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

[anniebean]

We were there September 2-8, and was most definitely more crowded than it was the same week in 2009. I don't think I'll go again on the week between Labor Day & NOJ again. Maybe the week after NOJ next time we do a September trip.

 

[Patience]

Yes, tons of international visitors last week. It was interesting to hear all the different languages. I agree at times it felt like American English speakers were in the minority.

 

[TDC Nala]

30 minutes is a "normal" wait time for TSM at opening, unless you get there first, because everybody runs straight there and gets in line.

And it's just TSM. I walked on three other rides (Star Tours - there was NOBODY in there, Tower of Terror and Great Movie Ride) right after 9 AM September 1.

Because many nights at MK are taken up by the Halloween party, everyone who doesn't buy a party ticket is drawn to MK on the days when there is no party.

 

[maggiew]

We are scheduled to be in Disney Dec. 1 -5 for a quick trick while visiting relatives in Florida. I have been unable to get any reservation for dining at Hollywood Studios on Dec. 4 (a recommended day according to easywdw) - except Brown Derby. I was starting to worry that it was going to be crowded!! I thought it was supposed to be the most recommended time to visit??

Maggie

 

[maggiew]

Sorry. Double Post.

Maggie

 

[lugnut33]

I look at the lines app almost every day and I don't see anything out of the ordinary. Way less busy now than at the end of August.

 

[KBoopaloo]

We're in WDW right now. It is busier then usual for September. We had Dumbo all to ourselves for about an hour in the morning, so I wouldn't say its crowded, per se, but there have been long lines midday and the restaurants are far busier then usual for Sept.

WDW always gets a lot of foriegn visitors, but the percentage seems really high right now. A lot of people here are from Europe. I wonder if they are offering better deals abroad.

I don't think it is just WDW. I work in a tourism driven museum in the Northeast and this year we have had a much larger percentage of international visitors. In years past, I would estimate the breakdown of our visitors to be about 35% international, 65% domestic. This year I would put the number at 50/50 or maybe even 60/40 with international visitors making up the higher percentage.

 

[mm1971]

Been here at disney world since the 17th. Came at a "slow" time of year and planned all the parks according to the crowd trackers. Magic kingdim is packed! Hollywoid studios too. It's 9:00 am and we're in line to toy story mania and it's already over 30 min. wait.
If these are 1or 2 crowd levels waht are 4,5 or 9 levels like?

TSM at 30 minutes is actually very good. We would wait standby and FP for later.

There have been a lot of reports that crowds are higher at all times now. It may be a FD period, people are still coming to see the New Fantasy Land and while it doesn't seem it-the economy is doing better so a lot more people are traveling.

We were there in mid-late August and while the crowds were not low, it was very manageable. Most lines were under 20 minutes, except for the ones that are normally long.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[dsneygirl]

I agree. My husband commented that we heard by FAR more foreign languages being spoken this trip than we did English. It was kind of crazy.

Dh and I said if there were no Canadians, Brits or Brazilians there last week it would have been empty.

We were there Sept 8-18 and didn't think it was busy at all. The only attractions not walk on were TT, Soarin', TSM and ETWB. Most waits were less than 10 min. the 16-18 was busier than the week before but still very quiet. Some places are always congested but for the most part it was really quiet. We rarely had a line up to enter, only once had a full bus and most afternoons were one of only a handful of families at the pool.

 

[coopersmom]

We did see a surfeit of international tourists, including a large British and Australian contingent, but very few large tour groups, so not really an issue.

I will say that, at one point, my son was nervous about his first ride on Space Mountain (he ended up loving it; it was the darkness that threw him), and we waited outside the rocket disembarkation area to find a child about his age, getting off, that he could ask them if it was scary. It took us seeing seven young boys, before we found one that spoke English who could reassure him.

 

[savannie]

I started a similar thread after searching for something about this. (I typed "crowd" instead of "packed," so this didn't come up.) I used EasyWDW most days, but I also checked Undercover Tourist. We had one uncrowded day, which was Thursday at Epcot. Soarin' hit an hour, and TT hit 70 mins, but that was it. We could walk easily, and the less popular rides were walk on. AK was marked green the day we went, and I almost turned around and left. It was so crowded that we couldn't move. Ride times never got too crazy (40 mins. for Dinosaur), but the people made me claustrophobic. It rained midday, though, and I think 3/4 of people left. Ended up being our best day. We had my 2 yr old niece, but managed to ride Everest 3x each, Kali River Rapids 2x each, safari 2x, and most everything else once (keep in mind most of those we're doing rider swap). We also played in the boneyard for about 2 hours. We didn't do any shows, though.

I checked my wait times app every day, but never saw under 30 mins. for any of the big rides at HS. TSM said 35 mins. at 8:45 on 2 different days! FP were out until 1 by then. We just skipped that park entirely. We did MK on a green, yellow, and red day. Red was much more crowded, but green wasn't great either. If I did it again then I would skip rope drop, play at the resort until 4, and head to MK at 5. It gets so much less crowded in the evening. To compare: waited over an hour for Splash at 5:00. It was walk on 3.5 hours later. BTM was at 70 mins. around 5:30, but we rode it twice between 10:15 and 10:40. Just amazing differences in crowds at night.

