Where are all the crowds?

[CBMom01]

This is the same as where I live. Schools here don't require masks this year and numbers are just as low as schools with them of similar size. We have jammed packed class rooms too. There are so many things I can do now that don't require a mask, and many of them never did. This includes capacity indoor events and more.

I still don't think Disney will keep them around much longer. There whole staff will be fully vaccinated soon as is and they are still the only theme park in florida that brought them back after the drop and the other parks haven't seen any negative consquence.

I’ll cancel and never go back if they drop the mask rules. I’m certainly not alone in that. Might not matter to Disney but I don’t think they’re so craven as to drop the indoor mask rule any time soon.

 

[FlipHipster]

Crowd levels of 1 are great but just a reminder that a lot of people are still in the parks, it’s just the waits are low. I used to think a 1 meant it would feel like we had the park virtually to ourselves. This isn’t the case, the people will be there, the waits will just be reasonable.

This link is a great resource for seeing actual wait times. Use the date options to choose recent dates: https://www.thrill-data.com/waits/chain/wdw/2021/10/07/2021/10/07

This. Remember that there is no FP+ anymore so actual SB times are probably (definitely) lower than they were before. So if TP is using wait times to predict crowd levels and SB lines are moving faster, the crowd level for TP will be lower even though the park may feel "crowded".

It's tough to judge crowd levels by hotel/reservation availability. Disney controls this and only they know wether they are hitting their numbers or not. Generally I assume that if they aren't offering incentives or perks to draw people in, then they are hitting the numbers they want and the crowds are where they want them to be.

 

[OhBother1984]

I’ll cancel and never go back if they drop the mask rules. I’m certainly not alone in that. Might not matter to Disney but I don’t think they’re so craven as to drop the indoor mask rule any time soon.

And look how many people in the spring were convinced they weren't going to drop outdoors or anything till at least 2022 or beyond.

It will be gone again, and probably on the sooner side since the the reasoning was due to being in a red zone by the CDC which with dropping numbers shouldn't be long till florida is low risk again.

Actually there are many that cancelled when they brought the mask rules back. It goes both ways.

 

[SCDisneyfanatic]

I just got an email from touringplans crowd calendar and our week has dropped significantly. The new crowd tracker is HS a 1-4 every day, Most every other park is a 1. Each park has dropped from a 3-5 to a 1. Are crowds really down that much? Not sure I believe it, but really hoping it is correct.
Other weeks looking similar?
Is Disney attendance really down that much? This soon after the 50th? I really expected it to be packed, but happy if its not.

What week are you going? We will be there 24-28 October. Any info on the projected Crowds that week?

 

[gharter]

What week are you going? We will be there 24-28 October. Any info on the projected Crowds that week?

We are the week before and just got the update yesterday.

 

[SCDisneyfanatic]

We are the week before and just got the update yesterday.

Thanks! Hopefully those same numbers are in the cards for us too! Have a great time...leave us some popcorn and ice cream!!

 

[Dakota731]

I’ll cancel and never go back if they drop the mask rules. I’m certainly not alone in that. Might not matter to Disney but I don’t think they’re so craven as to drop the indoor mask rule any time soon.

I don’t think mask are going to be required forever at WDW. Universal, Six Flags, and Hersheypark have no mask mandates so not sure why Disney would be the only one to require them

 

[OhBother1984]

I don’t think mask are going to be required forever at WDW. Universal, Six Flags, and Hersheypark have no mask mandates so not sure why Disney would be the only one to require them

Disneys staff will be all fully vaccinated within in the month, right around when the modified meet and greets start and I honestly think indoor masks will be dropped by then. I mean a social distance pictures with a princess in no masks with guests in one is going to be quite ridiculous.

 

[katyjeka]

I’ll cancel and never go back if they drop the mask rules. I’m certainly not alone in that. Might not matter to Disney but I don’t think they’re so craven as to drop the indoor mask rule any time soon.

Its such a confusing time. We know several people who have cancelled their trips and have to intention on going back until they drop the mandate.

