Here now, crowds and FP+, wow!

[Jaylin]

We were at EPCOT yesterday, a green day according to easy WDW. Now our last 3 trips we have gone this same week, something is going on! Either there are wayyy more people here or the FP+ is really screwing up the lines! At RP we went right to TT, rode it, came right back out at 9:26 to ride again, the SB line already had a 65 min wait!!! And other rides that have always been walk ons, like living w/land and Nemo had 30 min waits! It's just been crazy! I was one who knew how to use the old FP system, so we always rode the headliners numerous times and rarely stood in a standby line. My kids were spoiled, this is a new experience for them! Also by 4:30 the FP were gone for TT, MS& Soarin. I'm very nervous about the rest of this trip!

 

[CAL2]

I have read similar threads on here, some are blaming FP+ others are saying its because there are more people in the parks , maybe its a combo of both

well if it is because of the FP+ I hope they get it sorted soon

cal

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

We are here too and having similar experiences. I thought MK was significantly more crowded than I expected on Friday afternoon.

We were at Epcot yesterday afternoon - I have never seen Living with the Land so busy!

I don't know if it is FP+ or crowds.

 

[lazy daisy]

We were at EPCOT yesterday, a green day according to easy WDW. Now our last 3 trips we have gone this same week, something is going on! Either there are wayyy more people here or the FP+ is really screwing up the lines! At RP we went right to TT, rode it, came right back out at 9:26 to ride again, the SB line already had a 65 min wait!!! And other rides that have always been walk ons, like living w/land and Nemo had 30 min waits! It's just been crazy! I was one who knew how to use the old FP system, so we always rode the headliners numerous times and rarely stood in a standby line. My kids were spoiled, this is a new experience for them! Also by 4:30 the FP were gone for TT, MS& Soarin. I'm very nervous about the rest of this trip!

I'm here now too, and we were at Epcot yesterday, am absolute madhouse, but it was Saturday, Star Wars weekends are going on and the last weekend of flower and garden. The flower power concert was happening too. Honestly up til yesterday, I thought the crowds weren't too bad. The magic bands work great.

 

[jpolak]

Good Luck with the rest of your trip. Keep the updates coming if you can.

 

[dissupermom]

we are here also. went to Epcot and had a great time! it's a bit crowded but I thought it was manageable. we underestimated the amount of time that we would spend doing something, and at the same time did things that we hadn't planned on doing. however, it was a great day and we took plenty of pictures. we spent the mid-afternoon and the rest of the night in DHS and used our FP. they worked great and had no worries! I'm not complaining at all with the new advances that WDW has put in place! it's not over planning it's just scheduling so our time isn't wasted just waiting in line! they are forcing you to use FP+, you can still stand in the standby lines!

 

[khaleesi]

Well, yesterday was the first day of Star Wars weekends so I can't imagine any of the parks being very slow.

 

[staceyeileen]

We were at Epcot yesterday from about 2-10pm. There seemed to be some events going on, lots of people walking around in suit and ties. The vibe in the WS had a very "food and wine" feel to me. There was also a wedding right on the lagoon.

 

[cel_disney]

Touring plans projected yesterday as a 5 for Epcot and it ended up being a 7 according to their site...AK was also up from 6 to a 7, and MK was a 6 (matched projections), and DHS was down to a 5 from the projected 6....

 

[PaulaVonSchweetz]

With the upcoming holiday and it being the first weekend of Star Wars weekends.....which don't forget will be bringing in BIG stars this year, I'd expect above average crowds.

Honestly there really isn't a slow season anymore. Free dining, F&W, SWW, F&G have been such huge draws. I think that this is the new normal at Disney.

 

[Jaylin]

Yes we were at MK Fri too, a yellow day, it was packed! The worst thing I noticed was SM, the entire right side was for FP, last yr you would get to the top of the line and then they would split you left or right track, not a bad FP wait, this time the SB line was out of the mnt with 65 min the FP line with 10 people in it

 

[csmith041177]

Oh my!! Well, good luck fighting the crowds!!

 

[Jaylin]

And we've always been here the first wkend for Star Wars, never affected our touring plans! I just think there's more people here!

 

[wdwlver]

Long waits for Nemo and Living with the Land? We go every summer and it's always crowded but we've never seen that! Those two are always walk ons.

 

[redheadx3]

There are just more people coming to WDW. I noticed crowds were bigger than projected when I went in Sept. 2012. When I went in Dec. 2013, I thought crowds were worst than when I went in June 2010. The economy is picking up and people are traveling more.
Now the longer lines at Nemo, Living with Land, Pirates, Haunted Mansion..
I think are all due the new FP+. When we had FP-, the majority of people would be getting multiple FPs for the headlines, thus spending more time at the headliners. Now they are only able to get a couple FPs past their 3 reserved FPs. So it seems the 4th, 5th FPs to a headliner ride at a busy time is harder to get than in the olden days of FP-.

 

[Jaylin]

But I do have to say the weather has been absolutely PERFECT!!

 

[mesaboy2]

SWW does not increase crowds at the other 3 parks.

 

[lazy daisy]

SWW does not increase crowds at the other 3 parks.

I think it does, people park hop

 

[PoohsFan1]

Thank you to those that are there now for the updates. We leave this Friday and even though I suspect that there will be massive crowds due to the holiday, we had already planned on only going to Epcot on our arrival day in the evening and for Saturday and Sunday we plan on staying away from the parks altogether. Instead we are heading to TL on Saturday and DQ/DTD on Sunday. I'm hoping that after the weekend, the crowds will die down a little.

 

[mom2rtk]

I think it does, people park hop

School is still in session all over the country. This is typically one of the slower seasons of the year, the lull before the families show up when school lets out.