What was with the crowds Monday 2/2?

[mike-n-jen]

We always travel the last week of Jan, first week of Feb because of the low crowds. This time (just got back) there was rain for 3 or so of the days we were there, but, for some reason, the parks were SLAMMED on Monday 2/2. Heavy traffic, long waits for rides, especially at the MK. Was there a sudden holiday declared, or some other reason for the sudden upswing in attendance on this day?

Mike

 

[jths98]

Ut Oh!!! Sorry to hear it was that crowded when you were there. The only thing I can think of is that maybe people took an extended weekend because of the superbowl.?? We are going this coming monday the 9th, and I was told that it was a slow time and that it didn't make a difference whether we went on sun, or mon. I sure hope it isn't like this next mon. I have never been to the mk when it is slower, was kinda lookin forward to it.
Well, hope your trip wasn't too bad. Hope it isn't too crowded for our trip either.

 

[DaveH]

There was a dance competition over the weekend. I wonder how many of them were still around.

 

[sue Z]

Mk had the Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady in the parade !!!!!

 

[shelleyz]

I also was wondering why last week was kinda busy. I wouldn't say it was crowded but I expected less crowds from what I had read about this time of year. There weren't really any lines though, except in Fantasyland. We did walk onto Snow white around 6:30 though one night. Most lines were like 5 minutes which was great. We rode Splash mountain 2 times in a row without getting out of our log. The longest line we waited in was at MGM for Star Tours, maybe 20 minutes. I've only been twice so I probably don't really know what crowds are at Disney.

 

[QuickGold]

I just hope this weekend is dead for my visit

 

[Mad4Dizne]

We were there MLK week and the parks were just as crowded as the last time we were there in the summer!!!!!!!!! My DH said it was due to everyone wanting out of the cold....hope he is right, as we usually like to travel in January...but now we are thinking about changing our vacation for our next trip!!!!!
Flo

 

[mcgrawfan]

We were also suprised about crowds the week following MLK weekend. There were lots of people unlike what guide books have said. The crowds are more tolerable in Jan becuase the weather is nicer than the summer, but there were still long waits at some attractions. We went to IoA and that place was DEAD!! It took us 2 hours to go through the park. We have never been there for more than 4 hours and we ride all of the rollercoasters. We decided this time that $54 per person is too much to pay for 2 hours. Later that same day we went back to MGM and there were lots of guests.

 

[tjkraz]

By all accounts, attendance at WDW is up. This is good news in many ways.

It means the economy is good (or at least improving).

It means that revenues at WDW are increasing, which should lead to longer hours, higher employment levels, and a desire to keep maintaining and expanding the parks.

But it also means that crowds are larger.

In the short term, it may seem great to stand in the middle of an empty MK and shout "where is everybody", but it doesn't exactly pay the bills. Like it or not, higher crowds is very much a good thing for the Mouse.

 

[keriannhoward]

We'll be down there this weekend and haven't been able to get a room onsite at any price. My inlaws are staying at Coronado Springs and asked to extend their stay by a day, coming in on Thursday instead of Friday and were told that there were no rooms available onsite that night in any resort. We've been calling every day to try to get a room from a late cancellation but haven't been able to get even one of the Deluxe Resort rooms. I'm really afraid it's going to be packed this weekend.

 

[SondraD11]

I'm going to be there this weekend as well. This is also the UCA High School Cheerleading weekend. Their schedule (fron the varsity.com website) is:

Friday, Feb. 6th - Squads arrive in Orlando. Partner Stunt National Championship at Magic Kingdom. “UCA Night” at Magic Kingdom.

Saturday, Feb 7th - Junior High, Freshman, Junior Varsity preliminaries and Finals. Small, Medium, and Large Varsity preliminaries and the Small and Large Varsity Coed preliminaries and finals.

Sunday, Feb. 8th - Non-Building finals, Small, Medium, and Large Varsity semi-finals and finals. This evening squads will attend the NHSCC Celebration Block Party at the Disney-MGM Studios. The celebration party is a private party with a D.J. and unlimited rides on Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™ and the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.

