If all my park days are predicted to be lower than 5 level crowds...

[Cando86]

...does it really matter what park I go to on what day? I've been using touringplans and Josh's site to determine which days to visit which parks. However, we're going during a low crowd week (highest is a level 4). Will EMH crowds/other factors really make a difference when crowds are that low?

 

[TDC Nala]

Don't know when you are going but remember if you're there during Food & Wine festival that those crowd levels aren't taking the festival into account, so if you are there on a weekend then World Showcase will be very crowded.

 

[LSUfan4444]

Yes. In fact, it is probably more important to pay attention to recommended and non recommended parks during slower times than when crowds are 8s and 9s.

If the predicted crowd average level is 4 (for all the parks), that might mean a 2 in one park and a 6 in another.

 

[mggeary]

Yes. In fact, it is probably more important to pay attention to recommended and non recommended parks during slower times than when crowds are 8s and 9s.

If the predicted crowd average level is 4 (for all the parks), that might mean a 2 in one park and a 6 in another.

Agree 100%. Park day selection matters much more in low-mid crowd times, particularly when there are MK parties that close the park at 7pm or stretches without MSEP/Wishes.

You will definitely notice the difference in a crowd level 4 vs 1. My advice would be to go to MK on the lowest crowds (definitely Wed) and party days and plan other parks days around that. Also skip Epcot on weeknds of F&W, and hit DHS on the occasional day without fantasmic.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

If you're going during "party season" (essentially September-December), then it does make a big difference.

 

[Cando86]

What if the trip isn't during party season? We'll be there January 2nd - January 12th. The first day we'll be at the parks crowds will be heavy but the rest are 2s, 3s and 4s.

 

[jpalasky]

Following. I am going the same time.

 

[Love Tink]

What if the trip isn't during party season? We'll be there January 2nd - January 12th. The first day we'll be at the parks crowds will be heavy but the rest are 2s, 3s and 4s.

Yes, it will still matter because entertainment like MSEP will only be shown on certain nights (unlike during busy times, when it is shown every night), and park hours might vary from day to day (unlike busy times, when they tend to stay consistent all week), etc.

 

[sb682]

If you are following Josh's plans, he does take party days/festival days into account with his recommendations. We went last year in mid-September, during one of the very slowest weeks of the year. We did do a non-recommended day once and it was much busier than the parks were on their recommended days, but not too awful. For example, if the overall level is a 5, then a non-recommended park may be closer to 7, but a highly recommended park may be closer to 3. And yes, I would skip EMH days if you won't be using the extra hour.

 

[DisneyFive]

For what it's worth, the ONLY time we've noticed crowds to feel significantly heavier were on days that TP predicted them to be a 5. This was at MK, and HS and it was obvious.

4 and lower all feel pretty low to us.

This is after about 35 park day visits using TP and the predicted crowd levels.

Dan

 

[mggeary]

For what it's worth, the ONLY time we've noticed crowds to feel significantly heavier were on days that TP predicted them to be a 5. This was at MK, and HS and it was obvious.

4 and lower all feel pretty low to us.

This is after about 35 park day visits using TP and the predicted crowd levels.

Dan

All things equal, why not zig when the rest of the heard is zagging. The emptier the park the better.

Re: TP, I don't really trust their crowd predictions. (though their lines app remains very helpful) They are slightly better now that they go back and check how they did, but they are frequently off by 1-3 levels per park, and this seems likely because they rely to heavily on the peak wait times for rides, which are prone to skew the data when there is a breakdown. Stick with sites like easywdw that reason it out and verify in person over those that rely too heavily on mathematical models.

 

[Josh's Mom]

What are the sites to find what the crowd levels are?

 

[HelenParr]

Early morning hours will make impact first thing attraction waits, even with low crowd level. And, as many have said, the entertainment schedule changes.

 

[DisneyFive]

All things equal, why not zig when the rest of the heard is zagging. The emptier the park the better.

This is exactly what we do, but sometimes it's inevitable to hit a park on a higher day. For instance, our last day is now always MK. Regardless of crowd level, we want that last full day to be in our favorite park.

Dan

 

[wareagle57]

What are the sites to find what the crowd levels are?

http://www.easywdw.com/category/calendar/07-july-2014-crowd-calendar/

https://www.undercovertourist.com/orlando/crowd-calendar/december-2014/#disney-opening-hours

http://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/crowd-calendar

 

[juliehoey]

What are the sites to find what the crowd levels are?

Josh's site- crowd calendars to the right for each month.
http://www.easywdw.com/

I agree with following Josh's recommendations even though we have been and will be this year, during crowd levels 3 & 4. Doing the opposite of his recommendations can put you in the park that has the heaviest crowd that day.