What effect do AP events have on crowds?

[starshine514]

I'm specifically curious because our trip in 2 weeks will have 2 nights of AP events (and one grad night - our other evening there will be Sunday evening). I'm thinking the parks may get increasingly crowded each night, instead of dwindling and am wondering if I should change my touring strategy (tour in the morning, afternoon break, return to the park around 7) due to changes in crowd flow).

 

[skiingfast]

Only a little, because these aren't events open to any and all APs. You might notice an after 5 rise in attendance, but it shouldn't cause any major problems with lines or crowding.

 

[starshine514]

Thanks for the reply. I was hoping for low crowds, but the increased hours over the same week last year already had me nervous. Oh well, I survived Spring break and the week before Christmas, so this shouldn't be too bad, right?

 

[skiingfast]

After those other visits, you should enjoy going in May.

On the Grad Nite, when DCA closes and only DL is open it will probably feel busy, expect this and you should be fine. It won't be busier than Spring Break of late Decemeber, but could be shocking compared to earlier in the day.

 

[Mugglemama]

I'm wondering about this, too - because now it appears as though every single one of our days that was not a Grad Nite day...is now one of these AP Fantasmic days.

And it would seem as though it is open to all levels, SF....my friend in Ventura has a SoCal AP and she received an invite, as well.

I will be SOOOO glad if we come back from this trip having found that these events did not negatively affect our visit in a big way....but to be honest, the more of them that keep getting piled on, the happier I am that after our AP's expire, we probably won't be back to DLR for several years. It's getting to be entirely too much work just to go (seriously, this amount of "strategizing" in order to not have to stand in ridiculously long lines and/or fight our way through a thick sea of humanity is getting to be more than I'm going to be willing to do anymore before long...).

Hopefully, I'll return from this trip feeling totally different about it than I am right now.

 

[skiingfast]

And it would seem as though it is open to all levels, SF....my friend in Ventura has a SoCal AP and she received an invite, as well.

Hopefully, I'll return from this trip feeling totally different about it than I am right now.

Any level of AP can attend, but it requires the invite, it's not simply show up with an AP and you can go. The past few of events like this have been pleasantly calm. Think about your schedule just because you are allowed to go doesn't mean that work, school and other obligations of life will let you go.

It's a bit of a catch 22, you get used to finding low crowds in the parks, and then it gets harder to find lower crowds.