Need input determining wait times

curingcoldfeet

Curing Cold Feet
Joined
Aug 31, 2010
Messages
2
If anyone has been to WDW in Orlando the week BEFORE Thanksgiving, how are the crowds? I realize they aren't as crazy as they are for the holiday, but I have a client trying to decide if her not-quite-4-year-old can handle waiting in lines. What times are we talking about for most rides -- 15 minutes, closer to 30?

I'm a travel agent, and I don't like to send people somewhere their children aren't mature enough to handle yet. She describes her daughter as "busy" "active" and "can't wait in line." LOL
 
It depends on the ride, the day, and the time of day. During the slow times, certain rides like Toy Story Mania can have 60 minute or more waits during the middle of the day. It's more important to have a good touring strategy. Direct your client to touringplans.com, tourguidemike.com, or ridemax.com.

The best thing for young kids is to get there before the park opens, hit the rides that get long lines early, grab fastpasses for use later in the day, and go back to the hotel for a rest mid-day when the parks are the most crowded.

ETA: I didn't answer your actual question. I was at WDW for Thanksgiving week back in 2004. We were only in the parks on Monday and Tuesday of that week and the crowds were very managable. But I did notice a big uptick in people at the resort on Wednesday so I imagine the parks got a lot busier. We checked out on Thanksgiving Day so I can't tell you about that weekend.
 
Thank you, Maggie'sMom. My client will need to make her own decisions, of course, but it's my job to get her the information she needs for informed ones, as opposed to my opinion or a sales pitch <shudder>

Julie
 
:wave: Hey, Julie!

I second touringplans.com. In my experience, they seem to be pretty accurate. :goodvibes
 

I probably shouldn't give away this tip (it's a tip in my eyes, at least)- but the week before Thanksgiving is AMAZING. We walked on to every ride.
Of course, the weekends will always be crowded (saturdays, sundays), but if your client is going during the week, hit the parks hard then.
We were able to go on every ride in each park within a few hours. Seriously. The most we might have waited was 15 minutes- MAX. And we were so spoiled, we would complain!! :rotfl:

We haven't any kids (yet...1 on the way!)- and we have the luxury of planning all of our trips around kid holidays and any time we think kids will be out of school. The week before Thanksgiving is perfect, because NO parents take their kids out of school the week before a major holiday. (ok, I am sure SOME parents do it, but most don't).

So the parks are pretty empty. Definitely tell your clients to go that week. :)
 
Even if you are at WDW during a busy time, with very long waits, doesn't mean you have to actually wait - just use the Fastpass for anything that has over a 25 minute wait. The week before Thanksgiving is usually pretty slow, so they shouldn't have to deal with too many long lines anyway. Also, there really isn't anyone too immature for Disney. Disney caters to everyone from infant to 100 years old.

You may want to pass along some of these touring tips if you are not familiar with WDW
:
1. Make sure you have Advance Dining Reservations.

2. Get to the parks at opening. You really can get a lot done in the morning because so many other people sleep in.

3. Eat lunch around 11:00 or 11:30 a.m. before the fast food places get busy. Then when while everyone else is eating lunch, you will have lower crowds.

4. I buy a ton of the two for a dollar ponchos at the dollar store and keep them in the backpack. That way you can throw them a way after use and not worry about keeping up with a wet bulky poncho the rest of the day. Bring throw away ponchos to wear on Kali River Rapids at Animal Kingdom, if not you WILL get soaked.

5. Other things I put in the backpack each morning are Tylenol/Motrin, small first aid kit, camera with extra batteries, small hand towel, hand sanitizer, wipes and a bottle of water.

6. Most single service items under $4.00 are considered a snack credit on the dining plan.

7. At Magic Kingdom always head to Fantasyland first, if you are not doing Fantasyland on a particular day then head to Splash Mountain first, then Big Thunder Mountain; at Epcot always ride Soarin' first and get a Fastpass for later after you get off of the ride; at Disney Hollywood Studios always ride Toy Story Mania first, then head over to Rockin' Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror; and at Animal Kingdom ride Expedition Everest First then head to the Safari.

8. Favorite fast food restaurants at MK are Pecos Bills and Cosmic Rays; favorite fast food at Animal Kingdom is Flame Tree Grill and Pizzafari. If you are there while it very hot, go to Pizzafari.

9. If there are two lines going into an attraction, always take the line that goes to the left.

10. My best tip would have to be USE THE FASTPASS SYSTEM - it's free! Our rule of thumb is if the wait is 25 minutes or less, we wait in line. If the wait is 30 minutes or more, use a Fastpass. It is not highly publicized, but your Fastpass does not expire until the end of the day. You can never use it before the return time stamp on the pass, but you can always use it after. We try to collect Fastpasses during the early part of the day and then use them later in the afternoon when the parks become more crowded.

Click on this link and it will give you an excellent overview of Fastpass:
http://www.oinc.net/disney/fastpass.php

If you still don't understand, just let me know your specific questions.

11. I like the Photopass. You can pre-buy it before your trip for $99.00. When you enter the parks you will see the staff photographers, they will take your pictures and give you a Photopass and you can use that for the rest of your trip. Each time you see a photographer have them take your picture and they will scan your picture. Then when you get home you can pull up the pictures, with the code they email you after purchase, and pick the photos you want on a CD. They will then mail you the CD and the copyrights to the CD and you can take them to Walmart or Walgreens or wherever and get them developed. They also have a lot of cool software that you can use to edit your photos before you have them put on the CD.

My favorite Disney planning sites are:

www.disboards.com
www.allearsnet.com
www.wdwinfo.com
 


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