Crowd Control!

real mad hatter

real mad hatter

Well-Known Member
Ive noticed when people are planning their Disney vacation.A question gets asked time and time again. What are the crowds like in blah blah blah time of year.? Is it just me or am I missing out that the parks at certain times of the year are like ghost towns.Ive had friends that have been to WDW in April,June,July,( our selfs 5 times ) August, October,and December.And they all had a great time,but all had one thing in common.Yes you guessed it,crowds.So as I start to plan my 6th Disney adventure for 2014 :( ( long way off ) It will probably be July again,but no matter what time of year I visit, I won't be asking that ever lasting question. " Whits the crowds like"?;)
 
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Figgy1

Figgy1

Well-Known Member
real mad hatter said:
Ive noticed when people are planning their Disney vacation.A question gets asked time and time again. What are the crowds like in blah blah blah time of year.? Is it just me or am I missing out that the parks at certain times of the year are like ghost towns.Ive had friends that have been to WDW in April,June,July,( our selfs 5 times ) August, October,and December.And they all had a great time,but all had one thing in common.Yes you guessed it,crowds.So as I start to plan my 6th Disney adventure for 2014 :( ( long way off ) It will probably be July again,but no matter what time of year I visit, I won't be asking that ever lasting question. " Whits the crowds like"?;)
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The crowds are always managable if you plan! And most of the time with bigger crowds you get longer park hours so it all works out in the end!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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Master Yoda

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
There are sporadic days when the parks, or a park are ghost towns, but you rarely see 2 of those days in a row anymore. There use to be particular weeks or even seasons that we constantly light on the crowds, but those days are long gone. Disney has done a very good job at filling in the attendance valleys with special events, promotions, etc. Right now the parks seem to have consistent moderate level crowds all year long with frequent peaks into the busy to packed range.
 
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real mad hatter

real mad hatter

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Master Yoda said:
There are sporadic days when the parks, or a park are ghost towns, but you rarely see 2 of those days in a row anymore. There use to be particular weeks or even seasons that we constantly light on the crowds, but those days are long gone. Disney has done a very good job at filling in the attendance valleys with special events, promotions, etc. Right now the parks seem to have consistent moderate level crowds all year long with frequent peaks into the busy to packed range.
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Cheers Master Yoda. Coming from Scotland for 14 days I'll take whatever comes at me,including my South American buddies.;)
 
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PolynesianPrincess

PolynesianPrincess

Well-Known Member
We went in November 2011 and the weekend was so super busy! MVMCP was sold out on Friday and the MK was a 10 on Saturday. Maine Street was a madhouse before Wishes started. It took us a good 10 minutes to get from Casey's Corner to Liberty Square walking in front of the Crystal Palace. But then Tuesday rolled aroud and we went back to MK and the place was DEAD. We were only there til 1:30pm due to DME picking us up that afternoon but I'd say we did in 4 1/2 hours the same amount of stuff we did in 7 hours on Saturday. It was GREAT!! There definitely isn't any super slow time anymore but you might get lucky and get a few slow days while you're there.
 
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littleroo

littleroo

Well-Known Member
I would go anytime and rarely worry about crowds. We have been often enough that we certainly know our way around. We avoid the days with extra magical hours and open the parks and get the busiest spots over with early. We go back to the resort in early afternoon. Not so much to avoid the crowds but to avoid the heat! By 5 were are on our way again.
Four summers ago we were there at the end of August and no one was there! Last August it was packed and there was an impending storm. Like Yoda said you never know. All in all we have never had a bad time:)
 
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BigRedDad

BigRedDad

Well-Known Member
I don't ask it. I simply know the exact times I will never go. If I could only go those times, I would never go.

Holidays: MLK Weekend, Presidents Day week, Spring Break, Easter, Summer (June-August), Jersey Week, Columbus Day Weekend, Thanksgiving, XMas - New Years.

I live 10 hours away. I can still take my daughter out of school. She is also on a Year Round calender (on 9 week, off 3 weeks). We can go when she is off (late Februar/early March), September, 1st 3 weeks of December.
 
