Park crowds

[Tink-osophy]

I know people say if you focus on the FP+s you can do most of what you want, but Disney has never been just about those attractions. It's also about the food, the music, the theming, the stores, the atmosphere, the environment... If the crowds and lines are such that you can't properly experience and enjoy those aspects, then that's a huge loss, IMO. Disney was never just a park with rides.

And, I agree with other posters who have said that Disney could ease crowds to a degree (and every bit counts) by increasing ride capacity, staffing levels and park hours -- and, dare I say it, reducing the frequency of special events/parties.

The heat probably wouldn't feel so bad, either, if people weren't getting so hot and bothered having to fight against the clock; compete with other visitors so much; and could more easily stop and grab a cool drink or a spot to sit down.

One way or another didn't Disney used to consider the details of the overall experience more? I'm not saying it would/could/should be perfect, but surely it can't be true that they can't do anything at all about these details?

 

[scooterD]

So you’re saying that the line was that bad for pre order pick-up? If so, now that everyone is catching on to using that it’s not going to be the big time saver it was supposed to be. Before DS, we used to avoid stuff like that by eating TS at every meal. But DS is 22 mos so doesn’t do well sitting at TS long but waiting in a line line that for mediocre to bad CS food is beyond obnoxious.

We were there last February and felt like rockstars using mobile ordering. We never waited at all for food. Fast forward to two weeks ago when we went back. The first thing I noticed was a card on the bed when we checked into our room advertising mobile ordering. I had a bad feeling. And I was right. We waited quite a while at every single place we ordered from. It’s not the huge timesaver it was before they started telling everyone about it . We waited twenty minutes to pick up Dole Whips because there were so many people mobile ordering that they couldn’t make the orders until you picked up because they were melting.

 

[LSUmiss]

My husband and I weew

We were there last February and felt like rockstars using mobile ordering. We never waited at all for food. Fast forward to two weeks ago when we went back. The first thing I noticed was a card on the bed when we checked into our room advertising mobile ordering. I had a bad feeling. And I was right. We waited quite a while at every single place we ordered from. It’s not the huge timesaver it was before they started telling everyone about it . We waited twenty minutes to pick up Dole Whips because there were so many people mobile ordering that they couldn’t make the orders until you picked up because they were melting.

Thanks! Good to know. Part of my plan this trip was to try it b/c ppl on here were saying how great it was. Think we’ll avoid it & do what we usually do.

 

[finedice]

Can you give an example of when/how a crowd level calendar is inaccurate? It's a little weird to mention that on this particular thread when, at least in this case, the crowd level calendar was accurate it seems.

I thought TP shot about 4 points low when they got a 9.something last Saturday...

 

[scooterD]

Thanks! Good to know. Part of my plan this trip was to try it b/c ppl on here were saying how great it was. Think we’ll avoid it & do what we usually do.

The benefit I found from it this past trip was going in and grabbing a table, then taking our time to order and just sitting and relaxing until our food was ready. I’d definitely still recommend it, but I didn’t find it to save tons of time on our last trip.

 

[Matt961]

The benefit I found from it this past trip was going in and grabbing a table, then taking our time to order and just sitting and relaxing until our food was ready. I’d definitely still recommend it, but I didn’t find it to save tons of time on our last trip.

Absolutely! Did this on our trip a couple weeks ago. Found a table and rested while we passed the phone around for everyone to order. Placed the order and immediately told the app we had arrived. Sure it probably took 10-15 min to get our food, but we were resting our feet and enjoying each other’s company.

 

[Remy is Up]

Can you give an example of when/how a crowd level calendar is inaccurate? It's a little weird to mention that on this particular thread when, at least in this case, the crowd level calendar was accurate it seems.

We go every couple of weekends and I see the " crowd level should be a 5 today"posts and I laugh. It ends up being more like an 8. Reality is crowd level, other than having more people in the park and know how to plan around that, has no bearing on what you can accomplish if you know how to use the system.

 

[DisAg]

Just curious, I get that DHS is always crowded, but how are the other parks in comparison?

