Crowds

[Disstevefan1]

Yeah this was TTC at 11am today. Busses were deployed to backup the monorails and ferry.
View attachment 324841

We have been visiting WDW for decades and often parked at the TTA and I have NEVER saw this! I have never saw Rope line queues; this are was always vast open areas !!!! And to think this is not a rope drop time, this is 11AM!!!!

There is NO softening of attendance as was alleged in other posts!!!

 

[larryz]

We have been visiting WDW for decades and often parked at the TTA and I have NEVER saw this! I have never saw Rope line queues; this are was always vast open areas !!!! And to think this is not a rope drop time, this is 11AM!!!!

There is NO softening of attendance as was alleged in other posts!!!

Perhaps WDW is using reverse psychology as well as deep data mining to stimulate interest in their resorts...

 

[NickMaio]

Yea this was MK tonight View attachment 324842

Wow - that is nutz

 

[geekza]

There is NO softening of attendance as was alleged in other posts!!!

Disney sure thought that crowds would be lower than expected. They used it as an excuse to make quick cuts to staffing, etc. Then again, that could have been a smokescreen to cover that the cuts were made because of recent pay increases. That's pure speculation on my part, though, and not based on any concrete info I have.

 

[Greg H]

We visited Disney this year from Oct 19th-Nov 3rd and we all commented a number of times to each other how reasonable the crowds were at the parks. We even found MK on one of the Saturdays to be pretty reasonable. We did tend to avoid Epcot on the weekends... Our most recent frame of reference was the two weeks following Thanksgiving the last two years (2016, 2017)... We found Oct 19th-Nov 3rd 2018 much less crowded compared to these 2016 and 2017 dates. It did seem though that Disney was cutting back on capacity in some places. We noticed one of the parts of BOG closed most mornings, for example. We also found ride wait times high in some places when really the parks were just not that busy... Who knows, maybe there are other explanations for this. Overall though, we were very surprised by the crowds in the parks...

 

[Tom Morrow]

We have been visiting WDW for decades and often parked at the TTA and I have NEVER saw this! I have never saw Rope line queues; this are was always vast open areas !!!! And to think this is not a rope drop time, this is 11AM!!!!

There is NO softening of attendance as was alleged in other posts!!!

The softer attendance was in September through early October, which is typically a "slow" season anyway, and it was slightly slower this year than previous years. In general though, unlike in the past where there would be several weeks or even months at a time where crowds were light, that will likely not happen again until another recession hits hard.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Disney Parks Attendance, Revenue Up for Fourth Quarter, 2018

For the fiscal year, the parks saw a revenue increase 10 percent to $20.3 billion.
Guest spending growth was due to increases in ticket prices, food, beverage and merchandise spending, and average daily room rates.

http://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando/...tendance--revenue-up-for-fourth-quarter--2018

 

[KwikE]

Any ideas of what the crowd level would be Dec 9th -15th?

 

[Disstevefan1]

The softer attendance was in September through early October, which is typically a "slow" season anyway, and it was slightly slower this year than previous years. In general though, unlike in the past where there would be several weeks or even months at a time where crowds were light, that will likely not happen again until another recession hits hard.

In the good old days, yes, In September through early October, you could actually feel/notice the lower crowds. And probably today, technically, there are LESS clicks at the turnstiles compared to today's busy days,, BUT its STILL SO OVERCROWDED, you don't feel/notice it.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Any ideas of what the crowd level would be Dec 9th -15th?

Short answer - its gonna be crowded.

Long answer - Technically speaking, the first week of December is one of the "less crowded" times. By the 9th, technically it begins to creep up but not as crowded as close to Christmas. All that said, its simply always over crowded at WDW, even in the times there are less clicks at the turnstiles, so it will be crowded.

 

[GeoffR]

Today, Nov 9, the crowds were packed at MK, though the waits weren't crazy. Everything is cyclical, so my next trip won't be for a while.
What gets me are the price hikes on merch, items up $5-$10 from a yr ago, tshirts are $37.50 with tax...just outlandish.
They can't be hurting for money, despite the prices the crowds are huge, which begs the question as to why so many attractions are in disrepair?

 

[marni1971]

We have been visiting WDW for decades and often parked at the TTA and I have NEVER saw this! I have never saw Rope line queues; this are was always vast open areas !!!! And to think this is not a rope drop time, this is 11AM!!!!

There is NO softening of attendance as was alleged in other posts!!!

Remember it was TWDC who "alleged” crowds were soft.

 

[Stripes]

Yeah this was TTC at 11am today. Busses were deployed to backup the monorails and ferry.
View attachment 324841

@marni1971 The TTC aesthetic overhaul is still planned, yes?

I can't bear to look at it anymore.