Just back yesterday- could not believe the crowds

[Disney Freak Numero Uno]

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.

 

[tim123]

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 just got back from september 2 to 11….Sorry to disagree but The Polynesian was EMPTY and the rest of the park was very very calm…10 minute wait on ALL rides….empty busses, always a seat on the monorail….Epcot empty, Boardwalk a ghost town…walk in to ALL restaurants..including california Grill, Ohana etc…(with the exception of BOG at night and always CRT a no.)...
Not sure why a few days in mid september would be different for you...

 

[crazedprincess]

YES! We just returned from 9 wonderful days in the World. But I too was shocked at the crowds. All I heard and read was that Sept. was one of the lowest times. We thought it was PACKED, especially MK. I planned our days around the crowd calendars and chose parks that were supposed to be 1's and 2's. If this is low season, I would hate to see peak season! We have been there in January and it was truly low crowds when we went. So that was what we were expecting.

One thing that we noticed was that there were tons of strollers and many many elderly people. We thought maybe people with kids not of school age yet chose this time, thinking it was low crowds??

 

[Reddog1134]

Yesterday, I saw someone post on Facebook that Soarin was a 10 minute wait.

I often see conflicting reports like these and wonder if one side of the argument just happened to be in the wrong place (or right place) during their entire trip.

 

[crazedprincess]

We were 9/9-9/18 and it was truly PACKED. I've been there when it was a ghost town and it was nothing like that. I must say that when we arrived, Boardwalk was pretty empty but it slowly got more and more busy as the days went on.

 

[tinkerbella16]

The whole month of September is not empty, but the first week, right after Labor Day is... the parks are practically EMPTY! I checked wait times all week on my phone just because I was curious and yes, Soarin was a 10 minute wait in the afternoon when the parks are at their most crowded and Test Track was a whopping 20 minute wait! The longest wait time I saw was 40 minutes for 7DMT and that was it! Everything else was 5-10 minutes. If it wasn't for the heat and rain, I'd go the 1st week every year! But I love November weather too much!

We went the last week of September in 2012 and it was more crowded than we thought.

 

[lugnut33]

It could very well be the amount of strollers in the parks makes everything feel more cramped. I remember the days when kids ages 3-9 went to the parks and walked around. Maybe Disney needs to have stroller lanes in the parks?

 

[JoshuaShaw]

Yesterday, I saw someone post on Facebook that Soarin was a 10 minute wait.

I often see conflicting reports like these and wonder if one side of the argument just happened to be in the wrong place (or right place) during their entire trip.

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.

 

[surferdave]

I don't know what schools here in Georgia that could be. Our schools and all the ones I know of around here have been in school every weekday since Labor Day.

 

[lilbuddy88]

I don't know what schools here in Georgia that could be. Our schools and all the ones I know of around here have been in school every weekday since Labor Day.

I was just about to say did I miss this break. Schools in the 13 metro counties definitely were not out or I would have been trying to give a proper goodbye to Malestrom

 

[stinkpickle]

Some of the walkways in MK can be packed with people even when wait times are very short.

 

[Disney Freak Numero Uno]

I don't know the specifics. I overheard an older couple asking a mother about school and she said schools in Georgia had a break. Maybe she was not being honest because this couple questioned her about school.

Anyway, there were an awful lot of kids at WDW this week. The Tuesday Halloween party which historically has the lowest attendance of all also felt crowded to me. There were lines for thunder mountain, Winnie the Pooh and of course, the seven dwarfs mine train.

 

[phtktz3]

I was just there too. Sept 4-7 at the parks but did NOJ and it wasn't crowded for that. Then we did DCL Sept 7-11 and back to the parks from Sept 11-13.
Sept 11 we were at DHS and it was not crowded at all. Only 25 min wait for TSM at 1:00pm and 20 min for RR at 2:00pm.
We did MNSSHP Fri Sept 12 and walked on just about all rides including Peter Pan but di wait 15 min for 7 Dwarfs.
We did Epcot Sat Sept 13 and it didn't feel crowded until about 5pm in WS.
All in all this is our favorite time to go every year.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

We were there the 8th-12th and though it was empty. It's subjective.

 

[Alesia]

For those of you who feel like it was packed last week, would you mind posting which days you were at which parks?

 

[nemofan1]

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.

 

[scoutie]

Yesterday, I saw someone post on Facebook that Soarin was a 10 minute wait.

I know! I always check wait times on my app, and wait times were nothing like when we were at Disney in August. I didn't think things were very crowded at all, and we went the first week in August. It is subjective.

Many schools went back the first week of August, so a fall break isn't too far fetched of an idea. Many schools are also "year round", so a fall break isn't too crazy of an idea.

 

[Minniemoomoo]

I don't know the specifics. I overheard an older couple asking a mother about school and she said schools in Georgia had a break. Maybe she was not being honest because this couple questioned her about school. Anyway, there were an awful lot of kids at WDW this week. The Tuesday Halloween party which historically has the lowest attendance of all also felt crowded to me. There were lines for thunder mountain, Winnie the Pooh and of course, the seven dwarfs mine train.

They were out and some are out this week for fall break . My family lives there in Georgia. They started school the second Monday in August.

 

[Hisgirl]

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 just went back over the touring plans "What we predicted and What we actually saw" and the numbers for the past week are all low. In fact, many..many are 'we saw a 1' A ONE! May I ask if you have been to WDW recently since the backdoor got left open and all the world has come in? Low crowds of past years don't hardly exist anymore and maybe the '1' of today was a '3' of yesteryear. Just trying to figure out why it seemed crowded.

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

According to touringplans.com, crowds were pretty low until Saturday, 9/13.

http://blog.touringplans.com/2014/09/17/disney-world-crowd-report-september-7-13-2014/#more-73224