Why are the parks so busy now?

MuteSuperstar

MuteSuperstar

Well-Known Member
I was there this week last year and I never saw anything even in the ballpark of 100 mins for Pirates. But MM+ was still in testing and you could still get paper fastpasses. We're starting to see just what a disaster this is going to be.
 
Nicole

Nicole

Well-Known Member
I live in northern Alabama. Our public schools just finished Fall break. It's somewhat like the schedule that was posted earlier, just not quite as nice. The kids start school in August, go to class for a 9-week quarter, then get Fall break. 9 more weeks, then a two-week Christmas/winter break. 9 weeks, then Spring break (regardless of when Easter is) then the final 9 weeks and they end by Memorial Day. Makes loads of sense to stagger the breaks that way, IMO. However I too knew about a dozen families who were at WDw this past week and it was exceedingly painful not to be among them!
 
G00fyDad

G00fyDad

Well-Known Member
How can people possibly blame MM+ for the long lines in October when these lines have been getting increasingly longer year after year after year? This MM+ has only been around for about a year now yet this October crowd issue has been growing for at least 10 years. I'm starting to get the sneaky suspicion people are about to start blaming Obama pretty soon. Two years ago people were blaming the free dining. Now that MM+ is around they've got a new scapegoat. I'm not saying it isn't a contributing factor, but everyone needs to stop acting like this is the sole reason why there are crowds in October. We have seen pretty light crowds in October all the way up to about 2007. That's when it started really building up crowds in October. The sudden explosion in crowds in October is quite possibly due to a large number of factors. MM+, more and more schools giving longer brakes in the fall, promotions, etc.

Maybe global warming is causing it. :hilarious:
 
hth1917

hth1917

Well-Known Member
G00fyDad said:
How can people possibly blame MM+ for the long lines in October when these lines have been getting increasingly longer year after year after year? This MM+ has only been around for about a year now yet this October crowd issue has been growing for at least 10 years. I'm starting to get the sneaky suspicion people are about to start blaming Obama pretty soon. Two years ago people were blaming the free dining. Now that MM+ is around they've got a new scapegoat. I'm not saying it isn't a contributing factor, but everyone needs to stop acting like this is the sole reason why there are crowds in October. We have seen pretty light crowds in October all the way up to about 2007. That's when it started really building up crowds in October.

Maybe global warming is causing it. :hilarious:
Click to expand...

I don't think anyone is attributing the October crowds as such to MM+. The argument is that MM+ has caused documented increases in standby waits for what were once short-wait-time attractions. October busyness exacerbates this phenomenon.
 
Polydweller

Polydweller

Well-Known Member
Hmm, I looked through all 5 pages and unless I missed it nobody mentioned the real reason for it bring busy this past week. The Gartner Convention was Oct 5-9 and that thing packs several resorts. Those people tend to stay over the long weekend since they've been away from work all week anyways.
 
wogwog

wogwog

Well-Known Member
MuteSuperstar said:
A line to get into a store now. In October. Sad, sad, sad.

And on the MDE app I'm seeing an 80 minute wait for Haunted Mansion and 100 for POTC right now. What the heck is going on????? I know it's a "holiday" weekend, but these numbers are just off the rails crazy. Starting to wish I hadn't booked in 3 weeks. This is absurd.

Edited to add:
105 mins for Dumbo at the moment, 40 for It's A Small World. This is beyond the peaks of summer. I don't get it. At all. FP+ must be ruining everything. You never saw these kinds of waits for HM, POTC or IASW ANYtime before this nonsense. Hoping I can at least sneak into Hall of Presidents or CoP when I'm there.
Click to expand...
This a big reason why Disney thinks it does not need to add any new attractions. The parks stay packed nearly all year anyway with nothing new.
 
mergatroid

mergatroid

Well-Known Member
draybook said:
No, this isn't just an October thing. The same thing goes for September and quite honestly I would lay the "blame" on more people taking advantage of Free Dining and word getting out about F&W.
Click to expand...

Not trying to be argumentative but we've just finished 3 weeks stay last Wednesday. We arrived 17th Sept and all Disney parks were much quieter than they had been when we arrived for 3 weeks on 9th Oct 2013.
 
AEfx

AEfx

Well-Known Member
hth1917 said:
I don't think anyone is attributing the October crowds as such to MM+. The argument is that MM+ has caused documented increases in standby waits for what were once short-wait-time attractions. October busyness exacerbates this phenomenon.
Click to expand...

No worries, the folks at Disney know better than us at what time we would optimally enjoy each and every attraction, so hopefully soon this will all be moot as Stand-By will go down the drain and we'll just be issued a minute by minute schedule online 3-6 months beforehand as to what attractions we are to enjoy each day. It will be so magical I can't stand it.
 
draybook

draybook

Well-Known Member
mergatroid said:
Not trying to be argumentative but we've just finished 3 weeks stay last Wednesday. We arrived 17th Sept and all Disney parks were much quieter than they had been when we arrived for 3 weeks on 9th Oct 2013.
Click to expand...


I guess it depends on one's definition of busy. We were there from the 8th-25th and it was much busier after the 14th or so than it has been since our first trip in 08. I can honestly tell you that we've never had 60 minute waits for Pirates before, not even on our 2 March trips.
 
GhostHost1000

GhostHost1000

Premium Member
MM+ is NOT the reason for the larger crowds. Longer wait times at POC maybe just because of how the lines are designed unfortunately but there is just a lot of people at WDW now - band or no band
 
MuteSuperstar

MuteSuperstar

Well-Known Member
I get that ghosthost, but 100 minute waits for Pirates today? Unless the MDE app was wrong, I saw that a few times today. Did it ever even get that bad on Christmas day? I can't ever recall wait times like that for Pirates, ever. Splash or PPF or some others? Sure. But not POTC. Only since the arrival of FP+.
 
PhotoDave219

PhotoDave219

Well-Known Member
RiGoRmOrTiS said:
Ive been coming to florida and the disney parks since i was 9 years old (32 now) and we have always come in october to avoid the crowds but this doesnt seem to work anymore.

This past week especially all the parks including universal have been unbearbable. whats going on? what changed? ive noticed this getting peogressivly worse year on year.

rides breaking down (pirates). 45mins - 90mins on literrally every attraction except living with the land in epcot and omg the brazilians, so many brazilians. i never knew how loud they were until they started filling the parks

at universal this past thursday, 80mins minion mayhem, 60 mins transformers,60 rip ride and rocket etc.. etc..

shoulder to shoulder in epcot, face to face in MK, urgh.. is there any month better now? november perhaps?
Click to expand...

Two thoughts:

First, its a holiday weekend. Columbus Day Weekend.

Second, this is the new normal. Slow periods are measured in days, not weeks.
 
Tom Morrow

Tom Morrow

Well-Known Member
Macca250 said:
The parks never have quiet periods like the old days.
Click to expand...
They do, but its a few isolated days here and there, not weeks or entire months like in the past.

And its a shame, I know its impossible for everyone to experience WDW like that, but nothing compares to the experience of a really slow day.
 
TXDisney

TXDisney

Well-Known Member
I can't complain, bc we got to ride every ride we wanted to when we were at Disney 4 weeks ago, but the lines were longer than we thought they'd be. Not sure if it was bc it was opening week of the Food and Wine Festival or what, but lines were long. Thank God we fast passed and did dining reservations in advance
 

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

Back
Top Bottom