 

[Punkrockbebop]

It’s been quite a trying 18 months, and very stressful. Let‘s keep that in mind and try to be thoughtful with each other as we keep to the discussion about theories about the crowds in the parks and resorts. I’m sure we all have our own reasons for going or not going and opinions on masks, but it’s been such an interesting discussion, so far, and I’d like to keep it going.

 

[AnnaKristoff2013]

I don’t think mask are going to be required forever at WDW. Universal, Six Flags, and Hersheypark have no mask mandates so not sure why Disney would be the only one to require them

One of the few things Disney has done right as a family friendly destination that caters to an age group that is not yet eligible for the vaccine. They might drop it when the youngest kids can get vaccinated but I have to imagine that's at least part of the calculus.

 

[OhBother1984]

One of the few things Disney has done right as a family friendly destination that caters to an age group that is not yet eligible for the vaccine. They might drop it when the youngest kids can get vaccinated but I have to imagine that's at least part of the calculus.

Remember parents have the choice to take their kids to disney with or with out mask rules in place and same true with the vaccine.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Please keep this conversation on topic of crowds and not discuss opinions on masking/not masking. Some will go because of masks others will choose to wait until masks are no longer required. Each person is entitled to their thoughts on this but mask discussion is not required.

Mask comments sharing personal opinions will be deleted.

Thanks.

 

[Airb330]

I don’t think mask are going to be required forever at WDW. Universal, Six Flags, and Hersheypark have no mask mandates so not sure why Disney would be the only one to require them

Totally agree with your first statement. Some sort of normalcy will return to life as COVID becomes endemic.

Universal, 6 flags and Hershey aren't seeing any consequences/cases because we have no robust disease surveillance in most of the country. Undoubtedly (mostly un-vaccinated) people are catching COVID at indoor locations or intensely crowded outdoor locations in these parks. We can't make the risk 0 obviously, but masks, for now, certainly help. I masked on main street a few times this week, it was pretty crowded! Overall I was very happy with the crowd levels this past week!

 

[CBMom01]

Totally agree with your first statement. Some sort of normalcy will return to life as COVID becomes endemic.

Universal, 6 flags and Hershey aren't seeing any consequences/cases because we have no robust disease surveillance in most of the country. Undoubtedly (mostly un-vaccinated) people are catching COVID at indoor locations or intensely crowded outdoor locations in these parks. We can't make the risk 0 obviously, but masks, for now, certainly help. I masked on main street a few times this week, it was pretty crowded! Overall I was very happy with the crowd levels this past week!

Well put

 

[Punkrockbebop]

can we please stay on topic and drop the mask discussion? The mods have already moved the thread once and it’s going to get shut down if it veers any further into that debate. Thank you for understanding, DIS friends.

 

[dvcgirl67]

I think the Touring Plans people have the right answer. It's Covid and Disney trying to carefully manage the numbers to maximize profits. I mean, that's what they always do, but it's likely a bit more challenging right now. I think it's like a dimmer switch....if they see demand, they'll open up more rooms, and possibly more tables in restaurants...etc. If they see an early hint of cancellations for the holiday season, they'll dial occupancy back down. But I'm sure they're also trying to balance that....if restaurants are packed, some won't feel comfortable...etc. IMO, we're going to go through another fall/winter where some people will hunker down. Hopefully we'll see travel to Disney and elsewhere get closer to 2019 levels in the spring of 2022.

 

[Stephy811]

I was pumped looking at wait times most of this week (we are going the week after next)…but today things seem much higher…hoping just a blip due to the long holiday weekend.

 

[ShelsGoingToDisney]

We are the week before and just got the update yesterday.

We're there that same week. I wonder if the new announcement of the Genie thing launching on 10/19 will change those crowd predictions with the addition of bloggers and bloggers flocking there?

 

[gharter]

We're there that same week. I wonder if the new announcement of the Genie thing launching on 10/19 will change those crowd predictions with the addition of bloggers and bloggers flocking there?

It may increase it slightly, but for the number of people at WDW, I don't think the number of vloggers, etc will have a significant effect on crowds.