effect of large convention on crowds??

[kestral]

Yikes! I just found out that a convention with 53,000 attendees will be in Orlando during the first four days of our visit at the end of this month.

I've been dreaming of the uncrowded end of January parks. Will a convention of this size affect that - or is 53K a drop in the Orlando bucket?

The convention is the PGA merchandising convention - no idea if they all bring their families. The event is at the convention center on International Drive.

Anyone have any experience or guesses on how this might effect parks which are open the shorter hours?

Thanks!

Kestral

 

[eeyore0062]

Usually you won't find those attending the convention in the parks, as they will have meetings during the days. Often, the parks are open for the conventioneers after hours, so they too can enjoy WDW. However, if those conventioneers bring their families along with them, for the "free" vacation, you may find them in the parks. I still don't think it will make that big of an impact on 4 parks, and everything else there is to do in WDW. You may want to make sure you have PS in the evenings, if you are eating at the resort restaurants, and also, check to see what resort the conventioneers are staying in, as it has been known to happen that other guests may be displaced due to the convention, and it would be better to know ahead of time, than when you are checking in.

Have a great time, and don't worry too much about it!

 

[drusba]

That convention is there every year and it does not have a significant impact on crowds which are generally moderate at that time of year. Note I also think the 53,000 attendee prediction includes those from the local area.