Just got back, crowd report

[shelsy]

Hi Everone.

Just got back from my first trip ever to the world!! We spent 7 nights at FW cabins! They were great and it was so nice to have the extra room. See the resort board.

We ate at Princess breakfast in Epcot where my DD age 8 got to be the "princess of the day" for Epcot. This was awesome!! We ate lunch at Crystal Palace with Pooh, did Mickey's Backyard BBQ, the Rose and Crown to see Illuminations, and the Fantasmic dinner package at Hollywood and Vine. We ate at Cheesecake Factory Express at Disney Quest as well as used counter service in the parks. See restaurant board.

The crowds were heavy during our whole trip. We utilized fast pass because my DS age 4 could never have stood in the 45 minute lines. The most we waited was about 15 minutes. Our strategy was to head to opposite parts of the park then everyone else. We also used baby swap which allowed us to save a fast pass because we got a baby swap pass instead. We hit the parks early, but did not use early entry priviledges.

We attended the MNSHP on Oct 19. Very crowded. Try to wait to trick-or-treat until end unless lines were short. Toontown was a nightmare and they also ran out of candy. Just got our free picture today, and it is ok. Do not know if I would do another halloween party. Too many people and parade was not as good as spectromagic. Fireworks were mediocre.

Let me know if you have any questions. I am excited totalk about it.

Shelsy

 

[danny1649]

Crowded about the same or were crowds worst at MK?Did you use Disney transportation?How did it work for you?Thanks

 

[shelsy]

The crowds were heavy at all four parks. At times, it was impossible to get through them at MK. Animal Kingdom was so bad we left at 2:00.

We used Disney trans from FW to MK, the rest of the time we used our vehicle. The boat ride over took about 20-25 minutes. One time on the way home from MK, my DH and DS waited 1.5 hours for a boat. The transpotation at FW campground is somewhat slow too.

We always arrived earlier enough at the parks to get a somewhat close space and the parking trams were always running at each park.

I definitely would not leave myself solely relying on the disney transportation system.

Hope this helps. let me know if you have any further questions.

 

[WDWisTheBest]

Shelsy, one comment. I can never think of a time that Disney fireworks at any of the parks were "mediocre".
Are you sure that they were that bad?

 

[Kallison]

I felt the same way about MVMCP as you did about MNSSHP.

 

[maci]

So funny...we were at 19th party and had a ball!!!! We never waited in line longer than 15 minutes!!! We werent that concerned about trick or treating though, figured we could do that at home. I will agree there are ALOT of people here ( we are still here), but the lines have been very managable, we are having a great trip!!! Sure, it would be great to have smaller crowds but oh well, that is life!!!
We LOVE MNSSHP, in fact we are going again tomorrow night!

 

[Armadillo4]

Here's another crowd report from our recent trip:

Saturday 10/18 - MK
I know, we were crazy to go to MK on a Saturday, but we had no choice. It was what you would expect. Pretty heavy all around, but we knew this going in, so we were okay with it.

Sunday 10/19 - MK
Didn't seem bad at all. Got to the park just at 9am. 10 min. for Haunted Mansion. 5 min. for Philharmagic. 10 min. for Splash Mountain. 15 min. for Space Mountain. 20 min. for Buzz Lightyear. 5 min. for Pirates. You get the idea. We didn't have to FP too much, since the standby lines were pretty short. We left around 3pm to go to...

Epcot - crowded, but manageable. I didn't know what to expect with the start of the Food and Wine Festival. Test Track had a 120 minute standby(!!!) and had sold out of FPs. Mission: Space was at 60 min, but we FP that one.

Monday 10/20 - Disney-MGM Studios
It seemed a bit crowded. More crowded than I expected, but manageable. Got to the park just around 10am. There was already a 50 min. wait for TOT with FP for 3 hours later. But only one side was running because of the rehab, so that was understandable. RnR was decent, only 35 min. wait. Everything else seemed pretty reasonable, e.g. Star Tours at 5 min.

We paid a return visit to Epcot, just to get to Test Track. It was much better on this day. Only 35 min. standby for Test Track.

Tuesday 10/21 - AK
Very manageable. Got there right at 9am. Kilimanjaro Safaris were at 15 min. Kali R. Rapids at 5 min. Dinosaur at 10 min. The walkways seemed crowded, but the wait-times at the attractions were just fine.

