Park Visit Planning

[Tinkwannabe]

We're planning to visit this weekend and will be staying at WDW for 4 days. We're trying to plan our visits to coincide with the lowest attendance days for each park while we're there. I checked several different websites and got several different answers. The latest is on touringplans.com which seems to be almost completely opposite of all the others I've seen. Has anyone used this site and is the information more (or less) reliable than say, allearsnet?

 

[mgraef]

I think they are pretty good. I have never paid too much attention to them though as the crowds seem to vary for no apparent reason do not really amount to too big of a draw at this time of year anyway (at least in the lines)

mg

 

[MaxsDad]

Touring Plans

I have found them to be as accurate as can be expected for such a random thing as daily park attendence. They certainly have put more time and man power into it than any other source I know of. I usually consider their Crowd Level Calender when picking the time of year to go, and their Park Survey Results for a general guide about which parks/which days.

Crowds should be relatively low this weekend, though. When crowds are smaller, which park/which day matters less than peak times. Have a great time!

 

[RonAnnArbor]

I hasve found touringplans.com to be absolutely THE best resource when looking at crowds and what order to do what rides -- in reality the crowds have been higher during the last 12 months than during the last 6 years, so add at least one or two points to every day (i.e. if they rate it a 6, consider it a 7 day...if they rate it a 4, consider it a 5 or 6 day, etc)

 

[Tinkwannabe]

Thanks everyone. I appreciate the help. I'm sure we'll have a good time regardless of the lines...and the fastpasses are always there if we need them. :kiss:

 

[DisneyMusician2]

Touring Plans is definately the best, and I would also be sure to take advantage of the evening EMH hours. You can really lose some lines and make the most of your short time there by being there late. ESPECIALLY in the MK, when it is open sometimes until 3AM!

 

[lentesta]

Hi folks,

Thanks very much for using the site. As part of our ongoing crowd calendar research, we put Unofficial Guide data collectors at various places in the theme parks, transportation hubs, and WDW resorts on an almost daily basis starting in mid-January.

We're counting somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 people every day at those places, and comparing those counts to the posted wait times at key attractions in each park, as well as other metrics. Besides keeping the crowd calendar predictions accurate, we're also trying to determine how changing the EMH schedule from week to week affects crowds. (So if Disney suddenly changes the EMH schedule for the MK, we can have some data to predict how that might change daily touring patterns.)

They certainly have put more time and man power into it than any other source I know of.

The amount of time, money, and analysis needed to get the calendar to its current level of accuracy is astounding. My team's research budget has doubled each of the last three years, and that's not even the entire book's budget. (Aside: This is why I'm pushing for Disney to reward frequent visitors - I'd be one of the biggest beneficiaries. :ROFLOL: )

I'll get something posted to our crowd blog as soon as we get these data processed, probably sometime in the next week or so.

Len

 

[DisneyMusician2]

Hi folks,

Thanks very much for using the site. As part of our ongoing crowd calendar research, we put Unofficial Guide data collectors at various places in the theme parks, transportation hubs, and WDW resorts on an almost daily basis starting in mid-January.

We're counting somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 people every day at those places, and comparing those counts to the posted wait times at key attractions in each park, as well as other metrics. Besides keeping the crowd calendar predictions accurate, we're also trying to determine how changing the EMH schedule from week to week affects crowds. (So if Disney suddenly changes the EMH schedule for the MK, we can have some data to predict how that might change daily touring patterns.)



The amount of time, money, and analysis needed to get the calendar to its current level of accuracy is astounding. My team's research budget has doubled each of the last three years, and that's not even the entire book's budget. (Aside: This is why I'm pushing for Disney to reward frequent visitors - I'd be one of the biggest beneficiaries. :ROFLOL: )

I'll get something posted to our crowd blog as soon as we get these data processed, probably sometime in the next week or so.

Len

I can't believe they don't cut you guys a break to do some research...but then again, that corporate mentality is always in full force behind the scenes.