Monday, Feb 9th - Squads visit a Walt Disney World® Theme Park of their choice for the day.

Tuesday, Feb 10th - Squads depart Orlando.

We are arriving on Friday also and planning to start our visit in the Magic Kingdom so that my daughter-in-law can eat with the Pooh Characters at the Crystal Palace and ride Winnie the Pooh. If the park is crazy, we will hop to MGM after that. I'm not sure if they are competing at MGM or World of Sports, so I'm avoiding MGM until Monday depending on what happens to our Friday plans. I think if you are flexible and able to park hop if the crowds are too heavy, you should be fine.

Sondra

 

[tjkraz]

Sondra's schedule is pretty typical of the groups coming to WDW for cheerleading / dance competitions. They will usually compete on Saturday and Sunday, and reserve Friday and/or Monday for park visits. Count on the MK being busy both Friday and Monday since that's the one park that will tend to draw the folks who only have one or two park days.

We visited the last week of January '03. Friday was our last day at WDW, and about all we did was PS at the Crystal Palace. I can vouch for the fact that attendance was higher than we had seen any other time during our trip. The weekend we arrived there were no competitions scheduled, while the weekend we departed there were scheduled events at WWoS.

 

[keriannhoward]

Ugh well at least my 16 year old son will be happy this weekend

 

[anewvance]

My goodness, I was wondering if someone else noticed this on Monday as well. We heard at least 10 cast members at MK tell us they were completely unprepared for such crowds on Monday. It was complete madness!!! We didn't even stay, we rode the train around once and left and when we left at 11am there were still boat LOADS coming in.

So we ended up at Animal Kingdom which was busy but by no means crowded. We did see lots of dancers around...

 

[jths98]

Wow, thanks for the tips about the cheerleaders being there this coming weekend. I guess we will go to the mk on sun instead of mon. By the way the schedule looks, they will be more likely to go to mk on mon.(hopefully)::

 

[dgaston]

We too were surprised by the crowds on Monday (my birthday!). I couldn't believe that PoC had a 55 minute wait at noon!. We skipped it!.

We waited over half an hour to get into the MK from 10 to 10:30 am at the TTC waiting for ferries. The monorail wasn't running just then. We were able to do Splash, BTM, HM, Space and Buzz (2x) by 2:30 after a great breakfast at the Crystal Palace, but were astonished at all the folks everywhere. It almost looked like Christmas (not really quite that crowded).

We did see Brady before the parade, but he looked beat, didn't even wave at the crowds shouting Pats, Pats, ...

DH and I did appreciate the good weather.

In comparison, on Sunday went to IOA and US and from 11 to 5 did Hulk, Dr. Doom, Spiderman each 2x, Fire and Ice, and then Shrek, Back to the Future, and MIB (2x). Felt very empty there. We even took advantage of the Happy Hour at a couple of bars (to celebrate birthday of course LOL)

 

[mirlow]

We were at the MK and left around 11:30 it was just too busy. We got there early and did the rides we wanted to do. We went over to AK that afternoon and the crowds were lighter. There was an article in the USA today yesturday about more flights to Florida. There were also a lot of conventions going on as well. We usually go in August and the crowds seemed heavier last week than in the summer.

 

[26555]

Just a guess about crowds increasing during times that use to be slow. The 4 day FL pass has typically been available May 1 - Sept 30 but shifted this year to Jan 1 - June 6. A lot of FL residents who do not like going during the summer months may have opted for the 4 day pass this year. AND they may have decided to make a weekend of it in Jan and then again in early March to use those 4 days. It's what we did!

A FL Resident.

 

[mcgrawfan]

In the short term, it may seem great to stand in the middle of an empty MK and shout "where is everybody", but it doesn't exactly pay the bills. Like it or not, higher crowds is very much a good thing for the Mouse.

I totally agree with this!!! But isn't everyones dream to be alone at the MK?!?!

 

[wilderness01]

26555,

We were down the week before and were told by some Floridians that they were indeed there on the 4 day pass. We were there last year and this year there was a noticeable increase in the crowds. Glad it wasn't just me that noticed!