Crowds growing in off season is HS & AK expansions too little too late?

[wdwgreek]

I go normally in the crowded dog days of August and the off season of March, pre spring break. The thing is, in the summaries objectively its more crowded, but if you know what to do, when and how the crowds disperse you can do anything you want. I never wait longer then 20 minutes for any attraction, even in August. I go on Thunder and splash at night before wishes and right as the electrical parade starts

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

I was at Magic Kingdom on Sunday the 15th and it was a madhouse. It took forever to even park our car because parking was literally backed up in all lanes back to the Auto Plaza. We had FastPasses for Thunder and Splash as well as one for Space later in the day which we ended up opting out of because after those two fastpasses and lunch everything was a 30-45+ wait. Even TTA had a line. That might not seem like much of a wait to some people but for someone like me who is used to early November and December being a respite from the insanity of Christmas-New Years it was unbelievably crowded.

What was even more surprising was this was a day they were having a Christmas party. In the past, these days have usually been less crowded because the park is only "open" until 7 with no advertised fireworks or evening parades which would usually cause people to go elsewhere.

We were there at that time too, from the 11th of Nov to the 20th. I thought the MK was more crowded, too, on the early closing days.
I felt the parks were way busier than I have ever seen them before. We usually go to WDW in the first 2 weeks or so before Thanksgiving, or the first week of Dec.

The only reason I can think of for this overcrowding is this: Epcot's popular Food and Wine, Veterans day when parents must have taken the kids out of school for this week, and I believe there was a marathon at this time too (but not too sure of this). Epcot was really crowded with the F&W crowds, even in the early daytime hours. HS was listed as a 4 on Friday the 13th, and it became a 10 during the day. What happened?

We are wondering about going to WDW in early Jan, or late March(before Easter and spring break). The only problem then is the SA tour groups in huge numbers. Anyway, yes it was way more crowded at that time than ever before, and we have been this time of year many times.

 

[WondersOfLife]

The same could also be said for Universal Studios.. Used to be empty during the fall.. Now it's slammed packed with guests, mostly in the harry potter portion.

The really weird thing about it though, was that the only attraction longer than 30 minutes was Despicable Me and Escape from Gringotts. It was very weird seeing so many people packed inside the parks with hardly any wait time for attractions.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

Here's the strange thing during my trip in Jan 2014 there was a Brazilian Tour Group that was staying at Pop Century..They decided to ALL Go to Animal Kingdom that day...This was the result of how that looked...

The other queues for the buses were all stunned seeing how massive this was. They filled up to 3 bus loads just for them!

 

[Dad 2 M & M]

The business model of WDW is charge as much as they want, build as little as possible.
Guess what people keep coming.
Why build more ...... people keep coming.
The crowds keep increasing ..... people keep coming.
Charge more .... people keep coming.

People complain how long it takes to get something new, crowds, and prices but they keep coming.

The only way anybody with any first year business degree would think it is good idea to go on a major building spree it if people stop showing up.

What you will see is what has already been announced and WDW will take their sweet time to complete even those projects.

but they keep coming. but they keep coming. but they keep coming. but they keep coming. but they keep coming. but they keep coming!!!

 

[graphite1326]

we were also there around then.
i agree, the crowds were much larger than other years when we have gone in October. we decided not to go back in Oct. anymore. going to try April again, see what that's like.

there were 60-75 minute waits for almost everything. we waited 70 minutes in PoC line. there were lines for Carousel of progress, Philharmagic, Country bear jamboree and Wedway People mover. the peoplepmover actually had someone standing outside the limit of the queue with a "line starts here" sign.

even the CMs I talked to said they couldn't figure out the sudden increase. And touring plans constantly read, "what we predicted 4. what we saw 9." it wasn't just one park or one day, we kept checking to see if we were just whining babies, or it really was that crowded. touring plans confirmed, it was that crowded.........but we were still whining babies!

Yes we got in line for the people mover at the sign that said "line starts here". I had never seen a line for the people mover. And a line for CoP. usually there is maybe a dozen people there.

