Late July Crowd Update - This Week

[HydroGuy]

Because of the recent number of high crowd reports I wanted to give an update on what is happening this week.

We are on our third day in the parks and the crowds are still pretty light. I have kept track of some wait times. Today (Thursday) was another light day. At noon the Splash posted wait time was 45 minutes. Indy at 11:15 was 45 minutes. BTMRR at 9:45Am was 10 minutes. We walked onto Splash at 8:50AM. Yes, that is early, but in the past Splash always seemed to be 20 minutes long by 9AM. And while it is not hot, it is warming up

FP availability was also an indicator of light crowds. Got Indy FPs at 12:30PM today with a return window of 2:45-3:35PM. My summer experience is Indy FP windows are usually after 8PM by noon.

DS15 just called me - he is at DL with DS17 as they slept in and did not need an afternoon break - I am on the balcony of the GCH looking at Grizzly Peak . It is 2:45PM and the Space Mtn FP window is 9-10PM. He wanted to check if he should pick up another FP set for the whole crew. I told him YES!

DCA is having some wierd traffic patterns because of World of Color, ToT FPs turned off, GRR FP's turned off until mid-day, park hours til 11PM and the PP rides closing at 8PM.

CA Screamin FPs are in higher demand that usual. Wait times yesterday afternoon for CS were 25-30 minutes. A little heavy for summer days but not too bad. TSMM seems heavier this summer than the last two. Maybe because of TS3? Wait times seem to be 45 minutes all day and are not dropping much into the evening.

We have done two Magic Mornings and crowds are light at the gates at 7AM. We arrived Tuesday at security at 6:30AM and were second in line. They held folks at security until 6:45 for some reason and when we got thru we made it to the DL gates first in our line.

So this morning Thursday we just wanted to ride Nemo Subs during MM and I saw no reason to get there at 6:30 again. So we arrived at about 6:45AM and got to the DL gates shortly thereafter. Even so we were about the fifth family in line at our gate. We just missed getting on the first sub and went on the second.

So MM crowds are lighter than I have seen in recent years too.

For those who are not summer regulars let me be clear that I am not saying it is uncrowded this week. I am saying it seems to me to be quite a bit less crowded than normal summer. There are still of people here. But the lines for rides and such are comparatively light. Early arrival and FP usage are still the right approach.

 

[momtotwolittleones]

Thank you!

 

[ImTooExcitedToSleep]

Sounds like you're having a great time. Will we be seeing you around this weekend??

 

[Sherry E]

Are you enjoying the GCH - or do you think it's not worth the $$$?

And...now that you decided to embrace the DLR dining on this trip and are sampling several of the restaurants - what do you think? Have your meals been good so far?

 

[LavenderPeach]

Thanks for the detailed crowd update! I'm meeting my sister there next week so I've been keeping an eye on all this talk about crowds.

 

[gatorfreud]

Sounds good! I've got my plans all ready for this weekend!

Kim

 

[Michelle2]

SO excited. I knew that it would not be TOO bad. but it is so nice to hear some confirmation. Very interesting about MM....I will be sure to have my plan and be prepared!

 

[wdwfan22]

Thanks for giving everyone a live report. I think because of the small walkways at DL, it looks more crowded to people who are not used to DL. I think those wait times are very reasonable for summer. They should Toy Story, Soarin or Splash at DW in the summer and see those wait times!!

 

[HydroGuy]

Are you enjoying the GCH - or do you think it's not worth the $$$?

And...now that you decided to embrace the DLR dining on this trip and are sampling several of the restaurants - what do you think? Have your meals been good so far?

Not thinking about the $$$ at this point. Just having fun.

Like I suspected, dining has not gone exactly like I had outlined. We have backed off the reservations for the shear reason that we cannot eat that much! Our first full day we did Cafe Orleans for lunch at 11:30 and had Napa Rose ressies for 5:30. But everyone said they were not up for a fancy dinner and DS14 voted strongly for Tortilla Jo's. So we went there at 6:30 and could not finish even half the food. We felt so bad. Then we did Fantasmic desserts at 9PM and again could eat only about 1/3 of it. So we decided then to make one of the meals much lighter. On day 2 we did a light, shared lunch at WCT before our AG WOC dinner. Today we did a light lunch at Plaza Inn before our all-you-can-eat-with-five-hungry-teenagers at the Big Thunder Ranch BBQ tonight.

