What was going on at WDW Last Week??

[ErinsMommy]

I would tell her that if she can, September is a great time to go. From the pictures I have seen, the parks were all but empty.

After last years Sept trip I'm convinced the crowds are so low in the parks because theyre passed out in their rooms face planted in front of an air conditioner from the heat

 

[Bon1423]

We just returned and had a miserable experience at the MK in particular. We went Wednesday which unfortunately was the only non Halloween party date that week (or at least that we had available I can't remember) and it was terrible. By 4pm we had done our 3 fast passes and that was it and were so fed up we almost left. The app was down causing the FP lines to be super ridiculously long. There were issues with our tickets and they kept replacing them saying they were now working, only to replace them again the next time I used them. I sat in line for 45 minutes at a FP kiosk only to find out the only available times for anything we wanted were after 10pm and that my sons last FP didn't scan right so I couldn't get him another one anyway.

The staff was incredibly rude for the most part and the final straw was sitting in line for 50 minutes (of a 125 minute wait) at space mountain only to have them shut it down. They only gave my DH and son a FP, somehow missed me and my other son and when we told them they said it wasn't their problem. We went to complain to guest services, which took another 45 minutes, and it wasn't until DH spoke to her manager that anyone acted like they cared at all.

There were a lot of people in the FP kiosk line complaining. Clearly they for the most part hadn't made plans in advance. There was a lot of complaining on the trip back to the contemporary that at some point Disney has to quit selling tickets because nobody can ride anything without a FP. I am not sure of my plans to go back but if we do it will be super low crowd days only. I shouldn't have to wait in line for 80 minutes for the freaking teacups.

 

[maxiesmom]

The key to not waiting in line is still to get to the park at opening time.

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

The key to not waiting in line is still to get to the park at opening time.

True, but there are only so many rides you can do in the first hour or two. And the return of an actual rope drop just made things more difficult. We made rope drop almost everyday. At DHS and Epcot, there are so few major attractions that the lines build up really quickly. We rode Soarin at rope drop, by the time we were done, the standby wait was already 60 minutes. We say 40 minute waits for Livin with the Land and 50 minute waits for Star Tours. Even the People Mover had a 15 minute wait. We've never seen wait times like that before and we usually go over the same time period.

We still had a great time, but we had a longer than average stay. Most families don't have the same luxury of time we did.

 

[Bon1423]

The key to not waiting in line is still to get to the park at opening time.

Obviously that just affects early morning. The park is open all day and most of the night. I fail to understand why Disney remains so insanely popular with these wait times. Everything was an hour plus. I am not sure if we plan to return. We really enjoyed animal kingdom, just wish it had more rides.

 

[maxiesmom]

Obviously that just affects early morning. The park is open all day and most of the night. I fail to understand why Disney remains so insanely popular with these wait times. Everything was an hour plus. I am not sure if we plan to return. We really enjoyed animal kingdom, just wish it had more rides.

Please dont exaggerate to make your point. I have only been back from WDW 4 days. Waits are not all an hour plus. Using FP and not waiting in any line over 25 minutes I was able to ride everthing I wanted, some rides like Expedition Everest, Space Mountain, and Splash Mountain multiple times.

 

[Bon1423]

Lol yes they were. We saw things over an hour for smaller rides like the teacups or dumbo. It's a small world was still on a two hour wait at 8 or 9. Glad you had a better experience but like I posted in another thread, we were there last Wednesday with SIX FP and still only got on 10 rides.

 

[Bon1423]

That was at MK, we did AK and it was much less awful

 

[maxiesmom]

It could be in part because I follow EasyWDW recommendations for park days. They usually tell you to avoid MK on days they don't have a party as everyone floods in to take advantage of the extended hours.

 

[Love Tink]

Obviously that just affects early morning. The park is open all day and most of the night. I fail to understand why Disney remains so insanely popular with these wait times. Everything was an hour plus. I am not sure if we plan to return. We really enjoyed animal kingdom, just wish it had more rides.

Well, it may not be obvious to you, but of course it affects more than the first hour.

