Here now HS 12/4

[redheadx3]

Again today HS is quite crowded even though it's the recommended park of the day.
They added an unannounced 2nd F! At 8:00 tonight because crowd levels are high.

 

[cleighc]

Agree. Seems awfully busy for recommended park. Waited an hour for bus from. Comtemporary so didn't arrive until 10 am. TSM FP gone when we got here. Has been 60+ min wait all day.

 

[Dan in AL]

Are you looking at wait times on the MDE app and if so how accurate are the times? It's showing RNR and TOT currently at 20 minute waits and TSM at 65 minutes. I have an upcoming trip and have been watching the wait times on the app and they have seemed low recently.

 

[lwelch]

Which website did you use for a guide to crowd levels and recommended parks? I am planning a trip and would like to know which is best. Thanks.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

A 20 minute wait at TOT and TSM max waits of 65 minutes doesn't seem busy to me. And the TSM FP situation is typical. That's because of FP+, not due to high crowds.

 

[Dan in AL]

Lwelch. I've used easywdw com

He has a lot of information on planning, strategies, etc. and its kept up to date. It's free and informative and seemed accurate on my last 3 trips. I consider it a reliable resource and entertaining.

 

[wisblue]

I am a proponent of easywdw. In addition to just looking at the recommended parks, it helps to look at the discussion about why a park is recommended and how to tour it most effectively.

Today's discussion about DHS included the following:

Despite the recommendation, it’s still imperative to arrive prior to Park opening in order to ride Toy Story Mania and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster with short waits. Arrive at 10:30am with everyone else and you’ll find 60+ minute waits at Toy Story Mania. To have the most success, arrive by 8:15am and head straight to Toy Story Mania, followed by Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, and Star Tours.

Even on relatively uncrowded days, those attractions can get long lines very quickly, especially TSMM. FPs have always run out fast for TSMM, and they run out that much faster now that FP+ is taking up some significant percentage of the FP allocation.

The relatively short waits for RNRC and TOT in the afternoon (even the 60 minute wait for TSMM was below average) suggest that DHS was not that crowded today.

 

[Jennasis]

Well Disney must have thought it was crowded enough, since they added a second Fantasmic! That was nice of them too.

 

[cleighc]

I used easywdw and touring plans-both recommended HS. I have been to WDW this same week in Dec two other times and in general the crowds are heavier than in the past. Wait times for TSM were 60-80 minutes. And no FP avail at 10am.

 

[Dominion]

My working theory is that there is 1 less week between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year (since Thanksgiving was so late) so people planning trips this time of year were consolidated into 3 weeks instead of spread out over 4. Could be nonsense, but it makes sense to me!

 

[cleighc]

Dominion My working theory is that there is 1 less week between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year (since Thanksgiving was so late) so people planning trips this time of year were consolidated into 3 weeks instead of spread out over 4. Could be nonsense, but it makes sense to me!
I was wondering about that.

 

[redheadx3]

We arrived at 8:15, let in at 8:45, went straight to TSM. When we came off at 9:01, the line was past the chained outside line, the FP line was past one mans dream.
All the shows we went to were completely filled including LMA
Most of the rides weren't too bad, just had to time it right but just a lot of people walking around. It's challenging to get anywhere quickly.
Went to 2nd F! Half full They were announcing the 1st show filled to capacity.

 

[RocketEAR99]

My theory on increasing crowds is that any of us who go regularly were spoiled the past few years with lower crowds. The Great Recession really curbed people's vacation budgets for quite a while. Now, while the economy is still shaky, people in general feel more confident and free to spend money again.

It's not just this time of year, but back in May, prior to Memorial weekend it was about 30% more crowded than I was used to. And I had been to WDW during that same time twice before. Spending confidence is the only explanation I have for that.

 

[redheadx3]

Rocket
I totally agree. I've been spoiled the past 6 years with low crowds. Spending is up
I went in Sept 2012 and noticed that crowds were up then as well.

 

[*NikkiBell*]

This week and weekend are traditionally the most popular times for DVC members to visit. There's also a D23 event going on as well as DISapalooza which is sponsored by The DIS (400+ people attending this event alone). That's why you're seeing these types of crowds.

 

[PoohJen]

I'll be there tomorrow. When booking for onsite hotel a month or so ago, I could tell the crowds would be high due to the prices of the rooms and the lack of availability. I was hoping the week after Thanksgiving would have a break in the crowds. Guess the economy is bouncing back a little!

 

[wisblue]

I'll be there tomorrow. When booking for onsite hotel a month or so ago, I could tell the crowds would be high due to the prices of the rooms and the lack of availability. I was hoping the week after Thanksgiving would have a break in the crowds. Guess the economy is bouncing back a little!

One factor in hotel availability over the next few days is the Pop Warner football event that I think starts this weekend. Events like that affect hotel availability more than park crowds because a lot of the participants are spending time on their activities instead of being in parks all day.

My daughter had a CM discount reservation at AS Sports. When she arrived yesterday they had changed her to a preferred room at AS Movies because they were trying to fit in Pop Warner groups and keep them together.

FWIW, Touring Plans had predicted a crowd level of 1 yesterday for DHS and says today that the actual crowd level was a 3. So, at least by that measure, DHS was more crowded than expected, but not really crowded on an absolute scale. That seems consistent with the onsite reports and ride wait times.

Touring Plans also reported somewhat higher than expected levels at the other parks too, including a 5 level at MK instead of a predicted 2. I wonder if some of that had to do with later park hours and 7 PM closings for MVMCP the next two nights.