First week in Dec crowds vs second week in Dec?

[disneynutz]

Like the op, we have vacationed at WDW starting after Thanksgiving for years and this year the crowd level was noticeably higher. Unfortunately that is want Disney wants so I fear that our slower time is gone. Looking for cooler weather and lower crowds, any suggestions?

 

[goofy4tink]

Darn it!!! Well, I may just stick with the first week in Dec and deal with the PW groups. It would seem that the second week is just as bad, if not worse!! Thanks all.

 

[dreiwhit]

The word has definitely been out about the first half of December for a few years now. It is no longer a low crowd time.

I agree. Our trip was Nov 27-Dec 2 - the week after Thanksgiving. It was more crowded than we expected, more crowded than our Feb 29-Mar 4 trip, and more crowded than friends of ours who have gone that week in the past had told us to expect.

I think the days of slow weeks are over. Disney knows when they are, and will try to fill those weeks as best they can.

But, even though it was more crowded, by getting there at rope drop, having a good touring plan, and using our Fast Passes, we usually got everything done we wanted to get done by 4:30pm.

Rope drop is your friend. Touring plans are your best friend. Fast Passes are your life long chums!

 

[Rajah]

We just finished our trip, and the crowds were insane compared to my visits in the (somewhat distant) past. We still had a great time, but wow.
Universal , on the other hand, was great

 

[ExpatDisneyLover]

I was there Nov. 30th - December 14th - crowds were crazy - second week didn't seem to matter. I found myself chilling at Universal much more than I thought I would. I wonder is this a new normal? I found myself wishing that Disney would build a third Disney park in the US - seems to be such high demand. I wouldn't mind a small park even - my last visits were to Hong Kong Disneyland and I loved it.

 

[Orsino]

Just got back and we noticed the crowds too. We assumed it was because the blackout days for Gold Passes was coming up. In other words, some people who would have gone next week for a Pre-Christmas (17 Dec - 23 Dec*) trip shifted up to avoid the blackout dates. That would also explain the crazy busy Saturday. Locals probably have the 17th blocked out, so went on the 10th as their last chance for a while.

* I'm kind of confused by the blackout dates. Some places say blackout starts on the 17, some say 19.

 

[Mel887]

We were there Dec 9-14 and it was definitely busier than I expected! I had read a lot about how this time of year isn't busy. I've definitely seen it busier when I've been in the summer before, but I would not call it low crowds at all. Especially on the weekend, which I know is usually busier. Hollywood Studios was crazy on the Saturday. Lines were massive the whole day! We still had a great time and got everything done since we went at rope drop every morning, but I really was expecting it to be less busy. On the other hand, we were at universal studios Dec 7 & 8. Walked on to every ride multiple times, even the 1st day when we didn't get there until around 1pm. There was 1 or 2 times that we waited maybe 10 minutes.

 

[pangyal]

We have gone at this time for years and this is the most crowded we have ever seen it. I hope it's an anomaly, as free dining has usually been offered at this time. We have been leaving the parks around 11:00am as it is mostly pointless to try to ride anything without a fastpass, the crowds are thick so it's annoying to try to get through the bottlenecks even to have DS play one of the map games, and it's just overall not pleasant compared to years past. The exception is AK, it was nice and chill there yesterday. Also, the Poly quiet pool is wonderfully deserted . No way are we even attempting any parks today.

 

[DekrRini]

I usually go from the Tuesday after Thanksgiving for 10-11 days. I don't stay at PW resorts and haven't seen a lot more kids at the parks so I've not noticed the impact they have. Maybe I was just lucky, but I didn't notice a larger crowd than usual. I guess I've gotten used to the no slow weeks. The only time I found the crowds annoying was at the MVMCP I attended. It seemed a lot busier than in the past, but that was my only complaint with crowd levels.

 

[Orsino]

Hollywood Studios was crazy on the Saturday. Lines were massive the whole day! We still had a great time and got everything done since we went at rope drop every morning, but I really was expecting it to be less busy.

We were also at Hollywood Studios on Saturday last week. I didn't find it too terrible. The only time we were really affected by crowds was for Jingle BAM! We saw the masses and bailed.
Wait times seemed as expected. We were also lucky with 4th and 5th FP. Lucked into TSMM and Rockin Rollercoaster fast passes, so that helped.

Truth is, I'm okay with waiting in line, I just don't like masses of people. As much as I like Fastpass, the unintended consequence is that there are more people in the walkways, which can be frustrating.

 

[danalea10]

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