Crowd size now vs. crowd size from years past

[ScrappyTam]

It's been 9 years since our last trip to WDW. Our trip this time is taking place at about the same time we took our last trip - early Dec. I have heard that there are no *slow* seasons anymore.

In '98 we didn't walk on the rides, but the waits were maybe 10-15 min max...we all got to be in a show. So, it really wasn't all that crowded. Can I expect the crowds to be about the same now or am I in for a big surprise when we hit the parks?

 

[nickbrec]

I can't say that the crowds have gotten better or worse from years past. I have been there at least once a year, sometimes two since 1983, so the changes have seem gradual to me. I might be mistaken, but has the development of Fastpass new from '98? I can't remember back that far. But do keep in mind that Disney is the MASTER of moving large numbers of people quickly and keeping them immersed in entertainment. Every time I'm down there I run into at least 2 or 3 "mobs" of people at certain attractions. Fastpass, the red cards to measure wait times, things to keep you occupied while in the queue... they all make WDW bearable, even during the busier times. I would say however, that there are good times to go and bad times to go. Right after school is out, for example.. bad idea. I also heard late December is bad, too. A lot of people going down for Christmas and NYE..

You'll be fine... no worrys.

Nick B.
Disney Enthusiast

 

[2gether]

2 years ago

We went two years ago the first week in December and it was pretty clear. There are a lot of Brits in the parks as they seem to be doing a pretty good job bringing them in, and if you are not careful you can wind up there during the Pop Warner youth football tournament. Although I haven't had any bad experiences I would recommend staying away from the values during that week just based off others' bad comments.

Still, it is a great time to go!

 

[ScrappyTam]

FastPass was not around when we went in 98, so that's something I need to learn more about. As a matter of fact, there's lots of new stuff that's going on there since then. Should almost be like going for the first time.:xmas:

Also, fortunately for us, my travel agent let me know about the Pop Warner thing, so I knew to steer clear of the values. Yikes. :hammer:

 

[bears163]

we went the 2nd week of dec 2 years ago. was not to bad. but we also went in sept. 3 years ago & there were no waits at all. we just got back yesterday...WOW. crazy crowds in my opinion

 

[RiversideBunny]

Pop Warner Super Bowl (). Dates Dec. 2–8, 2007.
Football players and cheerleaders invade the resort for championships.

Nice people but there can be a lot of them at times and it could affect crowd levels and dining availability.

Have fun.
:xmas:

 

[bgraham34]

I noticed my trip this year was busier than last Sept. The free dining had a lot more families with kids.

 

[NTI2002]

I've been going for a long time, and I can definately say teh crowds get worse and nastier every year.

We have video from the mid eighties during Christmas time and the place is empty. you go during Christmas now, and ou can't even walk through Main Street, it's like beign stuck in Times Square on New Years

 

[Epcotfan21]

My family and I went for a weekend last December and the crowds aren't bad at all. I think the longest wait we had was 45 minutes for Soarin. You'll definitely notice a ton of British families there.

 

[DicksonGR]

I noticed my trip this year was busier than last Sept. The free dining had a lot more families with kids.

I'll second that. This year all six people in our party commented on the increase in crowds and queues compared to September the last 4 years. Nothing too drastic though.

 

[tomm4004]

Despite having 20ish hotels and 20,000 rooms, vacancies for the first week or so of December is fairly tight. Compare this to Dec 1988 when there were 3 or 4 hotels. The Caribbean had just opened and only had two villages operating. We called up that morning and stayed four nights for $69. In November 1991 we went down just when the Port Orleans opened and stayed three nights for $69, reserving the day of. There was a note in our room offering us to stay additional nights for $59. Imagine that today if there were only five or six on-property hotels! My brother and I used to go down, rent a car and just show at hotels or book the morning of or night before. It was very informal. I don't think it's like that now.

 

[primetime52]

I grew up on WDW and I've definitely noticed significant crowd increases throughout the 90's and 2000's, especially at Epcot.

The earliest crowd memories I have come from the neighborhood of the early 1990's, basically ages 6 - 9, which was when I truly fell in love with WDW. My family used to spend alot of time in Epcot, and keep in mind this was pre Test Track, pre Mission:Space, and pre Soarin'. In the early 90's we used to walk around Epcot feeling like we owned the place! Crowds were very very light and none of the rides (pretty much all dark rides back then) ever had longer than a 2 minute wait. Whenever crowds at MK got heavy, we used to return to Epcot and basically do whatever we wanted with no wait times.

The only time when Epcot used to get crowded back then was 6 or 7 pm, since MK and MGM always closed early in those days. People would funnel out of the other 2 parks and finish off their night at Epcot to watch Illuminations.

 

[bears163]

my sister & her husband are going bext week. when they booked their room at AKL it was the last one. they wanted to try another resort for a change & both the ones they picked were booked full. they called several months ago. so yeah big changes due to the DP i think. we might try Jan next time