Recent Crowds

[cam8n]

Jan is the slowest month for sure now!

 

[drenkey]

Bump

 

[M2DD's]

Just got back on Saturday from our 11 nite trip. I thought the first wk we were there the 5th thru the 10th weren't as crowded as the last wk was The 10th thru the 16th I found to be more crowded but managable. I never did EMH's and went to the parks that didn't have them and what the UG recomended for the day. If a line was over a 30 minute wait we came back or used a fastpass for the ride.

 

[teruterubouzu]

Crowds may have changed now that Fay is in the picture, but my sister and I just got back last night and thought things were really manageable. I used the Unofficial Guide's best days calendar to plot out where we went each day.

MK was great on Saturday! We pretty much followed the Unofficial Guide's touring plan. It worked out really well for us. The longest we waited for anything was 15 minutes for Peter Pan's Flight. Most attractions were practically walk-ons. It was great! Sunday morning at Epcot felt a bit more crowded, but not bad. On Monday we strayed from the best days recommendation (we didn't have much choice on such a short trip) and went to DHS. It was packed, but we still saw a lot in the few hours we had there.

 

[pgsahm2]

Just back yesterday and also found the crowds very manageable. We rode almost everything in 4 1/2 days. And still had time to go to Pleasure Island. I would recommend avoiding late EMH as the crowds were horrible.

 

[miprender]

Glad to hear January is very slow! We are going Jan 7-14th!

We went in 2001 at that time and there were no people at the parks. We even went to Islands of Adventure and you would have thought we rented out the park just for us.

The only issue we had was it was cold and the Wind Chill on some of the roller coasters was a bit nippy but we are from New England so we were use to the cold.

 

[jmskinner]

DHS just seems more crowded then when we went two years ago. Do you think TSM has increased the park popularity that much?

 

[aliwas]

I seem to have a different perspective on Sat. the 16th. It was our last day and wanted to do all our favs at MK, well we got there and walked on Jungle Cruise, Pirates, splash mountain and thunder mountain By then it started raining and crowds started rushing into indoor rides and they were completly bottlenecked. The only thing we got on was Small World and it had two lines running(don't think I've ever seen it that crowded). Peter Pan had a 60 min. wait. Buzz we got fastpasses. We then went into Philharmagic and was nearly trampled by crowds trying to find seats. I thought the entire week was more crowded especially with foreign families. Appeared to be alot of Hispanic and Indian families there. It must still be holiday season there and I wondered if Disney had a promotion going for overseas guests? Anyway, had a great time regardless, weather was very overcast all week so it wasn't too hot. Only a couple of times did we have to use our ponchos.(make sure you take your own they are expensive at Disney). After the blazing heat of last August I can't complain about the weather at all.

 

[bellaprincess98]

Anyone else there now or just back?

 

[harleyquinn]

Hi everyone!
We got back yesterday.

Our dates were August 12-19. I thought it was very crowded until Monday. I found it hard to walk around sometimes BUT we never waited for anything. Our longest wait was probably less than 15 minutes. We used TGM, and the get up early/break strategy for the most part and losts of fastpasses. We were never turned away outside of our window.

The weather was fantastic. We've been 3 times in the summer before and I just couldn't get over how cool it was (if you can call upper 80s cool) It was overcast almost every day, which really cut down on the heat. We even spent a few days at the parks without an afternoon break, which I swore I wouldn't do. SO even though it seemed just as crowded as my previous trips at this time of the year, we got more done.

We were very worried about getting out yesterday, but luckily we had an early flight and everything went smoothly.

I'd be happy to answer any questions!

 

[harleyquinn]

DHS just seems more crowded then when we went two years ago. Do you think TSM has increased the park popularity that much?

I think so, but we still did everything we wanted to do there without too much trouble.

And the best was in the morning away from all of the big rides. We got there at opening, fastpassed TSM and rode it single rider line (got to go together somehow--waited about 15 minutes--I would NOT recommend the single rider line here except at park opening--One family told us they waited 80 minutes in the single rider line when the stanby was only 40!)
Then we went to Muppets and the Backlot tour and all the things on the other side of the park. It was sooooo empty, I'll post some pictures. It was great.