 

[TXDisney]

I think it's just that there's so many websites such as this one that tell people when offseason is, so more people book then. It's all relative though, bc that means crowded times become slightly less crowded. No doubt that the expansions help with crowds thoufh

 

[Gshrout]

I whole downheartedly agree with you. It's sort of the reason I started this forum to see how people were reacting to the crowd increases. The general feel that I'm getting is most folks are feeling the same. The average WDW Trip for runs about $10K. for me and if I'm going to drop that amount of coin I expect more from Disney. My next trip is next week and if I come away unsatisfied....we will spend future family vacations somewhere else.

The business model of WDW is charge as much as they want, build as little as possible.
Guess what people keep coming.
Why build more ...... people keep coming.
The crowds keep increasing ..... people keep coming.
Charge more .... people keep coming.

People complain how long it takes to get something new, crowds, and prices but they keep coming.

The only way anybody with any first year business degree would think it is good idea to go on a major building spree it if people stop showing up.

What you will see is what has already been announced and WDW will take their sweet time to complete even those projects.

 

[Jeff456]

I remember walking on plenty of rides in 1999 and 2000 in the off season and in 2005, I've never found it quite the same since but I still think WDW does a good job managing the sheer number of guests. I still don't stand in long lines and always get to do everything I want to just perhaps not so many times as I would of in the past.

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

I whole downheartedly agree with you. It's sort of the reason I started this forum to see how people were reacting to the crowd increases. The general feel that I'm getting is most folks are feeling the same. The average WDW Trip for runs about $10K. for me and if I'm going to drop that amount of coin I expect more from Disney. My next trip is next week and if I come away unsatisfied....we will spend future family vacations somewhere else.

Besides all the reasons I previously listed as to why WDW was more crowded last 2 weeks, I thought of another one. I wonder if free dining also fills up the parks? Just wondering.

 

[drp4video]

When my daughter was in school we always had to go in summer or holiday breaks such as Christmas or Easter. Now that she is no longer a student, we have gone right after labor day and it was awesome compared to summer and holidays. This past May, I was there solo the second week of May and the waits were so manageable. It was a great time to go. I was always used to the wall to wall people in the area between Splash and the Haunted Mansion. In May, I could have rolled a bowling ball in that space in the morning and not have hit anyone. It was great!

 

[raven]

First off we can't call these new areas "expansions" any more. The parks are NOT expanded. Areas are just repurposed into other areas. That's it (New FL used to be 20k and Toontown, Avatar Land was Camp Minnie Mickey, etc). This being said, they parks have not been "expanded" at all.

Now look at the amount of rooms that were added in the past 10 years (resort and DVC). Where do all of those extra guests go when they leave their rooms? The same parks that haven't actually expanded.

Right there is the #1 reason why the crowd levels are at a maximum now. And that's all been planned by Disney.

 

[rob0519]

We were at WDW this past July and I'd never seen crowds like that in the last 20 years.

The problem is more and more people and no more room. MK wasn't expanded, just re-purposed. The economy has somewhat recovered and some people have the ability to spend money again. It now appears that with the increased crowds at MK, some of the other parks are seeing the overflow crowds.

We were at Hollywood Studios this past Sunday night and the Fast Pass line for Toy Story Mania extended all the way back to One Man's Dream. A cast member said he had not seen anything like that in his four years of working there. The next day, Monday afternoon, it took from 1:30 to 2:15 to get lunch at Pizza Planet. On Monday as well, the Fast Pass line for Star Tours extended all the back to the Back Lot Express restaurant. When we left around 3:30 completely full trams were still coming in from parking lots.

On Tuesday morning, I took my son to the MK. We arrived at about 8:10, just ten minutes after opening and went straight to the Mine Train. So by 8:15 the stand by wait time for that attraction was already at 60 minutes and Peter Pan was already at 45 minutes. We went to Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain and were able to walk on both rides.

We are seriously reconsidering whether or not WDW still offers value for the amount of money being charged. Incredibly crowded bus service for which there can be a considerable wait, only being able to do a few main attractions per day unless you are lucky enough to have scored fast passes (Mine Train, Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, Peter Pan, Tower of Terror, Toy Story Mania, Rock n Roller Coaster, Mount Everest, Kilamanjaro Safari, etc.) decreased food selections and quality make it difficult to justify the total cost of a trip that includes air fare, lodging and park tickets.

