Crowded parks?

[DisneyOutsider]

Is there a school break or something? How are all of people off from work and taking their kids out of school?!

Actual, there are quite a few school systems on a "Fall Break" right now. Schools across the states are beginning to adopt a more year-round school schedule in order to eliminate the long 3 month Summer break, which makes sense for several reasons that I won't get into here.

As a result, there are more weeks off here and there spread throughout the school year. I'm guessing that this is having a material impact on crowd levels this time of year when compared to how it has traditionally been in October.

 

[MotherofaPrincessLover]

Minnesota has a couple days off in October for MEA break. That was last week. I think a lot of families go on vacation at that time because they can go for a whole week without missing 5 days of school.

 

[Baltar]

Our school district has the entire week off for "Fall Break" this week.

 

[MICKEYEARSFL]

We were there this past Saturday and noticed the same thing. Also, we hit France when the street performers were out and that caused a huge road block. We noticed a lot of the people who "don't want to stop to watch, but walk very slowly with their heads turned." So frustrating!

The WS was definitely packed on Saturday. The rest of Epcot wasn't that bad IMO, but the WS was slammed. I was going to buy a bottle of wine from Italy, but couldn't even get into the store.

 

[WondersOfLife]

I guess the closer it gets to Halloween, the more crowded? And generally speaking, Disney, or at least MK, has always been more crowded than Universal(at least from what I have experienced).

Yes. Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween party does play a large portion in crowds... The "off season" was technically the 2nd week to 3rd week of September... It used to last all the way through October when I was little. But now.. Not so much.

 

[Prog]

I opened the MDE app, and wait times seemed fairly tame today.
Not at all like they were when we visited, which was apparently spring break for colleges, but I didn't think it was terribly crowded.

 

[JoeV]

I think too that perception of 'crowded' can be subjective. Everyone has their own tolerance levels. I used to be a season pass holder at a major theme park and I noticed that some people's definition of crowded meant not having the entire park to themselves. I also think that where you are from influences your perception. If you are from a large metro area like NY or Chicago, your idea of what a large crowd is might be different than someone who lives in a more rural area. My definition is when you have trouble navigating through crowds or have wait lines for the more mundane things like the restroom, water fountain etc, then yeah, it's crowded. On my visit, Magic Kingdom definitely fit that bill. Just buying food from a counter service was as bad as buying food from the vendor stands at halftime during an NFL game. Magic Kingdom was like halftime everywhere you went and all the time I was there.

 

[bethymouse]

We went September 2-6 just my husband and I. It was fine until the weekend! Check easy wdw.com for pretty good crowd levels, and the website is free! Crowds have been estimated at a 5-9, which is fairly crowded! The Fall seems to be a busier time of year, and then there's the holidays! Really no "slow" time to go to Disney anymore. Just go knowing you must plan accordingly. ENJOY!

 

[Minnie1986]

IT WASN'T CROWDED!!!!! I just got back last night and the parks were so not crowded! Not even for the MNSSHP! We had more than enough room to move about and do everything in each park, including Magic Kingdom. When I walked down Main Street, I was so happy I could cry. Don't get me wrong, it was nowhere near empty, but it was so much less crowded than I was expecting. Between the FastPass+ and my access card, we rode Seven Dwarfs literally everyday. Also, I finally got to experience Rockin' Rollercoaster in Hollywood Studios. My trip was amazing and I am so grateful to everyone on this board who helped me. I'm also so incredibly sad to no longer be in the happiest place on earth.

 

[danyoung56]

Check easy wdw.com for pretty good crowd levels, and the website is free!

Make sure you don't put a space in there, although this website won't let me post the link. it's easy (no space) wdw.com.

 

[StephK]

IT WASN'T CROWDED!!!!! I just got back last night and the parks were so not crowded! Not even for the MNSSHP! We had more than enough room to move about and do everything in each park, including Magic Kingdom. When I walked down Main Street, I was so happy I could cry. Don't get me wrong, it was nowhere near empty, but it was so much less crowded than I was expecting. Between the FastPass+ and my access card, we rode Seven Dwarfs literally everyday. Also, I finally got to experience Rockin' Rollercoaster in Hollywood Studios. My trip was amazing and I am so grateful to everyone on this board who helped me. I'm also so incredibly sad to no longer be in the happiest place on earth.

That's great!!! We left yesterday too & it is very sad!!! We really only had that one really packed day at MK. Our night at MNSSHP was great and we utilized late night extra hours where the park was so quiet.. We had a great trip, I'm glad you did too!!!

 

[SyracuseDisneyFan]

I went with my Dad and younger siblings in October of 2012. There were crowds, but they were tolerable.