We were there feb 1-9. All four parks multiple times. All parks were fairly crowded (quite a bit more crowded than our last trip to wdw in jan 2017). The difference at HS is that it is packed at open where the other 3 still have low crowds early in the morning (minus pandora). Weekends were the busiest. I think next time we will shoot for two tue/wed/thur instead of two saturdays and sundays. None of our days there were as busy as it appeared presidents day weekend were however.

 

[DeeCee735]

I have never in 24 years seen it like it was the past few days. Absolutely jammed packed. Kilimanjaro safari had a 175 minute wait yesterday. And it’s hot as heck.
I’m not coming back for a long time. I am going to start trading out and renting my points.
This is very very different than years ago, when we bought in, and no longer a vacation. More like a waking nightmare. Add the stomach virus we’re all currently down with at our dvc resort and I need a long break from the so called “happiest place on earth”.

 

[NicholeB630]

Understood! I was there in September last year and there’s no other way to describe the weather except gross.

We went one Sept right after Labor Day. It was so empty it was awesome but the heat was HORRIBLE. It was hard to enjoy just walking around and enjoying the empty walk ways because you felt like you were dying in the heat. Its hard to find the perfect time anymore, between heat and all the crowds.

 

[Ikaikalani]

I have never in 24 years seen it like it was the past few days. Absolutely jammed packed. Kilimanjaro safari had a 175 minute wait yesterday. And it’s hot as heck.
I’m not coming back for a long time. I am going to start trading out and renting my points.
This is very very different than years ago, when we bought in, and no longer a vacation. More like a waking nightmare. Add the stomach virus we’re all currently down with at our dvc resort and I need a long break from the so called “happiest place on earth”.

It's the Most Magical Place on Earth. Disneyland is the Happiest. But I agree, I don't find either to be what they claim these days.

 

[DISNEYFOS]

We did both Disney and Universal this trip. COMPLETELY different experiences. Disney needs to stop trying to maximize profits without doing anything about crowd control and management. Building more and more resorts but no additional space in parks for them. We are DVC members and have been coming annually (all different times) and it is getting completely unenjoyable. Cannot go on rides unless you book fastpasses 60 days in advance..long lines for everything...bathrooms, boats, buses, even the new skyliner was packed. Cast members yelling to fill in all available space everywhere... they never used to yell at you.

Compared to Universal. We stayed at Royal Pacific, booked last week. was able to walk on all rides because of skip the line.. rode favorite ones twice. The new ride Hagrids' motorbikes was the longest wait at 70 mins...they had actually had someone selling snacks/waters for you in line. Compare that to Rise of the Resistance? pack everyone in the entrance and start letting them in at 7AM.. Make sure you put signs up not guaranteeing anyone anything... don't open the app til 8AM just to give them a time to come back .. that may or may not work. I saw a woman devastated because she was trying to get passes for her family/ and her app didn't work. We tried to help after we got ours, but nothing we could do. too much stress, no wonder you have all the meltdowns and the fighting.

 

[Mommb]

The newer rides are always going to be crowded, and will make the rest of the park crowded. I was at WDW over the weekend and was actually pleasantly surprised by how quickly lines were moving. I knew that we would do the 3 rides a day we had FastPasses for, and figured anything else would be a bonus.

Star Wars Land at Hollywood Studios on Sunday was indeed packed. Around 10 am we waited 15 minutes to get coffee at Joffrey’s. The Lightning McQueen and Muppets theaters, on the other hand, were only half full.

The walkways in Epcot were busy on Saturday, but we didn’t wait more than 10 minutes (and usually not more than 5) at the food pavilions. True, we didn’t ride Frozen Ever After because the wait time never dropped below 45 minutes, but the posted time of 20 minutes at The Seas was entirely the walk to the ride (which took 5 minutes at most).

