How Do YOU Define Crowded?

[kbr345]

I was thinking about how some people who vacationed at the same time say that it was so crowded and others say not crowded. How do you define crowded? For me, I would say 80-90 min. wait at the peak for the headliners and having to dodge people to get around when walking to each ride in the afternoon. We usually go early part of June.

 

[MrKnight]

IMO, I would say "crowded" means periods of EXTREME demand such as Holiday Weekends, NYE, F&W Fest, Spring Break, and 4th of July. During these periods it is genuinely crowded to the point that it is difficult to comfortably walk through the park, standby waits average 80 minutes or higher, and every single TSR is booked..

 

[Chrelaine]

Everyone is so different. For instance, I was at WDW last week and found it more crowded than I expected. The waits were not 80-90 mins but I did have to dodge people everywhere I went. I have no way to judge how crowded it was as it was our first trip as adults. It may truly have been a 5 out of 10 day but, to us, it felt crowded. I will never plan a trip for an 8, 9 or 10 so I guess we won't ever be good judges

 

[PSUGuy]

To us a standby line for an E-Ticket attraction with a 45 min wait is 'crowded'. Actually, we hit a park at rope drop every day there and when we've used up our FP+ allotment and the standbys get to 25 mins we hop to WS. Also,see WS on any Sat during Food&Wine. That's a crowd.

Bill From PA

 

[Quellman]

45 minute wait for Space Mountain.
60 minute wait for Expedition Everest.
40 minute wait for Spaceship Earth. (after 11am)
40 minute wait for Great Movie Ride.

 

[Cando86]

Waits at attractions with typically low or no wait, like Philharmagic, TTA, CoP, The Seas with Nemo and Friends, Figment, LwTL, etc.

If Figment has a wait, you're in trouble.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Last time I went was Spring Break 2009. We were warned about crowd levels and we didn't have any problems. Our longest wait was for Toy Story in HS and it was an hour with FP. I know times have changed, so I am nervous about FP now. We go 12/7-12/13 this year. I heard it's a great week to go!

 

[Davis2902]

The definition of crowded can be defined by reading this site. www.easywdw.com

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

If I get claustrophobic on Main Street, Magic Kingdom is way too crowded.
If the area between the Brown Derby and the stage is hard to maneuver, it's too crowded at DHS.
If Spaceship Earth has a 40+ minute wait, EPCOT is too crowded.

For me, I go during Christmas, so high wait times are normal to me. It's expected. I judge the crowds based on how easy it is to get around. Especially with the construction last year, Main Street was very hard to maneuver. We made the mistake of going on NYE Day and it was ridiculous - people pushing and shoving. We actually left and went back to our room.

Another good indicator - the continuous-load rides have a long wait time. I once saw the line for Small World go back to the Haunted Mansion. That's ridiculous for a ride that seats so many people and loads at such a continuous pace. Other rides that shouldn't have a long wait time: Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Great Movie Ride (more so due to popularity,) and Spaceship Earth.

 

[grecorj]

This will be our 3rd late June trip this year but we've also gone during "spring break" and February break.

To me it's crowded when:

-it seems like it's always SRO on buses/monorail
-lesser attractions have >45 wait
-I can't move in any of the shops without saying "excuse me" a hundred times.

 

[grecorj]

This is what not crowded looks like btw (6/23/2012)

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

Crowded is when people are jammed shoulder to shoulder trying to get through between IASW and PP.
Crowded is when there is a queue for Stitch
Crowded is when it is tricky to get a front row spot for the second MSEP in Frontierland.
Crowded is when there is a queue for some of the restrooms in WS
Crowded is when you'd rather chill out in One man's Dream than fight the masses on Sunset Blvd
Crowded is some of those horrifying pictures I have seen (but never will experience in person) from Christmas week.

