Why was it so crowded last week?

[safaulk]

We just got back on Sunday after a 9-day stay, and I'm baffled as to why it was so crowded. The week before we went, the crowds were light, according to the posts on the boards. I was so looking forward to light crowds and having the run of DW, and it was very disappointing to walk around and see the hordes of people and the long lines at the rides. It wasn't as crowded as it would be during the summer months and holidays, but it was definitely crowded. Why was it so crowded? Anybody know?

Shel

 

[GinaGrumpyDwarf]

I'm assuming it was cuz of the FREE DINING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's why we went!!! Crowded..yes, but that wasnt our problem...TOO FRIGGIN HOT! Next year...DECEMBER!..lol

 

[k5thbeatle]

First guess would be that it is the start of F&W festival. People may have been coming down a little early for that (started 9-30).

 

[Dorisk3]

I think alot of people wanted to get in on the free dining- plus also be there for the first MNSSHP- I agree there were plenty of people milling around- but we were lucky and didn't have to wait extremely long for anything.

 

[Carol1973]

I guess everyone's experience is different. My DD and I were there from 9/24 to 10/1. We couldn't believe how low the crowds were. However, we were at the parks at opening every day. We were able to ride many rides multiple times with no waiting. We even opted for one less park day (saving the days for a future trip) because we got to see so much in our first three days. We commented that we would definitely be going in September again. It was great.

 

[Evil Queen]

We were there from the 24th to the 30th. At MK, we waited in two lines...Indy cars and Dumbo, but not more than 8 minutes. We even went on the Barnstormer twice (without getting off).

The only park we had any waits was the water parks, and still that was short.

We did take others advice and went to MK on Tuesday, due to I heard Sundays and Mondays are usually more crowded.

Sorry to hear about the crowds you encountered, that surely is not as fun.

 

[homedad]

except for our visit to AK on the 30th we thought the crowds were very light and we even did EHM, longest wait may have been 15 minutes and that was around 1ish, we only FP Soarin because that had a 40 to 70 minute wait everytime we finally made it over there.....it was a pleasant surprise how cool that ride is....oh it was too hot!!@!!

 

[Feralpeg]

I've talked to several people over the last couple of days who have been very disappointed. They thought that this was a low crowd time of year. I explained to them that the days of light crowds in October were a thing of the past. I guess they thought they were the only ones wanting to attend F&W and MNSSHP.

 

[danny1649]

It was a not crowded at all during your time frame.I think the crowds have all been picking up some during what was always before a off peak low crowd time.

 

[Beck's mom]

Wow, we were there that same week and didn't think it was crowded at ALL in the parks! We were at MK on Tuesday and walked on nearly every ride. Same with MGM on Monday. Our longest wait for a ride all week was probably 20 minutes for Soarin' and 15 minutes for Splash Mountain.

You know what I thought was crowded? Pop Century! Man that place was crowded! The lines for the buses were longer than any ride we went on! Although again we never waited more than 20 minutes for a bus, we did have to stand many times.

Friday morning we got to the Magic Kingdom 10 minutes before it opened, and we were maybe 6 feet from the rope drop. It was picking up by the time we left around 2 pm.

 

[Nank]

I didn't think it was crowded at all. We walked on almost all of the rides. We were there from 9/26 - 10/1.

 

[twotommygirl]

I just came home today. We were there from 9/27 thru 10/4. From the 27th thru the 30th, walked on rides and thoroughly enjoyed our stay. Starting on 10/1 thru today, crowds picked up tremendously from parks to bus rides. I'm so glad we had those first 4 days to do all the must-sees (numerous times). I do have to say that it wasn't unbearable, just a let down when you start off the week spoiled.

