I shouldn't worry, right?

[sandlsmom]

We have a trip planned for end of November/early December and TP had a nice, low crowd level but last night it jumped up. One day even went from a level 1 to a level 7! This will fluctuate since its hard to predict though, right?

Sorry, wrong board and I don't know how to delete.

 

[BrianL]

Hakuna Matata.

 

[FCDub]

Trying to predict crowds during a pandemic is a fool's errand. That said, as things continue to open up and people get fully vaccinated, more people will be comfortable with traveling – and actually travel.

 

[Narcoossee11]

The time your coming is really a great time to come/visit BUT also a busy time. Holidays are in full swing , nice weather, lower rates and vacation time for adults and preschool kids. Throw in people wanting to get out of house---going to be busy. Just come and enjoy.

 

[DWillowBay]

The days between Thanksgiving and the week after New Year's Day are notorious for high crowd levels. Perhaps not every day, but overall high crowd levels. Unfortunately, this is just a 'given'. If you happen you hit a low crowd day....celebrate. If not....celebrate.... you're in Disney World!!

 

[Devil13]

We typically go the week after Thanksgiving and the crowds have been low during that time. Not empty but far from crowded in my opinion.

The week of Thanksgiving and the closer you get to Christmas are a different story, but that week is a sweet spot.

 

[Tom_E_D]

I wouldn't put much faith in TP's crowd predictions seven months ahead of time, especially in this year when conditions are changing so much in such unpredictable ways.

 

[Ermise]

The crowd calendar has been updated through spring of '22. Touring Plans is assuming capacity will be increased to 50% this summer, Festival of the Lion King will return, the first nighttime spectacular will return (Harmonious at EPCOT); holiday parties will hopefully return in the fall and travel will be back to pre-pandemic levels by then. With pent up demand and the beginning of the 50th anniversary celebration I would expect steady crowds throughout the fall/winter.

 

[Naomeri]

We typically go the week after Thanksgiving and the crowds have been low during that time. Not empty but far from crowded in my opinion.

The week of Thanksgiving and the closer you get to Christmas are a different story, but that week is a sweet spot.

Happy to read this, that’s exactly when I’m going—I arrive the Monday after Thanksgiving

 

[Tonberry]

We go every year around the week after Thanksgiving or the week after that. I can remember when most non-headliner attractions were walk-ons like Haunted Mansion and Barnstormer back in 2014. Unfortunately, after years of everyone telling everyone else that this is a slow time of year, it really isn't anymore. In 2019, we went in mid August and early December, and December was hands down much more crowded.
It's a combination of a lot of things: Really awesome weather, Holiday decorations, special events, low DVC points, ease of pulling kids out of school, and everyone going because they're told it's slow season which is old information.
I would also agree with Ermise that fall and winter crowds will really pick up. Especially with Remy's Ratatouille Adventure opening this October.

 

[BrianL]

We have a trip planned for end of November/early December and TP had a nice, low crowd level but last night it jumped up. One day even went from a level 1 to a level 7! This will fluctuate since its hard to predict though, right?

Sorry, wrong board and I don't know how to delete.

Sorry, I replied to this when it was just the emoji. I thought it was just a silly thread.

Also, no don't worry about it. Crowd calendars aren't that reliable, especially right now. You'll still have a great time!

 

[sandlsmom]

We typically go the week after Thanksgiving and the crowds have been low during that time. Not empty but far from crowded in my opinion.

The week of Thanksgiving and the closer you get to Christmas are a different story, but that week is a sweet spot.

This is what I had read on multiple places when I picked our dates. I knew it was a crap shoot with people ready to travel but was really hoping TP would stay low. We will still have a good time but have just never gone with levels higher than a 3 or 4. Its going to be an adjustment.

 

[holden]

I don't put any faith in crowd calendars. We haven't been to WDW when it wasn't crowded since 2006 no matter what time of year. Besides, crowds are relative. What seems crowded to me might not be to you. For example, an hour wait for Pirates is too long for me. That might be ok for you.

 

[Shughart]

I would not expect any crowd calculators to be correct for the remainder of 2021 and most of 2022 because of the 50th anniversary starting Oct 1 and lasting 18 months and pent up revenge travel as Disney loosens up restrictions. I would guess October-December (holiday esp) will be very busy as DW this year. Because of this (and also to hopefully ensure all the magic and masks will be gone, we sadly decided to nix any hopes of a 12/21 trip and are booking for 12/22).

 

[tcrandal]

We planned a trip in 2021 for right after Thanksgiving as well. DVC is pretty booked already, and the massive repressed travel is going to blow up, and likely spill over even after summer to the holidays. Either people looking to see the magic of Christmas. The way I look at it, is if you are going this year, between summer and New Years, expect a crowd, and be happy if it is less than expected. Disney was extremely busy before Covid. Historic days that were typically not busy started to become busy.. Imagine when you magnify this for people that wanted their Disney fix in 2020 and did not get it.

I would not recommend waiting on airfare and hotels as I would normally do until I found a decent deal.

 

[jods]

We are going the end of August and we got the alert about increases yesterday too. Ours jumped up a lot. I'm a little worried actually. We were there the week leading up to Easter and the lines were long for a lot of rides. Like an hour for pirates long. TP has the crowds actual level at much lower then they are predicting for August. I guess time will tell.

 

[JetsetJAK]

I was hoping to try and plan something for later in 2021 but ultimately decided I didn't want to deal with the hassle, what with all the people wanting to take post-pandemic vacations plus the added craziness of the 50th Anniversary. While it kills me to wait so long, I decided instead to focus on planning something for October 2022/Epcot's 40th Anniversary and spend the next 15 months saving up to make it the biggest and most epic Disney trip I've ever done.

When I went for Epcot30 in Oct. 2012, which also coincided with the Food & Wine Festival and a Disney marathon weekend, I remember expecting the crowds to be crazy but it honestly wasn't that bad. The only day I remember the crowds being so overwhelming that my group decided to just call it a day by late afternoon and go relax at the resort was on our Magic Kingdom day, which also happened to fall on a Saturday and in general weekends are just busier than weekdays (I remember just walking around in the park seemed difficult). But even Epcot on Oct 1st, the actual park anniversary date, wasn't that crazy.

I also remember stressing over crowd calculators and which park to do on which day, and ultimately just decided to not get myself worked up over it and whatever the crowds are we'd deal with it.