Here now and WOW the lines are crazy

[anniemae]

I tell you it's the osborn lights people that are inflating crowds!

 

[HelenParr]

OP is correct. Crowds at MK today were far heavier than in prior years. Not sure why. Maybe FP+, maybe attendance is up, maybe it's just one of those things. But we come this week every year, and today's MK experience was extremely crowded. Fun, and festive, but crowded.

 

[kidsfirsttrip]

ITA with OP. Was here last year at same time and it's easily 2x as crowded. Long waits and congested. Really hoping crowds thin out but will still make the best of it.

 

[momtotnt]

We just got home from HS. Yes, the Osborne area was crowded but it honestly always has been each year we've been. Tower of Tower posted 50 mins and we waited 15. Same with Star Tours. We had fast passes for RRC, but by looking at the line I would guess no more than 30-40 mins. All in all, could it be lower? Sure. Was it intolerable? Absolutely not.

 

[mshanson3121]

I tell you it's the osborn lights people that are inflating crowds!

Since it's the last year for it, that would make sense to me!

 

[Sparkly]

It has been very crowded this week (going home tomorrow booooo) but with FPs it's been more manageable. We've still managed to pack loads into each day and have had a great time!

 

[LoverDisney]

We are going during Thanksgiving Week so I am expecting the worse. Whatever...we will adjust accordingly. I just can't wait to get there!

 

[BigAlsGal]

We are going during Thanksgiving Week so I am expecting the worse. Whatever...we will adjust accordingly. I just can't wait to get there!

Im with you!!

 

[mommato2boys]

At MK today, I went to get my 4th FP+ At 1:30p.m. There were a total of 5 attractions still available for the day. It's a Small World, Dumbo, Philharmagic, and I can't remember the other 2. I asked the CM at the kiosk about it. She said she had never seen that few options that early in the day on a party night.

 

[Planogirl]

It's true that 25 minutes is nothing...nowadays. It has changed and wait times are crazy long compared to a few years ago. Personally I won't wait for 1 1/2 hours for anything.

 

[ameliahyde]

We were at MK today as well. I thought it was very crowded at well. We had a pre open ADR and were so glad we saw a quiet Main Street. At about 10:30, it was super crowded. Each time we got off the ride, we were amazed at how many more people had gotten in line and the crazy waits. We managed to do Peter Pan, IASW, HM, The Carrousel, meet Rafiki, have a breakfast at BOG and get a ton of nice pictures by about noon. We also watched the show in front of the castle and saw the early parade as we left. As we left down Main Street, we truly felt like fish swimming up stream!

We went to Hollywood Studios tonight, and the lights were indeed very crowded! We nonetheless really enjoyed the day!

 

[elgerber]

I also agree. We were at MK today, and when we got off the bus at 8:30 the lines were already back to the tap styles. We were here in mid August and the crowds were not that thick at that time. We did ok today, somehow lucked into a 7 dwarfs fast pass at 10, but when we went for our 4th at 1, there were only a few things left and they were at around 6pm. And yes, IASW was 35 minutes when we left. We did get quite a bit done before our first fast pass ride by getting there at rope drop.

 

[Sparkly]

I lucked into a 4:15pm Space Mountain FP for my 4th at around 3:40pm today! I thought that was pretty awesome as it was something like 80 minutes for standby.

 

[lugnut33]

Anything under a 4 hour wait is acceptable now that FP+ gets you 3 rides.

 

[jenben8426]

We have been here since last Wednesday (HW on Thurs, MK on Fri, AK on Sat, took a break Sun) and we have not waited in line for more than 20 minutes--and that was on the Toy Story ride with a Fast pass. Everything else has been walk-on. We rode 13 attractions at MK and played Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom for an hour before 2:00. The key is getting here early. AK on Saturday was crazy packed on the walkways, but we walked into every show with about 5-10 minutes to spare and there was plenty of room. I'm always curious to see other's perspectives. What time did you get to the park that you were waiting on everything for so long?? With the exception of a 5 minute walk through the actual line we have been able to walk on almost everything for the first 2 hours after opening.

 

[pooch]

Got here Tuesday night. Epcot on Wednesday was very crowded I thought and although I enjoyed f & wf, it took away from actually touring world showcase IMO. Then headed to MK for the evening. Did HOP, HM, Philharmagic, Little Mermaid, TTA and watched Wishes in about 3 hours. Pretty good we thought, Thursday at MK was just about perfect. We were able to do everything we wanted except 7dmt and we probably could have done it, just didn't want to wait more than 40 minutes (our limit for all attractions). Headed to epcot for illuminations but it was just too crowded & left early instead. Saturday at AK was very crowded but we had a terrific plan that worked to perfection. Tried to get to DHS to catch the lights but OMG no way. They were sending people to park at Epcot, on a Saturday night, the last weekend of food & wine. We went home. Today is our last Disney day, DHS through the lights then Epcot for a last nosh & illuminations. Wish me luck!!

 

[Happy_2_B]

We have been here since last Wednesday (HW on Thurs, MK on Fri, AK on Sat, took a break Sun) and we have not waited in line for more than 20 minutes--and that was on the Toy Story ride with a Fast pass. Everything else has been walk-on. We rode 13 attractions at MK and played Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom for an hour before 2:00. The key is getting here early.

100% agree. The PPs that say waits of 25 minutes plus are 'normal' probably aren't rope droppers- and don't take advantage of early EMH. If I had to wait for 25 minutes for an attraction, I would skip it. Yeah, the parks have lots of people in them. Big deal- they always have. We prefer to get everything done while these 'crowds' are getting ready for their day- and by the time the parks reach peak crowd levels on a given day we are already done and back at the resort chilling on the balcony with a drink watching the animals on the Savannah. Then we go back at night for parades/fireworks, and the only attractions we do are those we have FPs for- other than that we just soak up the ambiance inside the 'Disney bubble'. What is 'normal' is totally dependent on one's touring style- the day we have to wait in a line 25 minutes or more in a line is the day we stop going to WDW.

 

[elgerber]

We are at Epcot today and we rode TT at rope drop. When we exited at 9:25 and the posted wait was 90 minutes. We are rope droppers, always, but wait times built crazy fast yesterday at MK by 10.

 

[Ambehnke]

We were there last week and thought the lines were extremely manageable. We maximized our fastpass times, used emh and rope drop, took a mid day break when lines got bad, skipped some parades in favor of rides we wanted to ride, and got extra fastpasses when our 3 were done. We were surprised at HOW LITTLE we had to wait in lines.

 

[scrappingbuckeye]

I was at MK yesterday and it was busy - like spring break busy.