Most people, when arriving, head straight to a handful of attractions. If you have already finished those attractions, you will be moving on to the second tier of attractions - which will have accumulated some crowds, but aren't fully busy yet. By the time the later arrivers move to the second tier, you will be on the third tier (things that really don't get lines) or eating lunch (and having no problem finding a seat). Then, while the late arrivers eat lunch...well, you get the idea. Arriving early isn't just about the first hour and the headliners - it is about getting to Haunted Mansion and Star Tours and DINOSAUR and Mission Space when they still don't really have lines.

Of course, on crazy busy days (like a non-party day in October), everything gets more crowded. But for 75% of the year, at most parks, getting there early and staying ahead of the crowds is a very effective strategy that makes the entire day - or at least until the mid afternoon - much easier.

 

[mastermind307]

We just returned yesterday from a week stay (Oct. 10-17). Our MBs worked perfectly, never had any issues. Received a text saying our room was ready when I was on ME. Went straight to our room and DD MB opened the door. So nice to be able to go straight to the room.

Crowds did seem heavy to me. The worse day was Monday (Columbus Day). We went to HS and I knew it was going to be crowded, but it was more crowded than I expected. It didn't help that because of bus issues we didn't get to the park until almost 10:00. I've never been when it's been that crowded and can understand why people would be miserable if they didn't know any different. If we hadn't had a lunch ADR for Sci-Fi, I think we would have skipped HS altogether. We used a FP for TSM and Star Tours, met Mike and Sully from Monsters Inc, ate at Sci-Fi and then we left.

The rest of our days were good. It was crowded, but manageable since I had planned things out. We went to AK on Sunday and it was ok until about 11:00 and then the pathways became clogged. It was hard to get through certain areas, but it seemed that construction walls took up some space and made the walkways narrow. MDE did stop working Wednesday afternoon and that was a little frustrating,but it all worked out. I was able to get extra FPs at EPCOT and MK. The best days were at MK, we arrived early (had an early ADR at Crystal Palace one day) and got a lot done by noon. When the crowds started to build we used our FPs and did less popular attractions. We did go to MK on party days because we weren't interested in the nighttime entertainment.

Buses were great except for when we were trying to get to HS. We never waited more than 10 minutes for one and for the most part they weren't too crowded. Then again, we left the parks early afternoon and we stayed at VWL and used the boat to and from the MK.

Overall we had a great vacation. I do like to plan and had everything planned out months in advance. I don't think we would have had as good a time if I hadn't planned our days like I did.

 

[HopperFan]

Please dont exaggerate to make your point. I have only been back from WDW 4 days. Waits are not all an hour plus. Using FP and not waiting in any line over 25 minutes I was able to ride everthing I wanted, some rides like Expedition Everest, Space Mountain, and Splash Mountain multiple times.

Just back as well and spent several days in the Magic Kingdom, both party and non-party days. We never saw these kind of wait times. The longest was 7DMT and most times when we walked past it was 60 minutes. PP was it's usual long wait as well. I saw HM hit 40 minutes at one time but it was after a parade, most the time it was around 25 minutes. Many of the rides were practically walk on like Barnstormer, Dumbo, Teacups, Tiki Birds, Small World .... are they thrill rides, no but still fun. We also practically walked on to Under the Sea, Pirates and Splash Mountain.

Disney is working hard at its goal of "no slow season" and combined with the better economy it's working. The days of having the park to yourself are over and of course that means it will no longer be fun for everyone. With theme parks come lines and with spending a large wad of money on vacation comes planning. We plan like crazy for a cruise (just went on one in Sept) because we only have so many hours to do all that we want to do, when planning an international trip we plan forever to make sure we do all we want to do efficiently, economically and still cover it all. Unless you are local or there very regularly, planning is a necessity. Again, if that isn't your type of vacation, then WDW isn't a good choice. Non-planners, non-researchers will probably come back with negative reviews.

Regarding the OP's co-worker .... and their MB ... do they glitch sometimes, yes, they are cheap pieces of electronics. That said I have 14 of them all active and wear different ones on different days. I have never had issues with gates, doors, DDP, FP+, tickets .... not even using an old one from home the moment I arrived with never going to the front desk. I LOVE being able to change FP+ on the fly when I see a short line for one I have. Last trip (a week ago) I changed my FP+ many times, in the parks and loved having that rolling one at the end. For that many MB problems to happen to this one person ...... sounds like a user issue.

