Is it just me or does it seem the parks arexpacked?

[Disneyaunt4]

We were there the 7-14 and never waited more than 10 mins. for any ride and never used fast pass. That is why I go in Sept. every year

 

[DebbieB]

Where will we be able to find this? My dh & I have been interested in knowing how this September's crowds compared to last September simply cause we really did find it busier.

Disney only releases annual crowd numbers. I'm not sure where quarterly came from, unless it's internal numbers.

 

[DisneyNDecember]

I have a theory as to why more and more people say that the parks are getting more and more packed, this might get long:
I've been living in Orlando since 1997 and ever since 1998 have had an AP. The parks were packed back then, then came Fastpass which helped a lot and it didn't seem all that necesary to wait in line so it didn't seem that bad.
But then Sept. 11 2001 came and that's when the entire tourism industry in Orlando died down. There were many years that the parks seemed empty,be it because people were affraid to travel or whatever the reason, it was dead. that's when Disney started with the idea of the different themed years, most popular of all was Year of a Million Dreams to try and get people to come back, and they did, free dining followed and people loved that they could come and the parks had a reasonable amount of people but not super packed. Now the economy is starting to come back up, different incentives have been given to international travelers and so the parks seem busier, there's no real super-slow time of the year anymore.
I understand that it sucks when people come and it's so busy, and packed and whatnot, but it's a good sign that the economy is coming back and cities like Orlando are benefiting fromt his.

Totally agree 100%.
Well said.

 

[canyoncam]

Not only did we only wait more than 20 minutes for one attraction, my wife and I found seating for the 8 pm Fantasmic around 7:55.

Interesting about Fantasmic because I just went by the times guide for all parks and did not check at park itself if it was open later for a showing that night. However as far as the attraction lines I think that just goes to show that you can have totally different experiences in the same park same day just based in your exact location and specific time. By the way it was the Magic Kingdom lines I was specifically referring to but I didn't see any wait times longer than 20 in HS either except TSMM.

 

[Hanover]

We just got back last night from a 3 day quick getaway for MNSSHP and the F&W Festival. We thought the parks were empty compared to a lot of our past trips. At MK and AK, we had 10 minute waits for most rides. It was great!

 

[LSUfan4444]

Interesting about Fantasmic because I just went by the times guide for all parks and did not check at park itself if it was open later for a showing that night. However as far as the attraction lines I think that just goes to show that you can have totally different experiences in the same park same day just based in your exact location and specific time. By the way it was the Magic Kingdom lines I was specifically referring to but I didn't see any wait times longer than 20 in HS either except TSMM.

yeah, they had EMH that night and I think the showings were 8 pm and 9:30

we left after Fantasmic and made our way to the beach at the polynesian to watch Hallowishes at 9:30 instead of a less crowded Fantasmic!

 

[Cappy81]

We just returned yesterday from our 6 night trip. It did seem like the parks were congested in certain areas (especially at MK) but the attraction lines were great. The longest line we waited in was at HS to meet Sofia and line was only about 25 min. We followed Josh's crowd calendar and used TP lines app and either walked on most rides or had minimal waits.

 

[savannie]

Just an update to this thread in case anyone else digs it up...

We ended up going back to Disney for the week before Easter this year (2014). We knew the crowds would be insane, but it's the only week we could go. We're just crazy like that, I guess.

To compare, our September 2013 trip had crowd predictions of 3 and 4, while our Easter trip had predictions of 8-10. They actually put up a sign for Magic Kingdom that said "full." Now, I know this defies all logic, but the Easter trip seemed MUCH less crowded. We had four adults that all agreed--the wait times for attractions were significantly longer, but the walkways and general areas were a lot less congested.

I really wish I had a good explanation. I know the crowds have been calculated, and that Easter week had a lot more people than September. Something doesn't add up. We didn't really do anything differently, and the rides definitely had higher wait times. But in September I couldn't walk without someone stepping on me, and at Easter I could move about freely. I'm thinking that maybe people from more crowded countries just tour Disney World differently. Maybe congregating in the street and being close to people is just the norm in some countries, so it doesn't bother them like it does Americans?

Anyway, just thought I would share that observation. I get a bit claustrophobic when I feel like I can't move around, so it was a big deal to me. Maybe it wouldn't bother anyone else quite so much, but I wish I had known before I went in September.