Does Disney let parks become too crowded?

[bremja]

I just returned from six days at Disney World. The first three days the parks were crowded but manageable. The last three days (December 20-22) the parks were so crowded that even with good planning it's difficult to get on any more than four or five rides in 12 hours.
Does anyone else think it's unconscionable for Disney to allow so many people into the parks? I understand that at some point they do close the parks and do not allow any more people into them, but they really need to lower that threshold. On the days we left there were entire sections of the parking lot that had not been used, indicating to me that even more people could have entered the park, despite it being unmanageable already. With the exorbitant ticket prices and the ridiculous cost of everything from food to souvenirs inside the park, it seems that Disney should, at the very least, ensure that those who are able to get into the park can experience a great deal of the park. Had we not been able to take advantage of extra magic hours on two of the crowded days, I would have thought those days to be a complete waste of money.

 

[mariepapa]

Not with the almighty dollar signs looming in front of them. If they know this is historically their busiest time of year, I would bet they would try and get as many people as humanly possible in there to spend money!

 

[bicker]

Disney is very conscientious about cutting off admission when the park is truly too crowded. They did so this morning, as a matter of fact. We would all prefer to experience the carefree, less crowded park experience, but it isn't reasonable to expect that during school holidays, especially not Christmas or Easter. Large crowds are to be expected. If you do your homework, you can make the most of the experience, and have a great time.

However, again, the point is that Disney does keep track, and does cut of admissions when the parks truly get too crowded.

 

[sigmaphi289]

Disney does cut off park entrance when it is truly too busy. Think if you were the one on the outside when they cut off the admission. Disney knows that they have to maximize attendance when school is out, so it will always be the busiest during these times. Now you know why people take their kids out of school unexcused to avoid the crowds.

 

[Tara922c]

Well, the thing is, Disney is trying to make money. Imagine paying 5000 for your Disney vacation, and when you get there, the parks are full, and you can't get in. I don't know about you, but I would be mad. Being that anyone can buy a ticket, and use it on any given date, it would be hard to monitor in advance. Disney does do things like extended park hours. During Easter/Spring break time, MK stays open until 3 am for EMH twice a week, and until midnight other days. They do 2 spectros, instead of just one, and plan for extra CMs during that time. Example, when I did my college program, the month of January, I worked 30 hours per week, in March about 50, and during Easter/Spring break it was closer to 70, yes 70. My best advice is to avoid peak seasons. Whenever schools are out, it is going to be busy. Summer is going to be busy, but not as busy as the 2 weeks the whole country, and other countries have out for Christmas break, or Spring break. I refuse to go when it is that busy because I know I wouldn't have any fun due to the fact I have seen it first hand, and hate the crowds.

I was watching a documentary not too long ago, and on MKs opening day, there was 10K people in the park, now a days, that is a slow day. People like to vacation at WDW, and people's children have the same vacations. When I was a CM, I would have people come up to me, and say, "why is it so crowded?", I would say, as cheerfully as I could, "because everyone here had the same idea as you".

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

Not with the almighty dollar signs looming in front of them. If they know this is historically their busiest time of year, I would bet they would try and get as many people as humanly possible in there to spend money!

Exactly ... unfortunately I think we all tend to forget that Disney is a business and it's all about making money. With this being their busiest time of year, and thus having the opportunity to make tons of money, they're definitely going to let in as many people as they can safely. As the OP said, they do close the park to guests when it reaches capacity.

 

[bremja]

Disney is very conscientious about cutting off admission when the park is truly too crowded. They did so this morning, as a matter of fact. We would all prefer to experience the carefree, less crowded park experience, but it isn't reasonable to expect that during school holidays, especially not Christmas or Easter. Large crowds are to be expected. If you do your homework, you can make the most of the experience, and have a great time.

However, again, the point is that Disney does keep track, and does cut of admissions when the parks truly get too crowded.

I'm guessing--I don't know for sure--that admission is cutoff when the park is too crowded according to a legal definition. (Similar to a sign at a hotel pool that reads "No more than 35 people allowed in pool.") What I would like to see is admission closed before it gets to that point. I understand this is unrealistic, and the point of the parks is to cram as many people as possible into the parks and squeeze as much money from them as possible, but I think it would make everyone's visit to the parks better.

 

[PAcpl]

I remember going to Disney once when I was a kid and waiting well over an hour to get on 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea and The Haunted Mansion. And that was in the middle of the summer, no holidays.

On our first Disney trip as adults I expected to wait at least an hour on average to do any given attraction. Boy was I pleasantly surprised at the crowd levels. Being the end of September I figured we would avoid some people, but never expected rides to be walk on. Now we are so spoiled if we see any attraction with a wait time of 30+ minutes we either get a FastPass or just skip it.

 

[BradyBz12]

What I've learned in being on this board for a while is that, for every person that says the parks were beyond manageable, you'll find an equal number of people that say they managed it just fine and didn't think it was that bad. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that there will be some people that actually think that accomplishing 4 or 5 rides during Christmas week is pretty good.

I suspect it's all a matter of perception and expectations.

