Capacity closings today?

[kwhdmd]

What about today?

Very interested in what the crowds are like today. My family leaves for WDW on Thursday, and Touringplans.com has projected NYE-type crowds. What are we seeing real-life? Inquiring minds want to know! I want to know!

 

[speck76]

Very interested in what the crowds are like today. My family leaves for WDW on Thursday, and Touringplans.com has projected NYE-type crowds. What are we seeing real-life? Inquiring minds want to know! I want to know!

doubtful...

The crowds will be large through this coming weekend (summer-type crowds) and then will taper off for the May tourism slump.

 

[Shaman]

Very interested in what the crowds are like today. My family leaves for WDW on Thursday, and Touringplans.com has projected NYE-type crowds. What are we seeing real-life? Inquiring minds want to know! I want to know!

Wow...that's a lot....perhaps too much.

Keep an eye out for something the forum I've linked you can go back and take a look at what the wait times and crowd levels were last year:

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=63

:wave:

 

[imagineersrock]

Yes, park attendance as a whole has definitely gone through the roof for AK standards. With the opening of Everest came something we hadn't really seen much of before: crowds pouring out of the park---At park close. Before Everest, guests usually trickled out of the park from the early afternoon and on. But now, guests are really staying in the park as long as they can, and even on nights where the park has been open until 8pm, it's been shoulder to shoulder crowds leaving the park at closing.

PS- I'm sure the Rainforest Cafe is loving this as well... They had a line out the door longer than I've ever seen before the other night.

And this is a great thing.... EE is having the affect they hoped for... I am glad to see AK's attendance is going up.... People may finally see how awesome AK really is.

I agree, Everest definitely appears to be everything the park could have hoped for...and then some. I also agree with your statement about more people appreciating AK now. I think it is a combination of word-of-mouth as well as all the new guests being drawn in by the new "Must-see" Everest.

With the increased attendance you have longer lines and more people using Fastpass, translating into either A.) Finding things to do while waiting for their return time or B.) Finding other things to do before coming back to the said attraction in hopes it will have a shorter standby. With this "free time" you have more and more people doing things like watching the Flights of Wonder bird show, enjoying the Jammin' Jungle Parade, or taking a stroll down the animal trails---trails that many return guests never even knew existed while here on their first trip!

It seems like people are finally starting to "get" what AK is all about, and are really starting to appreciate it. I'm having more and more guests coming up to me telling me that AK is the most beautiful park and that for them it is the favorite park of them all.

 

[speck76]

Yes, park attendance as a whole has definitely gone through the roof for AK standards. With the opening of Everest came something we hadn't really seen much of before: crowds pouring out of the park---At park close. Before Everest, guests usually trickled out of the park from the early afternoon and on. But now, guests are really staying in the park as long as they can, and even on nights where the park has been open until 8pm, it's been shoulder to shoulder crowds leaving the park at closing.

I noticed this during the previews.....I have been to DAK hundreds of times, and even during the peak time periods (Christmas week) the crowds leaving the park at closing were never as heavy as they are now.

With the Nemo Musical opening this fall, it will only increase the offerings of the park, and cement its ability to be a "full-day park" to the average guest.

Although I do not think we will see much addition after the Nemo musical and Asian table-service restaurant for a year or two, the park may find itself needing to increase its offerings and capacity even further just to handle the increase in crowds.

 

[Yen_Sid1]

AK has shattered the old attendance record, In fact, during this spring vacation, AK is number 2 in attendance behind only MK, which is always number 1.

 

[HauntedPirate]

doubtful...

The crowds will be large through this coming weekend (summer-type crowds) and then will taper off for the May tourism slump.

Ok, Speck, you made my week - we arrive on Sunday and are there thru next Friday. I want smaller crowds!!!

This trip could mark a first for me - I'm bringing my work laptop with me, so I may be able to post every day while on vacation, or at least put our trip experience into words each night.

Increased attendance at AK can only be a good thing overall.

 

[inDisney]

I'm with you on that one. I'm actually very glad that Mission: Space had such a long wait line, even longer than Soarin' and Test Track. Interesting.

I find it funny how people flock to certain places when they heard something bad happened there. Curiosity can get the best of us. lol.

 

[peter11435]

Well I went to AK for a bit this morning. Here were the wait times:

ITTBAB - 40 minutes
Kali - 50 minutes
Dinosaur - 60 minutes
Primevil Whirl - 30 minutes
Triceratop Spin - 10 minutes
Everest - 90 minutes
Safari - 60 minutes
Wildlife Express - 5 minutes

 

[CaptainMichael]

Well I went to AK for a bit this morning. Here were the wait times:

ITTBAB - 40 minutes
Kali - 50 minutes
Dinosaur - 60 minutes
Primevil Whirl - 30 minutes
Triceratop Spin - 10 minutes
Everest - 90 minutes
Safari - 60 minutes
Wildlife Express - 5 minutes

Ouch, what a busy day!

That is good news though!

 

[peter11435]

Ouch, what a busy day!

That is good news though!

I was able to get a Fastpass for Everest from 5:30-6:30. So I will be heading back there later.

 

[makonyy15]

I'm heading to AK for the EMH tonight from 8-11, hoping the crowds may die down a little, but it's still pretty early so I bet it won't be too much different.