Wednesday 10/22 - AK and Epcot
Very manageable again. No wait longer than 15-20 minutes. We were gone by 2pm for the airport.

It really does vary from day-to-day and at certain times too. Just try to be flexible and you'll have fun!

-Carlos

 

[shelsy]

I am sorry, I typed in the wrong date for the MNSSHP. We were there 10/16, and it was very crowded and they ran out of candy. Wishes fireworks were great, but I have seen much better than what they did for the Halloween party.

 

[justhat]

We were at the party on the 16th and it was much more crowded than we expected, but overall we didn't think it was too bad, compared to daytime crowds that is. We didn't go to Toontown since we don't have any kids yet, but we did get candy at a few other places, only when we were directly passing them and if they had no line. I think we went to one guy who ran out, but since my pregnancy has brought on an aversion to sweet foods, candy wasn't a big deal to me. I imagine though for all the little kids in line at each candy stop it was disappointing though. We didn't think the fireworks were that great either, though we saw Wishes first so that might have skewed our opinion (we were getting our fortunes told during the fireworks on the 16th so we watched them during the 19th party from CG, after seeing Wishes on the 18th). We did try to see the witch fly from the castle on the 16th before going to the fortune teller, and though we waited before they started and into the beginning, we didn't see her, so we asked 3 CMs and they told us the witch was at the beginning and already flew. Well we heard her cackling during the fortune telling so we realized they were wrong and that we had missed her so we're glad we got to see her fly from CG. We didn't really see any waits for rides though, which was nice, and we thought the parade was cute. We also thought all the parks were pretty crowded during our whole stay (10/15-20).

 

[nataliesdaddy]

wow, I am suprised to hear that wdw would be crowded at all this time of year. Shouldn't crowds be minimla due to school being in session? or is my impression wrong. I remember being there after spring break one year - the place was empty.

anyone give me any insights on this?

 

[justhat]

We thought the crowds would be light too, especially since we arrived the Wednesday after Columbus Day so we thought all the kids were back in school. After we spoke to a few kids we found out that apparently some schools have a fall break that week, so that might be part of the reason the crowds were so large. Even so, I'm sure a lot of the kids there were just missing school since I hadn't heard of this time of year being so popular for breaks longer than a day or 2. The crowds were comparable to President's Week, excluding President's Day itself. In fact, over President's Week a lot of rides didn't even have FP running since you didn't need it but every FP machine was turned on last week and the return times were sometimes several hours away (8pm FP return at 2pm). The CMs we spoke with, though, said no other October has had crowds like this and that they were told in August that the resorts were pretty much booked to capacity through NYE, but they didn't believe it till they started to see the crowds. A lot of it I'm guessing is from FTP. The only time we've seen bigger crowds was during NYE.

 

[skiwee1]

Originally posted by shelsy
I am sorry, I typed in the wrong date for the MNSSHP. We were there 10/16, and it was very crowded and they ran out of candy. Wishes fireworks were great, but I have seen much better than what they did for the Halloween party.

We were there the same night! I didn't think it was anymore crowded then any other MNSSHP. We didn't have to wait in any lines for the rides which was good. The bugs were horrible though! We were eaten alive this time! We didn't go to many of the trick or treat stops so I can't comment on them running out of candy. It wasn't worth it to trick or treat for sweetarts. We let DD decide if she wanted any more candy and when she said no we stopped the trick or treating! Before Wishes I feel that the MNSSHP fireworks were the best and I love the Boo to You parade! That is my favorite parade anyway. I can sympathize with the boats to FW. We stayed at the WL before and never will again unless they do something about those slow boats! LOL!

 

[DisDadX2]

Just among our circle of acquantinces, we know of 6 families that have visited Disney beside us this year. I think everyone is catching up on all the travel they have put off for the last 2, post 9/11, years.

 

[KathyFP]

I was hoping that the crowds would thin out a bit. We will be there in two days.

 

[SparKeLLy]

We were there from the 15-23. The crowds were very low in the mornings. Get there at opening if you can. Even on EE days the parks weren't anymore crowded than others in the morning. By 3 pm the crowds were heavy though.