Disney stays in business by making money, and that means getting as many people into the parks as they can - within reason. Unfortunately what they have determined is "reasonable" isn't likely to be a level that every one of us standing in line would agree with.

 

[bicker]

I'm guessing--I don't know for sure--that admission is cutoff when the park is too crowded according to a legal definition.

There are a number of levels, so at least some of the levels are not according to the legal definition.

What I would like to see is admission closed before it gets to that point.

And if you were on the other side of the gate, perhaps you'd post that it was "unconscionable" that Disney effectively precluded you from the park you wanted to visit, during "the trip of a lifetime", for which you paid lots of your "hard earned money", when there was still legitimately room to accommodate you in the parks. You would not be unusual in doing so -- we have seen such messages posted many times when a theme parks was closed due to capacity.

... but I think it would make everyone's visit to the parks better.

Except those who are unnecessarily turned away.

 

[BradyBz12]

There are 4 levels of closures, so it really isn't just a question of what's "legal" - presumably there is some additional thought involved in how many people are let in at various stages...

The turnstile master computer at each park keeps track of both entries and exits. When a park capacity closes (which is done in stages) there has to be a certain number of people exiting, with the total "in park" below a certain number, before they start allowing people in again.

I am low enough on the totem pole that I have no idea what these numbers are.

There are four stages to park closing:

Stage 1 - The parking lot entrance is closed. You can only access the park if you are using Disney Transportation.

Stage 2 - The ticket windows are all closed (and the automated Ticket Vending Machines are turned off). Unless you already have a ticket you cannot get in.

Stage 3 - Only people with Annual Passes or current Resort IDs will be allowed in.

Stage 4 - Nobody is allowed in.

Note - having restaurant reservations in a park, even with written proof, will not override a stage closing for you.

Also, if you are staying at a Disney owned and operated Resort and have a ticket, you are guaranteed entry into A park. Not necessarily the one you want (unless you want to go into AK). And if you have entered and left a park and do not have a hopper you may not get into anything.

 

[safetymom]

So how would you feel if you were shut out of the parks because of the crowds? Disney can't win no matter what they do. If you are shut out people will complain, at least with the phase closing you have a chance of getting to the park that you would like to go to.

 

[wendy1974]

You may not have been aware of this before you planned your trip but the 2 weeks surrounding Christmas and New Years are considered the busiest and most crowded time to go, due to children being out of school and more people taking vacations. That would be why the 20-23rd had a change in crowds as that was the beginning of Christmas week. After going Easter week and having 2 hour waits for most of the rides I figured out pretty quick that a Holiday week is a bad time to go if you want shorter lines...

 

[bremja]

I was fully aware that the tail end of our trip would be during the busiest season. And one thing that last three days did was make me thankful for the first three days!

However, the problem of people being shutout of the parks if they implemented my idea of limiting attendance could be solved very easily. They simply sell admission tickets that are only good for specific days. That way people know before they plan their vacation whether or not they'll be able to get into the parks.

This is all moot, because nothing is ever going to change. I don't plan another trip to Disney anytime soon, but I will definitely warn others not to go during peak time. It's just not worth it.

Having said that, it was nice to take advantage of the evening extra magic hours after Magic Kingdom closed at 11 pm. My wife has a fantastic picture of my son riding on the teacups at 2 am, when we literally had the entire ride to ourselves!

 

[PAcpl]

Have any of the other parks ever closed due to maximum capacity? I would assume that Animal Kingdom and Epcot would be big enough to support plenty of guests.

 

[bicker]

They simply sell admission tickets that are only good for specific days.

That would preclude the provision of park hoppers, one of the most common ticket features park-goers select.

(I suspect your next suggestion would be to set an admission limit for all four parks, together. However, if I recall correctly, WDW has never reached full capacity at all four parks, simultaneously, so effectively, your suggestion, in this realized context, is already in place.)

 

[Micca]

With safety guidelines firmly in place, WDW is a business that makes money from having gi-normous crowds of people in attendance. Barring safety concerns, the more the merrier with respect to profitability.

 

[ols386]

We were at WDW once, in the very early 90's, and we were driving near the MK, and there was a sign that said the park was "FULL" for that day. That wasn't a park we had planned to visit that particular day, we went to another, but when I saw the sign "FULL", I wasn't sure if that meant that it was actually closed or not? I would think that meant that it was indeed closed.

 

[Yoshi]

However, if I recall correctly, WDW has never reached full capacity at all four parks, simultaneously, so effectively, your suggestion, in this realized context, is already in place.)

I wouldn't want to be in the parks if all 4 were filled at the same time.

I think it was on Thursday December 28th 2006, MK, Studios and AK were all filled to capacity. I was at the MK that day, but I don't know if all 3 were filled to capacity at the same time or it was just at some point of the day at different times each park reached capacity. It was so crowded you couldn't even walk.

 

[BradyBz12]

In the "sometimes it's a matter of perception/expectations department" I just came across this on another thread...

We just return home from our Christmas trip (arrived 12/17 and departed late on 12/27). We were pleasantly surprised that we were able to avoid the crowds with smart planning...

I wouldn't want to be in the parks if all 4 were filled at the same time.

I'm pretty sure if that happens, it's a sign of the apocalypse.