Is attendence lower than usual?

Did Knee

Did Knee

Active Member
Original Poster
I heard another rumor from someone who knew someone who had just been to WDW (great source huh?:lookaroun ) that said that WDW looks like a ghost town this week is this true?
 
M

Mission: SPACE

New Member
September is always slow. It's part of summer winding down and all the kids going back to school. In my opinion, it is the slowest time, although if I remember right, late January and early February is technically the slowest time.

It's not that attendance dropped for any unusual reason, just does so every year. Makes it nice for us locals... gives us some time to go and enjoy it without the crowds!
 
dmmgp2000

dmmgp2000

Member
Went to Epcot yesterday with some co-workers. We met up at 3:00 and went to Soarin' first...15 minute wait. Test Track said 20 but we went straight into the pre-show room. Mission Space was a walk-on, as was everything else we did. By 7:30 we had done everything we wanted to do. We ran into a custodial manager who said there was 7,500 people in the park yesterday, to which he said..."that's nothing". This is a great time of year to go to avoid crowds.
 
J

jrobinson424

New Member
I was told by a CM once that September is the best time to come. Weather isn't so bad, crowds are few and far between, and prices are cheaper. Damn, why didn't I just wait until now?
 
D

DragonJay

New Member
I ONLY go to WDW in September, and have been for twenty years now. I recall Labour Day 1986 very well...it was so quiet. I can't remember how many times I went around the Magic Kingdom, and was able to hit my favourite attraction, the Haunted Mansion, 22 times (yes, it was excessive, but I was 15 at the time).

Alas, I'm not going this year, but I love September. Still very warm, a tad on the rainy side, but NO CROWDS! I mean, in September 2003, there was no queue on Mission:Space, and Test Track was less than 10 minutes.
 
Computer Magic

Computer Magic

Well-Known Member
DragonJay said:
I ONLY go to WDW in September, and have been for twenty years now. I recall Labour Day 1986 very well...it was so quiet. I can't remember how many times I went around the Magic Kingdom, and was able to hit my favourite attraction, the Haunted Mansion, 22 times (yes, it was excessive, but I was 15 at the time).

Alas, I'm not going this year, but I love September. Still very warm, a tad on the rainy side, but NO CROWDS! I mean, in September 2003, there was no queue on Mission:Space, and Test Track was less than 10 minutes.
Click to expand...
I love going in September
 
Did Knee

Did Knee

Active Member
Original Poster
dmmgp2000 said:
Went to Epcot yesterday with some co-workers. We met up at 3:00 and went to Soarin' first...15 minute wait. Test Track said 20 but we went straight into the pre-show room. Mission Space was a walk-on, as was everything else we did. By 7:30 we had done everything we wanted to do. We ran into a custodial manager who said there was 7,500 people in the park yesterday, to which he said..."that's nothing". This is a great time of year to go to avoid crowds.
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This is great news! We will be back in WDW on Monday for my annual pilgrimage, and I plan to ride everything I can!
 
brich

brich

New Member
I just love seeing post the best times of year to go. Most of the time, it's the time they are there that's the best time to go... :D
I go in Decemeber as that's the best time to go....
I go in October, it's really the best time to go....
Ok, when is it not a good time to go to WDW? I Say it's ALWAYS a good time to go... :lol:
 
Since1976

Since1976

Well-Known Member
Small crowds are great for veterans, but first-timers are often put-off by how quiet the parks are during the off-season. Unfortunately, this gives them the false impression that WDW is dead, and it may color their first Disney park experience in a negative way (oddly enough).

I liken it to seeing a big event movie on opening day rather than a month into its run. The former experience is definitely more exciting than the latter.

Those of us who've experienced the crowds (I did Easter weekend one year -- good God!!!) can truly savor the joy of an "empty" park...
 
C

cdatkins

Active Member
We were in MK on 9/8, and EPCOT on 9/9, and were very happy to see that the lines were very short.

We rode Soarin three times at EPCOT, on three fastpasses. The first two times, the standard line was just as fast. The last time (around 9 pm) the line was much longer, but that's because the park filled up for Illuminations.

We took our 2 year old daughter to MK on 9/8, and did all the inside rides in Fantasy land (Pooh, Philharmagic, Peter Pan, IASW, and Snow White) in a little over an hour. It was truly remarkable.
 
fillerup

fillerup

Well-Known Member
As a seasonal passholder, I'd say that it's markedly slower right now than usual.

Not alarmingly so, but definitely a good deal quieter.
 
AEfx

AEfx

Well-Known Member
fjm777 said:
The Crowd Blog over on http://www.touringplans.com/CrowdBlog.html has 6s and 5s in September. I take it this is not holding true.
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You have to understand what the "crowd blog" is, and what it is not.

It is meant to estimate PEAK wait times for THE most popular attractions. So, on a 5-day, you can expect the PEAK time on, say, Splash Mountain, to be 50 minutes. Now, that peak may only be for an hour mid-day. At least this is my understanding.

The problem comes when (mostly on other Disney boards) people read these numbers and throw a freak-out party, thinking it's 1-10 on an even scale, that a 6 means it's 60% of the crowds at full capacity (say, Christmas day).

It has been rather accurate for what it is meant to be, but unfortunately too many people misunderstand what it is and put weight into it that isn't there.

It's just a number...no more, no less. I wouldn't plan, nor not plan, a vacation around it.

AEfx
 
PamelaNiebergal

PamelaNiebergal

New Member
I may be one of the few people that don't like WDW in the off season. For me the busier the better (within reason - I've never been over Christmas and I don't plan to in the future). I love it when the parks are open late, and when fireworks and nighttime entertainment run every night. I love it when the park is bustling and exciting. Plus I love being able to sleep in, arrive to the parks at noon and still have a full day because they are open late. With extra magic hours and fastpass dealing with crowds has become much less of an issue and it's nice to know that all of your favorite attractions will be up and running. That said, I would love to be able to afford a quick long weekend trip during September or other off-season times between my longer yearly vacations. Unfortunately I'm too far away for that to be an option.
 
miles1

miles1

Active Member
I've been visiting WDW since the 1970's, and I think that Disney has really "polished" it's crowd control over the years, with fastpass being one of the latest techniques. This year we even went at the middle of President's week into "bike week", and most everything had little or no wait. In the park's early years, I can remember spending at least an hour on line for some attractions, regardless of the time of year. I don't know exactly what's been done, but it seems like even the heavy attendance days are not as unmanagable as they used to be years ago.
 
MouseearsDeb

MouseearsDeb

New Member
Since1976 said:
Those of us who've experienced the crowds (I did Easter weekend one year -- good God!!!) can truly savor the joy of an "empty" park...
Click to expand...

Amen to that! I am not going to get too excited :lookaroun about the crowd situation until I'm there and can breathe that sigh of relief that *YES! NO CROWDS!*


10 hours and counting!!! Yeah!!! Almost time to head south!
 

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