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tink33

tink33

Active Member
real mad hatter said:
Ive noticed when people are planning their Disney vacation.A question gets asked time and time again. What are the crowds like in blah blah blah time of year.? Is it just me or am I missing out that the parks at certain times of the year are like ghost towns.Ive had friends that have been to WDW in April,June,July,( our selfs 5 times ) August, October,and December.And they all had a great time,but all had one thing in common.Yes you guessed it,crowds.So as I start to plan my 6th Disney adventure for 2014 :( ( long way off ) It will probably be July again,but no matter what time of year I visit, I won't be asking that ever lasting question. " Whits the crowds like"?;)
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I only asked because I'm travelling with people who have never been there. I don't want to hear from our family it was too crowded and why did we pick this time to go.Plus if there are alot of rides closed for rehab, we'll hear about that too. As someone who has been to Disney many times, I know there will be crowds. I think I'll plan a spa day and afternoon tea while I'm there to give myself a break!
 
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ILDisneyFan

ILDisneyFan

Active Member
Master Yoda said:
There are sporadic days when the parks, or a park are ghost towns, but you rarely see 2 of those days in a row anymore. There use to be particular weeks or even seasons that we constantly light on the crowds, but those days are long gone. Disney has done a very good job at filling in the attendance valleys with special events, promotions, etc. Right now the parks seem to have consistent moderate level crowds all year long with frequent peaks into the busy to packed range.
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I've been in January, February, March, September, October and November and it has ALWAYS been busy. We went the first week of November 2012 when it's supposed to be a ghost town and yeah it was packed. We went to the first and second MVMCP's and both SOLD OUT! I do remember a time though when I was younger that it wasn't very busy at all but like you said those days are long gone and I'm sure will NEVER be back. I'm glad they're busy because it shows they're thriving but at the same time sometimes it's a little annoying. I still enjoy every single day I'm there though that's for sure! Just walking down Main Street U.S.A. and being there excites me to no end, I just try to block out the massive sea of people! LOL! :)
 
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disneycouple07

disneycouple07

Well-Known Member
Knowing my way around the parks or not, I can't imagine 90 min+ wait times on rides. I'd rather look at crowd levels and go at the less crowded times! We always go to WDW in September but for our dsneymoon, we went in June and will not do that again! This year, we will be our first time going in December.
 
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Weather_Lady

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
We've been there in April (Easter Break, with crowd levels at 10/10) and October (with crowd levels at 3/10). Both times, you'd have thought that the park was practically at capacity, because the common areas, walkways, etc. were jammed with people. The difference was in wait times for attractions and food. In April, after the first hour or so we were waiting an average of 30-45 minutes for non-headliner attractions (and 45-90 minutes for headliners if we hadn't had Fastpasses, but of course we did), and had long lines at every eatery at mealtime. In October, the same attractions and restaurants had wait times of less than 10 minutes. So even though there were the same number of people "visible" in the Park in October, in reality, the crowds were much smaller, with exponentially fewer people standing [invisibly] in line for things.

Still, as a previous poster said, with careful planning, you can still get tons done even when crowds are at peak levels. The difference is that such planning is ESSENTIAL at peak crowd times, and optional when crowds are low.
 
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S

sydneymorganmom

Active Member
It also depends on your idea of crowded. There have been many times that we have gone a whole week in Jan and never waited for than 20 minutes for any ride and people were complaining about waiting. Try going on a holiday week! You don't know what waiting is! I agree, though...planning is worth it. The crowds don't seem as bad when you have a plan of action and aren't wandering aimlessly for what to do next. In my opinion if I have a choice to go during a peak time or not go I'm choosing to go every time!!
 
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tink33

tink33

Active Member
sydneymorganmom said:
It also depends on your idea of crowded. There have been many times that we have gone a whole week in Jan and never waited for than 20 minutes for any ride and people were complaining about waiting. Try going on a holiday week! You don't know what waiting is! I agree, though...planning is worth it. The crowds don't seem as bad when you have a plan of action and aren't wandering aimlessly for what to do next. In my opinion if I have a choice to go during a peak time or not go I'm choosing to go every time!!
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I completely understand what you are saying! I went with friends during spring break in college. I won't say what year but it was a long time ago before fass pass. We waited 3 + hours in line at MK. So any wait less than that is good to me. I guess I'm worried about pleasing the in laws. Any time at Disney will be a good time!
 
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real mad hatter

real mad hatter

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
tink33 said:
I only asked because I'm travelling with people who have never been there. I don't want to hear from our family it was too crowded and why did we pick this time to go.Plus if there are alot of rides closed for rehab, we'll hear about that too. As someone who has been to Disney many times, I know there will be crowds. I think I'll plan a spa day and afternoon tea while I'm there to give myself a break!
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I'am not getting at you.its a question I see here on a daily basis.I was curious myself if there was a really quiet time.:)
 
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