Oh no! Crowd levels changed from "1" to "4" during our week!

[WendyMichaelJohn]

The updated crowd blog for the Unofficial Guide has our days at 4 (and even a 6!) during the week after Thanksgiving. When we booked, the week was rated 1! That's a big change, don't you think? I know that time of year is getting more popular, but 4 just sounds so...so...crowded.

Am I putting too much stock into it? It's still the lowest rated time for the most part, since there are NO 1, 2 or 3 rated days for the whole year.

I'm so bummed.

Shel

 

[CarolMN]

The way they do the ratings changed - not the expected level of crowds. The numbers now reflect the peak wait time at the more popular attractions, instead of general crowd level.

So don't worry. The week after Thanksgiving will still be a very good time to go - lots of things to do and see, but not crowded.

Best wishes -

 

[WendyMichaelJohn]

Oh Carol, you made my day!

Thanks!

Shel

 

[scoutsmom99]

Actually they changed the way they calculate numbers here is a quote from Len explaining...from another thread I found.

a 6 is still slightly below the year-to-date average (which is 6.5). And we're going to monitor the first couple of weeks of September closely to see the impact of high gasoline prices on crowds. I suspect this may affect casual Florida visitors more than out of state vacationers, as fuel costs are a larger percentage of their vacation budget than non-Floridians. Just a hunch. You'll have a great time, I'm sure.

there are no 1's, 2's or 3's for two reasons. One is that the crowd scale is tied to the peak wait time at the MK's headliner attractions. (There's a Crowd Blog link on the website that explains why we chose "peak wait time" and why we chose "MK headliner attractions" too). And for those headliner attractions, we don't ever expect to see a peak wait of less than 35 minutes.

So far in 2005, we know of three instances where the peak waits at the MK were less than 35 minutes. One was during a cold snap in January when the temperatures were almost 20 degrees below average. Another was in early February, also with below normal temps. And the third was a couple Saturdays ago, the day after Katrina blew across Florida.

Hope this helps!

Len

 

[mtdevine615]

Don't worry it's not that everyone has suddenly decided to go at that time. They changed the way they do the rating to refelect what the longest wait time would be for the most popular attractions. I was a little shocked when I first looked at Jan. also. Enjoy the crowds should be about the same as usual. Maine

 

[addicted2disney]

Thanksgiving weekend will be crowded. I use Tour Guide Mike, and last year, we had such great recommendations from him that we seemed to avoid the crowds. By Monday, you will notice a significant decrease in people. It will be great. Just do what I do.. prepare for masses of People that weekend, I spend the weekend walking around taking in the holiday magic, doing all of the special holiday events and attractions, do the MVMCP, resort hop to she the way they are decorated. If you prepare for the worst in crowds, you might be relieved to see they arent that bad. Thats what I did the first time over Thanksgiving. Now Im using TGM again for this TurkeyDay trip. It really helped us avoid lines and crowds over the weekend. It will be back to value season by monday!

 

[Laura22]

You scared me! I'm going the week after Thanksgiving too!

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

The updated crowd blog for the Unofficial Guide has our days at 4 (and even a 6!) during the week after Thanksgiving. When we booked, the week was rated 1! That's a big change, don't you think? I know that time of year is getting more popular, but 4 just sounds so...so...crowded.

Am I putting too much stock into it? It's still the lowest rated time for the most part, since there are NO 1, 2 or 3 rated days for the whole year.

I'm so bummed.

Shel

No offense to the authors, but I think people put too much stock in those books. I much prefer the info on these boards and what people on here have found on their visits.

From everything I have heard on these boards, we will notice a significant decrease in crowds maybe Sunday, but definately by Monday. I've been there myself the first weekend of Dec. before and we felt we had Epcot to ourselves, it was wonderful!

MK might still have some waits for the bigger rides but I wouldn't worry much. It's such a great time of year to enjoy all of the sites and smells of the holidays.

Enjoy........I know I will!!

