How reliable are crowd calendars?

[act1980]

Hi all!

I just wanted to know what your experiences were with using crowd calendars. Did you find that they helped with crowd planning?

I'm not sure whether to base my itinerary around a crowd calendar or just go to certain parks when I feel like it?

Any feedback is appreciated.

Thank you!

 

[kmb584]

I plan our trips around EasyWDW's crowd calendars, but I also realize that they're simply predictions. There is going to be times when they miss the mark, but to date I haven't encountered a miss.

 

[Letsbgoofy]

I think the crowd predictions on easywdw.com are very accurate. As for his "stay away from" parks...remember that they are sometimes based on EMHs. If you have a hopper, you can still hit the EMH and then hop to a recommended park. I would not go to a park that isn't recommended for any other reason; Josh knows what he is talking about.

Unless you are going at a super slow time of year (not sure when that would be anymore??) you can't just go to the park that you want without spending your day waiting in line.

 

[act1980]

Thanks for the replies!

It's hard to know when the EMH's are on the EasyWDW calendar, unless I'm missing something? We won't be able to make use of the EMH's anyway as we are staying off site.

Are there any other reliable crowd calendars besides EasyWDW? It would be good to do a comparison to see if they tie up...

Thanks again!

 

[mesaboy2]

Thanks for the replies!

It's hard to know when the EMH's are on the EasyWDW calendar, unless I'm missing something? We won't be able to make use of the EMH's anyway as we are staying off site.

Are there any other reliable crowd calendars besides EasyWDW? It would be good to do a comparison to see if they tie up...

Thanks again!

That's often an exercise in futility. Stick with one and go with it.

 

[psac]

Thanks for the replies!

It's hard to know when the EMH's are on the EasyWDW calendar, unless I'm missing something? We won't be able to make use of the EMH's anyway as we are staying off site.

Are there any other reliable crowd calendars besides EasyWDW? It would be good to do a comparison to see if they tie up...

Thanks again!

Another vote for just going with EasyWdw's recommendations. They're based off good logic and info. It can really make a big difference in crowds. Even a 10 minute difference in wait in lines on each ride for six rides means you saved an hour!

 

[siskaren]

It's hard to know when the EMH's are on the EasyWDW calendar, unless I'm missing something?

You're missing something. If you look at the explanation for what each line means, it says, "The sixth line lists which Parks have Extra Magic Hours and at what time they start."

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

I think the crowd predictions on easywdw.com are very accurate. As for his "stay away from" parks...remember that they are sometimes based on EMHs. If you have a hopper, you can still hit the EMH and then hop to a recommended park. I would not go to a park that isn't recommended for any other reason; Josh knows what he is talking about.

Unless you are going at a super slow time of year (not sure when that would be anymore??) you can't just go to the park that you want without spending your day waiting in line.

Agree completely - I love Josh from afar and use his site for planning even though we've been to WDW many times. I love his logic behind the suggested parks etc. We too start at an EMH morning park and hop to a recommended park. IF you look on his crowd calendar there are little notes like MK EMH 8 am or something like that so you can tell which park has extra magic hours

 

[Dan Murphy]

Josh's are very accurate and very helpful.

 

[act1980]

You're missing something. If you look at the explanation for what each line means, it says, "The sixth line lists which Parks have Extra Magic Hours and at what time they start."

Ah yes! Thanks for pointing that out! I have never used this before so wasn't sure what I was looking at!

 

[act1980]

So heading to an EMH park in the morning and then onto a recommended park is a good way to go? I won't be able to take advantage of the EMH hours so will someone like me benefit from doing that?

 

[siskaren]

So heading to an EMH park in the morning and then onto a recommended park is a good way to go? I won't be able to take advantage of the EMH hours so will someone like me benefit from doing that?

No, it really doesn't make sense for someone who can't take advantage of EMH to visit an EMH park. That scenario only works for someone who can take advantage of the EMH hour.

 

[act1980]

No, it really doesn't make sense for someone who can't take advantage of EMH to visit an EMH park. That scenario only works for someone who can take advantage of the EMH hour.

Thanks! Thats what I thought

 

[Dislover1991]

We found those on EasyWDW to be pretty accurate.

 

[Davie Business]

We've always used touringplans.com and found them very accurate

 

[act1980]

Thanks for the replies

 

[chelseabun76]

I didn't really go by crowd calendars, and I'm glad I didn't.... as in the end it didn't honestly matter to us. MK seemed busier than I expected it to by what others were saying it 'should' have been like (said it was a level 2 or 3 and seemed more like a level 5 minimum).