JediMasterMatt
Well-Known Member
The point is that "peak season" is loosing the fear and "value season" is losing the luster.
The difference between continues to ebb.
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News Peak season crowds have arrived
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
The point is that "peak season" is loosing the fear and "value season" is losing the luster.
The difference between continues to ebb.
Kman101
Well-Known Member
Agreed with you there. The lines are more blurred than ever and there's often not much of a slow period anymore. Doesn't help that Disney has caught on and has been trying to turn the slower times into busier times. They now seem to be going after the last few weeks in August before Labor Day when it's still fairly quiet, all things considered. But it won't be much longer. No one's denying the slow periods are more or less extinct (you can sometimes find a nice less busy day ... but it's still busy) and 3/4 hour waits are common during Spring Break, Christmas, etc. but even though the parks are packed, I don't agree with the few posters who were trying to sell this as a normal busy day. lol. That's all. But I agree with you. The slower seasons are dying or dead. It's a shame. But they're not THIS packed on a regular basis. Maybe some choke points. Is there truly more people (well, yes, there are more people coming but I don't think it's quite as bad as it seems) or is it just the fact that many guests are now milling about on the street as they hold their 3 fast passes? (And it goes without saying that even the MK needs MORE to do, but the other parks need to be better at picking up the slack)
I don't think it's one answer. A combination of many things has led us to the problem we're in. (Sorry, I threw in a lot of random thoughts ....)
mikejs78
Premium Member
Even without EMH you can show up at rope drop and get a lot done in the first 90 min, then use your FastPasses, have lunch, and be out by 1 for a break.
crxbrett
Well-Known Member
I went during one of the last remaining slow times of the calendar last year, last week of Aug - 1st week of Sep, and was still able to walk onto IASW and the PM a few times during my trip. But I agree, in years past I would always visit DW in July and was still able to walk onto those in the AM or sometimes late evening or during a storm, but I doubt that ever happens in July anymore now.
Unfortunately, going in Sep when school goes back isn't an option for a lot of people. But then that's why it is a lot slower than most of the year still. After last year, I will probably only visit DW in early Sep for the foreseeable future.
Kman101
Well-Known Member
That's probably the last remaining slow time, and as a Floridian who once visited the parks then, it was insanely hot and I just can't ... lol. But I may this year before Halloween starts taking over the last few weeks of August, so Disney is trying to kill the last 'slow' period. Sigh.
CaptainAmerica
Premium Member
No. This is not normal, even now. I was there March 12 through March 16, right in the middle of spring break. TouringPlans called the crowds 9s and 10s. It was nothing like what these pictures show. This is Easter week, which has always been insane.
May is pretty okay. Once you're past East and before Memorial Day. Also, the first week in June after Memorial Day but before most schools are out. Also, the week in between Marathon and MLK.
DisneyMann
Active Member
Can't like this or agree enough.
EricsBiscuit
Well-Known Member
i agree that yesterday was packed but it was tolerable if you know how to enjoy the park and which attractions are best to get FPs for etc. The longest I waited yesterday was 7 minutes for HoP to start and I did 3 of the most popular attractions at the park.You go often, I'm sure 3/4 hour waits are just the norm, huh(I'm being sarcastic towards those who think these waits are normal). The rest isn't towards you, just jumping off from your post ...
Yes, the parks are generally packed on a normal day. But no, they do not get these kind of wait times on a regular basis. So no, it's actually not this packed on a normal busy day. Yes, congestion happens. Yes, the parks are miserably crowded most of the time. This is not the same daily busy.
mikejs78
Premium Member
Can you describe how you approached it yesterday? Just curious....
Kman101
Well-Known Member
I can agree with May and the first week of June. I visited in May last year (for the Pandora preview) and that first week of June. It was busier than I'd personally want (lol, first world Disney problem) but it was very manageable and wait times were great. I'm sure they're eyeing this time period as well. I think the days of it being truly dead, at least in the MK, isn't a reality anymore, but you can still find some pleasant weeks/days. It's just more few and far between than years past.
