DCA crowd predictions on Wed. 6/16?

[closetmickey]

Planning a day trip to DCA on Wed, the 16th. Hoping for decent crowd level as World of Color will not be a draw due to Grad night closing. Any opinions out there? Thanks!

 

[HydroGuy]

Planning a day trip to DCA on Wed, the 16th. Hoping for decent crowd level as World of Color will not be a draw due to Grad night closing. Any opinions out there? Thanks!

Pretty low I would expect. A weekday and an early closing. No World of Color.

 

[cypressmom]

Pretty low I would expect. A weekday and an early closing. No World of Color.

We will be there and I'm planning on it being a light day. Fingers crossed.

 

[staffieri]

I am form here and there will be crowds. Disney is already getting crowded. So get there early. It is a black out day for So Cal AP holders so that means crowds. However, The park opens at 8am which means many do not realize that and get there late. So if you can be at the park in line at 7:30am you will have an amazing time. Get on your favorite rides and at 10 am start to get some Fastpasses. See when you can get your next one and get it. Ride until 11:20 eat lunch and after lunch hit your fastpass ride.
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HAVE FUN!!!

 

[closetmickey]

I am form here and there will be crowds. Disney is already getting crowded. So get there early. It is a black out day for So Cal AP holders so that means crowds. However, The park opens at 8am which means many do not realize that and get there late. So if you can be at the park in line at 7:30am you will have an amazing time. Get on your favorite rides and at 10 am start to get some Fastpasses. See when you can get your next one and get it. Ride until 11:20 eat lunch and after lunch hit your fastpass ride.
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HAVE FUN!!!

From what I have been reading lately, I was under the impression that blackout days in summer for So Cal AP's were actually less crowded than days they could go. Hmmmm.....

 

[closetmickey]

oops...should have first thanked everyone for their responses.

 

[staffieri]

You are mis informed or We both are not making are self clear. If an AP holder is blocked out, which means the AP holder can not come that day or has to pay more $ it means Disney is expecting more crowds and does not want us there. That is why the SoCal Ap pass is the cheapest they have us blocked out every weekend, all of July, and every holiday. They don't want us AP people there when they already have a crowd. Trust me have been an Ap holder for many years and I am happy not to be there for the big crowds.

 

[Eeee-va]

From what I have been reading lately, I was under the impression that blackout days in summer for So Cal AP's were actually less crowded than days they could go. Hmmmm.....

In the last year or two, your conclusion has mostly been the case. (The largest exception I can think of was the two weeks after Christmas up through New Year's, which were incredibly busy despite being ultra-blockout dates when even Deluxe passholders couldn't get in.)

Last week, we found the park to seem more crowded on Wednesday (not a blockout day) and then oddly, Thursday (Grad Nite, blockout day).

Friday (blockout day AND World of Color's premiere) was not too bad for most of the day and Saturday (blockout day for even Deluxe passholders AND we arrived late!!!) was overall light; even a CM working said so, so it must be true. Sunday (not a blockout day except for the cheapest APs) was expected to be very busy.

Weather can affect things too--if it looks like it might rain, locals do tend to stay away.

But I think the difference between Saturday and Sunday, at least, was due to blockout days. The wait board picture I have from about 11:30 AM Saturday is very similar to the one I have for about 10:40 AM on Sunday.

Here's Hydroguy's popular opinion on blockouts and how they affect crowds, which were accurate for this trip (again, late December was the only time that I heard blockout theories absolutely didn't hold true):
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2365983

 

[HydroGuy]

You are mis informed or We both are not making are self clear. If an AP holder is blocked out, which means the AP holder can not come that day or has to pay more $ it means Disney is expecting more crowds and does not want us there. That is why the SoCal Ap pass is the cheapest they have us blocked out every weekend, all of July, and every holiday. They don't want us AP people there when they already have a crowd. Trust me have been an Ap holder for many years and I am happy not to be there for the big crowds.

FWIW, your experience is very different from many people around here and from reports by MiceAge's Al Lutz. You can read some of Al Lutz's editorials in the links in this thread:

"Understanding AP Blockouts and Impact on Crowds" http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2365983

 

[staffieri]

Thanks everyone that was very interested reading. I just found this side of the board. I am in the WDW and Cruise form all the time. I think many of what they said was true, like squeezing in before black out. I hate crowds so much. I'm spoiled. Crowds are more then 20 minute line. So I go weekdays and early.

Best new thing******
Iphone has an app for line waits at Disney. This will be interesting to see how it will effect AP holders from popping in. I live 30 minutes away and I look on my phone and it tells me wait times at the rides. Pretty cool.

HOPING YOU MISS THE CROWDS!!!

 

[Monkey Monkey]

FWIW, your experience is very different from many people around here and from reports by MiceAge's Al Lutz. You can read some of Al Lutz's editorials in the links in this thread:

"Understanding AP Blockouts and Impact on Crowds" http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2365983

I can guarantee you that weekends and summer are more crowded than mid-week in the off-season. It's illogical to assume otherwise. Any SoCal AP holder who has been often can tell you that it is far less crowded at the parks during the week than on blockout dates. I've been several times this year and am emphatic when I say that the predictions of huge crowds when SoCal APs are not blocked out are simply off-base and exaggerated.

Think about it. Disney created the SoCal APs to get locals in the parks when they need more guests = $$$. They don't need them over the summer or on weekends because the crowd levels are already high.

Trust me, I've been there. I've seen it.

 

[HydroGuy]

I can guarantee you that weekends and summer are more crowded than mid-week in the off-season. It's illogical to assume otherwise. Any SoCal AP holder who has been often can tell you that it is far less crowded at the parks during the week than on blockout dates. I've been several times this year and am emphatic when I say that the predictions of huge crowds when SoCal APs are not blocked out are simply off-base and exaggerated.

Think about it. Disney created the SoCal APs to get locals in the parks when they need more guests = $$$. They don't need them over the summer or on weekends because the crowd levels are already high.

Trust me, I've been there. I've seen it.

What the PP was talking about was July - not off-season. And that is what Al Lutz talks about too.

The PP was recommending (if I understood right) that guests go on non-blocked days rather than blocked days and that July would be busier than the non-blocked days of June and (I would guess) late August. Experience over the last few years is pretty consistent that is not the case.

What happens in off-season is something different and worth its own discussion.