Park Capacity?

[OKW Lover]

Hi! I was wondering if park capacity has been discussed? I have read several posts today about how horrible the crowds were over Spring Break. We are going the last week in July so I know it will be crowded then as well. I am just curious how Disney deals with crowds. For example, a poster said the crowd for The Haunted Mansion was so bad it was dangerous. Anyone care to educate me? Thank you!

Disney does not release park capacity figures or daily attendance figures. A statement that a particular queue was dangerous is just hyperbole. Don't be scared.

I'd love to know this too. I know Disney can't disclose all their security measures but when parks are bursting at max capacity, how do they ensure crowd safety? What if there was a fire or something that would cause a panic? I remember the Hillsboro (UK) disaster in 1989, as well as others, and one of my biggest fears is getting caught in a stampede. Especially if my son is with me.

Parks aren't busting at max capacity. Park capacities are set by local authorities based on a lot of factors which limits the number of guests in a park to a safe level. When a park approaches that level, Disney implements phased closings which keeps the actual attendance below the safe park limit. Those phased closings did not occur during the recent spring break period.

You really can't plan for full scale panic or riots. I might guess that park capacity is probably set by Florida law based on acreage.

Its base on a bunch of things, size being one of them.

I think it is fair to assume that Disney has this under control. At some level, I suspect, (without knowing), that certain crowd levels trigger immutable, non-discretionary security/closure protocols. We see such closures a few times each year, but never during Spring Break that I can recall. So if a park continues to admit people, it is fair to assume that the critical mass number has not yet been reached.

Correct assumption.

 

[soniam]

I don't see park capacity occurring end of July. That's just normal summer crowd times. Park capacity days are like July 4th, Easter, Thanksgiving, Xmas, New Years, not some random day in July. As an aside, we did late July 2014, and it felt a little less crowded than 2nd-3rd week of March this year and in 2015. I doubt that they were close to park capacity during these Spring Break times.

 

[Shanti]

The

I'd love to know this too. I know Disney can't disclose all their security measures but when parks are bursting at max capacity, how do they ensure crowd safety? What if there was a fire or something that would cause a panic? I remember the Hillsboro (UK) disaster in 1989, as well as others, and one of my biggest fears is getting caught in a stampede. Especially if my son is with me.

They have underground tunnels that they use for employees to quickly get from one side of the park to the other. Those could be opened up to the public in case of a dire emergency. There are also employee-only entrances and exits that could be opened up.

 

[OKW Lover]

They have underground tunnels that they use for employees to quickly get from one side of the park to the other.

That's only true in the Magic Kingdom.

 

[Shanti]

That's only true in the Magic Kingdom.

That's the most overcrowded park, and yes, that's what I was referring to.

 

[wilkeliza]

That's only true in the Magic Kingdom.

There is a tiny one in Epcot but it is just in future world. If I remember correctly it is just around Innoventions and Spaceship earth. Would have been smart to have them in World Showcase especially during Food and Wine but nothing they can do now.

 

[BusySpeechMom]

Thank you for all the replies! Our last visit was in early August 2013. It was crowded but nothing like what I have read recently. It is always interesting to be away from something for awhile and return to see changes (good and bad). I am not panicking about the crowds in July, just curious how it will compare to 2013.

 

[MammaMoe48]

Thank you for all the replies! Our last visit was in early August 2013. It was crowded but nothing like what I have read recently. It is always interesting to be away from something for awhile and return to see changes (good and bad). I am not panicking about the crowds in July, just curious how it will compare to 2013.

Yeah, I'm hoping mid to late August will be reasonable crowds.

 

[poppinspenguins]

So how does Disney actually know when they are at capacity? They don't have turnstiles any more and not everyone has magic bands.

The parking lot seems a faulty standard as people can get there by monorail...boat...taxi...bus...even walk.

Just curious.

 

[Dismama2boys]

So how does Disney actually know when they are at capacity? They don't have turnstiles any more and not everyone has magic bands.

The parking lot seems a faulty standard as people can get there by monorail...boat...taxi...bus...even walk.

Just curious.

Everyone scans something to get into the park, even if it's not a band. They absolutely are counting.

Although not the under three crowd - not sure how they count those.

 

[poppinspenguins]

Everyone scans something to get into the park, even if it's not a band. They absolutely are counting.

Although not the under three crowd - not sure how they count those.

