Here now (1/2 - 1/4)

[GADisneyDad14]

Anyone know what the current options are for the refillable popcorn buckets? Not the special one but the regular plastic buckets. Holiday, generic, etc.

FYI - You’ll get more people looking at your post / better responses if you start a new thread with your question.

 

[nevergrowup826]

1/3 was really bad for MK. i think it was worse than our 12/30 day in terms of crowds. I was not happy that they chose open at 9 instead of at least 8am. It did nothing to help the crowds by opening that late. On 12/20 with a 7am EMH, we hit every ride except Splash (4th FP later on), Buzz (did later in the day), Enchanted Tales (adults only this time, chose not to as we have done many times), barnstormer and rockets (see prior comment re Belle). We then had lunch at Liberty Tree (new favorite restaurant), dinner at BOG, dessert party at night, hung out on Tom's and on the Riverboat, and did shows the rest of the afternoon. It was a perfect day. That early morning opening is really necessary for a busy time like NY week, especially with the weather we had. Extra late hours is worthless to us.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

1/3 was really bad for MK. i think it was worse than our 12/30 day in terms of crowds. I was not happy that they chose open at 9 instead of at least 8am. It did nothing to help the crowds by opening that late. On 12/20 with a 7am EMH, we hit every ride except Splash (4th FP later on), Buzz (did later in the day), Enchanted Tales (adults only this time, chose not to as we have done many times), barnstormer and rockets (see prior comment re Belle). We then had lunch at Liberty Tree (new favorite restaurant), dinner at BOG, dessert party at night, hung out on Tom's and on the Riverboat, and did shows the rest of the afternoon. It was a perfect day. That early morning opening is really necessary for a busy time like NY week, especially with the weather we had. Extra late hours is worthless to us.

Why are the late hours worthless? Those are the shortest lines of the day.

 

[Animal]

Why are the late hours worthless? Those are the shortest lines of the day.

Perhaps they're morning people? I'm challenged to roll out of bed in time to make breakfast at the POFQ food court, so a discussion of the benefits of a 7 am open vs a 10 am open isn't very engaging for me!

 

[KayaWildfire]

Why are the late hours worthless? Those are the shortest lines of the day.

The late hours were rough for us on this trip(12/22-1/3). The parks just did not clear out like they usually do. The mornings were far better. When we went for the evening emh at MK on 12/30, several of the headliners were down and those that were open were posting nearly hour long waits. And this was at 1am. The dance parties were still going strong there were lots of off-site folks there long after park close. And I totally agree 1/3 at MK was nuts.

 

[kandb]

My daughter’s band spent the day at MK on 1/2 and she called and said she had never seen crowds like that in all her dozen trips. They rode small world at 11:15 so you all might have passed in line! They had a blast but rode very little. Most of those kids - it was their one and only ever day at Disney. We live in a very poor area and they soaked it up. The best thing was my advise for her to get a spot in the plaza garden opposite the dessert party area for herself and her friends around 6:30 (hoping it wasn’t all roped off) when the hub was packed already for 8pm fireworks. They had perfect views and room to breathe for pretty much the only time all day. No FP for them either as my daughter was only one with MDE (with AP) and the other kids got their tickets as they exited the bus. She asked a CM and he said they almost reached phased closure but not quite. I wasn’t surprised that touring plans had it as a 10/10 on historical crowd calendar the next day (as opposed to the predicted 9 )

That is so sad that most of the kids were at Disney for their one and only time and they barely got to ride anything. I know being in the park is exciting but not like getting to go on the rides. That is incredibly disappointing for those kids.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

The late hours were rough for us on this trip(12/22-1/3). The parks just did not clear out like they usually do. The mornings were far better. When we went for the evening emh at MK on 12/30, several of the headliners were down and those that were open were posting nearly hour long waits. And this was at 1am. The dance parties were still going strong there were lots of off-site folks there long after park close. And I totally agree 1/3 at MK was nuts.

The posted waits are intentionally exaggerated at night to discourage late riders. Those hour long posted waits were likely only 15-20 minutes.

I took a quick look at a few times from 12/30 around midnight:

Big Thunder 10
Haunted Mansion 3
Jungle Cruise 5
Peter Pan 15
Pirates 0
Space Mtn 10
Splash 10
Speedway 4
7 Dwarfs 30

Looks like a typical night at the MK to me.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

The posted waits are intentionally exaggerated at night to discourage late riders. Those hour long posted waits were likely only 15-20 minutes.

I took a quick look at a few times from 12/30 around midnight:

Big Thunder 10
Haunted Mansion 3
Jungle Cruise 5
Peter Pan 15
Pirates 0
Space Mtn 10
Splash 10
Speedway 4
7 Dwarfs 30

Looks like a typical night at the MK to me.

FWIW, the 11:50pm special New Years fireworks show is hitting its finale at midnight on 12/30 - not entirely a fair moment to judge wait times.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

FWIW, the 11:50pm special New Years fireworks show is hitting its finale at midnight on 12/30 - not entirely a fair moment to judge wait times.

I picked midnight as that’s when the times started trending down. They were even shorter on all of these rides after that.

The vast majority of guests leave after the fireworks show, and even during the holidays the lines will get really short. That’s the one thing that you can count on year round.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I picked midnight as that’s when the times started trending down. They were even shorter on all of these rides after that.

The vast majority of guests leave after the fireworks show, and even during the holidays the lines will get really short. That’s the one thing that you can count on year round.

I would expect hours to go down after that, it was a rare late 12am-2am EMH that night.

I would be more interested in the data on a non-EMH and non-special fireworks night (a fireworks show that only happens 2 days out of the year), Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, for example - in the PP's date range. That data those days probably still proves your point, 12/30 just isn't a normal day.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Of course they went down after that, it was a rare late 12am-2am EMH that night.

