disneymomof1 said:
GatorEye how were the crowds? What days were you there, trying to decide when to go next year to avoid crowds. We were at WL 11/24-12/2 and parks were crowded our first couple of days there. Weather was great but a 2 hour wait for space mountain the saturday after thanksgiving was a little to much for husband to take. Trying to decide whether to go back to our mid-October visits. On the flip side I saw many LGMH while there, but I don't know the back story to them, only read on the dis that people would wear them on backpacks and put in window of hotel rooms.
The crowds were fine. We never waited more than 20 minutes for anything. Now realize I was there with a 3 year old and 8 month old so we never went anywhere near Space Mountain, Big Thunder, or Splash Mountain, but I NEVER saw a sign anywhere in the park that said more than a 30 minute wait. If you know how to work the Fastpasses you'll be in even better shape. We never waited more than 2 minutes on anything we had a Fastpass for.
I think the week we go (Sunday Dec.3 - Sat. Dec. 9) is great because it is 2 weekends after Thanksgiving so hardly anyone is going to travel that week and it is after they film the Christmas parade. Of course it's also our anniversary so it works out well for us.
I tried to post a link (which it doesn't seem to let me) to a site that has a Disney Crowd Calendar. It lists which park they recommend for each day of the year based on historical trends and what is happening at the park (special events, extra magic hours). I disagree with them on their advice to AVOID a park that has extra magic hours. I think during a slow time you should GO to a park that has extra magic hours because it thins the crowd out even more. I've found this to be the case on our previous visits. They may have a big research team to verify their claim, but my theory works for me.
The parks were fine during the week, but the worst crowd by far was at Downtown Disney on Saturday (and the cashiers said that on Friday night it was literally so crowded in the stores that you couldn't move). We were going to go earlier in the week, but ended up stopped there on our way driving out of town. It was a zoo. The only comparable crowd was Roaring Forks on the Saturday morning I needed to cash in all my unused meals from the dining plan.
Here are my personal tips and how we ended up doing things. I had a rough schedule for the entire week with the times for all the parades, fireworks, and shows we wanted to see, along with all of our dinner reservations. Of course the baby changed a lot of it but it still worked out good for us.
Sunday - got in at 12:30. Room wasn't ready so we hung out in the lobby and around the hotel until 3:00. Dumped our stuff in the room and took the sleigh ride at 5:30 (highly recommended - we even saw some deer). Took the boat to Ft. Wilderness and did the campfire with Chip N' Dale. Came back and got rested to roll on Monday.
Monday - MGM. There seems to be a running theory that people who come in on the weekends start their first day of the visit at MK. We did MK last year on Monday and it did seem a little more crowded than I was expecting. We decided to do MGM (which had late extra magic hours and afforded more time to enjoy the Osborne family lights) and it didn't seem crowded at all.
Tues - Wed: MK. Slow, slow, and slow. One of those mornings (I can't remember which, we were literally the only ones on the bus from WL to MK, if that tells you anything.
Thur: MK. Early opening extra magic hours. Get there at 8 and it was dead. Stay on rides or hop off and climb back on with no wait until 10am.
Fri: Epcot. We only went to the Coral Reef restaurant and the seas. But again from the looks of it, it didn't seem bad at all.
I think we hit the days better this time and got more done in the early morning than last year when it seemed more crowded.
Sooo..my sugestion is to go at least one week after Thanksgiving and one week before Christmas and you'll be fine. Also, be at the parks before they open. You'll enjoy more in the first two hours of the park opening than 5 hours of midday. Also, if you are going to be there long enough, spend one day just seeing all the shows and parades. Then go back the next day and hit the major rides during the shows and parades when the rides will be slow.
Why people actually go during Christmas week and New Year's is beyond me. I worked in monorails 20 years ago and I worked at the Epcot station on New Year's Eve and it was one of the most miserable experiences of my life.
I know planning takes some of the fun out of things, but if you don't like standing in line and waiting, all the books and things people say are true in that a little planning can make a big difference in how long you wait for things and how much enjoyment you can have. I used to think that until I saw much enjoyable it is for us when we can enjoy what we like without waiting.
With a little planning and change of dates your husband could probably easily hit Space Mountain 4 or 5 times in 2 hours.
I can't believe I didn't see ONE LGMH!
your way...so sorry about your brother 
