Early-November trip - crowds and Genie+?

[jephyork]

I'm considering a last-minute DL/DCA trip on November 8-10, and I'd love to hear some advice from DLR regulars!

Do we think Genie+ will have debuted by then? I'm hoping not. The main reason I'm interested in going so soon is because I've heard that the lines are moving a lot faster without FastPass. I'd like to see what that's like before it vanishes.

What will the crowd levels look like, roughly? This is a Monday-Wednesday, and none of these days have after-hours parties.

And are there any threads with updated rope-dropping advice for the current era?

Any thoughts, advice and insight would be appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Foustketeer]

Gotta feel like there's always a chance Genie+ will be there by then, but of course, no one really knows. If they follow a similar timeline to WDW with announcements, looking at around an 11 day warning, which is right around your trip (if an announcement happened soon).

Being in that time between Halloween and Christmas, I think you will probably deal with lighter crowds, especially with the holiday on Thursday. Wednesday could see an uptick if people decide to really extend their weekend. More than likely see an increase in traffic in the evening as the local crowds show up, but this is all guess work. Using TouringPlans numbers from 2019 for this comparable time, crowds were 1s and 2s, so you might not have to deal with much.

As for rope-dropping, I would just say know what you want to hit first and kind of get those done. People still flock to the bigger ticket rides, so up to you to join in with that or wait it out until later in the day.

 

[MonocularVision]

We don’t have any date yet for Genie at Disneyland but here are some facts that might help:

• Disney Genie was originally announced on August 18th, 2021
• The launch date of October 19th for Disney World was announced on October 8th, for a lead time of only 11 days.
• Lightning Lane signs have started going up at Disneyland in the last few days.

With your start date 12 days away, I would say there is definitely a possibility it would launch by then. I would expect to know fairly soon for sure.

 

[disneylover102]

It seems like the lines for most rides at WDW aren’t affected a whole ton by genie+

 

[jephyork]

Thanks for all the replies, everyone! I guess the next few days will tell about Genie+ ...oh the suspense!

Foustketeer, that's encouraging about the TP numbers from 2019. Hard to beat a level 1-2 crowd! I'll cross my fingers.

EDIT: TP's crowd calendar won't show me its estimates for this year, boo. Are there any other sites out there that do reliable crowd estimates in this weird new Covid era?

 

[Foustketeer]

Thanks for all the replies, everyone! I guess the next few days will tell about Genie+ ...oh the suspense!

Foustketeer, that's encouraging about the TP numbers from 2019. Hard to beat a level 1-2 crowd! I'll cross my fingers.

EDIT: TP's crowd calendar won't show me its estimates for this year, boo. Are there any other sites out there that do reliable crowd estimates in this weird new Covid era?

TP is saying 6-3-2 for overall crowds for those three days, but of course, it's all guesswork and numbers should be taken with a grain of salt. I think you'll still find the mornings to be light crowds and then pick up throughout the day.

If you are a rope-dropper, I am sure you can get a bunch done in the first few hours of the day.

 

[JJ2017]

TP is saying 6-3-2 for overall crowds for those three days, but of course, it's all guesswork and numbers should be taken with a grain of salt. I think you'll still find the mornings to be light crowds and then pick up throughout the day.

If you are a rope-dropper, I am sure you can get a bunch done in the first few hours of the day.

How do I check TP for the crowd rating? Thursday, 11/4

 

[Hatboxer]

I’ve gone in early November twice (2017 and 2018) and both times it was busy, but crowds felt manageable to me (though not like “1s or 2’s either). Of course, back then we had Maxpass and between that and rope dropping, never had to wait much.

This year I’m headed back Nov 6-9! Can’t wait. Am actually hoping for Genie to come out by then but don’t think it seems likely that they’ll get it ready by then. My very unqualified opinion/guess is that they’ll have it out for the start of Christmastime or soon after.

 

[Foustketeer]

How do I check TP for the crowd rating? Thursday, 11/4

You have to subscribe to their Disneyland section or wait a few days and it might pop up in their free portion, I am not sure how that works.

 

[Hatboxer]

How do I check TP for the crowd rating? Thursday, 11/4

TP lists 11/4 as a level 4 overall, with DL a 3 and CA a 4.

 

[JJ2017]

TP lists 11/4 as a level 4 overall, with DL a 3 and CA a 4.

Thanks!!! No clue what this means, but we are so excited!!!