At Animal Kingdom on Monday, wait times were high, but ordering lunch at Sanu’li around 11:30 took 7-8 minutes in line. (The line may have been shorter than the pick-up line for pre-orders.)

if you expect to get through a lot of rides/attractions, especially with kids, over a busy weekend, you will be disappointed. If I were a first-time or infrvisitor, I would stick to weekdays. However, as longtime DVC members wanting a quick getaway, my family had no regrets about traveling over the holiday weekend.

 

[DISNEYFOS]

Sorry people that say that this weekend was not crowded.. you're setting the bar too low for Disney.. they can and should do better. It was a mad house everwhere we turned. We bought DVC in 2004. this is not normal.

 

[LSUmiss]

Sorry people that say that this weekend was not crowded.. you're setting the bar too low for Disney.. they can and should do better. It was a mad house everwhere we turned. We bought DVC in 2004. this is not normal.

Or my favorite comment is the “manage your expectations”
Agreed wdw can & should do better. Crowds like these used to have things like regular park closing at midnight & EMH til 2 or 3 am. 9 & 10 pm closings are absurd & unacceptable.

 

[Heather07438]

All of those Extra Extra Magic Hours from last fall would come in handy right about now. WDW needs to expand the park hours and guests would get a better experience. Yeah, not cheap but everybody's paying kindly to visit and Disney Parks are making healthy profits. Expand the hours.

 

[Heather07438]

Honestly, I think they intentionally like letting it feel crowded. That sells more upgrade tickets.

 

[ILovePixieDust]

We did both Disney and Universal this trip. COMPLETELY different experiences. Disney needs to stop trying to maximize profits without doing anything about crowd control and management. Building more and more resorts but no additional space in parks for them. We are DVC members and have been coming annually (all different times) and it is getting completely unenjoyable. Cannot go on rides unless you book fastpasses 60 days in advance..long lines for everything...bathrooms, boats, buses, even the new skyliner was packed. Cast members yelling to fill in all available space everywhere... they never used to yell at you.

Compared to Universal. We stayed at Royal Pacific, booked last week. was able to walk on all rides because of skip the line.. rode favorite ones twice. The new ride Hagrids' motorbikes was the longest wait at 70 mins...they had actually had someone selling snacks/waters for you in line. Compare that to Rise of the Resistance? pack everyone in the entrance and start letting them in at 7AM.. Make sure you put signs up not guaranteeing anyone anything... don't open the app til 8AM just to give them a time to come back .. that may or may not work. I saw a woman devastated because she was trying to get passes for her family/ and her app didn't work. We tried to help after we got ours, but nothing we could do. too much stress, no wonder you have all the meltdowns and the fighting.

This makes me wish I had made plans for Universal instead of WDW this summer....

 

[ILovePixieDust]

I know people say if you focus on the FP+s you can do most of what you want, but Disney has never been just about those attractions. It's also about the food, the music, the theming, the stores, the atmosphere, the environment... If the crowds and lines are such that you can't properly experience and enjoy those aspects, then that's a huge loss, IMO. Disney was never just a park with rides.

And, I agree with other posters who have said that Disney could ease crowds to a degree (and every bit counts) by increasing ride capacity, staffing levels and park hours -- and, dare I say it, reducing the frequency of special events/parties.

The heat probably wouldn't feel so bad, either, if people weren't getting so hot and bothered having to fight against the clock; compete with other visitors so much; and could more easily stop and grab a cool drink or a spot to sit down.

One way or another didn't Disney used to consider the details of the overall experience more? I'm not saying it would/could/should be perfect, but surely it can't be true that they can't do anything at all about these details?

Yes!!! Stop with all the special events that take away touring hours. Expand morning and evening hours. Increase ride capacity and staff.

It’s sad that it seems more about maximizing per dollar from each guest, by making them pay more and receiving less, than providing a great experience for guests.

 

[DISNEYFOS]

The fastpass system is flawed. it makes people stay in the park longer than they would normally because they need wait for their next ride window to open up... That causes too much crowding in the spaces you use to go for a break..stores in epcot, gardens in England, Paris. Japan. before you used to be able to go EMH or get your must do's early.. maybe go back to hotel.. now you are slave to 3 scheduled rides