<Insert Goldblum from Jurassic Park .gif>
"well... there it is."
There is no stopping this train. Parks simply can't find the line that guests aren't willing to cross. They continue to play chicken with us and nobody is even flinching.
I haven't shared my thoughts on our latest trip to WDW yet; but, this is as good of a place as any. We historically go to WDW the last week of January and other than missing one year to avoid some refurbs and doing DLR instead, we've visited this week (or the 1st in Feb) like clockwork for over the last 10 years.
It's gone from truly being slow (walk on Omnimovers slow) to last week's experience.
Last week was easily busier than my visits to WDW in early June and the 2nd week of July last year.
Our 2017 visit saw a slight uptick in attendance over 2016 the first weekend and into the first few days of the week that I attributed to the NFL Pro Bowl being in town; but, this year was something completely different. It stayed consistently busy all week and by the time we departed on 2/3, I saw gridlock in the MK that I haven't experienced since some holiday season trips I've made.
Last year, I was a huge fan of Disney After Hours as I did the event twice and on both occasions - there were points where you would see more Cast in the streets than guests. This year, it was a different animal on both nights we visited. While you could easily still knock out attraction after attraction, guests were swarming all over the place from the very start of the event to the end. At the very end of the event, the lines for Photopass were 20 deep on both sides of the Partner's statue for last Tuesday's event. Even the Cast Members were amazed by this.
*FWIW - I still think DAH is worth it as you can still knock out everything you want in the 3 hours; but, it is definitely not a ghost town like it was before.
This wasn't just a WDW uptick as we also visit Universal during these visits and they were similarly swamped on multiple days.
Other than the last bastion of what is truly the "off season" that is now in that window after Labor Day and runs perhaps two weeks into September (you know when Florida is at it's most Floridaness), I don't think there is any point that is slow. I now hate to say that I'm rethinking how best to tackle Orlando.
I believe it has now moved into the territory of treating it exactly like Disneyland Resort. You are best served to fly directly into the storm to some extent. Disneyland does have some slower periods; but, during those windows refurbs are rampant and shows and services are curtailed. DLR is best toured by avoiding the true peaks around the holidays and picking windows of time before or after them while they are still operating under peak hours and services.
For WDW, unless you can go during the back-to-school nuclear heat window in early September - I now think you may be best suited to visit in those windows going into or out of the summer or winter season holidays. Hours are up and crowds will still be in the busy; but, manageable range so it will be a better balance.
