Just back yesterday- could not believe the crowds

[FootracerJ]

I can't understand how easily people swear around kids.

The only other time swearing was an issue was during the Halloween party -- and it was pretty bad; 3-4 major incidents. I think because it's called a "party" some people think they should get looped up on cocktails before they go to Magic Kingdom -- and we know there is that percentage that then become complete idiots.

One guy was just going off on a cast member, "You can't ****** kick me out! I own five businesses and you are just a piece of ****!".

Classy.

Though, I do think for a few incidents, it was probably because someone didn't have a party bracelet and didn't understand why they had to leave -- so they were putting up a fight.

 

[mom2rtk]

Actually the lowest crowds are supposed to be the first 2 weeks of December, according to all the sites.

That's not right. They might rank the first 2 weeks of December as the best to visit, but that doesn't mean they have the lowest crowds. It means it has the best balance of weather, décor AND crowd levels.

First week of September is supposed to have one of the lowest crowd levels of the year. The other weeks of September have historically been low, but really have not been as low lately. I imagine the uptick in the past week has to do with the earlier start of F/W.

 

[pipe36]

Concerning all the strollers - thank God you're here kids - pretty much who the place is for.

Those in scooters suffering from a disability - great to know you are in a wonderful place that might free your mind for awhile.

And those wondering why so many children outta school? Raise your own kids. You have no idea.

 

[wdw4rfam]

The one and only time I went to Disney World as a kid, my mom pulled me out of school for a week to do it. She was a teacher in the public school system, and she and my brother were on fall break while my private school stayed in session. I'm so glad she didn't let my school tell her how to raise her children; because she and my dad made the decision that I (an A and B student) could deal with doing my homework on the plane and catching up when I got back, I got to enjoy a really special trip to Disney World with her and my brother at a relatively low-crowd time. I treasure that week's worth of memories, but I sure don't remember whatever classes I had in any given week in middle school. If she was constantly taking me out of school, yeah, that would have been a problem, but you don't know those people's stories. This could be their once-in-a-lifetime trip -- or, as others have pointed out, they might not have even pulled their kids out of school for the trip at all.

I'm glad I homeschool, because that would be the day that someone told me that I COULDNT take MY kids on vacation when I chose.

 

[sunflowerfields]

I was there Sept. 11-15 and although it seemed a little more crowded to me than what I was expecting, I didn't think it was too bad. We didn't wait very long for any rides but we also didn't ride any of the thrill type rides.

My sister and I both commented on the number of strollers and scooters. We would come out of a ride and the stroller parking would be packed full.

We also only experienced 30 min. of rain the entire time we were there. The forecast was for rain every day.

 

[FootracerJ]

My sister and I both commented on the number of strollers and scooters. We would come out of a ride and the stroller parking would be packed full.

Yes, we were there Sept 9-18th and it just seemed like a WAY higher percentage than usual (ahem! I'm not faulting the people using them).

I had a theory that because it was during school time, people with very young kids were coming in higher numbers -- hence all the strollers.

And while not judging other's choices, for us, I'm glad we waited until both kids were old enough to go without strollers, because they would not really have remembered the trip at such a young age.

 

[GigiDisneyfreak]

We just returned from a 4 day trip to wdw. Stayed at beach club villas and had a great room on the first floor on the pool side. I had a great time but am wondering if there are any times at wdw that are not crowded. I specifically chose this time assuming that kids are all back in school. I couldn't believe how many kids were there. I overheard someone say that the schools in Georgia had a fall break! They've only been in school for a month! When I was in school, we had a fall break also. It was called Thanksgiving and it was 2 days and it was in November! Anyway, I'm hoping that if I go next year during the week of Labor Day, it will not be so crowded.

I have to disagree. I am here right now and have been since the 12th and I haven't found it crowded at all until today which is the start of food and wine.

 

[RealBlast3]

That's not right. They might rank the first 2 weeks of December as the best to visit, but that doesn't mean they have the lowest crowds. It means it has the best balance of weather, décor AND crowd levels.

First week of September is supposed to have one of the lowest crowd levels of the year. The other weeks of September have historically been low, but really have not been as low lately. I imagine the uptick in the past week has to do with the earlier start of F/W.

