What was going on with the crowds at MK last night?

[LilyWDW]

WOW! That's a trifecta: Columbus Day holiday, 4 out of 7 day party week, AND an almost extinct after midnight EMH. I bet it came close to Christmas day crowds.

Well there ya go! Seems pretty dang logical to me. If I didn't want crowds no WAY would I have been at Magic Kingdom on a night like that!!

 

[CAS239]

Pretty much the norm year round. What you would consider a 9 a few years ago is now basically a 5 or 6.

We go for a day or two about once a month. I could probably count on one hand the amount of days over about the past 3 years where I thought "wow these crowds are pretty low".

Was just there at the end of September and crowds were just as big as what you experienced. It's a small world 45 min, Pirates 45, Splash and Big thunder 80, Little Mermaid 30. There's very rare times nowadays where the crowds are low at WDW.

And don't put a ton of stock into crowd calendars

 

[DVCcurious]

The Economy has significantly improved in the last 2 years so more people can afford Disney.

We currently have the lowest unemployment rate since WW2.

If you want low crowds go during a recession. Oh 2009 how I miss you!

 

[SarahC97]

We were there in 2016 on this same Wednesday and I've never personally seen MK so crowded. This isn't unusual and it's not a surprise.

 

[NancyIL]

The Economy has significantly improved in the last 2 years so more people can afford Disney.

We currently have the lowest unemployment rate since WW2.

If you want low crowds go during a recession. Oh 2009 how I miss you!

I was remembering just today that 2009 was the year when you could get into a WDW theme park for free on your actual birthday! For those of us who had annual passes, we received a gift card in the amount of a one-day park ticket - which was around $80.

 

[Look_Alive]

I was in the Hurricane Michael path and I personally closely know four families that “evacuated” to Disney. It’s a VERY popular place to evacuate to if you live in the Florida Panhandle. Coupled with a holiday weekend (Columbus Day), fall school breaks in other states, plus the general craziness of October and the Halloween Party, I can definitely see why there were insane crowds.

 

[NavyDad]

WOW! That's a trifecta: Columbus Day holiday, 4 out of 7 day party week, AND an almost extinct after midnight EMH. I bet it came close to Christmas day crowds.

MK EMH should be called Extra Crowded Hours.

 

[sharonabe]

MK EMH should be called Extra Crowded Hours.

Now it is, but when they used to regularly close at 11:00 or midnight and EMH ran to 1:00 and 2:00 a.m., MK EMH was golden. Just like most people don't want to get up early on vacation and that makes early EMH relatively quiet, those with little kids and even some older kids don't make it much past midnight which would make those last one-two hrs SWEET.

 

[DWFamilyof6]

I have many friends in Disney this week for fall break. I also have a handful that were in Panhandle for the week and then with mandatory evacuations went to Disney.

 

[JohnneeO]

For at the least the last three years, there has been one week in October with MNSSHP scheduled for Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. That Wednesday has always been super crowded. Folks look at the park hours, and say "I'll make my Wednesday my MK day, because they have longer hours, and I will get more time in the park."

It's not rocket science. If you can remember, look at the MNSSHP schedule for 2019 when it is announced in the spring, you will see the same thing.

 

[TiggerDoc]

First timer here - we just arrived yesterday. We went to magic kingdom for a few hours last night and were blown away by the crowds. Anyone have theories on why a Wednesday in October would have crowds of a 9/10? Is that all from people traveling here because of the hurricane?

We still had a great time, thanks in large part to the advice on this board. Like I said, we are first timers and my family of six managed to get great spots on the tape line for fireworks viewing on a 9/10 night. I know that would never have happened without the advice of this group - so thank you! I just want to see if we should adjust our expectations as far as how much we can get done for the rest of our week here.

 

[TiggerDoc]

First timer here - we just arrived yesterday. We went to magic kingdom for a few hours last night and were blown away by the crowds. Anyone have theories on why a Wednesday in October would have crowds of a 9/10? Is that all from people traveling here because of the hurricane?

We still had a great time, thanks in large part to the advice on this board. Like I said, we are first timers and my family of six managed to get great spots on the tape line for fireworks viewing on a 9/10 night. I know that would never have happened without the advice of this group - so thank you! I just want to see if we should adjust our expectations as far as how much we can get done for the rest of our week here.

