um...CROWD pictures?

[stargrazer]

I think as long as you plan on getting to the parks when they open, eating early lunches and dinners, and heading to shows very early, the crowds can be very manageable at any time of year. We've been there over Christmas week twice as well as 4th of July, June, and August trips and had a fantastic time on every trip.

I agree with you. We're local so this is normally what we do, we have it worked out to go on less crowded days at rope drop, ride and see everything in the park we enjoy and get out by 4 PM or so.

But in this case, I hadn't been to Disney in several years, and DH got us PAP's for Christmas so we decided to go very last minute. We didn't get into the park until well into the morning/late afternoon and got directly on the Train to go to Frontierland. What we didn't know is that the parade was starting - and it was STARTING in Frontierland so we were all required to get off the train there. The front of the park didn't look that bad but when we got off the train it was literally a SEA of people. Since the street was blocked for the parade, there was almost no way to get around. (So there were circumstances that were unusual in our case, I agree.)

But I didn't expect to go on rides that day, just soak up the ambiance, and the crowds were so unbearable it took everything we had (and over an hour) just to manuver back to the front and get out of there. Perhaps it was a matter of wrong place wrong time but I'm telling you, had there been an emergency many people would have been crushed and it was not a good scene where I was standing...the family couldn't work through the crowd to get help for their father. I have talked to others on the boards that had the same experience that day at MK but then others like you who enjoyed being there that day so chalk it up to the normal, lol I guess it's what you make of it...and we made it to come back another day because we had the option!


EDIT - PS....Susan, I'm sure if you go in the morning and have a decent plan, the crowds should be ok for you, honestly. I only elaborated here because I was asked to...but I promise you it's not usually that bad. I've lived in Florida for over 15 years and I've NEVER heard of crowds like that at WDW.
Have FUN!

 

[orangekid13]

July 4 2005 about an hour before the fireworks

CLICK FOR LARGE VERSION

after the fireworks nobody could really go anywhere for about a half hour. We just stayed put and it was a lot easier to just have the room to go somewhere after a bit than trying to push through any crowds, most people were trying to leave the park and we were going for splash mountain

 

[AmyBWV99]

We went to the MK right after the fireworks on July 4 2004 (we watched them at Epcot) and there was a 3 hour wait to get on the monorail to the TTC.

I think the most interesting thing for us (WDW vets - 25 + visits) is the relative unpredictability of crowds. Obviously crowds will be nuts on holidays, but there are times where you wouldn't expect large crowds and the place is jammed and other times when you’d expect huge crowds and it's not too bad. Clearly, you know that summer will, in general, be more crowded than February, but we'd been on a random day in June when the AK closed and been to the MK on Christmas week and had it relatively empty.


Case-in-point - this picture was taken on NYE 2006 at noon.

And this one on the 4th of July 2006 at 1:00 PM

And this on on the 4th of July 2006 at 10:00 AM

 

[CheshireVal]

The one taken on July 4 at 1pm is probably so empty because it was so dang hot everyone was inside somewhere.

 

[amwhitaker]

Great thread! I just wish I had a picture to share. I was at MGM one Thanksgiving and literally every which way I turned there were people all around me. I've never experienced a panick attack, but that was probably the closest I've come to one.

Avoid Thanksgiving at all costs!!

 

[Cookie Princess]

AHHH!!! Those crowded photos remind me of our day at MK when they were taping the Easter Parade...NEVER AGAIN! You couldn't budge.

 

[Blondie]

OMG. I'm about to have a panic attack after seing the May 5th photo. We're going to be at Disney April 26th - May 6th - and if it looks like THAT at the parks we'll just be staying at the resort pool the whole week. My kids and I have mild crowd phobia, and I'm literally trembling from looking at that photo and imagining being there.

Perhaps this trip IS a bad idea. Ugh.

Go and enjoy yourself! May 5th was an obvious field trip day for local schools, at least that's what it looked like with the kids all wearing the same color tee shirts. Fridays always seem to pick up crowd wise, then thins out come Sunday evening.

We'll be there again during the same time frame and I can't wait!

 

[CanadianGuy]

Oh the HUMANITY..

Or if you were at Living Seas....

Oh the HUGE MANATEE...



J

 

[timandlesley]

We have gone in June every year and the crowds are heavy at rope drop. Two years ago the first week of June I held the camera up as we entered MK:

That is how I remember the parks entering every morning and leaving every night. The only other time it is that packed is parade time which is also crazy.
Lesley

 

[CathrynRose]

Right outside Pirates (incorrect date on picture.... this was Saturday - January 27th, this year):

 

[CathrynRose]

This one here, floored me....this line is actually the FAST PASS LINE, coming out of Big Thunder... the FAST PASS LINE!!!! You know how usually you weave alllll the way up to the guy who takes your fast pass? This is THAT line!!!!!
(January 27th 2007)

 

[CamColt]

 

[karenTX]

CamColt,

When was this taken?
Thanks!

 

[Amps]

Haha, I think this poor lady's face sais it all

 

[piglet&potatohead]

OMG. I'm about to have a panic attack after seing the May 5th photo. We're going to be at Disney April 26th - May 6th - and if it looks like THAT at the parks we'll just be staying at the resort pool the whole week. My kids and I have mild crowd phobia, and I'm literally trembling from looking at that photo and imagining being there.

Perhaps this trip IS a bad idea. Ugh.

I was thinking the same thing when I read your post. We will be there April 29th-May5th. I thought the crowds weren't supposed to be that bad this time of year. It is making me a little nervous too

 

[resol37]

OMG. I'm about to have a panic attack after seing the May 5th photo. We're going to be at Disney April 26th - May 6th - and if it looks like THAT at the parks we'll just be staying at the resort pool the whole week. My kids and I have mild crowd phobia, and I'm literally trembling from looking at that photo and imagining being there.

Perhaps this trip IS a bad idea. Ugh.

Ugh, I feel the same way. We'll be there May 6th - 12th and every other thread I've read here said that it shouldn't be too busy. Now, I'm starting to worry. I've only ever been as a guest in March, Oct or Nov so it's always been small crowds. I did my CP from Jan until May 7, 2004 and right before I left was the slowest I had seen it since the previous Feb, so I wasn't expecting it to be too bad. Oy.

 

[kat08]

Oh the HUMANITY..

Or if you were at Living Seas....

Oh the HUGE MANATEE...



J

I think I was a teenager when my family was at the MK on July 4th. We vowed to never, ever do that again. Granted, MGM & AK didn't even exist at that point so everyone was crammed into EPCOT and MK.

We will be in the parks May 27-31 this year. Am I right to schedule AK & MGM for Mem day & the day before? The crowds will surely thin out on Tues (the day after Mem Day.) Right?

 

[__disneygirl]

some of these pics are downright frightening! i usually don't mind large crowds though. i'm usually having too much fun to notice

 

[FigmentGuy]

Haha, I think this poor lady's face sais it all

OMG! Great!


TRUE TRUE TRUE

 

[__disneygirl]

hahahahaha. Imagine her coming here and seeing that! I always thought it would be funny if I posted a photo online and someone in the photo ended up seeing it.