The only thing we didn't ride there was RnR. We're not huge fans and the line was always insane--at least 60 minutes. We even had fastpasses that we didn't use because the fp line was HUGE!

 

[IandGsmom]

bump

 

[stitchrulz]

Bumping

 

[Mdlex]

Just got back yesterday. I was there since Friday Aug. 22. It was crowded. Tropical Storm Fay definately put a damper on things. I was hoping for an early check in and that didn't happen. The Poly said they were 100% filled due to people be stranded from there flights. I went to MK at opening and got alot of rides done while it was not raining. We went back to the poly and rested. We wanted to go back in the afternoon and finish the rides we didn't get to do. At 3:00 p.m. it was pouring again but that did not stop people from going to the MK. Everyone was out in there ponchos. When the rain slowed down the lines for SM were about 40 min. wait and BTMR were about 30 min. I tried to get a FP for Peter Pan and the return time was for 9:00 p.m.. Epcot on Sunday was pretty crowded too! At 11:00 a.m wait time for TT was about 45 min., but I think that is because it was the first time it had been nice out all weekend. Oh, and forget about trying to get a last minute reservation, everything was taken!

 

[stace1214]

Just got back from WDW. We were there from the 21st to today (26th). We went to AK the afternoon we arrived and walked on everything but Everest. On the 22nd we went to EPCOT. It was pouring for most of the morning and we walked on Soarin and pretty much everything else. In the afternoon we went to DHS and it was SOOOOO crowded. Despite the fact that it was raining cats and dogs, the crowds were crazy. On the 23rd we spent the morning at DHS and got everything done by 2pm despite the crowds. That night we went to MK and walked on Haunted Mansion and got on Buzz with a fastpass. Peter Pan had a 50 min. wait and Space Mountain had a 30 min. wait. We spent the morning of the 24th back at AK. Got on Everest first thing, but the park was super crowded and HOT! We went back to EPCOT that night and found that it was pretty empty. The 25th was crowded at both EPCOT and MK. It was definitely better at the end of last week than the beginning of this week, but the rain put a damper on everything.

 

[cam8n]

Bump

 

[slenderella]

I am so hoping for small crowds. We leave in 7 days and we always go this time of year due to it being less crowded. Heres to wishing!!!

 

[3girls4me05]

Just got back Sat. night. The beginning of our trip was not crowded at all. We went to MK the first night (the 20th) and walked on to many rides. Waits were very minimal. The next day we went to Epcot. That was a bit more crowded but still not bad. Day three (which was a Sat.) was more crowded at MK but we still were able to do all we wanted to. And it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be (I always think that weekends are bad due to local people coming to the parks). Our day at DHS we got fast passes for TSM at 10ish and they were for 3:25! The time was going up as you were waiting in line for a FP! We usually go back in the PM for a nap and swim so this time we made TSM our last ride and then did just that. We didn't even attempt TOT or RNR that day. In general we never waited more than 20 min for a ride, we fast passed many and found that the stand-by lines were not bad at all. I found as we were leaving the crowds were really increasing. Labor day weekend crowds were starting. Lots of people checking in and then had some HS sports teams there for different events (football and field hockey were two I saw).
Anyways..have a great trip! Let us know how it was for you.

 

[TigerLaw]

bumping!

 

[lissiesmum]

just got back from our trip from Sept 1-Sept 6. We spent five out of six days at the MK, and crowds and waits were non-existent for all the rides under 40" tall. Longest wait was Dumbo, and even that was only 20 minutes. Every other ride was wait in line about five minutes or less, go on ride, repeat. What a great vacation! The Animal Kingdom, however was literally a zoo. I think everyone in Florida went the day we went (which was on a Wednesday) and we left after a few hours because the crowds were a little unbearable as was the heat. I think everyone was trying to get to the AK before Hanna hit the area...