Recent Crowds

[TSMAMI]

Just got back....The crowds were normal summer crowds and lots of tour groups...Boy were they a rowdy bunch!

 

[ScarletFire]

Can someone provide a crowd update? TIA

 

[inkkognito]

DHS was INSANE today! TSM FPs were gone before 11 a.m. Rockin' Roller Coaster had 70-75 minute lines...ToT was marked at 30, but considering that the line was out of the queue I think they needed to update that. On the plus side, we only waited 15 mins. for the Great Movie Ride, and the ToT FP times were reasonable so we were able to FP it three times (also did first ride of the day on ToT at rope drop).

Epcot was reasonable yesterday...never saw Soarin' go over 50-60 mins. and got a decent Soarin' FP as late as 11:30 a.m.

 

[bub]

bump...anyone just return?

 

[jkstewart1800]

Hi everyone! Just joined the boards and was wondering the same thing (about the crowds)... I was kinda hoping that the bad economy would have an effect on the crowd... seems to be a mixed bag of results... off and on crowds...

I wonder if our week aug 17-23 will be a low one.....

 

[marvali]

Hi everyone! Just joined the boards and was wondering the same thing (about the crowds)... I was kinda hoping that the bad economy would have an effect on the crowd... seems to be a mixed bag of results... off and on crowds...

I wonder if our week aug 17-23 will be a low one.....

If that falls within the free food period (I think it does) I am guessing people taking advantage of that will offset the numbers who will be back in school. I'm hoping that when we arrive in two days the numbers will be down some (someone posted Brazil would be back in school so the crowds from tour groups may not affect us, although I guess it could be other groups instead).

Sounds like for the most part numbers are higher than normal at DHS because of the new TSM ride. Other than that, it sounds like the philosophy is to take advantage of MEMH and avoid the park with EEMH. That is my current plan of attack. I plan to post while we are there so I will give updates on how that is working out. We will make adjustments as needed during our stay.

 

[Poohbear123]

Hi everyone! Just joined the boards and was wondering the same thing (about the crowds)... I was kinda hoping that the bad economy would have an effect on the crowd... seems to be a mixed bag of results... off and on crowds...

I wonder if our week aug 17-23 will be a low one.....

I am hoping it will be, as I will be there Aug. 22-24th for a friends BD! I plan on being at HS on Friday the 22 around 12 noon, hope to ride TSM! If not, I will check it out the next day!

 

[jkstewart1800]

what is MEMH

and

what is 'free food period'

 

[marvali]

MEMH is Morning Extra Magic Hours. Just in case you aren't familiar, that means a certain park each day opens one hour earlier than scheduled for guests who are staying in a Disney resort. It is one of the perks of staying onsite. EEMH is Evening Extra Magic Hours, when a different park most days is open three hours later for the same reason.

I didn't say it quite right, but what I was referring to is the Free Dining that Disney is offering right now as an incentive to get more guests to come to WDW. If you are getting a package with Room and Tickets included, they are adding in the Disney Dining Plan for free I think. I'm not sure of the dates (since it doesn't apply to our trip) but I think the promotion starts somewhere later in August and goes until I think the October timeframe. This is typically a time when the parks are less crowded and a way for Disney to bring in more visitors during a slower time.

Hope this helps!

 

[ciera321]

We just got back yesterday from a 2 week trip to DW. We've been in May, June, August, September, December and February. I have to say that the crowds weren't as bad as I thought they'd be, but I never really anticipated the impact of the "tour groups. This alone would keep us from going again in July, as I understand that is the big month for the groups. We arrived at rope drop each day, utilized morning EMH and really got a lot done early. We would FP AND ride our favorites like RnR, ToT, Soarin, TSM.....We always got another FP as soon as the ticket said we could, and we did use many FPs hours after the time stated on the ticket without being turned away, dirty look or comment about being late.

TSM was a great addition to DHS...so much fun. We used the single rider line and it was great for earlier in the day (maybe a 15 minute wait), but as the crowds build the wait is longer, 30 minutes or so... We also used the single rider line on Test Track and walked on several times.

We also changed 3 ADRs after we arrived and had NO trouble at all. We were even able to change a California Grill ADR from one day to another.

One last thing...I know this isn't the restaurant board, but we ate at Narcoosee's for the first time on Saturday night and it was wonderful. I highly recommend it!!! Everything was just perfect.

 

[ciera321]

We just got back yesterday from a 2 week trip to DW. We've been in May, June, August, September, December and February. I have to say that the crowds weren't as bad as I thought they'd be, but I never really anticipated the impact of the "tour groups. This alone would keep us from going again in July, as I understand that is the big month for the groups. We arrived at rope drop each day, utilized morning EMH and really got a lot done early. We would FP AND ride our favorites like RnR, ToT, Soarin, TSM.....We always got another FP as soon as the ticket said we could, and we did use many FPs hours after the time stated on the ticket without being turned away, dirty look or comment about being late.

