Too crowded

[Pixieish]

To give you an idea, the queue line for 3 Caballeros during Saturday before Columbus Day went almost outside of the main lobby of the Mexico pavilion.

The blessing of this ride though is that the line moves VERY quickly.

 

[Jedi Stitch]

January, either the first full work week after NYE holiday, or after MLK day and the marathon.

We went in January too. Just after the run crowd, It was slower between the run and MLK then after. During the long weekend, the parks had a full vibe. It was also near freezing that January, too, but that did not hamper the crowds to much.

 

[A Olson]

We have been going for over 20 years around the end of Jan beginning of Feb and the crowds have gotten much much worse. I have been also in summer and the past few years even at this time can rival that of summer. Big bummer.

I am with others in that I don't believe there to be a slow time any longer.

 

[jloucks]

I am on my 8th trip to Disney World and I have to say I am little disappointed. The crowd in October is the like a Christmas crowd. I thought traditionally it is less crowded in October. We have been twice before in October and it was not close to this crowd level. Disney now running specials to fill up the least crowded times? Any suggestions on a better month? I’m thinking February?

The last two times I went (early oct and late nov) it was pretty darn packed. The only trip we were on that was not packed was early may. ...or it might have been late April (my memory aint what it used to be).

 

[WondersOfLife]

Lol, buttercup. Definitely not arguing with you. Some numbers would still be great. Our only data is from memory, which is horribly unreliable. Ever take a science class, buttercup?

Edit: Nope, you haven't taken a science class, nice YouTube channel, though.

Haha that youtube channel hasn't been used since like 2012.

 

[WondersOfLife]

The blessing of this ride though is that the line moves VERY quickly.

That is true. The the wait time was posted at 35 minutes. It was really hard to even walk into the pavilion, tho!

 

[spock8113]

It seems like no time is less crowded, where the summer and big holidays are even more crowded.
We have named it "Park Rage" especially if your pushing a stroller or a wheelchair in front of IASW.
Even w/fewer things open in WDS, the crowds are still there.
I miss the meal plan.....sorta.

 

[Pixieish]

It seems like no time is less crowded, where the summer and big holidays are even more crowded.
We have named it "Park Rage" especially if your pushing a stroller or a wheelchair in front of IASW.
Even w/fewer things open in WDS, the crowds are still there.
I miss the meal plan.....sorta.

I ADORED the meal plan until our oldest son turned 10 and now gets charged as an adult but eats less than our 6-year-old.

 

[Bpmorley]

no more slow times. disney has built resort after resort and the parks haven't gotten any bigger. Result = larger crowds all year round paying higher prices. Why make millions, when you can make billions

 

[DanielleOG]

We have been in 7 different months. In the last couple years, the idea of a slow time all smoke and mirrors. We prefer to go in the early summer when everything is running at full steam.


"Slow" time:

- Typical 12 hour window to go to parks (9AM to 9PM)
- Less staff
- Lower attraction capacity
- More scheduled attraction refurbishments concentrates crowds elsewhere

Summer:
- Typical 15-16 hour window to go to parks (8AM to 11-12PM)
- Full Staff
- Full attraction capacity
- Little to no scheduled attraction refurbishments.
- Little to no tour/cheer/sports groups

This reminds me of my McDonalds theory: Go to McDonald's when it's very busy, you are likely to get served faster and more efficiently. Go when it's dead, and the staff take their sweet time because they don't feel the need to rush.
It's like Disney hasn't quite clued in yet that the off-season is super busy now, and they're still treating it as "off" whereas they expect the summers to be packed and therefore do everything they can to make things run smoother and faster.

 

[larandtra]

Id echo that no time is ever "dead" anymore. With the festivals, runs, special events, etc, you can pretty much count on crowds most of the year. Use FPs wisely, plan in advance, stay on property and use EMH, and you can alleviate a lot of the standing in longer lines, even during busier times.

 

[TraderSam]

I am on my 8th trip to Disney World and I have to say I am little disappointed. The crowd in October is the like a Christmas crowd. I thought traditionally it is less crowded in October. We have been twice before in October and it was not close to this crowd level. Disney now running specials to fill up the least crowded times? Any suggestions on a better month? I’m thinking February?

We're planning a trip at the end of this month, and the only resort with openings when we searched (multiple times) was Coronado Springs, which is under refurbishment. I don't expect the parks to be slow when all of the resorts are booked up.

Combine the incentive plans to book vacations off-peak with the changes from FP+, and I think you're seeing Disney managing crowd levels extremely efficiently from their perspective. Attractions that used to be low-demand are filling up (30 minute wait for IASW).

Despite the higher crowd levels than before, at least if you travel off peak it's not in 90+ degrees and humid. Also, while the park hours are shorter, we've found that closing earlier makes us go back and rest... something that's easy to not do when you're trying to cram it all in.