Utterly terrified of SW:GE crowds during opening months

Status
Not open for further replies.
Not to scare anyone or stir the pot, but SW:GE is just the beginning of a lot of big things that are going to make WDW busy for the next few years. After SW:GE, Magic Kingdom's 50th is 2021 and EPCOT will be 40 in 2022.

LOL yep. There's a reason we have a "last hurrah" trip this summer, and don't plan on returning for a long trip till 2022-2023. Hubby and I might come down just the two of us for a weekend here and there, but we'll be letting the dust settle a bit on the big stuff. :)
 
Not to scare anyone or stir the pot, but SW:GE is just the beginning of a lot of big things that are going to make WDW busy for the next few years. After SW:GE, Magic Kingdom's 50th is 2021 and EPCOT will be 40 in 2022.

It's so exciting! We are going 2020 and then back in 2022 or 2023.
We are 45 right now and 2023 would be our 50th birthday year. OH MY GOD! :scared1::scared1::scared1:
 
I may have taken this fear to a new level. I booked a WDW trip at the beginning of November, assuming GE would open around Labor Day. We'd like to see it, but not immediately after opening. I love Disney's Christmas atmosphere and MVMCP, so that was the main reason for that time. Then I heard the "late fall" rumors, so I cancelled WDW and booked a first and probably only trip to Land for the same dates. Then I heard the rumors of just how crowded it will be and for how long. DL is way too expensive to not be able to fully experience what we want to. So I've booked WDW again for the same dates. Hoping either it isn't open or has AP previews or paid access. So, right now I have reservations on both coasts and I'm trying to guess at which will be better.
 
LOL yep. There's a reason we have a "last hurrah" trip this summer, and don't plan on returning for a long trip till 2022-2023. Hubby and I might come down just the two of us for a weekend here and there, but we'll be letting the dust settle a bit on the big stuff. :)

Don't worry the economy will have tanked by the and then new recession will trim those crowds right back!!!
 


I think with your dates it might not be as bad (crowd-wise) as people think. Things are really getting hyped -up on these boards, but the general population has no clue about SW:GE.

1. Most people plan their vacations 6-8 months in advance. If Disney only gives a few months notice about the opening, I would say more families will be planning for trips in early 2020 to enjoy SW-GE than those who will make it there in December. It will be die-hard fans and vloggers who will be there right at opening, not your average family. But that's just a guess!

2. Most people plan around kids / work holidays. My bet is that the week between Christmas and New Years will be unbearable, as will Spring Break season. It will be busier than usually when you go, but not a nuthouse. Most people cannot get off work or pull kids out of school at the drop of a hat. They need to plan well in advance. I think the nuthouse-in-every-park scenario will start a month or two after opening...once word of mouth and social media have done their job. And then, my prediction is that the big crowds are not going to end until a year after the 50th Anniversary in 2021.

All that to say, if it were me I wouldn't change dates. I'd make a plan, rope drop to avoid crowds, enjoy resort hopping and the pool to relax, and make some great ADR's. I'd say your bf will love it! Take a deep breath and happy planning... :santa:
 
I think with your dates it might not be as bad (crowd-wise) as people think. Things are really getting hyped -up on these boards, but the general population has no clue about SW:GE.

1. Most people plan their vacations 6-8 months in advance. If Disney only gives a few months notice about the opening, I would say more families will be planning for trips in early 2020 to enjoy SW-GE than those who will make it there in December. It will be die-hard fans and vloggers who will be there right at opening, not your average family. But that's just a guess!

2. Most people plan around kids / work holidays. My bet is that the week between Christmas and New Years will be unbearable, as will Spring Break season. It will be busier than usually when you go, but not a nuthouse. Most people cannot get off work or pull kids out of school at the drop of a hat. They need to plan well in advance. I think the nuthouse-in-every-park scenario will start a month or two after opening...once word of mouth and social media have done their job. And then, my prediction is that the big crowds are not going to end until a year after the 50th Anniversary in 2021.

All that to say, if it were me I wouldn't change dates. I'd make a plan, rope drop to avoid crowds, enjoy resort hopping and the pool to relax, and make some great ADR's. I'd say your bf will love it! Take a deep breath and happy planning... :santa:
I hope you are right but here's a counter point to your statements:
While maybe not everyone knows about SWGE the SW fan has known and waited for this from the moment Disney announced they were buying Lucasfilm
From my many years of experience attending Star Wars Weekends at MGM?DHS I can tell you that the majority of people coming for that event were SW super fans and not Disney fans at all. Meaning they came for SW and only SW
A SW fan will drop everything, at a drop of a dime, to come for this and experience the land on and around opening day. They are anticipating the date, already have plans in place to come
The average Disney visitor who has no clue what's happening will suffer the most. I agree a good, flexible plan is crucial to enjoy the parks once SWGE opens.
The average visitor will try and get into the land, once they can't cause of capacity they will go to other parks, making the other parks busier than usual
SW fans have slept on concrete, through rain, camping out for days just to get an autograph of one celebrity, there is no telling what they will do to get into the land.