 

[OhThePain]

Having survived a NYE trip (12/27/08-1/4/09), anything less is not so bad. On NYE, listed wait times for Soarin' and TT were at 300+ minutes (I very much regret not taking a picture of the wait times sign in FW) and the end of the line for The Sea with Nemo and Friends and the EPCOT Character Spot overlapped. MAoWtP was sporting a 90 minute wait and PPA and each of the mountains were consistently 120-180 minutes through our trip. WS was shoulder to should the width of the path at parts of the trip, making it almost impossible to maneuver opposite the flow of traffic.

Unless these are the types of conditions, I don't think of the parks as crowded... and yes, we would absolutely go for NYE again given the chance.

 

[MomofKatie]

There are several different criteria:

If I can't move through the crowds of humanity on Main Street at a normally pretty neutral time (NOT after the fireworks, for example). Ditto for Epcot WS walkways, AK Africa or Asia areas, or DHS Streets of America.

If I have to wait in line more than 20 minutes for attractions that usually are near walk ons, like Spaceship Earth, TTA, or Triceratops Spin.

Not being able to get ADRs when we want at less-popular restaurants around the parks, or having to wait in line at normally slow times at the CS restaurants.

WDW is never going to be empty during non-holiday periods again. To some, having people around makes them feel, "oh, no! It is sooo crowded!" These days, more than ever, being educated, knowing when to go, and having a good touring plan is the biggest key to having a good experience.

 

[saskdw]

We always go for 2 weeks at Christmas time. Usually the week before and after. So our typical dates would be Dec. 14th-28th.

14th-21st is not crowded and 22nd-28th is crowded by our standards....lol.

We pick these dates intentionally. The idea is that we hit the parks hard the first week while the crowds are lower, before the Christmas crowds role in. Then the 2nd week we enjoy things at a leasurely pace and take it as it comes. We don't have to worry about the crwods too much because we've already done most of what we wanted to do.

Because we are used to the intense Christmas crowds, the week before seems very light to us. However, I'm sure some people who are used to crowd level 2 and 3 would feel the 14th-21st was still too crowded.

 

[dprincessmom]

To us crowded is doable - It's crowded when there are wait times are 60+ for a lot of rides and you have trouble finding things to do with a small (less than 20 minute wait).
We have a level above crowded called "you couldn't give me a free week" those would be the Christmas/NYE and Thanksgiving weeks. Everything else we consider doable.

I always laugh at the super crowded posts in "slow" times. I always wonder what the posters expectation was. To us, I think expectations are key and that is why we have a good time and keep going back.

 

[MainMom]

This is what not crowded looks like btw (6/23/2012)

View attachment 95796

I have a pic where we are walking down the path in front of LTT to frontierland and there are 2 other people in front of us down the whole path. That was early December 2011. Lovely, lovely day. This year I am going in July and expecting the worst.

 

[tinkerbella16]

When standby waits are over an hour for almost all of the headliners and popular rides... especially over 100 minutes! People nowadays refuse to wait in line if it says 20-30 minutes! That is not crowded to me. 20-30 min wait times for stand by was a dream come true for us years ago before fastpass!!! We used to go in the summer months and wait hours in the heat for Splash, BTMR, Dinosaur (yes that line actually wrapped outside at one point), Space Mountain used to be SO long winding up and down the long queue - it felt like an eternity. I see 15, 20 or 30 minutes and I smile and get it in line. Holiday crowded is crowded! Where all you see is a sea of people. I love going in the fall and have been for years now. I can actually walk, although it has gotten more crowded in Nov than in previous years because of FD.

 

[momof2n2]

You know what I think kind of "hurt" DH and I was that we first started banging out trips with the kids in 2001. From 2001-2006 I think we saw much less crowded parks in our October visits than can even be found now in September or early December. We were only after the little-kid-friendly attractions those years and they weren't super crowded. In 2007 we went during Jersey Week and as we were branching out to more rides/attractions we saw bigger crowds. DH "likes" WDW - not loves... so the added crowds take away some of the pizazz for him.

 

[kbelle8995]

Crowded at the MK is when there is a long line for the People mover. If there is just leave.

Epcot and the other parks I view as crowded when most of the lines are over an hour wait.