Which crowd calander?

[daisyduckie]

If you had to pick between following Kenny the Pirate or Touring Plans crowd calander, which would you go with? Looking ahead to October they disagree a little. Which would you follow?

 

[sxeensweet]

To be honest neither. Lol We never rely on a crowd calendar or advise to use them because they can be very inaccurate. Pick when it works best for you not a crowd calendar. Some swear by them but we love our trips and never use them.

 

[NYwdwfan]

Think about it this way - if you and thousands (or more!) of other people specifically avoid certain weeks based on crowd calendars and flock to other weeks based on the same, those crowd calendars actually cause the inverse of what they are predicting.

 

[rob0519]

Neither of them can be very accurate any more. MK is jammed up 365 days a year and AK is about to join them after May 27. Just go when it fits your budget and schedule and be prepared to deal with the crowds.

 

[carriebeth]

I have never really used Kenny the PIrates but i will warn you about Touring Plans. The crowd predictions now will change by October. As people continue to book and especially if its a time that ends up falling during something like free dining, the predictions will really go up. I love Touring Plans for scheduling our days but to pick a time to go or a park to go to on any one day can be a bit tricky.

 

[bethymouse]

There's also easy wdw.com I have found now that they're going monthly. In other words, they can't seem to predict the crowds as well as they used to. I can only see April 2017, but then when I look at May, it's last year 2016. There is just no real slow time anymore at WDW.

 

[Chef Mickey]

None are accurate.

 

[DisneyJoe]

A proper touring plan is more important than a crowd calendar.

 

[Herdman]

We look at the ones on touring plans for some guidance, but we don't let it affect when we want to go. As others have said, having a plan far outweighs the crowd. We were there this past Thanksgiving week. We went with a plan, did everything we wanted to do and still were able to go back to the resort most days for a midday rest. All during one of the busiest times of the year.

 

[JIMINYCR]

To be honest I always had good luck with Touring Plans. But now with the changes of what a Disney vacation looks like, I do scan them all to get variable opinions. I have always given Touring Plans more value... BUUUUT after making our plans, we remain flexible, use the park hoppers if we encounter a heavier crowded park than we expected and realize no ones perfect in their predictions.

 

[MisterPenguin]

It's good to look at several. One may be aware of a big convention or event and flag that day or weekend as crowded while the others don't.

In general, they tell you what it was like at that time over the past few years (more weight on last year). But, things can change from year to year.

The fall of 2015 had a huge unexpected uptick in crowds. It caught Disney and everyone by surprise. Disney thought this was going to last into the late winter... it didn't. They had to lay off lots of extra staff when the crowds didn't stay high in number. Then the fall of 2016 had a drop in numbers compared to 2015. No crowd calendar can anticipate that. Nor bad weather spells. Nor beautiful sunny cool weekend weather which will pull in the locals in huge hordes.

Like the weather, you need to look at each projected crowd level with a chance for higher than normal or lower than normal. They can tell you that early September or late January is low crowds and be fairly accurate. They can tell you that Christmas week and Spring Break season will be slammed. They can't guarantee too much more than that.

 

[BoarderPhreak]

Forget crowd calendars. It's always crowded...

Just be smart - and don't go when everyone else does (e.g. spring break, school break, long holidays, etc.) if you can at all help it.

 

[SyracuseDisneyFan]

I use Undercover Tourist.