 

[WondersOfLife]

They're hitting the new stuff. I'm fine with that because then I don't have a wait for the other stuff. Kong will be be packed next year giving HP and Minions a bit of a break. Have to say FJ always has a huge line that seems to be the busiest ride at Universal. Last time I was at Universal, Transformers had a big line as well later in the day. Again a new ride, the new rides are must do's for people. I know I hadn't been to Universal for 15 years or so and when I did go Potter was the big draw. Next time I went Potter 2 was up and Transformers and Minions. Must do's. I'll be back when Kong opens, must do. Don't know what is up for 2017 but I bet there's something coming? LOL.

Thing is Universal is adding rides as their attendance goes up so the walk ways might be more crowded but there's more to do. It will be fun to see where this all goes with Universal, new hotels, new rides and a new water park. When do they say "OK let's stop building"? WDW has long waits because the crowd has gotten bigger and except for new Fantasyland nothing new has been built in a long time. Both resorts are seeing extra millions of people, it's not small numbers. Price higher will slow down the increases but both resorts need to put their unused space to use before the next recession which is coming up, it's always a matter of time for the next recession. Universal is out a head of the curve, their building has been paying for itself so far.

In the end I don't care. WDW is adding attractions but it will be too late for my family. My kids are getting older and can go to other places. My kids will be heading to college before any of the new building will be done and Toy Story isn't going to be doing it by then.

That's what I mean what was weird.. Forbidden Journey was only about 15 minutes in the middle of the afternoon (two park pass) and transformers was a walk-on. No wait. 5 minutes.

Like I said, the only attractions with really a wait were despicable me and escape from gringotts. This is from our one day trip in October. Yet the parks were packed.


Edit: I take that back. Spider man had the longest wait. 45 minutes. Probably the result of closing Hulk.

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

The crowds are growing. As an AP there were always times you could pinpoint that would be considered "off times". Now not so much. Lesser of a crowd when compared to the summer, Easter and New Year's but a mid January is more crowded now than it was 5 years ago. SW, Avatar, and TS land may spread out the options but I think they will draw in more of the less frequent and first time visitors as well.

Looking at the positive, here's hoping that they move forward with something like a Buffalo Junction and maybe, just possibly, kind of hoping for......a fifth gate (there I said it.....promised myself I wouldn't, but it just slipped out)

 

[blueboxdoctor]

There are still off times. I've been there a couple days one trip when it felt like we had our own personal park, there were that few people there. Eventually the crowds came back, but those couple days were pretty cool. We literally had the entire top floor of the Harbour House all to ourselves.

 

[draybook]

We went in February, April, and September of this year. If the longest line you waited in was 30 minutes for TGMR, then you either didn't hit the big rides or we need to start going when you go.

 

[EngineJoe]

Brazil, clap clap clap
, Brazil stomp stomp stomp

 

[PhotoDave219]

Hey I realize that the days of hitting the Parks during off season and crowd levels being a minimum are long over with. But isn't it getting a little bit crazy. So am I being too sensitive to my personal space or have any of you (my fellow Disney-addicts) begun to feel the same way?

Ive done my best to look at crowd levels. There's a bunch of threads on the topic, generally done by quarter over in News and Rumors.

Short version is yes, its pretty crazy.

 

[EngineJoe]

The crowds are growing. As an AP there were always times you could pinpoint that would be considered "off times". Now not so much. Lesser of a crowd when compared to the summer, Easter and New Year's but a mid January is more crowded now than it was 5 years ago. SW, Avatar, and TS land may spread out the options but I think they will draw in more of the less frequent and first time visitors as well.

Looking at the positive, here's hoping that they move forward with something like a Buffalo Junction and maybe, just possibly, kind of hoping for......a fifth gate (there I said it.....promised myself I wouldn't, but it just slipped out)

I'm reading that at peak times Tokyo Disneyland has 3 hour waits for the good rides and 2 hour waits for the normal rides. 1 hour wait for popcorn. So consider our selfs lucky.