Last summer wasn't exactly slammed even though it was still busy (kind of why I think they're planning for Toy Story Land to open June 30th, which sounds insane to open something in the peak of Summer). So something is shifting.
crxbrett
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I do this every single day of my vacation except for the last day and 1 day in the middle of the trip when I usually switch rooms. Last year I did rope drop or EMH every single morning and made the most of my FP+ and late hours at the parks. Longest wait I waited for on the entire trip was Haunted Mansion on my last day right before I had to head back to the hotel - 40 minutes. We waited for Peter Pan one night for about 30 since we had no FP and I think Pirates and Soarin' was 25 min one day. Other than that, we got on everything with a 15 min or less wait. This includes everything - Test Track, Mission Space, Frozen, Space, Seven Dwarfs, Splash, Flights of Passage, Navi, Everest... Granted, I did go the end of Aug, early Sep so my trip was probably a lot less crowded than for most people's vacations; but if you plan ahead and make the most of the day you can do it all with little or no wait times. I was at the AK gate at 6:30AM when I went, but got to ride FOP and be off of it by 8:15AM! We were actually in the queue before 8AM and were the first group to ride in our chamber/Banshee room that day. Since it was only 8:15AM when we disembarked, Navi was a walk-on still. So we were done with Pandora by 8:45AM. Waaaay worth getting up at 5:30AM in order to avoid waiting and wasting 3-4 hours of the morning in line for those 2 attractions for sure!
Yes, waking up before 7am on vacation may not be for everyone, but I had zero issues with it. I actually had a ton of energy and never felt groggy like I do when I sleep in til 9 or 10am. Good thing about going earlier is the heat also isn't as bad, either. So by the time the crowds start coming into the park around 11:30, Noon and it begins to bake outside - I'm heading back to the hotel for my daily mid-day nap and swim and lounging. I also think that makes my trips more enjoyable. I do get up at 6-7AM every morning for rope drop, but then I am at my resort by 1pm every day and relax in the pool or nap for 2-3 hours and by 6pm I'm all recharged for the evening!
mikejs78
Premium Member
I'm headed to WDW in a week and a half for 6 days. I'll be curious as to the crowd levels. TouringPlans lists them as anywhere between 4 and 6 (as opposed to 8-10 this week). We'll see what passes as moderate crowds and if they've gone back to the reduced staffing from Jan/early Feb.
My wife was there with 2 of our kids the week between the Marathon and MLK. Crowds and wait times were far above previous years for that week. Our whole family was there that week in 2016 and crowds and waits were far less than they were this year.
RobbinsDad
Well-Known Member
Sadly as educators this is the only sight we see. Our vacation time is everyone's vacation time.
RobbinsDad
Well-Known Member
Mid-July 2017 looked exactly like this. Still a great time, just know there's a limit on what you can experience.
Kman101
Well-Known Member
I could be thinking of Summer 2016 maybe, lol. I remember there being lots of people surprised that, say, Epcot, was so empty.
tribbleorlfl
Well-Known Member
This is why I'm not so upset about dropping down to Gold AP's.
Kman101
Well-Known Member
I'm very happy with my fairly cheap (all things considered, of course) weekday pass. Blockout times are times I'd never want to be there and I don't usually care about going on weekends. Them including parking with it made it even better.
I though FP+ was to blame for rides that used to be 'walk-ons' such as HM and PotC now having long lines since FP+ was added to them.
TTA and Astro Orbiter don't have FP+ and look at those wait times.
Crowded is crowded. When there are physically more people than the rides can cycle through, all the lines back up. And the back up keeps getting longer and longer until people balk and decide it's not worth it.
In 2010, MK's yearly attendace was 17 million (according to TEA). In 2016 it was 20.4 million. That's 3.4 million more people per year. That's, on average, an extra 9,315 per day in the park. Every hour, those extra 9,315 people want to be on a ride... in a park that was already nearing peak. Tipping point tipped.
And by all anecdotal accounts, 2017 and 2018 are more heavily attended than 2016.