Well, I guess I interpreted "best" as the lowest crowds, my mistake. Nevertheless, the crowds are low those first 2 weeks in December, and I prefer the system that **************.net uses to rank the best weeks to visit the World as they take into account many factors and crowds is one of them but yes, not the only one.

I think simply using the least attended factor as your sole criteria for planning a trip leaves a whole lot to be desired as it doesn't really paint an accurate picture of the "best" time to be at Disney World.

You couldn't pay me to return to Disney in September, which weather wise is far too like August for my liking. There's a reason it's the least attended I think, with kids back in school and that heat and humidity, it does make sense. On **************.net, those September weeks are only ranked in the 20s, despite their "lowest level crowds" as they are also in the peak of Hurricane season.

 

[sunflowerfields]

I hope it didn't sound like I was complaining about strollers/scooters, as I have a family member who must use a scooter and I am very happy they, and others that need them are able to come and enjoy Disney. We were just surprised at how many strollers we saw.

 

[dismsn]

We were there 9/9 - 9/15 and I didn't think it was all that crowded. At times it seemed like there were quite a few people walking around but the lines to the rides were usually non-existant. We had 3 FP+ per day and most of the time we didn't need them. A few times it saved us a wait in line (7DMT) but a lot of the rides were walk on. A few of them had 20 minutes posted for the wait time but they were much less than 20 minutes. One time we rode EE standby and the FP line was maybe 5-10 people and standby was walk-on.

I haven't been there in 10 years so I don't have a good comparison for the number of strollers and scooters but they never bothered my family.

I will say that I didn't enjoy the little lizards nor did I like what I assume were locusts (they were giant dark grasshopper-looking things) at the All Star Sports Resort. Every day walking from the parking lot to our room was like a horror movie to me LOL.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

I have to disagree. I am here right now and have been since the 12th and I haven't found it crowded at all until today which is the start of food and wine.

Gigi..which park are you referring to for today's increased crowds...I'm assuming Epcot? Did it seem to affect crowd levels at other areas of WDW?

 

[godders]

I was at WDW 7th Sept-17th and for someone who is used to coming in the summer it was dead. Walked on to pretty much everything except for Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain at EMH on a Saturday night between 2 parties.... I found there were more school age children there than I had thought there would be but they were all pretty well behaved and some of them were very sweet so it didn't really bother me

However went back to Universal on Mon 15th (after leaving the week before) and it was noticeably busier. Most things were still a walk-on with Express Pass and/or single rider but standby queues were longer (DM up to 50 minutes at 10.15am)

 

[pumpkinpatchquilter]

I think Food and Wine as well as Free Dining have a lot to do with why it's so crowded...also I agree with those who've said a lot of it has to do with your perception of crowded. Disney is a beast of it's own. People come from all over the world - I don't know if there is such a time at Disney that has the kind of low crowds many of us think of as low crowds.

Your vacation is going to be what you want it to be. If you are pessimistic and annoyed your trip will reflect that. Don't sweat the small stuff. The difference between happy people and unhappy people is all in how you react to the things that I can assure you we all experience.

Regarding pulling your kids out of school - well I pulled my kids out for five days two years ago and I'm doing it again this week. To the lady who said some people value a family vacation more than school - you're right. I do. My Husband works more than 80 hours a week and when we can get away for a week as a family, we do, and I think it's far more important than pre-algebra. Actually, it's not the vacation that comes first, it's my family. I also spend hours upon hours working with my children so they can stay on top of school work, and I must not totally suck as a parent because one of them is going into Gifted and Talented while the other is an A and B student. So we're going to Disney, during the school year and we'll probably do it again.

 

[tim123]

My husband and I just watched your video. Nicely done! There were indeed some shots of the parks that my DH was shocked at how empty the park appeared. We're going Sunday and hoping that it's at least down a bit from all the other months..as this is our first September visit. Thanks for the video. It looked like you had a great time!

Glad you liked the film…To be fair some of the shots you see were taken before rope drop as I had CP ressies and KKT at 8am..but by and large I'm surprised to read here that people felt WDW was crowded…from September 2 to the 11 while I enjoyed the Polynesian and went to MK three times a day….the whole of WDW was relaxed, uncrowded and pleasant without needing fast passes (they were worthless) at all…walk up, walk on…do it again. Hungry? walk up, walk in..eat… After the 11th maybe they came in droves from all corners of planet earth. Maybe they didn't either and people are just complaining because they seem to do that here a lot ..Everytime Ive been to WDW I've had the time of my life. Glad you liked the film. Pass it on.