TSM was a great addition to DHS...so much fun. We used the single rider line and it was great for earlier in the day (maybe a 15 minute wait), but as the crowds build the wait is longer, 30 minutes or so... We also used the single rider line on Test Track and walked on several times.

We also changed 3 ADRs after we arrived and had NO trouble at all. We were even able to change a California Grill ADR from one day to another.

One last thing...I know this isn't the restaurant board, but we ate at Narcoosee's for the first time on Saturday night and it was wonderful. I highly recommend it!!! Everything was just perfect.

 

[joenan88]

If that falls within the free food period (I think it does) I am guessing people taking advantage of that will offset the numbers who will be back in school. I'm hoping that when we arrive in two days the numbers will be down some (someone posted Brazil would be back in school so the crowds from tour groups may not affect us, although I guess it could be other groups instead).

Sounds like for the most part numbers are higher than normal at DHS because of the new TSM ride. Other than that, it sounds like the philosophy is to take advantage of MEMH and avoid the park with EEMH. That is my current plan of attack. I plan to post while we are there so I will give updates on how that is working out. We will make adjustments as needed during our stay.

It does not fall into the free dining..it is the week before..free dining starts 08/24. The week of the 17th should be crowded BUT not out of control..I will be their 08/15 for 1 week at the CR and from all the crowd guides it should be one of the better weeks of August...

 

[marvali]

Great post ciera321, since that is how we plan to attack our visits to the parks. I'm hoping that since we don't arrive until Thursday afternoon (31st) that the tour groups will be headed for home by then and things will be a little less crowded while we are there. I have three ADRs but had hoped to possibly add a couple more when we arrive and see how things are going, so at least you give me hope that it will be possible at least. Maybe I'll shoot for Narcoosies for a special evening out with DW (we'll order pizza delivery for the kids...lol)

 

[ciera321]

marvali - I hope you have a great trip. One thing I didn't mention, make sure you don't have a tour guide in the FP line ahead of you (you'll recognize their shirts after a day or 2). They gather LOTS (maybe 40 - 50) of tickets and get FP for their entire group. If a CM notices them, they'll sometimes shut down that line, but I did make that mistake once and only once... Have fun!!!

 

[jmskinner]

marvali - I hope you have a great trip. One thing I didn't mention, make sure you don't have a tour guide in the FP line ahead of you (you'll recognize their shirts after a day or 2). They gather LOTS (maybe 40 - 50) of tickets and get FP for their entire group. If a CM notices them, they'll sometimes shut down that line, but I did make that mistake once and only once... Have fun!!!

We ended up in the FP line for Splash Mountain behind one of those groups!

 

[Poohbear123]

It does not fall into the free dining..it is the week before..free dining starts 08/24. The week of the 17th should be crowded BUT not out of control..I will be their 08/15 for 1 week at the CR and from all the crowd guides it should be one of the better weeks of August...

Good to hear about the free dining dates as I will be leaving on the 24th, but will be at MK till 2:30pm.

 

[luckytobeme88]

We have just returned home on Sunday. We have to sadly report to you all that there were at least 3 to 4 groups of Brazilian teens in one park any given day. IMHO, they seemed to be a bit too "energetic"(chanting, clapping and running) Their presences were quite intimidating. If we knew ahead of time of their arrival schedules, we could have plan another week to go to WDW.

 

[Dancemom]

We came home and Sunday night from a week at WDW. We always go in June or July. I thought the crowds were about normal for this time of year. We were at the parks before opening and toured in the morning, then went back to the room for a break and went back in the evening for dinner or to see a show. This worked really well for us. Our longest wait was about 20 min. for TOT one evening after the 9:00 Fantasmic show. We used fastpasses when possible. We also avoided EMH parks except for AK. We went there for the early EMH and MK on our last night we stayed late. Fri night Mk was great after 12. The kids said almost everything was a walk on. They rode SPLM twice without getting off. They were the only ones in their "log" so they bought the picture. There were 3 or 4 tour groups in each park everyday. I didn't notice any poor behavior. You just don't want to get behind them in any line.

Cheryl

 

[jkstewart1800]

MARVALI

Thanks for the explanation... I totally understand now

 

[marvali]

Thanks for the tips ciera. July is supposedly school break for the tour groups, so hopefully they will all be heading back home by the time we get there Thursday. We'll make sure to avoid any long lines like that whenever possible, though!