Why are crowds worse in the afternoon??

[ZIPBAGS]

You always hear that in the summer people leave the parks by lunch because of the heat and crowds....Well if the parks are so bad then...why does it get so crowded then? Is it because their are a lot of commando visitors or are they just late sleepers?

 

[DemonLlama]

My guess: I think DISers are the minority. The masses do not research their Disney vacation. They go, they pay rack rates, they sleep late and show up at the park at lunch and come back telling people how all they did was wait in lines.

(Some DISers who have visited before like to sleep in, too, but they understand that it is a relax and go with the flow kind of situation.)

 

[cdpa4d]

People like to sleep-in on vacation. Most people don't like to rush either. Rushing to a park before it opens does not appeal to most people. The previous poster is right as well. Most people don't plan, just go with the flow. Getting to the parks at, or after 11:00AM is the normal flow of their vacation. We (the DIS Planners) know this and do the opposite to avoid the masses.

 

[bubba73]

Most of it is people sleeping late. Part of it is people hopping from one park to another.

 

[Elysiannn]

I agree with everyone who has posted - many are sleeping in and once at the park determined to get that days worth. I know some people trying to do two parks in one day even! Chaos!! I've found that getting up early lets you eat with smaller crowds at the food courts, get to ride the major rides a few times and lets you go back to your resort in the early afternoon when nearly everyone else is at the parks. A delightful way to enjoy Disney!!

 

[QT Pooh]

I also believe it's sleeping late AND the fact that people staying off-site underestimate the time it will take to get into the parks. Just because a hotel is 1 mile from WDW doesn't mean it will only take 1 minute to get there!!

 

[mking624]

My husband and I are the type of people who like to sleep in on vacation. We get up early all the time, so it's nice to not to HAVE to get up early. We sleep in and are usually in the parks by 11am. But we also do this with the realization that we're probably going to wait to get on a ride, etc. We don't mind...as said, we go with the flow. We're not ones to take a break in the middle of the day, so when we go to a park, we're usually there until close.

 

[nemomama]

I agree with what everyone has said, and I also think that a lot of people get there early and DON'T leave the parks after lunch. When we go we get there early and stay all day!

 

[patsal]

The off site guests usually don't get on site until closer to 11am. By the time they arrive at MK especially and take the extra transportation from the TTC get through security and sometimes pay for admission all that time is lost. On site guests who sleep in usually don't arrive until 11.