MK Daily Attendance

[ParentsOf4]

I want to know what a 10 on TP means. Does that mean a crowd of 90k at MK? Because if a 4.2 equates to 45k/day then we're going to be utterly screwed in two weeks.

touringplans' scale is relative. A "10" represents one of the 10% most-crowded days while a "1" represents one of the 10% least-crowded days. As they point it, it does not have much effect on the crowd levels at WDW's most popular attractions. For example, a "1" equates to a 74-79 minute wait on TSM while a "10" equates to a 97-111 minute wait on TSM. Even on WDW's least busy days, TSM is a long wait.

 

[ParentsOf4]

I couldn't help but be surprised that anyone thinks a 35 to 40 minute wait for popular rides is "too much". Is it part of the "I want it now syndrome"? I have always gone during off season and that was the expected wait time for anything even when crowds were light. As more and more people show up, there is no way that this can be fixed. I assume that we are talking standby lines here. That was always the standard wait time even from when WDW was very young.

I'm not sure what you mean by "popular". We wish attractions such TSM, Soarin', Peter Pan, Space Mountain, etc. peaked at 35-40 minutes.

 

[Fantasmic]

lines have got longer because of FP.

 

[PhotoDave219]

touringplans' scale is relative. A "10" represents one of the 10% most-crowded days while a "1" represents one of the 10% least-crowded days. As they point it, it does not have much effect on the crowd levels at WDW's most popular attractions. For example, a "1" equates to a 74-79 minute wait on TSM while a "10" equates to a 97-111 minute wait on TSM. Even on WDW's least busy days, TSM is a long wait.

Brings me back to yesterday. Someone said that it was a 4.2(?). Projection was 45k. Seemed busier but 47k would be average (see first post). My question is does that mean a 10 means an attendance of 90k, a 5 of 47k and a 1 of... 9,400? That makes some sort of sense but IMO an average crowd (47k) is uncomfortable, crowded and unpleasant.

Other thought on TP, I'd love to see historical wait times data over the years. Len is the only one who has done that.

 

[hollywoodj]

Why on earth do I want to go to a place where I wait in line forever?

Some people actually expect to have to wait to experience some of Disney's biggest attractions-- because they're STILL worth it to most people. That's why the lines are there and people aren't going elsewhere. Unlike many WDWMagic members who find fault with anything and everything within Walt Disney World; quite ironic. I find it completely useless to complain about having to wait to experience a theme park attraction. That is completely normal.

 

[George]

Brings me back to yesterday. Someone said that it was a 4.2(?). Projection was 45k. Seemed busier but 47k would be average (see first post). My question is does that mean a 10 means an attendance of 90k, a 5 of 47k and a 1 of... 9,400? That makes some sort of sense but IMO an average crowd (47k) is uncomfortable, crowded and unpleasant.

Other thought on TP, I'd love to see historical wait times data over the years. Len is the only one who has done that.

Five or six years ago, I asked Len a question about crowd levels and he was nice enough to send me a spreadsheet with data and his calculations (and he doesn't know me from a hole in the ground).....He'll probably send you the info if you ask. I'd be really interested to see it as well.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Some people actually expect to have to wait to experience some of Disney's biggest attractions-- because they're STILL worth it to most people. That's why the lines are there and people aren't going elsewhere. Unlike many WDWMagic members who find fault with anything and everything within Walt Disney World; quite ironic. I find it completely useless to complain about having to wait to experience a theme park attraction. That is completely normal.

You're missing the point. If waiting in line for 45 minutes is de regure for a theme park, why on earth should I drop $7000 to go to Disney instead of taking my family to Europe or somewhere else?

 

[bethymouse]

I guess those of us who are yearly ( or more) Disney Park goers know what to expect and we know how to plan. I wouldn't wait over 60 minutes for any ride. 35-40 minutes isn't too bad.
I guess there is really no "slow" season anymore.

 

[fbb]

Brings me back to yesterday. Someone said that it was a 4.2(?). Projection was 45k. Seemed busier but 47k would be average (see first post). My question is does that mean a 10 means an attendance of 90k, a 5 of 47k and a 1 of... 9,400? That makes some sort of sense but IMO an average crowd (47k) is uncomfortable, crowded and unpleasant.

Other thought on TP, I'd love to see historical wait times data over the years. Len is the only one who has done that.

I think what Parentsof4 is saying is, roughly, rank the attendance of all the days of the year from 1-365. Days 1-36 are '10s', days 37-72 are '9', and so on. The floor of the most lightly attended days is probably significantly higher than 9,400.

 

[DisneyJoe]

You're missing the point. If waiting in line for 45 minutes is de regure for a theme park, why on earth should I drop $7000 to go to Disney instead of taking my family to Europe or somewhere else?

If you can't stand waiting 35 minutes in line at a theme park, then please, go somewhere else.

I know many other theme parks where a 2 hour wait for a coaster is de regure.

 

[DisneyJoe]

I think what Parentsof4 is saying is, roughly, rank the attendance of all the days of the year from 1-365. Days 1-36 are '10s', days 37-72 are '9', and so on. The floor of the most lightly attended days is probably significantly higher than 9,400.

I believe that is precisely it.

 

[shannon12]

Why on earth do I want to go to a place where I wait in line forever?

I see it as lines are part and parcel with attending the parks. As far as I can remember, there have always been lines, at Disney and elsewhere. No one is making anyone go and stand in these lines.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Why on earth do I want to go to a place where I wait in line forever?

If you don't want to wait at all, then you shouldn't go, but you don't really expect that anything can be significantly done about it do you? And who really misses out? You not being in line helps those that would have been there behind you. However, they get to experience the ride and you don't. Your choices are to tough it out or don't go...it's not going to change in the foreseeable future. In a perfect world maybe...but I think we can all agree that we do not live in a perfect world.