I think it's better to plan with this sort of scenario in mind and not think "it won't be as bad" and then be in complete shock. Be prepared for massive crowds and craziness and then, if by miracle, it doesn't happen that's awesome.
BTW I'm planning on being there opening day, rain,shine, hurricane, tornado...I have plans to leave my dog with family cause I know I won't be home for him, and like me there are tens of thousands out there.
 
WOW - I agree about the Star Wars fans. We had a similar experience when we went to HS Star Wars Weekend and we were first in line at the turnstiles while the other fans were trying to get autograph line passes. If I can survive the FL heat with a grade schooler, we can survive our first trip to SWGA (which won't be opening day).

We have been to DL when at capacity and had a blast. It's not ideal but it's all about being part of the experience. We have been to Harry Potter (yuck) a month after it's Hollywood opening on a Saturday - no problems. Of course it was busy with lots of crowds, but again had fun.

Be prepare and set goals for you and your family - get pictures, "try" to ride something and buy something awesome!
 


Glad I found this thread. We are looking at the first week in Dec, just the two of us, and do NOT plan to go to HS at all. Our kids are the SW fans, and we will wait until they can come with us for the SW trip to see the new land.

So what to do? I guess I'll keep praying for the mid-summer notice that they are postponing the SW opening to early 2020 - LOL! Could happen!
 
Glad I found this thread. We are looking at the first week in Dec, just the two of us, and do NOT plan to go to HS at all. Our kids are the SW fans, and we will wait until they can come with us for the SW trip to see the new land.

So what to do? I guess I'll keep praying for the mid-summer notice that they are postponing the SW opening to early 2020 - LOL! Could happen!

that sound is the collective gasp of all SW fans hoping for an EARLIER opening LOL
 
Glad I found this thread. We are looking at the first week in Dec, just the two of us, and do NOT plan to go to HS at all. Our kids are the SW fans, and we will wait until they can come with us for the SW trip to see the new land.

So what to do? I guess I'll keep praying for the mid-summer notice that they are postponing the SW opening to early 2020 - LOL! Could happen!
Just have a realistic, flexible plan. Since you are skipping DHS all together make sure to rope drop the other parks, those first few hours will be golden. Have fun

that sound is the collective gasp of all SW fans hoping for an EARLIER opening LOL
All of us
vader_NOOOO.jpg
 
Just have a realistic, flexible plan. Since you are skipping DHS all together make sure to rope drop the other parks, those first few hours will be golden. Have fun


All of us
vader_NOOOO.jpg



LOL - sorry! It was selfish of me to discuss pushing off the opening. I know you big Star Wars fans want it bad - my son said he wouldn't talk to us if we went to HS and saw SW without him. I hope it is everything you are dreaming of!
 
I am nervous about the crowds as well. We were thinking of going back for our first anniversary (2nd week of Oct) and if we do I think we will plan for some resort days to offset the craziness. I would like to add that when I told people we were going during Food & Wine and MNSSHP last year they were very quick to tell me the crowds would be horrendous and I was making a mistake. This was especially concerning because like you, this was going to be DH's first trip and I was scared it would be his last. I went and booked all my FP's, and ADR's and hoped for the best. The crowd level never went above a 5 and during the party my favorite rides were walk on! The crowd predictors are great for helping set expectations and planning, but they aren't always 100% correct. It will be crowded no matter when you go, I would suggest booking some experiences and special dinners and be flexible. When we went it was for our honeymoon and people were really generous with the Disney gift cards as wedding gifts. It enabled us to do the Spirit of Aloha dinner show at Poly (which we loved!) the Caring for Giants tour at AK, MNSSHP, a special honeymoon dinner at Narcoosees (go at night and they let you watch the fireworks from the balcony!) lunch at BOG, Festival of the Lion King and Universal's Halloween Horror Nights. We crammed in a LOT, and obviously we wouldn't be able to do that on every trip, but I think if you can work a couple of those in your boyfriend will be happy. We are big ride junkies, but surprisingly the experiences and special dinners were where we experienced the most Disney magic.
 
I hope you are right but here's a counter point to your statements:
While maybe not everyone knows about SWGE the SW fan has known and waited for this from the moment Disney announced they were buying Lucasfilm
From my many years of experience attending Star Wars Weekends at MGM?DHS I can tell you that the majority of people coming for that event were SW super fans and not Disney fans at all. Meaning they came for SW and only SW
A SW fan will drop everything, at a drop of a dime, to come for this and experience the land on and around opening day. They are anticipating the date, already have plans in place to come
The average Disney visitor who has no clue what's happening will suffer the most. I agree a good, flexible plan is crucial to enjoy the parks once SWGE opens.
The average visitor will try and get into the land, once they can't cause of capacity they will go to other parks, making the other parks busier than usual
SW fans have slept on concrete, through rain, camping out for days just to get an autograph of one celebrity, there is no telling what they will do to get into the land.