I get that they count everyone coming in. But how can they count everyone going out.

On super capacity days don't they sometimes let more people in later?

So if they employ a one in one out kind of strategy on those days...what are they basing it on?

Good point on the under 3s...

 

[wilkeliza]

I get that they count everyone coming in. But how can they count everyone going out.

On super capacity days don't they sometimes let more people in later?

So if they employ a one in one out kind of strategy on those days...what are they basing it on?

Good point on the under 3s...

I imagine there are counters on the exits that is why you have to exit through certain ones. They are pretty easy to install over head and it is not 100% accurate but good enough for deciding if it is okay to let more people in the park or not. Most stores have similar counters to be able to tell what the turn over rate is for number of people who enter vs how many buy.

 

[OKW Lover]

But how can they count everyone going out.

You go through a turnstile of some kind going out too. It doesn't have to be a precise count though. I suspect that when they reach the trigger point to stop all guests from entering it doesn't revert to a "one out/one in" strategy. More likely they wait until some quantity (1000?) of people have exited until they resume letting people in.

 

[MammaMoe48]

It could be as simple as having security cameras pointed at the exits and someone in the video command center counting heads as people leave.

 

[dreiwhit]

Hi! I was wondering if park capacity has been discussed? I have read several posts today about how horrible the crowds were over Spring Break. We are going the last week in July so I know it will be crowded then as well. I am just curious how Disney deals with crowds. For example, a poster said the crowd for The Haunted Mansion was so bad it was dangerous. Anyone care to educate me? Thank you!

FWIW, My brother-in-law and his family were at MK once when it was so crowded that the CMs were not allowing anyone else to enter the park. According to him, they would only let people in with verified fast passes.

Since they were letting a few people in, they must have been just below max capacity.

 

[MammaMoe48]

Touring Plans posted this: https://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/capacity-closures so they have a protocol on who gets preference and who gets turned away. Makes sense to me.

 

[OKW Lover]

Touring Plans posted this: https://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/capacity-closures so they have a protocol on who gets preference and who gets turned away. Makes sense to me.

Notice that only at stage 4 is admission to the park completely stopped.

 

[GPC0321]

Hi! I was wondering if park capacity has been discussed? I have read several posts today about how horrible the crowds were over Spring Break. We are going the last week in July so I know it will be crowded then as well. I am just curious how Disney deals with crowds. For example, a poster said the crowd for The Haunted Mansion was so bad it was dangerous. Anyone care to educate me? Thank you!

Have you been to WDW before? One phrase that you will hear in your sleep after your first day there is: "Fill in ALL available space!" Whether it's getting into the Haunted Mansion, getting on a bus or the monorail, waiting for the auditorium doors to open for a show, or whatever, you are pretty much herded into an area and directed to pack in as closely as possible.

I can imagine people with certain fears would have trouble with the pre-ride part of Haunted Mansion. You're herded into a room with a bunch of people, told there is no escape, and then the lights go out and you're now "trapped" in a pitch dark room (literally could not see ANYTHING) with a bunch of people, some of whom are screaming.

I don't mind crowds, so I wasn't very sensitive to them in the parks. I mean, on the buses, boats, and monorails we were often packed like sardines. And post-fireworks in the MK is definitely not a time to try and head down Main Street. We sat at Casey's and watched the masses of humanity slowly inching their way to the exits. If you want to do MK fireworks, but don't like crowds, either watch them from a place behind the castle, or, if you're watching in front of the castle, head off into the park in whichever way is least crowded and ride something and then work your way back towards the exits after the crowd has thinned.

 

[disneyAndi14]

I just got back from WDW, we were there from 4/3-4/10, it was very busy, however it was not as crowded as last year around the same time. The busiest park is MK because of the amount of attractions and FP+. Epcot was the least busy out of all the parks. Busy time is very doable with a good plan. We always go at RD, take a break in the afternoon, and back in the later evening. We have been in July as well and I did not think it was as crowded as spring break time. We had a great trip, the weather was so awesome so I also think that was a big draw for the parks as well. It was sunny and 80 everyday, no humidity. I noticed the parks were not as clean as usual and CM's were not overly friendly. Please don't get me wrong though, they were pleasant and very helpful for the most part, just not overly excited, like I have seen in the past. Oh one other great thing for us, we became annual pass holders yippee! We will be back the end of August!