Thoughts on March 13-18 Crowds?

[larsonb74]

So how busy and crowded is it going to be next week? Seeing reports of no vacancies at any parks. Hoping Disney opens up some other show or attraction to help spread out crowds.

 

[ucf_knight]

Today at animal kingdom they had 6-7 attractions (which is the total number that they have in the park currently) with wait times with a majority of those waits being 75 minutes+ We did two rides and left after lunch. Luckily we have AP’s and can come and go as we please. Spending 6-7 hours in line to do those handful of attractions is really bad imo. Not having the shows, primeval whirl and kali river rapids going right now is straining other parts of the park.

 

[larsonb74]

Was somewhat afraid of that scenario. We were last there in Oct. and it wasn't too bad. Coming from out of state doesn't seem like a great time. We will make the best of it, pick must rides and just fo more resort and pool time.

 

[ucf_knight]

Was somewhat afraid of that scenario. We were last there in Oct. and it wasn't too bad. Coming from out of state doesn't seem like a great time. We will make the best of it, pick must rides and just fo more resort and pool time.

I should add that we didn’t rope drop. I would say this park as it stands right now you have to rope drop if you want to get a couple attractions in before things get outta hand there.

 

[Meriweather]

Rope drop....we do a couple of rides. Look around, have lunch and leave.
We will not wait in those long lines.
We're here now and we have to experience the booked park Reservations for a few days.
Much busier than when we were here in early December

 

[hereforthechurros]

With every park at capacity and no news of additional offerings opening up, expect crowding and long lines. Mobile ordering ahead of time or securing TS reservations to have a dedicated spot will be clutch. Rope drop will be crucial. We considered a quick weekend this weekend since my son is off school and we have APs, but after seeing the little to no availability between parks, resorts and dining we bailed on planning.

 

[hrhdhd]

Next week is Orange and Osceola Counties' Spring Break, so I'd expect more locals, too.

 

[MomOTwins]

Next week is Orange and Osceola Counties' Spring Break, so I'd expect more locals, too.

This.

 

[scrappinginontario]

All parks at capacity = busy!

 

[TeKa21]

They need to open more attractions, restaurants and shows. It’s honestly ridiculous at this point. Give the paying guests things to do and see. This isn’t hard so it seems as if they are purposefully doing this so the question becomes why?

 

[hereforthechurros]

They need to open more attractions, restaurants and shows. It’s honestly ridiculous at this point. Give the paying guests things to do and see. This isn’t hard so it seems as if they are purposefully doing this so the question becomes why?

$$$

 

[bedientes]

I'll be there next week (March 14-17) and wondering what it is going to feel like. I've never been at WDW for super peak busy times like Christmas, New Years, Spring break and have avoided summer vacation time as well. We have been the week before Thanksgiving a bunch of times and a trip at the end of May which seems like the more crowded times I have visited. I'm wondering how it will feel compared to that now that it is capped at 35-40%.

I am not a Fastpass master so I've only ever had 3 Fastpasses per day and on some of those busier trips it has seemed like a lot of the rides we wanted to go on had waits of over an hour that we were not willing to do. I think we often only did Fastpass rides because everything was so busy. So the fact that there are some rides that used to be inaccessible due to 70-120 minute waits are not maxing out at 75-80 minutes, I'm wondering if we might actually be able to do some rides we couldn't before. I've always said if the wait was 30 minutes or less that seemed like essentially no wait to me. Under an hour was usually a go for me (it's more of an issue for my kids). Even with a Fastpass it seemed like we might wait 20-30 minutes for something. I guess we will just see what it is like next week. I'll have to report back.

 

[gharter]

I would expect it to be at capacity, whatever number that is.

 

[Astrolux22]

Long time disboards lurker here. We will be in the parks next week as well (14th-18th). Someone please help me with this logic. Capacity is at 35% or so, and I realize that not all attractions, shows, and restaurants are open at this time but 35% vs 100% capacity. What are we comparing to that makes next week so "crowded"?

 

[larsonb74]

Hypothetical figures here and I may be somewhat over simplifying it- Say at 100% cap there is 100 persons going to a place that has 10 shows = 10 person per show, now reduce that down to the 35% and limited open items, 35 persons and 3 shows = 11 persons per show.
For real numbers would have to know exactly how many shows, attractions, shops, etc. are not currently open as well as the very guarded real capacity numbers.
With the limited other options open to swallow up some of the crowd the attractions, shops, etc. that are open "feel" just as or possibly more crowded than normal 100% cap I would assume.

 

[MomOTwins]

Long time disboards lurker here. We will be in the parks next week as well (14th-18th). Someone please help me with this logic. Capacity is at 35% or so, and I realize that not all attractions, shows, and restaurants are open at this time but 35% vs 100% capacity. What are we comparing to that makes next week so "crowded"?

Because pre-Covid Disney parks only averaged 30-60% of capacity. Average pre-Covid attendance at epcot pre-covid was 34,000, out of a maximum capacity of 110,000, so around 31%. So 35% (or 40% which many people rumor the parks are at now) is above average attendance with considerably fewer things open to absorb crowds, and spacing between guests on rides that slows down how many people can ride in an hour.

MK is closer—it averaged 57,000 put 90,000 pre covid, so 64% versus 35-40% now. But it also again absorbs people less because of ride spacing, closed or capacity-limited restaurants, limited shopping, no people camping out for parades/stage shows/fireworks, and no character meals at nearby hotels to draw MK guests away for a couple of hours. And with no fastpass to allow people to knock out their favorite rides and then go back to the resort, more people are staying the park the whole day. Also, that 57K pre covid total includes people who spent a day at another park and popped in for the fireworks at night, or rope dropped MK for 2 hours and then left to hop, neither of which are happening any more—more guests are staying put and adding to crowds all or most of the day. So again, crowding ends up being more or less at pre-Covid levels or worse when you factor in these adjustments.

 

[Astrolux22]

Good thorough answers. Thank you for your replies!

 

[PrincessNelly]

They need to open more attractions, restaurants and shows. It’s honestly ridiculous at this point. Give the paying guests things to do and see. This isn’t hard so it seems as if they are purposefully doing this so the question becomes why?

Well COVID is still complicating a lot for them. You can only bring back or re-open locations that allow them to do so while ensuring the CMs are able to work safely.

Many restaurants have small kitchens and can't allow for 6ft distancing. Many shows would need to be modified to allow 6ft which takes time to coordinate.

 

[Heather07438]

Capacity experience is also about attraction to guests ratios and operational hours.

 

[OHVolunteer]

Next week is Orange and Osceola Counties' Spring Break, so I'd expect more locals, too.

It's also Seminole Counties spring break as well. We are going to HS on Monday with some out of town family, our plan is to get there prior to official park opening and do what we can.