This year busier than normal!!

[lovethattink]

In the past, we have always enjoyed the time after Thanksgiving and the earliest part of December as crowd-free times. Not this year! The parks seem unusually crowded particularly on Saturdays. We've gone on Tuesdays and Thursday and found the parks hit or miss, either very crowded or completely empty. Are too many people catching on and booking vacations during these "least crowded" times? Do you think crowd trends are in the process of changing? Or do you think it is just because of the rescheduling due to the hurricanes this summer? Yesterday at the MK was terrible crowd-wise. I'd hate to see the crowds next week. (Even the high load capacity rides had lines, 50 minutes for the haunted mansion. Fast passes were a must if you did not bring your patience with you!) Today we are going to try MGM, hopefully it won't be too bad! By the way, Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Parade was awesome! We got great pictures!

http://www.ofoto.com/PhotoView.jsp?...?showSlide=true&Ux=0&refreshkey=1103470782810

 

[KevinM]

I was there the first full week of December in 03 and 04. While I noticed an increase in crowds, the ride waits were still minimal.

The weekend and MVMCP were another story.....uncomfortably crowded.

 

[laceemouse]

While I think some of the crowds this fall and early winter can certainly be blamed on the hurricanes, I do feel that crowd patterns are changing. Everyone reads the books now and try to go at "non-crowded" times. Also, if these boards are any indication, most folks have no problem whatsoever taking their kids out of school for vacation. We don't take ours out, and I never knew anyone that did when I was growing up. While I love the UG, I have often wondered about the accuracy of those attendance charts. Maybe we should use reverse psychology in picking "non-crowded" times from now on. I must add though, I think people worry too much about crowds. So many threads start out "will it be crowded when I go in....." I really feel that it is getting almost impossible to predict anymore. Just pick a date that's good for you, hope for the best, but plan for the worst. JMHO. Lacee

 

[MaryKatesMom]

laceemouse is right. Many people have been reading the guides and I noticed a significant increase in crowd levels this past week verses the year before. I also noticed that the crowd level was much lower than expected in August. Maybe because of the aversion to crowds.

Also, don't forget. WDW attendence is also dependent on the economy which has been doing very well. The dollar is down vs the Euro making travel to the US much more inexpensive. There are many factors to attendence and they are almost impossible to predict.

 

[cranbiz]

Other than Saturday and Sunday (Dec 11 and 12), I thought the crowds were about the same as last year. We were there all week Dec 5-12 and did not have to wait long for anything. In fact, most rides were walk on.

Monday we were at Epcot, Walk on to MS, did twice in a row. TT we had a wait due to the ride being down, but the wait was less than 15 min and then we went back on it again.
Tuesday we were at MK, did the KTTK tour (it's great), no waits for any rides (did HM and POTC - our boat got stuck, that is another story) after the tour did Buzz and SM twice with no waits, then on to the MVMCP. Did twas the night before xmas and ALL rides were walk on, in fact did Splash 4 times without getting out of the log. Saw Wishes from near caseys and the second parade from Main St, only needed to stake out a spot about 15 min before.
Wednesday was MGM, again walk on to TOT and RNR. Did both twice, most shows were mid sized crowds. Did the FDP at the Brown Derby . It's not quite my kind of food, but it was still good (isn't the Cobb Salad great) and got great seats 6 rows up for Fantasmic (and only got to Oscars 20 minutes before the start)

Thursday was an EE day for MK and we had a PS at CRT for breakfast, 8:10, no waiting, just checked in and walked right up to the dining room. The Princesses spent a lot of time with DD (23). This was for her and she couldn't have been more excited. Again back in the park with little lines and waiting. Peter Pan, Snow White, Pooh and Dumbo were walk on or 5 minute waits. In the PM, over to AK, All rides were walk on and had no problem getting a good parade spot at parade start.

Friday Back to AK for FOTLK and rerides of everything, and the trails. Did not see Tarzan Rocks only because of our timing. Everything was minimal waits.

Saturday was the only day that we had waits and we were at MK most of the day Splash was 30 minutes and we fastpassed BTMRR as it was a 60 minute wait. Fast passed Buzz, waited 30 minutes for SM. Saw Stich earlier in the week (don't waste your time, it was not a great attraction - I expect MUCH better out of Disney)

As you can see, thee were no significant crowds during the first week of Dec and we were even at MK on an EE day. Even with Pop Warner and the Cheerleaders, we would come back again at this time of year. It may be getting busier, but still is not bad at all.

 

[cdrn1]

I agree about the crowds. We were there Dec. 2-7 and most years the crowds are nonexistant. This year I thought they were much larger. We went to MK on Monday the 6th and left after a few hours due to the crowds. I was pretty disappointed as this was the first time my DH went and he is not a fan of the crowds. I am sure that they were lower than summer, holidays etc. but just way more than I am used to that time of year.

 

[danny1649]

Year on our trip 12-5 / 12-12,still had a great time.Went to MVMCP and CP plus Osborne Lights.With all the great decorations and holiday shows with great weather we had awesome time.I love this time at WDW and plan on going back next year early December.

 

[BAST]

We were at WDW Dec 9 to 13 to see MVMCP. I thought it was quite crowded, especially in comparison to the two times we went previously during the school year (May, 2002 and January, 2003, both times when my two kids were preschoolers). I take the crowds as a sign that the economy is much better and that a lot of foreigners are travelling to the US because of the weak dollar. I know when we were at WDW in August (17th to 27th) this year, it was pretty crowded with a lot of British tourists. I only hope it is not too crowded when we head back in August, 2005.

 

[HappyGramma]

We were there 12/3-12/11 and was surprised that the parks were as crowded as they were. I had really expected smalled crowds. I have to agree that most of the lines for the rides moved right along with very little waiting. Epcot on 12/5 was really crowded and wait times for most rides or shows were pretty long. All in all though we had a wonderful time.