 

[hollywoodj]

You're missing the point. If waiting in line for 45 minutes is de regure for a theme park, why on earth should I drop $7000 to go to Disney instead of taking my family to Europe or somewhere else?

You're definitely missing the point. People spend thousands of dollars on Disney vacations and expect "unbearable" 45 minute waits because they consider Disney's attractions worth it. If you think that's ridiculous, then by all means vacation elsewhere.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I'm not sure what you mean by "popular". We wish attractions such TSM, Soarin', Peter Pan, Space Mountain, etc. peaked at 35-40 minutes.

I was assuming that this is what the OP meant by unacceptable wait time. I do have a limit, if it's at 45 minutes I won't even consider waiting. I'll come back when it is shorter, if it never is shorter, then I just won't go on it. When you get my age 45 minutes might very well be a large percentage of my time left on the planet. I really can't afford to throw that much away. No theme park ride ever invented is worth a wait of any more than that. But I don't expect that my opting out is going to sufficiently shock management into doing something about it, even if anyone could think of a solution. I do, though, know that if I want to see something I have to give in and wait, at most, the 45 minutes. P.S. there are very few that I would allow that much time for. I'll get it the next visit or if I don't get back, it won't be on the tip of my tongue on my deathbed. You won't hear me utter "Soarin" (not Rosebud).

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Which school system? Florida?

Nope- Texas...pretty much the greater Houston & Galveston area is officially on spring break. I've heard that Dallas ISD and Austin ISD also have the same spring break schedule...so I'd guess a good chunk of school aged kids in Texas are on spring break.

 

[rct247]

It's definitely busier at least at Magic Kingdom. There hasn't really been an off season this winter and the days that park hours have been extended are proof of that. Line are longer because of Fastpass, GAC card abuse, and of course downtimes. Most of the time when rides stop for short periods of time, it's because someone is taking too long to load/unload or didn't follow instructions correctly. I remember going to the parks as a kid in the 90s and I don't remember rides stopping so much. That goes for everything from Haunted Mansion to Buzz Lightyear to Pirates to the Monorail and even the Peoplemover. Fastpass has also made the lines longer and the GAC card abuse also adds to those long Fastpass lines and even longer stand-by lines.

The thing is, I don't feel that the other parks are seeing quite the same trend. There are weeks when Magic Kingdom is packed while Hollywood Studios only sees maybe one busy day that week. Epcot may see crowds, but they don't feel as bad in such a large park. I'd say if I could accurately predict the wait times at each park tomorrow at around 2:00 they may look like this:

MAGIC KINGDOM
-Space: 90
-Thunder: 90
-Jungle: 35
-Pirates: 20
-Buzz: 45
-Speedway: 40
-Dumbo: 35
-Pooh: 40
-Pan: 65
-Mansion: 35

EPCOT:
-Soarin: 110
-Test Track: 110
-Spaceship Earth: 20
-Nemo: 5
-Ellen: 5
-Mission Space: 25
-Maelstrom: 35
-Land: 10

DHS:
-Toy Story: 120
-Coaster: 70
-Tower: 30
-Star Tours: 20
-GMR: 10
-Muppets: 10

DAK:
-Everest: 65
-Dinosaur: 25
-Safari: 40
-Kali: 50
-Primevil: 35
-Bugs: 5

Now I know those listings were a bit pointless, but if anyone is at the parks tomorrow. It would be interesting to see how they stack up.

 

[littleroo]

I guess those of us who are yearly ( or more) Disney Park goers know what to expect and we know how to plan. I wouldn't wait over 60 minutes for any ride. 35-40 minutes isn't too bad.
I guess there is really no "slow" season anymore.

Ya!! My happiness is safe!! I love pixie dust!!

 

[ParentsOf4]

The thing is, I don't feel that the other parks are seeing quite the same trend. There are weeks when Magic Kingdom is packed while Hollywood Studios only sees maybe one busy day that week. Epcot may see crowds, but they don't feel as bad in such a large park.

My theory on why MK is so crowded while the other parks are less so is because Universal is drawing vacationers away from WDW.

Let's face it, you're vacationing in Orlando and decide to spend a couple of days at Universal on what used to be an all-WDW vacation. Which WDW park are you least likely to skip?

I imagine Universal is putting the hurt on DAK but especially DHS. Although TOT is one of Orlando's best attractions, DHS has pretty much always come up short when compared to Universal Studios. Now that WDW vacationers are giving Universal a try due to the popularity of WWOHP at IOA, they're more comfortable with giving US a try as well. And, of course, US has had some really good additions over the last few years with the best yet to come.

 

[shannon12]

My theory on why MK is so crowded while the other parks are less so is because Universal is drawing vacationers away from WDW.

Let's face it, you're vacationing in Orlando and decide to spend a couple of days at Universal on what used to be an all-WDW vacation. Which WDW park are you least likely to skip?

I imagine Universal is putting the hurt on DAK but especially DHS. Although TOT is one of Orlando's best attractions, DHS has pretty much always come up short when compared to Universal Studios. Now that WDW vacationers are giving Universal a try do to the popularity of WWOHP at IOA, they're more comfortable with giving US a try as well. And, of course, US has some really good additions over the last few years with the best yet to come.

You are probably quite right. I went to Universal last year with out the kids and I really, really enjoyed it. I have only done disney only trips since because my kids are still too small for Uni, but when they get bigger I will definitely add a couple of days over there. I do also feel like HS is the weakest park....While I am a diehard Disney fan I'm not blind to the shortcomings of some of the parks