Tips for Peak Season

DryerLintFan

DryerLintFan

Premium Member
RustySpork said:
This is the best advice. Along with that, just remember while you're here that you're here during what is historically one of the busiest times of the year. Lines for everything will be long. You may and probably will even have to wait in line to go to the rest room at times. Plan to wait for anything and everything, and keep your expectations to just being happy to be at WDW during Thanksgiving week. If you do this, and experience more than that, it'll be magical. Also, book your ADRs right now. Don't reply to the thread, go now and book them. We'll still be here when you're finished, but they may not be. :D
Click to expand...

We're going at Christmas and this is the advice we've been given, along with: if you see a bathroom with minimal wait, use it even if you don't feel like you really need to go.
 
Destiny Romayne

Destiny Romayne

New Member
Original Poster
RustySpork said:
This is the best advice. Along with that, just remember while you're here that you're here during what is historically one of the busiest times of the year. Lines for everything will be long. You may and probably will even have to wait in line to go to the rest room at times. Plan to wait for anything and everything, and keep your expectations to just being happy to be at WDW during Thanksgiving week. If you do this, and experience more than that, it'll be magical. Also, book your ADRs right now. Don't reply to the thread, go now and book them. We'll still be here when you're finished, but they may not be. :D
Click to expand...
Way ahead of you!!! We booked our ADR's for all our dining the day it opened up and our travel agent said we were allowed to on the 23rd of May. One for each day we're there along with 7 QS meals and 2 Snacks a day, yum! Super excited to eat another Mickey Bar!
 
Last edited:
21stamps

21stamps

Well-Known Member
Oh here's one I forgot, Download the Uber app before you arrive! If a bus has a crowded depot, Uber is a great alternative. Pretty much everywhere on property is around $7.
They are most likely already at the parks at closing, and not more than five minutes away any other time.
 
T

thomas998

Well-Known Member
Destiny Romayne said:
Any advice on holiday/seasonal treats and deserts the parks or Disney springs sell?
Click to expand...
Enjoy looking at them but don't waste money buying them. In general the fancy deserts that are seasonal are in the category of looks nice but doesn't taste nearly as good as it looks. We've made many mistakes over the years letting the kids getting fancy treats around Christmas at Disney and have seen more times than not more than half of it tossed in the trash because it just didn't taste that good.
 
T

thomas998

Well-Known Member
Cmdr_Crimson said:
When I heard about Pro-Bowl coming to Orlando I was pretty aggrivated that it was going to cause crowds to start coming...And reading up on trip reports and looking at the MDE App to see wait times. Normally around that time during the weekdays wait times averaged to about 20-25 minutes on the smaller rides with 40-45 on the E-ticket rides which wasn't too bad...But, during the weekends...Hoo-boy the tour groups and cheerleaders competitions go in full force and it gets pretty busy....When I booked my trip for my 2018 trip I wasn't thinking when the Pro-bowl was happening and luckily I picked it the Day right after it ends...
Click to expand...
You might not get less crowds than if you picked it the day of. We've had extended trips during events and have often found that during the event the crowds are a little less because a lot of the people there are there for the event, but then when the event is over the crowds would often swell as people going for the vent do the Disney part after the event is done... So prepare yourself for it.
 
Cmdr_Crimson

Cmdr_Crimson

Well-Known Member
thomas998 said:
You might not get less crowds than if you picked it the day of. We've had extended trips during events and have often found that during the event the crowds are a little less because a lot of the people there are there for the event, but then when the event is over the crowds would often swell as people going for the vent do the Disney part after the event is done... So prepare yourself for it.
Click to expand...
Oh, I do..This is my 12th solo trip out there around that time and I enjoy it more than my former trips in Sept/Oct..
 
Raineman

Raineman

Well-Known Member
One thing that we found out during our last trip to WDW, when it comes to shorter wait times for the typically busy attractions-get to the park at rope drop, and hit all of the attractions that usually have the longest lines first, and try to determine what direction most of the rope drop crowd is going, and go the other way. For example, at MK rope drop, most people seem to head for Tomorrowland or New Fantasyland, so if you head to the Adventureland/Frontierland area first, you should be able to get on Splash Mountain, BTMRR, POTC and JC with fairly short wait times (20 mins or less). We were able to ride all of these, plus HM, by 11:30 am.
 
raven

raven

Well-Known Member
If there is one tip I can tell anyone visiting WDW between June and September is to BRING AN UMBRELLA. It can be a small, collapsible one but it is the one item that you will almost definitely need on a daily basis.

This past Saturday at MK when the downpour started I was in Carousel of Progess. When I came out, guests were huddled everywhere inside shops, under the people mover, under the overhang by Buzz, Stitch and Monsters Inc and the main walkways were nearly abandoned, even though crowds were extremely heavy that day. It seemed all these guests weren't prepared and were trying to wait out the rain but it rained from around 6pm until later in the night.