 

[HydroGuy]

Sounds like you're having a great time. Will we be seeing you around this weekend??

Maybe. We have reservations at RFC in DTD for 12:30 so maybe I can poke in right before we leave.

 

[ImTooExcitedToSleep]

Maybe. We have reservations at RFC in DTD for 12:30 so maybe I can poke in right before we leave.

 

[Sherry E]

Not thinking about the $$$ at this point. Just having fun.

Like I suspected, dining has not gone exactly like I had outlined. We have backed off the reservations for the shear reason that we cannot eat that much! Our first full day we did Cafe Orleans for lunch at 11:30 and had Napa Rose ressies for 5:30. But everyone said they were not up for a fancy dinner and DS14 voted strongly for Tortilla Jo's. So we went there at 6:30 and could not finish even half the food. We felt so bad. Then we did Fantasmic desserts at 9PM and again could eat only about 1/3 of it. So we decided then to make one of the meals much lighter. On day 2 we did a light, shared lunch at WCT before our AG WOC dinner. Today we did a light lunch at Plaza Inn before our all-you-can-eat-with-five-hungry-teenagers at the Big Thunder Ranch BBQ tonight.

I think that your dining experience sounds very much like the plans a lot of us make! Many things sound good in the planning process and we set out with the best intentions - "We're going to eat here at X time" and "We're going to sample this and then that and then this..." - and then they don't come to fruition or our appetites just won't allow for another bite of food! Something about walking around all day at DLR that we would think increases appetite seems to have an opposite effect, and a lot of people are not that hungry for more than one solid meal in a day, whether it's dinner or whatever.

Oh wow - the BBQ is likely to be a big hit with the teens! Have fun!

 

[Monkey Monkey]

So MM crowds are lighter than I have seen in recent years too.

For those who are not summer regulars let me be clear that I am not saying it is uncrowded this week. I am saying it seems to me to be quite a bit less crowded than normal summer. There are still of people here. But the lines for rides and such are comparatively light. Early arrival and FP usage are still the right approach.

With all due respect, it looks like from your signature that your most recent summer trips were a day trip last August and one in August of 2006, so what you are experiencing could be "normal" summer crowds, or heavier or lighter.

 

[KarenB]

We are in the villas with a view of WOC....have been since the 22nd, checking out tomorrow. It has been a wonderful trip. I have really become to love Disneyland. DH and DSs still have WDW as #1 on their list.

I think the crowds were extremely manageable, especially if you were smart to use fast passes, get there at the rope drop, etc.

We did 3 full days in the parks and an evening the day we checked in. Also did Torrey Pines reserve, La Jolla, San Diego, a Red Sox game, Venice Beach, Universal, Hollywood, and Jay Leno. Also did the Power Walk 3 mornings. We are beat!!

Wish I knew you were here earlier as I would have met you and said hello!

Karen

 

[HydroGuy]

With all due respect, it looks like from your signature that your most recent summer trips were a day trip last August and one in August of 2006, so what you are experiencing could be "normal" summer crowds, or heavier or lighter.

You are right we do not go on long DLR trips every summer. I am not claiming to be an expert on summer crowds or on much of anything really, just giving my opinion and trying to be helpful. There are others who I am sure can talk more authoritatively about summer and crowds throughout the year than I can.

I was not planning to write this thread but the day after I arrived I saw two threads going about bad summer crowds here - and some people on upcoming trips getting unnerved. I was here in summer 2005 during the 50th celebration and I have a good idea of what bad summer crowds look like. And what I am seeing this week is nothing compared to 2005.



ETA: We also went for 3 1/2 days last week of June 2007 over the SoCal AP blockout transition and I consider that a summer visit too. And crowds were heavier that week before and after the blockout than this week.

 

[blackjackdelta]

Are you enjoying the GCH - or do you think it's not worth the $$$?

And...now that you decided to embrace the DLR dining on this trip and are sampling several of the restaurants - what do you think? Have your meals been good so far?

Sherry beat me to it but I have the same questions. We are still two weeks out.

Jack

 

[disneydreamer74]

Thanks for the live report! I think your assessment is spot on! Those sound like relatively light summer crowds. Not to say the parks are not crowded, but according to your wait times, they could be much, much worse!!! I wonder if the excitement at DCA is pulling some of the crowds from DLR? I am always prepared for the busiest crowds, knowing that every day is different!