It’s January!!! This is crazy!!! The crowds are insane. Hi

[snappy]

Slinky dog is 35 minute wait at the moment. It did just start drizzling.

 

[bosspringsteen]

Our first night here and Epcot was jam packed today the wait times didn’t show it but World Showcase was unbearable. Ran into a bunch of different groups wearing drink around the world shirts and a few bachelor and bachelorette parties. It was very unexpected still got in some decent rides thanks to the planning and fast passes but, man, you could barely walk through world showcase.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Our first night here and Epcot was jam packed today the wait times didn’t show it but World Showcase was unbearable. Ran into a bunch of different groups wearing drink around the world shirts and a few bachelor and bachelorette parties. It was very unexpected still got in some decent rides thanks to the planning and fast passes but, man, you could barely walk through world showcase.

Yep. Epcot on Saturday night is a big NOPE.

 

[Haley R]

Slinky dog is 35 minute wait at the moment. It did just start drizzling.

We went to after hours tonight at hs and it was great. I’m so glad it didn’t end up storming

 

[Lothlórien]

There are several reasons for the influx. Majorly, there are no "slow times" in Disney World anymore.
It was once considered a "family park" and now solos and adults visit sans kids.
Unemployment is at a record low and the economy is doing better than it has in a long time and people are traveling more often. (facts you can look up, not a political comment)

 

[Haley R]

There are several reasons for the influx. Majorly, there are no "slow times" in Disney World anymore.
It was once considered a "family park" and now solos and adults visit sans kids.
Unemployment is at a record low and the economy is doing better than it has in a long time and people are traveling more often. (facts you can look up, not a political comment)

I would also add to the list that families are more willing to take their kids during the school year. I feel like most people used to only go during school breaks

 

[bosspringsteen]

Yep. Epcot on Saturday night is a big NOPE.

Yea, I expected it to be busy but not like that. The last time we were here was 2010, around this time as well, and it was empty in every park everyday. But, thanks to this board, we were prepared for the crowds this trip and planned accordingly. The only thing we didn’t hit yesterday was Frozen and Grand Fiesta but we have all week here.

 

[jsmla]

I was in the Future World of Epcot last evening and it didn’t seem very bad at all. I road Soarin’ four times. I picked up two FPs as my 4th and 5th after a morning in a very crowded MK. The waits for my other two rides were under 30 minutes. Didn’t go past the cheese in a tiny bread bowl at the kiosk near France in the WS though. It was raining so I called it a night.

 

[mom2shayleeandlogan]

We just got back. Our trip was the 29th-feb.2nd. We got so much done. Crowds were way better then last year at the same time. Last year fast pass lines had crazy lines. This year fast pass system worked great. Always found seating for QS and never waited to be sat at TS. Buses were amazing even at the end of the night!

 

[Gussie Granger 1969]

I would also add to the list that families are more willing to take their kids during the school year. I feel like most people used to only go during school breaks

I 100% agree with this. We used to pull our kids out and it was still crowded. Now we go during their breaks and it’s just as crowded as the times we would pull them out so now we go when it’s convenient for us.

 

[snappy]

We are retired now. Since we can go anytime, I research less busy times and avoid the hottest months. Our favorite right now is the last few days of January into February and early May. Always looking for the ideal less crowded time but we do longer stays that include one weekend only. Make fast passes 60 days out. We avoid extra magic hours and sleep in so make FP’s starting late morning at earliest. If it’s too busy we head for the resort and go back to a park for the last couple hours. Parks seem less busy at that time, and posted wait times are usually inflated at that time.

 

[JessiMommy]

We just returned from a trip between January 27 - February 2. We also found it to be extremely crowded but kind of went in expecting that based on recent trends and our own personal experiences. While it’s sad that the old slower times are a thing of the past we realize that is just the way it is and plan accordingly now. We were able to see and do everything we wanted to do during the trip. The thing that upset us on this particular trip was the cleanliness of the bathrooms especially. We remember a time when you could drop a piece of paper on the ground and a cast member was not far behind sweeping it up and there was always an attendant in the bathrooms tidying up. We didn’t see that at all this trip. As a matter of fact most of the bathrooms we visited after about noon on any given day were downright nasty. Paper all over the floor, wet dirty looking floors, etc., also tables were not quickly cleaned off in any of the quick service locations. The cast members as a whole don’t seem as magical as they used to. We heard several of them grumbling to one another in front of guests and encountered several that were less than chipper. In conversations with other guests and in conversations we overheard during the week we were not the only ones feeling like WDW is not quite as magical as it used to be. With that being said we still had a very enjoyable time, did encounter some cast members who were going above and beyond and we do have more trips planned this year. I just miss the Disney experiences we had a few years ago and back.

 

[Haley R]

We just returned from a trip between January 27 - February 2. We also found it to be extremely crowded but kind of went in expecting that based on recent trends and our own personal experiences. While it’s sad that the old slower times are a thing of the past we realize that is just the way it is and plan accordingly now. We were able to see and do everything we wanted to do during the trip. The thing that upset us on this particular trip was the cleanliness of the bathrooms especially. We remember a time when you could drop a piece of paper on the ground and a cast member was not far behind sweeping it up and there was always an attendant in the bathrooms tidying up. We didn’t see that at all this trip. As a matter of fact most of the bathrooms we visited after about noon on any given day were downright nasty. Paper all over the floor, wet dirty looking floors, etc., also tables were not quickly cleaned off in any of the quick service locations. The cast members as a whole don’t seem as magical as they used to. We heard several of them grumbling to one another in front of guests and encountered several that were less than chipper. In conversations with other guests and in conversations we overheard during the week we were not the only ones feeling like WDW is not quite as magical as it used to be. With that being said we still had a very enjoyable time, did encounter some cast members who were going above and beyond and we do have more trips planned this year. I just miss the Disney experiences we had a few years ago and back.

