the parks werent bad, some rides we walked right on, others a 10-15 min wait, used Fast Pass so all in all had a great experience. So good we are going back this year.

 

[Maize&Blue]

The biggest thing is make sure you get your reservations taken care of. We found it difficult to find opening to places we really wanted to go. Of coarse, maybe the 6 people we have made a difference there.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

We don't normally do TS meals anyway, so that likely won't be a problem. We are kind of a go-go-go family, and don't want to miss out on the rides and attractions. I think this trip we will likely do at least on TS meal, but that may be at DTD anyway. Have a nice night out.
When we are in the parks we try to strategize to make the most of it.

Taking out an hour or hour and a half out of our day has never hampered our touring schedule. In fact, it makes it more efficient. We do a lot of character meals, therefore we don't have to wait in the long character lines in the parks.

 

[Tarzan&Cinderella]

crowds are not bad. Disney does the free dining plan to attract guests because attendance is low during hurricane season. Make sure to make ADR's though.

 

[CanadianPaco]

crowds are not bad. Disney does the free dining plan to attract guests because attendance is low during hurricane season. Make sure to make ADR's though.

Well said! You couldn't guarentee and restaurant table but the parks were awesome when we went last August. Just make sure you have ADRs where you really want to eat!

 

[sgrabin]

A question to those of you who have much Disney experience.
What is oyur estimate of the crowds during Free DDP periods. Have youi noticed that the parks are dramatically more crowded?
I would love to get off cheaper, but at what expense? I don't want to have to stand in crazy long lines... What are your thoughts?

No problems with crowds at the parks during the free DDP period. It may be difficult to get a good ADR, but attendance at the parks is low. Just stay out of Epcot during the weekend when the Food & Wine festival is there. Go during the weekday, NOT Saturday.

Good Luck!