I have video of the crowds earlier in the day and another video of me walking through the nearly deserted hub area while it was raining but don't know how to upload them.

But, definitely do your homework on weather patterns for wherever you are traveling.
 
Chef Mickey

Chef Mickey

Well-Known Member
You can't stop crowds. Don't even try to plan around it or read blogs about "strategies." They are iffy at best and can blow up the minute you see it's not working like they said it would.

I've gone in April, May, September, October and during major holidays. Of course major holidays are busier, but it's not like it's a walk on 7DMT in September. Same rules apply as any other month.

My best advice is just wait people out. Stay in the parks and you'll see crowds dwindle some. People walk in all tough at rope drop, but most of them fizzle out late afternoon. Get your Fast Passes, use EMH, and just use your head. Don't try to ride Splash Mountain at 1pm unless you have a FP. You'll get waves coming back for fireworks, but you can hit everything if you just stay long enough and adapt to wait times.

It will be busier during the week you're going, but I can give anecdotal stories about busy days during the supposed "dead times." There are no dead times during the year anymore. There is always some special event (Food/Wine, Flower/Garden, cheer competition, RunDisney, ProBowl, class trip, graduation (Fall and Spring/Summer), Halloween Parties, etc. Disney has made slower times into events to bridge the gap between major holidays.
 
Raineman

Raineman

Well-Known Member
raven said:
If there is one tip I can tell anyone visiting WDW between June and September is to BRING AN UMBRELLA. It can be a small, collapsible one but it is the one item that you will almost definitely need on a daily basis.

This past Saturday at MK when the downpour started I was in Carousel of Progess. When I came out, guests were huddled everywhere inside shops, under the people mover, under the overhang by Buzz, Stitch and Monsters Inc and the main walkways were nearly abandoned, even though crowds were extremely heavy that day. It seemed all these guests weren't prepared and were trying to wait out the rain but it rained from around 6pm until later in the night.

I have video of the crowds earlier in the day and another video of me walking through the nearly deserted hub area while it was raining but don't know how to upload them.

But, definitely do your homework on weather patterns for wherever you are traveling.
Click to expand...
Do the daily Central Florida downpours tend to happen less frequently when you get further into the fall? Going to WDW for Halloween this year, and have always been there in March (and after three trips to WDW, have never seen a drop of rain while I was there, so I'm hoping I'm not due for a bunch this time lol).
 
raven

raven

Well-Known Member
Hurricane season goes through The end of September. That doesn't mean the weather follows that calender by any means. It's better to be prepared than to get stuck.
 
21stamps

21stamps

Well-Known Member
Raineman said:
Do the daily Central Florida downpours tend to happen less frequently when you get further into the fall? Going to WDW for Halloween this year, and have always been there in March (and after three trips to WDW, have never seen a drop of rain while I was there, so I'm hoping I'm not due for a bunch this time lol).
Click to expand...

Yes,typically.

raven said:
Hurricane season goes through The end of September. That doesn't mean the weather follows that calender by any means. It's better to be prepared than to get stuck.
Click to expand...

Isn't hurricane season thru November? The year we had a bunch of them I think a few were pretty late in the season.
 
RustySpork

RustySpork

Oscar Mayer Memer
Raineman said:
Do the daily Central Florida downpours tend to happen less frequently when you get further into the fall? Going to WDW for Halloween this year, and have always been there in March (and after three trips to WDW, have never seen a drop of rain while I was there, so I'm hoping I'm not due for a bunch this time lol).
Click to expand...

It depends on the year, sometimes yes and sometimes no. There are years where March is more wet than dry, or years like this one when it may only rain once the whole month.
 
raven

raven

Well-Known Member
RustySpork said:
It depends on the year, sometimes yes and sometimes no. There are years where March is more wet than dry, or years like this one when it may only rain once the whole month.
Click to expand...
Yes it is, sorry. In any case, Disney is in a tropical climate and I'm still surprised how many guests complain about all of the rain we get. :banghead:
 
21stamps

21stamps

Well-Known Member
Central Florida is sub tropic. SoFla is tropic.

@Raineman don't worry, your dates should not have the summer storms. There's always a chance of rain.. or a late season hurricane though ;).
 
RustySpork

RustySpork

Oscar Mayer Memer
21stamps said:
Central Florida is sub tropic. SoFla is tropic.

@Raineman don't worry, your dates should not have the summer storms. There's always a chance of rain.. or a late season hurricane though ;).
Click to expand...

I don't know why I'm finding the urge to read your posts and reply, but you're wrong about that.

75ed6hi.png
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom