Crowds and cold oh my!

[abnihon]

I also thought crowds were higher than I expected.
I was at AK for Pandora’s opening weekend but last Friday felt more crowded to me!

 

[Satchmo128]

Returned home from our trip on 12/10. It was definitely colder and more crowded than any other early December when we have been. At least we were able to get FoP fast passes by diligent refreshing on two different days.

 

[marcar12]

I actually have been wrestling with this in planning my next trip as well. I certainly believe Star Wars will be a different level of crowded than Disney has seen. I am not so sure about Toy Story Land. I am not sure Toy Story Land will be even as crowded as Pandora much less Star Wars. The coaster will certainly start as a several hour wait before tapering back to probably 90 minutes. Saucers will probably more crowded than a ride like that should be, but I just don't see waiting more than an hour. It certainly is a nice and needed addition to keep the park friendly to younger kids, but it is not going to be the same draw as Star Wars or Pandora.

I am very curious about how Toy Story Land will effect crowds next year around this time. Thank you for sharing your opinion about it. I tend to agree with you, and hope you are right, because we are going to DHS next fall for the first time ever. Hoping to avoid the types of crowds that Star Wars will bring.

 

[Tink0106]

Here now. MK yesterday was crowded and COLD in the evening. Cleared out at 10pm and the last two hours we walked in every ride. But it was freezing. I brought everything we needed and we were just fine. Today was fantastic weather wise but AK crowds were insane. 4 1/2 hour wait for fop and 2 hour wait for Navi. At HS now waiting for JBJB, crowds are manageable and weather is perfect.

 

[MinnesotaChill]

Good news! I'm here now (the 14th) and it's supposed to be back to normal temps this weekend/next week. I specifically looked at Tues because we're doing the party that day and it will be 83.

 

[shh]

We were there 10th-14th, including MK last night. LOVED the cold (but I'm a South Floridian dealing with heat/humidity year round, so it's a rare treat for me.)

Definitely much more crowded than I've ever seen it at MK and AK...not so bad at Epcot. We skipped the studios, so can't speak to that. We go same time every year. Even with 60 day window, could only get FOP FP for the morning we were leaving - we literally ran in this am to do the ride, then back out to car and drove back home.

We never do table service in parks - but gave Skipper's Canteen a try last night and was able to get a walkup (w/1 hr wait time). Not too bad, given how very packed MK was.

We were at AS movies: opted out of the mousekeeping and glad we did. Used the credit towards dining and never missed the cleaning. It's just me and spouse: we keep things pretty neat ourselves. We called 1x to request trash removal and fresh towels. I'd do the same thing again. It was great not having to worry about when we'd need to be out of the room, since we're not rope droppers. We always seem to be off schedule and miss out on at least one day's cleaning anyway.

 

[AnneK]

We have been here since the 6th, leaving on Saturday the 16th. Crowds have been definitely higher than expected, but we've dealt with it fine. We've managed to ride FoP three times through Fast Pass, and I snagged a second fast pass for River Journey today at like 3pm even though the park was super crowded. We are ending our trip with the Christmas party tomorrow night and it's supposed to be warmer finally. We watched both Illuminations and Fantasmic in low 40s/high 30s weather! Cold!

 

[Elle23]

We were at Epcot today (the 14th), and I didn’t think the crowds were bad at all.

I expect it to get worse this weekend and closer to Christmas, but today was fine.

 

[goofyintoronto]

I was at WDW from Nov.4-10 this year. OH MY LORD! It was sooooooooooo packed, it really took me by surprise. Last year i went in October 2016 and it was still crowded, but not as bad. My friend went in Oct this year and he said the crowds were fine. So i guess mid to end Oct is the way to go?

Question for me next year is, do I go for lower crowds in Oct but suffer through MK being closed early for MNSSHP?.......OR........do i go after Nov1st when MNSSHP is over and done with and MVMCP hasnt even started yet? Hmmmm. Tough call! No party dates/early closures would be nice...but the crowds. Yikes!