 

[Paul_Pearce]

To get an idea of what a 4/5/6 might be like, I looked at previous dates I have been to WDW and compared how busy i found it then. Pleased to say that for our trip its mostly 4/5 when we go, and it was 4/5 when we went last time (except thx giving week) so I am happy.

Still, I dont think its as good as the previous method, after all there are a lot of other rides/shows as well as headliners, and if they ahave a zero queue or 20 minutes makes a difference.

 

[deltachi8]

I think what you need to do as well is look at you dates in comparrison to the peek season dates.

We were ther fro Aug 24-29 which show 6 or 7. I can tell you that the parks seemed empty and the longest wait time I saw posted at the MK was 35 minutes (on either 8/25 or 8/27) and 50 minutes for Soarin on 8/28 (the line was actually 25 minutes). Some attractions did not have fast pass active as it was not needed.

 

[missypie]

If you are truly worried, subscribe to Tour Guide Mike and set your mind at ease. We visited for 10 days in late May, early June (including Mem. Day weekend). Although lots of people were in the parks, the longest we waited for any ride was 17 minutes and that was in the mid-afternoon at MK, for a non-fast pass attraction. Use a good touring plan, make ADRs for your meals (or eat at odd times) and use Fast Pass and any crowds that may be there won't bother you.

 

[Flanigan]

We're also going the week after Thanksgiving, I had figured on the weekend being busy but not too busy after that...

82 Days Left

 

[pennst8r]

We were there last year right after Thanksgiving. Addicted2disney was right. The crowds were heavy on Sat, less on Sun, and Monday there were no crowds. However, even on Sat and Sun, we still got on every ride we wanted to with little wait--certainly nothing like the summer months.

 

[drusba]

It is a matter of perspective. Week after Thanksgiving to mid-December is now more crowded than it was 6 or more years ago. If you go then and (a) it is your first trip to WDW, then you will probably think it is quite crowded, (b) it is not your first trip, which was instead during Christmas Week, then you will think you have died and gone to heaven to have the crowds so small.

 

[qman]

I too freaked when I saw the 2's and 3's for our week of choice (11/4 to 11/12) jump to 4's and 5's (and one "6"). But as explained in earlier posts the method used has changed not the crowd levels.

The best way to look at it is to compare the numbers for your vacation to other weeks. The 4's and 5's for our week are some of the lowest numbers for the entire year which means our goal of going during one of the slowest times of the year is still on track.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

We're going Dec. 9th-16th and I'm very worried about crowd levels. When we were there in Dec. of 2001 hardly anyone was there and we never waited longer than 10-15 min. for ANY ride, even the popular ones. I was kind of hoping it would be like that again but I have a feeling it's going to be more crowded than I'm expecting. But a girl can hope!

 

[BlakeNJ]

Who is Tour Guide Mike? He sounds useful! We are going Thanksgiving Week too and I am not looking forward to the crowds. Will I be disappointed choosing this time of year?

 

[packy]

The updated crowd blog for the Unofficial Guide has our days at 4 (and even a 6!) during the week after Thanksgiving. When we booked, the week was rated 1! That's a big change, don't you think? I know that time of year is getting more popular, but 4 just sounds so...so...crowded.

Am I putting too much stock into it? It's still the lowest rated time for the most part, since there are NO 1, 2 or 3 rated days for the whole year.

I'm so bummed.

Shel

We went 23rd thru 30th of August and they had upped the crowds to an eight for this week. These were probably some of the lowest crowds we ever expierienced in our six trips during the last week or August. Don't worry.

 

[scoutsmom99]

Who is Tour Guide Mike? He sounds useful! We are going Thanksgiving Week too and I am not looking forward to the crowds. Will I be disappointed choosing this time of year?

check out www.tourguidemike.com It is like an on-line guidebook. Also if you click search on top of the page and pick advanced type in tour guide mike and search topics only you will see tons of posts.

 

[Glendamax]

Please post the link to the website that has the chart that rates crowds from 1 to 4. I cant find it. Thanx