I would be more interested in the data on a non-EMH and non-special fireworks night (a fireworks show that only happens 2 days out of the year), Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, for example - in the PP's date range. That data those days probably still proves your point, 12/30 just isn't a normal day.

I picked 12/30 because that’s the date that a previous poster said that the posted wait times on some of the headliners were “nearly an hour long” at 1 am.

We learned about Line Stacking and intentionally inflated wait times in the 1999 Unofficial Guide so this phenomenon is nothing new and does occur year round.

That’s why I’ve always said that you can do things late at night that could never be done in the morning, no matter how early you arrive.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Just for fun, I checked the same rides on Christmas Day around 10 pm:

Big Thunder 10
Haunted Mansion 10
Jungle Cruise 5
Peter Pan 25
Pirates 5
Space Mtn 20
Splash 5
Speedway 50
7 Dwarfs 60

The Speedway time looks odd but other than that just another typical MK evening.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

1/3 looks like it was a tad busier:

Big Thunder 24
Haunted Mansion 25
Jungle Cruise 15
Peter Pan 25
Pirates 15
Space Mtn 40
Splash 25
Speedway *
7 Dwarfs 30

Busier but not to bad. Some of the morning and afternoon wait times on these attractions were unreal.

* no data reported on Speedway

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Just for fun, I checked the same rides on Christmas Day around 10 pm:

Big Thunder 10
Haunted Mansion 10
Jungle Cruise 5
Peter Pan 25
Pirates 5
Space Mtn 20
Splash 5
Speedway 50
7 Dwarfs 60

The Speedway time looks odd but other than that just another typical MK evening.

I am not denying or refuting the crowd stacking point that you like to make on this and other threads. We all know it’s real.

But I think it’s worth pointing out for the benefit of others that 10pm on 12/25 was the same time as Holiday Wishes.

Many rides see a spike back up afterwards, some get back down to those times by closing (which was 12am on this day), some don’t.

Just curious for others that want to check/compare data, what is the source of your wait time data? Touring Plans observed times?

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

I am not denying or refuting the crowd stacking point that you like to make on this and other threads. We all know it’s real.

But I think it’s worth pointing out 10pm on 12/25 was the same time as Holiday Wishes.

Many rides sees a spike back up afterwards, some get back down to those times by closing (which was 12am on this day), some don’t.

Just curious for others that want to check/compare data, what is the source of your wait time data? Touring Plans observed times?

I picked Christmas Day for my 2nd review since you asked about similar data for either Christmas or Christmas Eve.

I expect similar results for pretty much any other day of the year.

We’ve been doing this for a long time, and the crowd patterns have been pretty consistent. The biggest change over the past few years is that mornings seem to be getting busier and busier.

Now I just need to figure out a plan for Disneyland as those parks don’t seem to die down as much at night.

We’ll be there for the holidays next year traveling with the high school band to the Rose Parade. It’s going to be crowded.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

during the holiday season you need a fp for iasw. We walked past it several times on the way to other attractions then finally were willing to go the fp route

There is no shame anymore in getting FPs for IASW. Back when kiosks roamed the earth, there was no point in stopping at one and waiting in line to get an IASW FP. Folks rightly pointed and mocked when you got in the Barnstormer FP line (yes, I preach from experience). But these days of same day refreshed FPs, why wouldn't you? I even got an FP for teacups when the wait was 10 minutes because the FP made it 5, made my kids laugh, and allowed us to go on it and still make our ADR on time.
There is no longer such a thing as a wasted FP.

Edit: Well, okay, if you tap it off, it's wasted …

 

[JETSDAD]

There is no shame anymore in getting FPs for IASW. Back when kiosks roamed the earth, there was no point in stopping at one and waiting in line to get an IASW FP. Folks rightly pointed and mocked when you got in the Barnstormer FP line (yes, I preach from experience). But these days of same day refreshed FPs, why wouldn't you? I even got an FP for teacups when the wait was 10 minutes because the FP made it 5, made my kids laugh, and allowed us to go on it and still make our ADR on time.
There is no longer such a thing as a wasted FP, people.

AMEN!! Sometimes I'm pretty sure people are quietly laughing at me thinking that I booked Teacups 60 days out when in reality it's probably my 15th FP of the day lol

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

There is no longer such a thing as a wasted FP.

Earlier this summer, we had a FP for Haunted Mansion at about 10:30 pm or so. We arrived at the attraction at the same time as another family, but they beat us to the stretch room since we had to stop and scan. We were the only two groups in the room.

That one may have been a wasted FP.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

Earlier this summer, we had a FP for Haunted Mansion at about 10:30 pm or so. We arrived at the attraction at the same time as another family, but they beat us to the stretch room since we had to stop and scan. We were the only two groups in the room.

That one may have been a wasted FP.

LOL. True.

 

[Disneylover99]

I am not denying or refuting the crowd stacking point that you like to make on this and other threads. We all know it’s real.
But I think it’s worth pointing out for the benefit of others that 10pm on 12/25 was the same time as Holiday Wishes.
Many rides see a spike back up afterwards, some get back down to those times by closing (which was 12am on this day), some don’t.
Just curious for others that want to check/compare data, what is the source of your wait time data? Touring Plans observed times?

I check wait times when I'm at DW but not when I'm at home. All I know is that as my kids have gotten older, we are more likely to close a park rather then rope drop.

I haven't had the same experiences nearly as often as @Babe the Blue Ox has had at closing. I still find rope drop to be more reliable then closing a park if I want to ride the rides. Yes, we've had some great experiences at closing, but we've also gone late at night when we thought ride wait times might be inflated (they weren't). Maybe it's the time of year we go. I find that rides are not always running at capacity during our August trips, so despite lower crowds, waits near closing can be long.