 

[TiggerDoc]

We were at MK on Wednesday afternoon...had fast pass for Haunted Mansion for the 1:00 hour...the fast pass line extended to the Riverboat dock! the place was as just packed..long lines for everything,including the Peoplemover.... the Railroad had a line waiting inside the station... we left as we are regular visitors..feel bad for the first timers .No doubt all the MNSSHP during the week contributed to the situation.We attended the party on Thursday and I vow this was the last time..they are selling too many tickets, just not worth it. And with price of the Mickey bar now at a ridiculous $5.75 I only saw a single person with one at the MK... have been here since Tuesday and didn't see a single one at the other parks...just maybe folks have had enough of crazy prices

 

[anniemae]

We were at MK on Wednesday afternoon...had fast pass for Haunted Mansion for the 1:00 hour...the fast pass line extended to the Riverboat dock! the place was as just packed..long lines for everything,including the Peoplemover.... the Railroad had a line waiting inside the station... we left as we are regular visitors..feel bad for the first timers .No doubt all the MNSSHP during the week contributed to the situation.We attended the party on Thursday and I vow this was the last time..they are selling too many tickets, just not worth it. And with price of the Mickey bar now at a ridiculous $5.75 I only saw a single person with one at the MK... have been here since Tuesday and didn't see a single one at the other parks...just maybe folks have had enough of crazy prices

Apparently not since it was so darn crowded. No matter what Disney does, people will FLOCK there. It's like there is no limit. No matter how high the prices go, no matter how many people they cram in, no matter how much they oversell the ticketed events, no matter how long the lines are, people will ALWAYS go. It's like for every person who says, "I've had enough and I'm not going anymore!" There are 50 people who say, "I'm going!"

 

[shh]

Now it is, but when they used to regularly close at 11:00 or midnight and EMH ran to 1:00 and 2:00 a.m., MK EMH was golden. Just like most people don't want to get up early on vacation and that makes early EMH relatively quiet, those with little kids and even some older kids don't make it much past midnight which would make those last one-two hrs SWEET.

Have many fond memories of those 2am emhs - we were dead tired, but darn it...we weren't leaving...nothing like wandering around frontier land and back by the haunted mansion - eerily dead quiet - seeing NO ONE in front of you or behind you: you really felt like you had the entire park to yourself.

 

[Mimifree]

We were there and I have never seen that night so crowded. That was our third time in four years going on that particular Wednesday night. The crowds are usually pretty bad until the fireworks. But it never calmed down. We finally left around 11:00 when it was clear the crowds were not getting better. They might have gotten better for EMH but at that point we were worn down. I was planning to ride the People Mover until crowds got better but it was down for hours. Two cast members I spoke to said it was more crowded than normal as well. One speculated that it was the effects of the hurricane. I don’t think they expected it to be that crowded. Last year that day had a midnight closing with EMH until 2:00 am. We stayed until closing and rode countless rides. I think it was a combination of factors but I think the hurricane escapees probably sent it over the edge.

 

[Katie Dawn]

Many parents no longer hesitate to take their children out of school for a week for vacations (as an elementary teacher, I see this firsthand).

Many school systems also have week long Fall Breaks in October nowadays.

 

[Frances999]

Been here a week. Worst crowds we’ve ever seen. Everywhere is insanely busy. We usually visit during summer or the holidays. Will never return in October again; these crowds are no fun.

 

[disneyworldsk]

never even considered also (in addition to conventions, f&w, hurricane effects, etc.) that also colleges (not just local public systems) also have fall breaks of a four day weekend in october or more time. Now that my kids are in that 'system' of college life I see most of them from all over get off time in October. So that could be added in here too.

 

[KCanuck]

It was a madhouse that night. I was prepared for the crowds and I really wanted to try to stay until 1am because we’ve never done that before. We did a FP, then CoP, a FP, then Philharmagic, a FP. That got us away from the crowds for breaks sitting watching those shows. By 11 things improved so we did a few walk ons but we gave up on PP. It was our first experience with a really busy park but it’s manageable.