 

[mesaboy2]

This, along with the fact that the definition of "crowded" differs from person to person. Based on history and posted wait times I've seen throughout the week, I would not consider the past week(s) to be particularly busy, but everyone's perception varies. I imagine expectations play a big role in perception as well.

It's as if I wrote this. Completely agree.

 

[Princess_Nikki]

We went Sept 6-13, it was pretty slow everywhere for us. All wait times were around 10 minutes for rides, except Mine Train! Of course. I did notice around Thursday & Friday of that week that the crowds got heavier and the "smaller" kid ride lines got longer. Fantasyland was always packed. Winnie the Pooh, the Carrousel, and Peter Pan got up to 30 min wait times.

I think families with very small children probably do take advantage of this time of year, not yet having kids in school. Frozen weekends were also extended to the end of Sept (when I was there), so that could have drawn people during the weekend. We checked out on a Saturday, and the resort was packed full of people checking in.

Perhaps the Frozen extension could of made an impact.

 

[Mommy2Corinne]

I've only read the first page (so who knows where this thread has gone since then), but we were in the World 9/5-9/13 this year. We thought the crowds were AMAZING. And I am admittedly super picky (we were totally spoiled by a 2009 May middle-of-recession trip).

There was a day at AK this trip where everything was literally walk on. The walkways throughout all the parks were like ghost towns most of the day.

That said, we were in the World the following (later) week last year in 2013 (9/13-9/21), and I came home feeling confused that the parks felt so crowded. I remember posting in several similar threads...it really did feel packed last year.

Note to self: the first week after Labor Day rocks! Oh...and stop telling other people or the secret will be ruined.

 

[Lita]

Specifically, Cobb County schools in GA had Fall Break this week in GA. I am not in this area, but work with people that are and their kids were out of school all week.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[vinotinto]

Cobb and Cherokee counties had a fall break this week, but the rest of the metro Atlanta area schools were in session. I can't imagine that it would have had much of an impact on the overall crowd levels.

We are in Atlanta and we did not have a Fall Break, but I do know multiple school systems that did. In addition to Cobb and Cherokee, City of Decatur, also had the full week off:
http://www.csdecatur.net/home-calendar/FY15_School_Year_Calendar.pdf
I have friends in this school system and they affectionally call the break "Decatur at Disney."

There are many school systems that follow the "year-round" model. Schools start end-of July, and they get multiple week-long breaks multiple times per year. Not everyone starts after Labor Day. We started in mid-August and, as I said, many of the surrounding schools started even earlier.

Still, when most kids are in school is still the best time to visit, and it's a pretty safe bet that everyone has part of June and July off, as well as Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and national holidays.

There has been a steady increase in the number of visitors to WDW. So, you *will* see more people at MK, EP, DHS this year than the year before, and definitely more people than 5 years ago, but that is across the board (low seasons and high seasons):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_amusement_park_rankings
http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201406/4049/
http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201402/3872/

 

[Vernie822]

We were there last week too. We also felt like crowds were great. I never thought to myself "Wow this place is empty" but I also never thought "oh my gosh it's so crowded!"

We did the following parks.
Sunday 9/14 MNSSHP. Walked on almost everything!!
Tuesday 9/16 AK. Little bit of crowds but still minimal waits.
Wednesday 9/17 DHS. Crowds but it rained in the AM. So what we rode there we didn't wait an eternity for. TSMM was consistently about an hour when we passed it a few times.
Epcot that evening. Crowds weren't bad! We didn't ride too much though we were there for dinner and drinks. Rode the land, Nemo, etc with zero wait.
Thursday 9/18 MK. Went 8-1 and came back 3-9ish. Crowded but not too bad. Still walked on a few rides. 7DMT was about 60 min but we used a FP.
Friday 9/19 Epcot. Rode in the AM then did Food and Wine. 50 min for Soarin when we rode. This was average for Soarin when we passed. Lines were not bad for food and wine.

The longest lines we waited in were for Quick service!