Are Crowds lower than normal this summer??

[mbtohill]

I've been reading anecdotal reports that crowds are "relatively" low for the middle of summer..pictures of empty gift shops in MK soon after opening...20 minute Soarin' waits an hour after opening...those kind of things.....even Touringplans is forecasting 4's and 5's for crowd levels. Anyone care to report on their experiences this summer? Is everyone holding off on trips until after Star Wars opens?? We arrive next Monday 8/5 and I'm hoping the apparent trend continues through 8/14!

 

[monothingie]

I've been reading anecdotal reports that crowds are "relatively" low for the middle of summer..pictures of empty gift shops in MK soon after opening...20 minute Soarin' waits an hour after opening...those kind of things.....even Touringplans is forecasting 4's and 5's for crowd levels. Anyone care to report on their experiences this summer? Is everyone holding off on trips until after Star Wars opens?? We arrive next Monday 8/5 and I'm hoping the apparent trend continues through 8/14!

Was there 7/25-7/29. All the parks except for Epcot were quite busy. Seems like the discount packages are having an effect. It’s the only reason why I decided to go.

 

[YankeeMouse]

We were there 7-27 to 7-30 so a weekend in that time. We found all the walkways in MK, DHS and Epcot to be emptier than usual for summer, not having to stop and twist and turn to get around people. But the rides seemed to have the usual summer wait times.

 

[Driver]

I've been reading anecdotal reports that crowds are "relatively" low for the middle of summer..pictures of empty gift shops in MK soon after opening...20 minute Soarin' waits an hour after opening...those kind of things.....even Touringplans is forecasting 4's and 5's for crowd levels. Anyone care to report on their experiences this summer? Is everyone holding off on trips until after Star Wars opens?? We arrive next Monday 8/5 and I'm hoping the apparent trend continues through 8/14!

From a day to day perspective it varies with big swing. An example is this past Sunday MK parking lot was way low compared to normal. I was tempted to go after my shift but decided it was to hot. It's not unusual for MK to be slow on a Sunday afternoon. Yet just a few days earlier on Wednesday it was very busy. To me on average we are about the same week to week.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

I was there I early to mid June. Found the ride wait times to be typical, I didn't feel like the walkways were super crowded at MK or Epcot, but definitely busier than usual at DHS AND AKL but with newer attractions that makes sense. I think maybe the heat has something to do with it. Mid day crowds were lower than evening crowds it seemed.

 

[DreaminaboutDisney]

I was there last week and I am going to go with a hard NO. Over 120 minutes for every ride in Hollywood studios except Star Tours. Left and went to Epcot in the middle of the day and spent 90 minutes in the mission space line. I Got on test track and Soarin relatively quickly but I was also by myself. Magic Kingdom was between 90 and 120 minutes for most of the popular rides the day I went there. I have been the past 2 summers in July and it was much worse this year. I also think that the parades and day shows aren't drawing as much attention as they should be.

 

[Hcalvert]

I was there last week and I am going to go with a hard NO. Over 120 minutes for every ride in Hollywood studios except Star Tours. Left and went to Epcot in the middle of the day and spent 90 minutes in the mission space line. I Got on test track and Soarin relatively quickly but I was also by myself. Magic Kingdom was between 90 and 120 minutes for most of the popular rides the day I went there. I have been the past 2 summers in July and it was much worse this year. I also think that the parades and day shows aren't drawing as much attention as they should be.

I agree with you. I was in MK early to mid July and the FP lines were ridiculous. Splash was lined up all the way to Pecos Bills. I never saw that before and it was not due to a shut down. I could walk around, but the majority of the rides had long wait times. Same with DHS. EP and AK were a little better other than the usual rides that always have long wait times.

 

[CLEtoWDW]

When we went during the first week of June I noticed that crowds thinned our way earlier than normal. From about 5 pm and beyond (especially at EPCOT) the crowds were drastically reduced and wait times were quite reasonable.

 

[Greg in TN]

All these comments about how the queues for the rides were LONG, but the walkways were not crowded, make me think two things: either, 1. EVERYBODY was in line for a ride & not walking elsewhere, or 2. Disney was adjusting staffing levels (& numbers of ride vehicles where that's possible) to keep lines long even when attendance was light.

 

[Hcalvert]

All these comments about how the queues for the rides were LONG, but the walkways were not crowded, make me think two things: either, 1. EVERYBODY was in line for a ride & not walking elsewhere, or 2. Disney was adjusting staffing levels (& numbers of ride vehicles where that's possible) to keep lines long even when attendance was light.

I guess I should have shared that I was only in the parks before lunch and after dinner. I left in between because it was getting too crowded and hot for me. It took me until day 6 before I got hit by a wheelchair or stroller, which is a record for me. So, it seemed not as crowded. It probably was, but the heat index (over 110 some days) convinced me to leave more than the crowds.