I think it's better to plan with this sort of scenario in mind and not think "it won't be as bad" and then be in complete shock. Be prepared for massive crowds and craziness and then, if by miracle, it doesn't happen that's awesome.
BTW I'm planning on being there opening day, rain,shine, hurricane, tornado...I have plans to leave my dog with family cause I know I won't be home for him, and like me there are tens of thousands out there.

If my facebook feed is to be judged there are plenty of NON disney fans waiting for GE to open.

I'm honestly mentally planning for it to be more intense than when Harry Potter opened over at Universal. If it's not, I've prepared for the worst...
 
I'm REALLY scared of the SWGE crowds! I've been planning a trip in Dec 2019 (probably very early in the month) with my boyfriend. This will be his first time at Disney and he's not exactly a Disney person - it's taken some time to convince him and I'm so scared he'll be traumatized and never want to go back! I'm afraid it'll be wall to wall bodies all over WDW for the first few months :( What do you guys think?

Even if we skip DHS (honestly, I'd like to avoid having to do that because I'm a Star Wars fan too!) I'm scared the other parks, buses and the resorts will be just so completely full of people.

I read somewhere 2nd 3rd week of December
 
I hope you are right but here's a counter point to your statements:
While maybe not everyone knows about SWGE the SW fan has known and waited for this from the moment Disney announced they were buying Lucasfilm
From my many years of experience attending Star Wars Weekends at MGM?DHS I can tell you that the majority of people coming for that event were SW super fans and not Disney fans at all. Meaning they came for SW and only SW
A SW fan will drop everything, at a drop of a dime, to come for this and experience the land on and around opening day. They are anticipating the date, already have plans in place to come
The average Disney visitor who has no clue what's happening will suffer the most. I agree a good, flexible plan is crucial to enjoy the parks once SWGE opens.
The average visitor will try and get into the land, once they can't cause of capacity they will go to other parks, making the other parks busier than usual
SW fans have slept on concrete, through rain, camping out for days just to get an autograph of one celebrity, there is no telling what they will do to get into the land.

I think it's better to plan with this sort of scenario in mind and not think "it won't be as bad" and then be in complete shock. Be prepared for massive crowds and craziness and then, if by miracle, it doesn't happen that's awesome.
BTW I'm planning on being there opening day, rain,shine, hurricane, tornado...I have plans to leave my dog with family cause I know I won't be home for him, and like me there are tens of thousands out there.

Couldn’t agree with this more. A great, sensible post.

I’ve said for ages that you will have Star Wars fans that will never have been to a Disney park, nor have no interest in going that will visit just to see this land. They probably won’t even go to any other parts of the park.

And those are the people who this land has been built for really, Disney know they can charge $$$ for the previews, for special events and these people will pay it. And visit more then once.

We may even get a couple of convert Disney fans :)
 
Couldn’t agree with this more. A great, sensible post.

I’ve said for ages that you will have Star Wars fans that will never have been to a Disney park, nor have no interest in going that will visit just to see this land. They probably won’t even go to any other parts of the park.

And those are the people who this land has been built for really, Disney know they can charge $$$ for the previews, for special events and these people will pay it. And visit more then once.

We may even get a couple of convert Disney fans :)
In that case, it would be good news for OP, if the die hard fans might not be venturing much into the other parks... one can always hope!
 
In that case, it would be good news for OP, if the die hard fans might not be venturing much into the other parks... one can always hope!

By all means, hope, but my personal concern would be this. We all know that Disney is always busy, and during a holiday season even more. Now think about people that are planning trips that may not be a member of a board like this, or who don't really know all the things that can go into planning a trip. How many of them will venture into HS one morning without a hopper pass and have to decide between waiting for GE rides or flooding the rest of the park or leaving and losing the day on their ticket? And what about all of the others who do have hopper passes who decide to leave HS entirely? The truth is that none of us knows how it will go but I can see a lot of ways that this can become crazy. I am not generally a pessimist but I think, in this case, that it could very easily turn out unlike anything that's come before.
 
Just like some people go to UO just for the potter stuff, there will be people who go to hs just for the sw stuff. Hopefully you will find that the other parks are not so bad. If you really are so worried/terrified, I would reschedule for an earlier time if at all possible. It would be great to have a bf who loves Disney as much as you do, so if changing dates is what you think will help, well you know him best- you should do it.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Latest posts

Top