That’s funny because we were there January 28-February 3 and had some of the best customer service ever at wdw. I do agree about the bathrooms though. On one of our days I went in the bathroom by Adventureland and every single seat I looked at had pee on it. I kid you not I looked at like 5-6 different ones

 

[JessiMommy]

That’s funny because we were there January 28-February 3 and had some of the best customer service ever at wdw. I do agree about the bathrooms though. On one of our days I went in the bathroom by Adventureland and every single seat I looked at had pee on it. I kid you not I looked at like 5-6 different ones

Oh we definitely had some great cast member encounters, (Mike our safari guide on Kilimanjaro Safaris was top notch and the best we’ve ever had!) unfortunately we also saw a lot of the opposite. We’ve been visiting twice a year or more since 2000 as a family and even before that as single adults & children. The past few years we’ve seen a definite decline. I get why the cast members are disgruntled... having hours and possibly wages cut, being expected to perform more duties, having to deal with rude guests, etc. but you NEVER saw that on their faces or in their actions before. Maybe training of new cast members has also taken a hit. It all just makes me sad because we love Disney.

 

[FastPasser.]

I get why the cast members are disgruntled... having hours and possibly wages cut, being expected to perform more duties, having to deal with rude guests, etc.

I doubt it's just me, but I did not find any of that to be the case, and my career at WDW spanned over 22 years.

 

[JessiMommy]

I doubt it's just me, but I did not find any of that to be the case, and my career at WDW spanned over 22 years.

This is a recent development. We’ve always loved our cast member interactions over the past 20+ years of visiting. We had some last week as well. I don’t know the reasons why, only that something has changed overall. We are not the only family to feel the difference. It’s all over social media.

 

[monkyby87]

This is a recent development. We’ve always loved our cast member interactions over the past 20+ years of visiting. We had some last week as well. I don’t know the reasons why, only that something has changed overall. We are not the only family to feel the difference. It’s all over social media.

Forgive me if I'm not taking social media as gospel. It's pretty much the last media outlet I would trust.
I can't say I've experienced any of these negatives over the past few years, or even this year. Maybe I just have a more positive outlook, I don't know.

 

[FastPasser.]

This is a recent development.

I retired just a few months ago.

We’ve always loved our cast member interactions over the past 20+ years of visiting. We had some last week as well. I don’t know the reasons why, only that something has changed overall. We are not the only family to feel the difference. It’s all over social media.

Social media aside, I certainly don't mean to imply that there aren't any CMs that fit your description, but IMO it doesn't characterize the vast majority. Also, the number of CMs has increased dramatically over the past 20 years and because some people visit WDW more often, there are more opportunities to have a bad or good experience. Having worked at the resorts in various positions, in transportation and at the four parks, I've found that most CMs are content and enjoy being a CM. But it's not 100% and never was.

 

[WEDWDW]

Forgive me if I'm not taking social media as gospel. It's pretty much the last media outlet I would trust.
I can't say I've experienced any of these negatives over the past few years, or even this year. Maybe I just have a more positive outlook, I don't know.

Same here-I have ben trying to think of a really negative CM experience from our trip last month and haven't been able to come up with any.

But we had so MANY exceptional CM encounters it took us a long time when we got home to send in all the Compliment emails for them!

(The Brazil CMs were some of the best!)

 

[ccbloom]

We just returned from a trip between January 27 - February 2. We also found it to be extremely crowded but kind of went in expecting that based on recent trends and our own personal experiences. While it’s sad that the old slower times are a thing of the past we realize that is just the way it is and plan accordingly now. We were able to see and do everything we wanted to do during the trip. The thing that upset us on this particular trip was the cleanliness of the bathrooms especially. We remember a time when you could drop a piece of paper on the ground and a cast member was not far behind sweeping it up and there was always an attendant in the bathrooms tidying up. We didn’t see that at all this trip. As a matter of fact most of the bathrooms we visited after about noon on any given day were downright nasty. Paper all over the floor, wet dirty looking floors, etc., also tables were not quickly cleaned off in any of the quick service locations. The cast members as a whole don’t seem as magical as they used to. We heard several of them grumbling to one another in front of guests and encountered several that were less than chipper. In conversations with other guests and in conversations we overheard during the week we were not the only ones feeling like WDW is not quite as magical as it used to be. With that being said we still had a very enjoyable time, did encounter some cast members who were going above and beyond and we do have more trips planned this year. I just miss the Disney experiences we had a few years ago and back.

YES! The BATHROOMS!!!! We used to talk about and praise Disney for their spotless, nicely renovated bathrooms...but some of the things I ran into in bathrooms last week and during our October 2017 trip made my head want to explode. It's not the CMs' fault at all. I just don't see them in the bathrooms like they used to be. I use the bathroom a lot, especially in Epcot, and there was always an attendant in any World Showcase restroom I visited, pretty much any time of day. But, now, they just aren't there to do the work, and that's not their fault.

We had very pleasant CM interactions for the most part during our trip; just a few who seemed stressed and overworked due to understaffing or other issues, and again, I do think that's because of upper management issues.