We went to MNSSHP on the 19th. We walked on Mickey's Philharmagic, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Peter Pan's Flight, and Mad Tea Party. Those were the only rides we did that night. The trick or treat lines were really fast, and we got lots of goodies, M&Ms, Twix, Twizzlers, milky way, mars, etc. and they gave us 2 or 3 at a time.

The only thing we waited in a line for was the fortune tellers and the free photo. But not too long.

 

[eeyore0062]

Word is out that October is a fantastic time to pay a visit to WDW. The weather is great, little rain, low humidity, still warm, but not hot. Plus all of the extras like the Food and Wine Festival and MNSSHP, not to mention the golf tournament occuring at that time. It has also become a big convention month, so while one parent is at the convention the other, and the kids are at the parks. Not to mention the added advertising campaign, and the opening of Mission:Space, Mickey's Philharmagic and Wishes.

Attendance is finally coming up, so expect more crowding. I think we have gotten spoiled the past couple of years. Yes, school is in, but I have seen many parents and grandparents with kids too young to go to school, not to mention those who have come from Europe, where missing school for a holiday is a normal activity.

I am thrilled with the increase in attendance, and if that means I have to wait a bit longer to go on a ride, or see a show, it is worth it in the long run!

 

[nataliesdaddy]

Originally posted by eeyore0062
Word is out that October is a fantastic time to pay a visit to WDW. The weather is great, little rain, low humidity, still warm, but not hot. Plus all of the extras like the Food and Wine Festival and MNSSHP, not to mention the golf tournament occuring at that time. It has also become a big convention month, so while one parent is at the convention the other, and the kids are at the parks. Not to mention the added advertising campaign, and the opening of Mission:Space, Mickey's Philharmagic and Wishes.

Attendance is finally coming up, so expect more crowding. I think we have gotten spoiled the past couple of years. Yes, school is in, but I have seen many parents and grandparents with kids too young to go to school, not to mention those who have come from Europe, where missing school for a holiday is a normal activity.

I am thrilled with the increase in attendance, and if that means I have to wait a bit longer to go on a ride, or see a show, it is worth it in the long run!

ok, now that makes sense - conventions, GOLF tourney, and MNSSHP all hitting at one time that would load the boat for sure, and FTP was for this time period also right? ok now it makes sense.

thanks for your input

 

[sters]

I went to WDW in October many, many years ago.... OK, 13. And it was the BEST trip I ever had in terms of crowds and weather. We never waited on anything, except for Jungle Book Cruise, for more than 5 minutes or so. The crowds were larger in April and May, so I would definately have encouraged an October trip. To hear how CROWDED it is... well, it's astounding! We're going next week, during Jersey Week, and now I'm very nervous. Our cousin tried two night in a row this past week to book a room to join us for the weekend of Nov 7, and there were no rooms available at any resort at any level, from suites to a lowly All Star. We did call the Dolphin directly and there was some rooms there, but not at the Swan.

We moved our trip up from 2004 to take advantage of the FTP, so I shouldn't be surprised that so many others are, too. But, I have to say, I'm in shock anyway! I have young children and that's why we went at this time of year. I didn't want to be crushed by the crowds and here we probably will anyway. YIKES! Well, at least I'll be better prepared than on a "typical" October or November.

Do you think Disney will continue the FTP in future years? It seems to have been a very successful marketing strategy for them.

 

[skiwee1]

Originally posted by nataliesdaddy
ok, now that makes sense - conventions, GOLF tourney, and MNSSHP all hitting at one time that would load the boat for sure, and FTP was for this time period also right? ok now it makes sense.

thanks for your input

The only thing on the list that is new this year is FTP. There have always been golf tourneys, conventions, and MNSSHPs at the same time. At least for the last 3 Octobers I've been. That said the parks were never this crowded and was one of the reasons we go every October. I think the crowd increase comes directly from the FTP offer.

 

[PattnFmly]

We were there Oct 11-25 and also thought the crowds were heavier than last year, especially the 1st week (Columbus day wk). But we didn't really have to wait for anything. We used the fastpasses and if they were out for a ride on that day, we just hit that ride first the 2nd day of each park. The parks were also open later than last year and in that last hour before closing there weren't lines for anything.