Unofficial Guide Crowd Calendar Question

[lark]

I just got the 2006 version of the UOG. First, what's up with all the blue pages and charts. It's horrible. Virtually unreadable. After 10 minutes, my eyes had had it.

Anyway, a question about the crowd calendar. It shows not a single day for the next 15 months with a crowd level of less than "4." This, of course, begs the question -- why have categories 1-3 at all? It really seems as though the 1-10 scale is kind of silly if you look at the data -- it might be more helpful to sort into 4 categories. But more significantly, is this really true that there is not a single day in the next 15 months where peak wait times are expected to be less than 35-44 minutes? This is simply not consistent with my experience, although I admitedly have far less experience than the UOG people.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

All the UOG does is predict. There will always be a time during the year where you will not see lines. The slowest time of year is from just after Labor Day until the end of Sept (basically 3 weeks). Then the first 2-3 weeks of December (depending on when Thanksgiving day falls). Then the middle of the first week in Jan until MLK Birthday weekend. Next after that will be the end of April to maybe the second week of May. These are time frames where there will be short lines or next to no lines. There is no way that UOG can say for sure what the wait will be. If gas rises to what they are saying (another prediction), there will be less people going to WDW at any given time. I wouldn't use UOG as a bible, but a rough guide.

 

[KathylovesPooh]

I think as a reader of UG, we typically plan our days better than most and therefore don't spend 35-45 minutes in line very often. We do headline attractions first thing in the AM and use fastpass. However, the vast majority of people who go don't necessarily plan. I've seen the line at Splash or Space in the afternoon and wonder why anyone would stand in the line.

I'm a big fan of UG. If you don't agree with their rating system at least you can use it for relative purposes. If you have a choice of going to the parks on one day which is a four and one that is a six - the information can still be useful.

 

[Minerva]

I just got the 2006 version of the UOG. First, what's up with all the blue pages and charts. It's horrible. Virtually unreadable. After 10 minutes, my eyes had had it.

I love the look of the new UG. I actually wasn't planning to buy it since I have the 2005 but after spending some time looking through it in the bookstore I decided I had to have it and part of the reason was the blue pages. LOL

Anyway, a question about the crowd calendar. It shows not a single day for the next 15 months with a crowd level of less than "4." This, of course, begs the question -- why have categories 1-3 at all? It really seems as though the 1-10 scale is kind of silly if you look at the data -- it might be more helpful to sort into 4 categories. But more significantly, is this really true that there is not a single day in the next 15 months where peak wait times are expected to be less than 35-44 minutes? This is simply not consistent with my experience, although I admitedly have far less experience than the UOG people.

If you look through your book you'll see where it explains that the numbers are for the worst case scenario on those days. A 4 just means that if you're at MK at the absolute busiest time of the day the longest you would wait for something like Space Mountain would be around 40 minutes. Nowhere does it say that there won't be any times where the waits for rides won't be less than 35-40 minutes. All but one of my days are 4s and I have no intention of standing in any line for 40 minutes. LOL

 

[CJBaby]

I love the look of the new UG. I actually wasn't planning to buy it since I have the 2005 but after spending some time looking through it in the bookstore I decided I had to have it and part of the reason was the blue pages. LOL

I totally agree. I think the blue sections really help organize the book. I even posted a completely "loserish" post about it when I first bought the 2006 UG. (which I think made people feel so sorry for me that they couldn't even reply ) Anyway, I it.

I'll know more about the crowd calendar when I come back next week.

 

[NCombs]

I think the new color makes it much easier to read. I guess we all have different preferences.

 

[ms.ojo]

I totally agree. I think the blue sections really help organize the book. I even posted a completely "loserish" post about it when I first bought the 2006 UG. (which I think made people feel so sorry for me that they couldn't even reply ) Anyway, I it.

I'll know more about the crowd calendar when I come back next week.

Me too! I think it is SOO much easier to read! I too owned the 2005 edition and wasn't going to bother but man....after a brief read in the bookstore I went and bought it and I'm soooo glad I did.

 

[lark]

Thanks for the responses. I understand that it's just a prediction -- of course, I wasn't thinking they were actually psychics over there.

But I guess I don't understand the utility of having a 1-10 ranking if one third of the rankings are basically off the table.

I also still am skeptical. I believe there are days for which a prediction of 35-44 minutes at peak time is simply a silly prediction. It makes me think their prediction criteria are inaccurate or more blunt then they pretend with a 1-10 ranking for what is actually not really broken down into 10 different predictions, but more like 4.

 

[Minerva]

I also still am skeptical. I believe there are days for which a prediction of 35-44 minutes at peak time is simply a silly prediction. It makes me think their prediction criteria are inaccurate or more blunt then they pretend with a 1-10 ranking for what is actually not really broken down into 10 different predictions, but more like 4.

If you go to touringplans.com somewhere on there recently I saw a comparison of what they predicted and what their people in the parks on certain days actually recorded. They were pretty close on most days. They've been at this a long time. I have to admit I thought it was kind of silly that they left the 1, 2 and 3 there too since they aren't going to use them. When they did use them my days were 1s now they're 4s. I liked the sound of 1s better. <g>