 

[Bon1423]

It could be in part because I follow EasyWDW recommendations for park days. They usually tell you to avoid MK on days they don't have a party as everyone floods in to take advantage of the extended hours.

We would've loved to avoid MK on the non party day but it wasn't really possible as Wishes was a must do.

Well, it may not be obvious to you, but of course it affects more than the first hour.

Most people, when arriving, head straight to a handful of attractions. If you have already finished those attractions, you will be moving on to the second tier of attractions - which will have accumulated some crowds, but aren't fully busy yet. By the time the later arrivers move to the second tier, you will be on the third tier (things that really don't get lines) or eating lunch (and having no problem finding a seat). Then, while the late arrivers eat lunch...well, you get the idea. Arriving early isn't just about the first hour and the headliners - it is about getting to Haunted Mansion and Star Tours and DINOSAUR and Mission Space when they still don't really have lines.

Of course, on crazy busy days (like a non-party day in October), everything gets more crowded. But for 75% of the year, at most parks, getting there early and staying ahead of the crowds is a very effective strategy that makes the entire day - or at least until the mid afternoon - much easier.

I'm aware of how the theory works but we are talking about a non party day in October, so arriving early doesnt help much.

Just back as well and spent several days in the Magic Kingdom, both party and non-party days. We never saw these kind of wait times. The longest was 7DMT and most times when we walked past it was 60 minutes. PP was it's usual long wait as well. I saw HM hit 40 minutes at one time but it was after a parade, most the time it was around 25 minutes. Many of the rides were practically walk on like Barnstormer, Dumbo, Teacups, Tiki Birds, Small World .... are they thrill rides, no but still fun. We also practically walked on to Under the Sea, Pirates and Splash Mountain.

Disney is working hard at its goal of "no slow season" and combined with the better economy it's working. The days of having the park to yourself are over and of course that means it will no longer be fun for everyone. With theme parks come lines and with spending a large wad of money on vacation comes planning. We plan like crazy for a cruise (just went on one in Sept) because we only have so many hours to do all that we want to do, when planning an international trip we plan forever to make sure we do all we want to do efficiently, economically and still cover it all. Unless you are local or there very regularly, planning is a necessity. Again, if that isn't your type of vacation, then WDW isn't a good choice. Non-planners, non-researchers will probably come back with negative reviews.

Regarding the OP's co-worker .... and their MB ... do they glitch sometimes, yes, they are cheap pieces of electronics. That said I have 14 of them all active and wear different ones on different days. I have never had issues with gates, doors, DDP, FP+, tickets .... not even using an old one from home the moment I arrived with never going to the front desk. I LOVE being able to change FP+ on the fly when I see a short line for one I have. Last trip (a week ago) I changed my FP+ many times, in the parks and loved having that rolling one at the end. For that many MB problems to happen to this one person ...... sounds like a user issue.

Again I am not exaggerating the wait lines on the non party day last week. Easy WDW even has them listed and a detailed post going through them. Not sure when u were there but for the Wednesday Dumbo, for example, didn't get down to 15 minutes until after 9pm.
I agree the non researchers will come away with negative views and it stinks. I did plenty of research and STILL had an awful time.

 

[maxiesmom]

We would've loved to avoid MK on the non party day but it wasn't really possible as Wishes was a must do.



I'm aware of how the theory works but we are talking about a non party day in October, so arriving early doesnt help much.



Again I am not exaggerating the wait lines on the non party day last week. Easy WDW even has them listed and a detailed post going through them. Not sure when u were there but for the Wednesday Dumbo, for example, didn't get down to 15 minutes until after 9pm.
I agree the non researchers will come away with negative views and it stinks. I did plenty of research and STILL had an awful time.

That Wednesday MK was the park to avoid. Easy stated to go to MK in the evening after visiting another park that morning. If you didn't have park hoppers they say you should have arrived by 8:30 and left by 1:00, as the lines would be long. If you knew all of this, and chose to go anyway, I'm not surprised you were stuck in lines. Arriving early still would have helped, as the first 90 minutes most rides (not talking 7DMT) are a walk on.

