January crowd levels

[Gaston]

Now that the holidays have passed, I was wondering if anyone
can provide feedback with regards to the crowd levels at the
parks over the past few days.

Has the economic "gloom and doom" slowed things down?
or have the new discounts and promotions brought in business?


thanks for the updates...

Gaston

 

[Gaston]

b u m p i t u p

 

[thevader1376]

bump

 

[bgraham34]

I have friends in MK right now. 35 min wait on PP and Pooh. 5 Mins for Pirates and Haunted Mansion.

 

[Gaston]

current crowd levels

Thanks for the feedback "34".

Lets see if we could get a few more reports.

 

[das texan]

I just got back on Wednesday. Crowds really werent that bad at all. 30 min wait at most for most rides.

At the Studios:

Toy Story had an hour wait on Tuesday, ToT had a 50 min wait (but only for a real short period I think)

Nothing else was really bad at all.

 

[Gaston]

Can anyone add a report from the past few days...?



Thanks

 

[bgraham34]

i do know Yesterday my friend waited 45 mins for Toy Story Mania and that was at 11.

 

[fillerup]

Went to MK on Saturday 1/12 and thought it was pretty crowded (but since MK is a rarity for us, I don't have much expertise here).

HM was about a 45 minute wait before and after the parade. And although it moved quickly, there was a decent queue for TTA. Peter Pan a consistent 50 minute wait.

And there were lots, and I do mean a lot of Brazilian tour groups. Seems as though we saw a different flag every fifty yards or so.

 

[krueg66]

I was there all last week and the crowds were heavier than I expected. Not crazy-summer/spring break busy or anything...

LOTS OF FOREIGNERS!!!(Canadians are excluded) Prepare to get stepped on, cut off and basically any semblance of common courteousy or basic manners including the basic premise of a line to be thrown out...big negative to our trip.

Toy Story mania was over an hour, Soarin was an hour, Space and Big Thunder were anywhere from 10-40 minutes depending on time of day...it really wasn't too bad. We walked on the Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Small World, Spaceship Earth (which is pretty cool by the way), etc...

 

[C&D]

Just back from a week. A little weird; the crowds seemed to be small but when you went to an attraction, the times were moderately long. As mentioned earlier, a little busier that I would have thought but very nice weather and bearable crowds.

 

[islesgirl]

wasn't the marathon this weekend? that would explain the heavier than usual crowds.

 

[Gaston]

Thanks for the updates

Thanks for the updates everybody.

The Magic Kingdom will always be busy on Saturdays.

Many of the media reports including Jim Hill were leading us to believe that
the parks would be empty. It looks like things are busy enough.


I will be there in two weeks.

 

[Tom]

January Crowds

My wife and I were there with a couple that we're friends with (our first DVC stay!!) from Jan 2-10.

Jan 2-4 it was VERY CROWDED. TouringPlans dot com predicted attendance at an 8 out of 10 - and it was right. People were still lingering from the New Years break. It was a madhouse at the MK on Friday, Jan 2. We walked in and walked right back out.

Sat/Sun (3/4) was the same for the most part. People started leaving on Sunday, but the locals were still saturating the parks.

Once Monday came around, it was DEAD! I'm used to going in June, and once in May, and this was nothing compared to those times. Toy Story was the only attraction that actually had its usual wait. We walked on almost everything else, in all the parks.

However, having seen the holiday crowd, I continue in my firm belief that the economy isn't suffering like the media wants us to believe.

And I'll second (or third or fourth) the fact that the parks were overwhelmed with foreigners! Not only those groups from Brazil, but MANY, MANY Europeans. More UK, German and French guests than I've ever encountered.

Lastly, the marathon was this past weekend, but fortunately we were leaving on Saturday when they were all hitting the parks after their 1/2 run. They didn't seem to have arrived on Friday - or at least weren't in the parks.

In summary, I'll definitely tour in early January again - but I'll wait until the NY crowds have left - and before the marathon (if possible).

 

[TURKEY]

My wife and I were there with a couple that we're friends with (our first DVC stay!!) from Jan 2-10.

Jan 2-4 it was VERY CROWDED. TouringPlans dot com predicted attendance at an 8 out of 10 - and it was right. People were still lingering from the New Years break. It was a madhouse at the MK on Friday, Jan 2. We walked in and walked right back out.

Sat/Sun (3/4) was the same for the most part. People started leaving on Sunday, but the locals were still saturating the parks.

Once Monday came around, it was DEAD! I'm used to going in June, and once in May, and this was nothing compared to those times. Toy Story was the only attraction that actually had its usual wait. We walked on almost everything else, in all the parks.

However, having seen the holiday crowd, I continue in my firm belief that the economy isn't suffering like the media wants us to believe.

And I'll second (or third or fourth) the fact that the parks were overwhelmed with foreigners! Not only those groups from Brazil, but MANY, MANY Europeans. More UK, German and French guests than I've ever encountered.

Lastly, the marathon was this past weekend, but fortunately we were leaving on Saturday when they were all hitting the parks after their 1/2 run. They didn't seem to have arrived on Friday - or at least weren't in the parks.

In summary, I'll definitely tour in early January again - but I'll wait until the NY crowds have left - and before the marathon (if possible).

You sum up January pretty well.

Until the first Monday after the New Year (or kids go back to school), the parks stay busy.

Then the marathon brings people in, followed by MLK weekend. During the weeks and remainder of January, the parks are quite light and manageable.

Just be prepared for crowds during the weekends. The same can be said for most weekends during the slow season as this brings out the tourist known as the FL resident.


The last week/weekend of January might have more people than normal as the Super Bowl is in Tampa, with some events being held in Orlando the week before.


The German tourist numbers have been up since Lufthansa started flying into OIA.


The crowds over the holiday and January period isn't reflective of the economy and how things look going forward. These trips were booked and paid for many months before things took a steep nosedive. The spring break and Easter, summer, and fall slow seasons will be a much more accurate gauge of how things are going.

 

[Duckberg]

Escape @ wdw 2009

EVEN with the 2009 economy,
WDW may not do so bad this
year :king: !

People need an ESCAPE & WDW
is a good place to get away from
it all !

Something tells me IF crowd size
falters WDW will adjust ticket
prices :sohappy: !

Duckberg :wave:

 

[Tom]

something tells me if crowd size
falters wdw will adjust ticket prices :sohappy: !

:lol:

 

[raceroom]

bump still curious :shrug:. Thanks

 

[Tom]

bump still curious :shrug:. Thanks

Curious....about....what?

I think the OP's question was answered, and I don't see that you've posted anything, or any questions, in this thread.

:veryconfu

 

[lorinmike2728]

Thanks, Just posted a forum in regards to the same thing. I will be in Disney the last full week of January and was hoping to avoid massive crowds. My last two trips have been Thanksgiving and Halloween. I want to be able to get on a ride and not wait 45 minutes. I saw another post about the Super Bowl having some events in the Orlando area. I thought that may keep some people away. I guess we will see.