 

[stinkpickle]

...If I did it again then I would skip rope drop, play at the resort until 4, and head to MK at 5. It gets so much less crowded in the evening. To compare: waited over an hour for Splash at 5:00. It was walk on 3.5 hours later. BTM was at 70 mins. around 5:30, but we rode it twice between 10:15 and 10:40. Just amazing differences in crowds at night.

Agreed. We ride a lot of stuff in the last few hours before a park closes, especially when that park is crowded during midday. People get tired and leave, or wait for a parade or fireworks and such.

 

[jennyerin]

TSM at 30 minutes is actually very good. We would wait standby and FP for later.

There have been a lot of reports that crowds are higher at all times now. It may be a FD period, people are still coming to see the New Fantasy Land and while it doesn't seem it-the economy is doing better so a lot more people are traveling.

We were there in mid-late August and while the crowds were not low, it was very manageable. Most lines were under 20 minutes, except for the ones that are normally long.

Enjoy your vacation!

While I agree that a wait of 30 min for TSM is really good, I would have to comment that it seems like every time is getting more crowded. Even at the end of August when the only free dining was BB and pins, it was more crowded than previous years. Now we still were able to do everything but after going the same two weeks for the past 6 years, we could see a gradual increase every year. Still not as bad as peak times, though, so I can't complain...

 

[Rustyroo]

We are scheduled to be in Disney Dec. 1 -5 for a quick trick while visiting relatives in Florida. I have been unable to get any reservation for dining at Hollywood Studios on Dec. 4 (a recommended day according to easywdw) - except Brown Derby. I was starting to worry that it was going to be crowded!! I thought it was supposed to be the most recommended time to visit??

Maggie

I noticed an overall increase in crowds/reservations during this time, as we have gone this exact week for the last two years. Even from 2011 to 2012, it seemed to get more crowded/popular this week, and this is supposed to be a "slow" week. I think the old slow times at WDW are going away. The promotions dept. is definitely making a slow season non-existent.

 

[dsneygirl]

I noticed an overall increase in crowds/reservations during this time, as we have gone this exact week for the last two years. Even from 2011 to 2012, it seemed to get more crowded/popular this week, and this is supposed to be a "slow" week. I think the old slow times at WDW are going away. The promotions dept. is definitely making a slow season non-existent.

We tried a few times for same day ADRs and most were fully booked but we chanced it and got walk ins several times. At the Biergarten which was fully booked in the system the restaurant was less than half full the entire time we were there 5-6:30. We were at AKL and all the times I went by Boma it was never close to full either.

 

[Mommy2Corinne]

We tried a few times for same day ADRs and most were fully booked but we chanced it and got walk ins several times. At the Biergarten which was fully booked in the system the restaurant was less than half full the entire time we were there 5-6:30. We were at AKL and all the times I went by Boma it was never close to full either.

Boma was dead at around 7:30 on Sun 9/15 when we were there, but it was PACKED on Fri 9/20. The CMs were a little frazzled. Our server said they did 1100 people (eeeek!) from 4:00-9:30, and I think they were short-staffed. They seemed surprised by the crowd.

 

[Rustyroo]

We tried a few times for same day ADRs and most were fully booked but we chanced it and got walk ins several times. At the Biergarten which was fully booked in the system the restaurant was less than half full the entire time we were there 5-6:30. We were at AKL and all the times I went by Boma it was never close to full either.

Well, true. Last year at this time (first week of December), Via Napoli was totally booked in the system, and we walked in for lunch our last day there without issue. So it IS possible. But looking at trying to book a resort with the room discount (or FD before it), everything seemed sold out several months back even. Is it a different story if you call? I assumed not...

 

[Violet Parr]

Been here at disney world since the 17th. Came at a "slow" time of year and planned all the parks according to the crowd trackers. Magic kingdim is packed! Hollywoid studios too. It's 9:00 am and we're in line to toy story mania and it's already over 30 min. wait.
If these are 1or 2 crowd levels waht are 4,5 or 9 levels like?

Completely disagree. We were just there and it is pretty empty. 5 min before parades in MK and there were plenty of places to sit. I've never seen it like that before. Short lines, and 30 min for TSM at 9 is pretty good.

VP

 

[JessiMommy]

I am curious which set of recommended parks OP was using. Touring plans? Easy wdw? And for those who felt crowds were low, which recommendations did you use? Thanks!

We used easywdw. I don't doubt the posters saying it felt crowded the same week I found it to be dead. I just think it's possible for different people to have different perspectives. I can only state our facts. We were there Sept. 14-21. We NEVER waited more than ten minutes for anything, including quick service food lines. The only crowds we saw were on Thursday the 19th when we came to MK for parade/fireworks. I don't know if it has anything to do with the way we tour or the fact that we go at least twice a year since I was 5 (I'm 42 now). We've been A LOT, I've seen crowded and I know the zero crowd level days are a thing of the past. That being said, our week this September, for us, was wonderful!

 

[glammadiva]

Been here at disney world since the 17th. Came at a "slow" time of year and planned all the parks according to the crowd trackers. Magic kingdim is packed! Hollywoid studios too. It's 9:00 am and we're in line to toy story mania and it's already over 30 min. wait.
If these are 1or 2 crowd levels waht are 4,5 or 9 levels like?

Room choices are limited between now and Thanksgiving if that is any indication of the park levels.