Crowd levels the week after Gay Days?

[RedDad]

First of all, I've been lurking here for a while and am glad to finally join this great forum! I'm a little reluctant for my first post to take on such a sensitive topic, but I think I have a legitimate question regarding our upcoming trip to WDW, and am hoping for some input from others who have spent time in the World immediately following Gay Days.

I feel I should pause and provide a disclaimer here - I'm not looking for anyone's views on certain lifestyles or behavior here, and don't intend to discuss my views either, which are irrelevant to this discussion. My concern is not with crowd behavior, but with crowd levels. I've done my research, and it seems like the alleged instances of bad behavior have waned in recent years, so I'm not worried about that.

I did, however, notice that the 'designated park' for June 2 (our check-in day at BCV) is Epcot, so I would think crowd levels in that park will be high that day. Probably not a good day to eat dinner in the World Showcase! Does anyone have experience staying on property in the days immediately following Gay Days? Should we expect higher crowds in the Epcot resort areas the evening of our check-in (Boardwalk for instance?). Are the crowd levels in the parks usually slightly lower in the parks immediately following this event? I appreciate any input!

 

[Weather_Lady]

I looked at the touringplans.com crowd calendar for Gay Days and after, and the crowd level at Epcot is a little higher on June 2 -- a 5.9 compared with MK's 4.0 and HS's 3.9, meaning if you want to go to Epcot, you're not going to find it packed -- just a little busier than the other parks. (In fact, June 2 is the only one of the "Gay Days" where the designated park actually has the highest expected crowd level, so my guess is that this event doesn't have a huge impact on crowd levels one way or the other.) After that, the crowd levels at each park vary within the usual ranges, with no change in the overall "resort crowd level."

In short, I don't think you'll notice that the crowds after Gay Days are noticably higher or lower... just a bit less fabulous.

 

[JIMINYCR]

A few years ago we went the week after Gay Days occurred and found the crowd levels to be what was predicted for that time of year. There were still some "couples" remaining in the parks from the Gay Days, but we had no issues with them. The heat and humidity is building at that time, and more frequent rain storms as well so be prepared for those.

 

[Weather_Lady]

The heat and humidity is building at that time, and more frequent rain storms as well so be prepared for those.

That's because, "It's Raining Men"!

 

[Gabe1]

I've been there during the Days with my family. My suggestion is to avoid pools at times during afternoon and evening. Look at the schedule, see where the pool parties for the event is and what time and avoid those pools.
Last year the event lapped into Monday too, though throughout the day less and less attendants as they were filtering out starting Sunday through Monday. Parks were fine if you are not in park of choice. Some lounges and bars throughout the property along with DTD and Boardwalk were a bit more crowded.


Here were the park levels for 2012
DateOverall
Tuesday, June 5, 2012 7 / 10
Wednesday, June 6, 2012 7 / 10
Thursday, June 7, 2012 6 / 10
Friday, June 8, 2012
6 / 10

 

[Master Yoda]

The crowds are going to be getting fairly thick during that time of year simple because schools are starting to let out and people are starting their vacations. The trend tends to continue upwards from the beginning of June until it peaks in July.

 

[RedDad]

Thanks for the input! My wife is a big Liner and fan of Touring Plans, so she's done her homework. I just wanted to get some feedback from folks who may have seen it first hand. We are used to going in the fall when crowds are lower and the weather is nicer, so we'll see how it goes. Our only trip to date outside of Oct/Nov was last August...never again.

 

[Master Yoda]

Thanks for the input! My wife is a big Liner and fan of Touring Plans, so she's done her homework. I just wanted to get some feedback from folks who may have seen it first hand. We are used to going in the fall when crowds are lower and the weather is nicer, so we'll see how it goes. Our only trip to date outside of Oct/Nov was last August...never again.

Early June is typically not as bad as early August because the tour groups have not arrived en masse yet. Just FYI....DHS will be nuts on Friday-Sunday because of SWW.

 

[case88]

My family was @ WDW for 10 day last year with Gay Days occuring in the middle of our stay - and it did not seem that there was any kind of spike in crowds on those days. I did look at the Gay Days designated park each and planned to be in a different park on those days to avoid any spike in crowd.

I had similar questions before our trip last year and someone told me that more people actually stay away from the parks because of Gay Days than the event brings into the parks.

 

[RedDad]

Early June is typically not as bad as early August because the tour groups have not arrived en masse yet. Just FYI....DHS will be nuts on Friday-Sunday because of SWW.

We actually went in late August, after school had started for most, and the crowds weren't bad. The heat was another matter. I had to carry a towel around all week, and we pretty much begged for rain every day (and got plenty). My wife really wants to do SWW, but we're not sure we want to brave the crowds.

 

[Master Yoda]

We actually went in late August, after school had started for most, and the crowds weren't bad. The heat was another matter. I had to carry a towel around all week, and we pretty much begged for rain every day (and got plenty). My wife really wants to do SWW, but we're not sure we want to brave the crowds.

I hate to say it but the heat is going to be around the same. Considering the mild winter we are currently having, I hate to think what summer is going to be like this year.

 

[disneycouple07]

We've been in June before for our disneymoon during Gay Days. I followed Touring Plans and the crowd calendar was very accurate. Follow their suggestions and go with an itinerary. I'm surprised the crowd level is only 5 because it is also Star Wars weekend at HS.

 

[RonAnnArbor]

I go every year the week after that weekend -- the crowd levels are about 4/5 daily...THIS YEAR, no matter what the touringplans say, add 10 percent, so expect crowds of 5/6 every day that week. There are plenty of people but its not "packed" like during peak. You should have no problem at any of the parks on any of the days.

 

[The Mom]

Thank you for all of your info. I believe the question has been answered.