 

[Boopuff]

I just got back Oct 10-15 and our day at AK (Saturday) was ok. I'd say crowd level was around 5. We did have FP for Everest, Safari and Kalhi. It rained too so that helped disburse the crowd. We avoided EP on the weekend and Mon. Columbus day figuring the F&W would be crazy. Went to HS on Sunday. Waited 40min. for GMR. Couldn't get FP for TS. Did ride TT and RRC with FP. We got additional FP for Indiana Jones (what the heck may be the last year for it!) and my daughter was called on stage!! Crowds were just a bit heavy again I"d say 5/6. Attempted MK on Columbus day. Tackled our FP and then left. It was really busy. I'd give it a 8/9. Spent two days at f&w crowded but since EP is so big it didn't seem too bad. Overall I was a bit surprised how busy it was. When we checked into the Poly we were told that the resort was sold out! Next trip is early Dec. I'm hoping it's a little slower...

 

[crostorfer]

October is just a crowded month now.

This.

Let's add the latter half of September to that too. There is no such thing as an "off season" any longer.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I am here now and having magic band issues. After two trips to the resort desk over 2 days and finally can get into my room with the magic band but still unable to charge to my room.
Here's hoping the third time is the charm.

In midday, waits for rides have been long in the parks I have done so far. Luckily I was prepared for it but it is getting annoying sometimes. I am taking a break from the parks tonight and hopefully after a good nights sleep, I can refrain from wanting to smack the next person who either runs over my heel with a stroller or stops dead in front of me - both happened in Epcot today more than once since everyone is on their phones all time thanks to my disney experience.

I'm off to see if can get my magic band fixed for charging....

Figured I would pop back in and mention that after the 3rd time trying to be able to get my magic band to allow charging and it never worked, I gave up messing with it and just used my credit card.

I'm glad to be home now - it was definitely busier at Disney World than I'm used to. I've got a short 2 day trip in December and will spend the rest of the time at Universal which I'm really looking forward to.

Happy planning to all who have upcoming trips!

 

[linzbear]

Well, it may not be obvious to you, but of course it affects more than the first hour.

Most people, when arriving, head straight to a handful of attractions. If you have already finished those attractions, you will be moving on to the second tier of attractions - which will have accumulated some crowds, but aren't fully busy yet. By the time the later arrivers move to the second tier, you will be on the third tier (things that really don't get lines) or eating lunch (and having no problem finding a seat). Then, while the late arrivers eat lunch...well, you get the idea. Arriving early isn't just about the first hour and the headliners - it is about getting to Haunted Mansion and Star Tours and DINOSAUR and Mission Space when they still don't really have lines.

Of course, on crazy busy days (like a non-party day in October), everything gets more crowded. But for 75% of the year, at most parks, getting there early and staying ahead of the crowds is a very effective strategy that makes the entire day - or at least until the mid afternoon - much easier.

Exactly this. Oct 17 was our last day and the kids chose MK because they wanted to do Splash. Best I could find for FP a day out was kind of overlapping at 11:20 (we have to ride swap anyway, so some non overlapping was fine for us). It was not a party night and crowds were expected to be huge, as the park opened at 8 - not for EMH. We arrived at 8:09, took pictures on Main St, and headed to Peter Pan (posted 25 min wait, actual 10 min). Then in order with no FP: carousel, pooh, small world, buzz (posted 5, actual 10), dumbo (no wait, but the kids played in the play area for 15-20m just because), little mermaid, then to Splash for our staggered FPs (the baby conveniently fell asleep so he wasn't bored by rider swap). Then Pecos Bill for lunch (slightly before noon, small lines to order), Pirate Adventure (no one was in there at all), ice cream, and out of the park at about 1:30.

 

[MA4MICKEY]

I was there last Wednesday & I can say for certain MK was insane! We researched a ton for our trip- saw Oct was a good month with moderate crowds, especially if you go on a weekday and avoid Columbus Day weekend. We saw 1h15min wait times

 

[MA4MICKEY]

The Disney app was down at times & getting fast passes was difficult. There was even a 45 minute wait at midnight go get on the monorail! This is no exaggeration- the sign said 45 minutes. Now it did move quicker than expected but I've been to Disney many times & have never seen it like it was on 10/14. We still took it all in & made the best of it & loved it but just want to let other know that it was extremely crowded. Our cab driver told us