 

[Moosysmom]

I just got home, and have to agree--started at the parks on the 2nd AK wasn't bad, but MGM was a zoo, EPCOT was packed, and MK was busy too--the CM's I talked to said it the start of F&W and MNSSHP, Guest Services told me they have been booked for dinners for about 1 1/2 mos.
I left early tonite--got tired of the crowds. But it was still fun--Just fastpassed alot.
Lynn

 

[MareSINY]

We were there from 9/25 - 9/30. We thought the week started off with low crowds and low humidity. By the end of the week the crowds were increasing and so was the humidity. We noticed a ton of people checking in Thursday evening and Friday, so we assumed the increase was due to MNSSHP and Epcot's F&W festival.

We didn't mind the crowds, they were much lighter than our last trip (Easter week this year) our only real complaint was the heat, we're shooting for a colder season (January?) for our next trip.

 

[MOMOFMNM]

I've talked to several people over the last couple of days who have been very disappointed. They thought that this was a low crowd time of year. I explained to them that the days of light crowds in October were a thing of the past. I guess they thought they were the only ones wanting to attend F&W and MNSSHP.

Actually those people should have known with MNSSHP AND Food and Wine festival and free dining it would be more crowded HOWEVER We thought it was awesome!! We waited 20 min for Dumbo, and 30 min for Safari in AK, got a FP for Soarin' but when we got back it was a 20 min standby!!!! I must have planned all our parks right because we thought the crowds were light!! When we left Monday we noticed a bit more crowd, significantly more!! The busses were crowded but that was to be expected!!

KUDOS TO ALL THOSE WHO GO DURING HOLIDAY TIMES!!!!

I do not know how you all do it!!

the chef at Tepanyaki says give it a week and EPCOT will be packed for the FWF!! Next year I am planning around that one, we did not care for it with three kids in tow!! I hate wine anyway...
Why can't they have a margarita sampling?

 

[Christy93]

We were there 9/24-10/1 and thought the crowds were really low. We followed a touring plan and the only ride we waited more than 5 minutes for was the Astroribiter (ds REALLY wanted to ride). We had a 5 minute wait for Dumbo, walked onto Goofy's Barnstormer (we stayed on and rode at least 5 times in a row), FP for Soarin, Test Track, etc and only had to wait to load on the rides. We will be going back next year during the same time. It was hot, but we live in NC and it's about the same here.

 

[traci]

Why can't they have a margarita sampling?

AGREE!!!!!!!!

 

[MOMOFMNM]

We were there 9/24-10/1 and thought the crowds were really low. We followed a touring plan and the only ride we waited more than 5 minutes for was the Astroribiter (ds REALLY wanted to ride). We had a 5 minute wait for Dumbo, walked onto Goofy's Barnstormer (we stayed on and rode at least 5 times in a row), FP for Soarin, Test Track, etc and only had to wait to load on the rides. We will be going back next year during the same time. It was hot, but we live in NC and it's about the same here.

it was hotter here in Iowa than it was in FL on Monday!!!! And at least there was an ocean breeze in FL, here it was humid and stiffling!!! It felt horrible here and we are in the NORTH!!! WAAAAA I wanna go back

 

[safaulk]

Where in the world were we when the lines were so low???? I guess it wasn't too terribly bad, not as bad as I'm making it out to be. There were some rides that we were able to walk on and off of. We did Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Big Thunder Mountain, all without much of a wait. Also Rock N Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror (once - then it was crowded the rest of our trip). I just had my hopes up and was expecting even lower crowds than we experienced. I think the optimal time to go would have been the week before (Sep 18 or so), when the F&WF and MNSSHP aren't on the schedule. All in all, we did have an enjoyable trip and we toured the parks leisurely. I just was surprised at how many people were there based on the posts on the boards.

 

[engle]

We were there Tues 9/27 to Tues 10/4. I didn't find it crowded until the weekend which we expected. We found all other days to be walk ons for the rides/shows until late afternoon and even then was bearable. But, let's talk about the heat. Never again. This is the first time we have gone outside of Dec/Jan. The heat was a killer. Rather be cold.