Park crowds

[Remy is Up]

Dont rely on crowd level calendars. I really dont get the reliance on those things. They are so far off base and any given day, any event, anything can change levels. WDW doesnt have a slow time anymore. Plan on it being crowded and navigating it as such. Know how to refresh to adjust plans because when more of the crowd is day guests, tour groups, first timers, or once every x years groups, they have no clue how to use FP+ properly. Wait times yesterday at AK for FoP at 1230- 240 Minutes, Dinosaur-75 Minutes- Everest 90 Minutes- We pulled FPs using refresh for all 3 while driving over to the park from Aquatica. Park was packed and FPs were available with some patience. Same thing happened Christmas day. The slower days where there are more "locals" or AP holders, then refresh gets more difficult because more people in the park are doing the same thing but overall, Id say maybe, MAYBE, 10% of the people across the parks on any given day have any clue how to actually use FP+.
This isnt yesterdays WDW and you cant plan as such. It can still be very enjoyable and you can be spontaneous or adjust things..Just have to know how.

As far as Rides breaking down. That happens across all parks everywhere. Its a function of rides. And parks , ALL parks, rush things out. It just so happens RotR has some issues because of the total system reboot. When you get something this advanced with this many moving parts, no matter how much testing is done, it is going to happen. The park , NO park, guarantees everything you want to ride is available every day you are there. You pay to get into the parks. The attractions available are not guaranteed. Things happen and its part of ANY vacation. WDW will try and make people happy, but, the venom ive seen tossed at CMs at Guest relations is beyond childish by grown adults. My advice is that when something no longer provides value to you and makes you unhappy, stop doing it.

 

[LSUmiss]

Dont rely on crowd level calendars. I really dont get the reliance on those things. They are so far off base and any given day, any event, anything can change levels. WDW doesnt have a slow time anymore. Plan on it being crowded and navigating it as such. Know how to refresh to adjust plans because when more of the crowd is day guests, tour groups, first timers, or once every x years groups, they have no clue how to use FP+ properly. Wait times yesterday at AK for FoP at 1230- 240 Minutes, Dinosaur-75 Minutes- Everest 90 Minutes- We pulled FPs using refresh for all 3 while driving over to the park from Aquatica. Park was packed and FPs were available with some patience. Same thing happened Christmas day. The slower days where there are more "locals" or AP holders, then refresh gets more difficult because more people in the park are doing the same thing but overall, Id say maybe, MAYBE, 10% of the people across the parks on any given day have any clue how to actually use FP+.
This isnt yesterdays WDW and you cant plan as such. It can still be very enjoyable and you can be spontaneous or adjust things..Just have to know how.

As far as Rides breaking down. That happens across all parks everywhere. Its a function of rides. And parks , ALL parks, rush things out. It just so happens RotR has some issues because of the total system reboot. When you get something this advanced with this many moving parts, no matter how much testing is done, it is going to happen. The park , NO park, guarantees everything you want to ride is available every day you are there. You pay to get into the parks. The attractions available are not guaranteed. Things happen and its part of ANY vacation. WDW will try and make people happy, but, the venom ive seen tossed at CMs at Guest relations is beyond childish by grown adults. My advice is that when something no longer provides value to you and makes you unhappy, stop doing it.

This is not as easy with little kids as OP said. It’s not just the rides but the obnoxious lines for everything else. And as far as the “advice”, for some of us who have been going for years multiple times a year, it’s very sad & disappointing that something we used to love has changed so much that our only solution is to walk away. I know personally we keep trying to tweak things with every new trip hoping we will find the trick that’ll make it more enjoyable again. But, with every failed attempt, it becomes more & more obvious that the only thing we can do is walk away & that makes me sad. So, ppl come here to vent about having no choice but to give up something they used to enjoy so much b/c it’s no longer enjoyable.

 

[cmmelzer]

Not trying to be combative here. But what do you want Disney to do about it? They increase ticket prices and everyone complains. Increasing prices are one of the only ways to try and slow down the crowds. They arent going to limit even more and cut down the amount of people in the parks.

Something that gets overlooked so majorly whenever the Disney crowds are being discussed is the nations economy. (Without getting political) The Nations Economy is BOOMING right now and more people have more money to spend. Therefore they are taking more trips which means more people to Disney. I can 100% say that this is why my family has been able to take two straight trips the past two years. Park attendance will slow down some next time there is a recession. Just hope im still able to be one that can make the trip.

 

[LSUmiss]

Not trying to be combative here. But what do you want Disney to do about it? They increase ticket prices and everyone complains. Increasing prices are one of the only ways to try and slow down the crowds. They arent going to limit even more and cut down the amount of people in the parks.

Something that gets overlooked so majorly whenever the Disney crowds are being discussed is the nations economy. (Without getting political) The Nations Economy is BOOMING right now and more people have more money to spend. Therefore they are taking more trips which means more people to Disney. I can 100% say that this is why my family has been able to take two straight trips the past two years. Park attendance will slow down some next time there is a recession. Just hope im still able to be one that can make the trip.

Extend park hours to what they used to be. They’re shoving more ppl into a smaller window of operating hours.

 

[JC0712]

Extend park hours to what they used to be. They’re shoving more ppl into a smaller window of operating hours.

This is so true. They also could operate rides at full capacity. Why does Big Thunder Mountain Railroad have only one track running for the first hour of operation? Shorter hours and lower ride capacity decrease the quality of the guests' experience.

 

[rebbyparker]

We opted out of Disney the year they debuted magicbands at the hotel without letting us know in advance. We had nothing but problems that trip. Mostly the magic bands wouldn't work. We spent a LOT of time at guest services in the park and at the hotel trying to get the things to work. I was so frustrated while we were there. And upset that they didn't even think to warn us that we were guinea pigs without volunteering. We walked away. We still did Florida trips but they were to Universal and Discovery Cove and SeaWorld. Places where I didn't have to plan every detail. Relaxing, stress free trips. I still loved Disney but holy cow, they lost their minds there for a while. Cut to this year and grand daughter wants to see Jack and Sally. My initial thought was "bad! bad! no Disney!". And realized it's workable, I can do it. ADR's, FP's, Halloween party, Dessert Party, Circle of Flavors, DAH (NO Star Wars!). Lots of planning and stressing and workarounds. This is Disney today. This is the way it is now and it's only going to get worse. I remember Disney as a teen, the year it opened, wandering where you wanted to go, meeting characters everywhere on the street, walking into where ever you wanted to eat. That is not Disney today. So we can mourn what we've lost (and it's a lot) but we also can rejoice that we have these boards to help plan the reality of a Disney vacation. These boards have helped SO many people make their vacations magical.

 

[yulilin3]

Just a good tip for busy days. Most quick services now offer mobile order. Use it, it's a time saver. You can go find a place to sit while you wait for your food to be ready.

 

[parasail_of_congress]

Dont rely on crowd level calendars. I really dont get the reliance on those things. They are so far off base and any given day, any event, anything can change levels.

Can you give an example of when/how a crowd level calendar is inaccurate? It's a little weird to mention that on this particular thread when, at least in this case, the crowd level calendar was accurate it seems.

 

[DisAg]

Don't know why, but I really enjoy planning a trip to WDW. It is kind of like a game to me that lasts a year+ leading up to the vacation. It never works out perfect but we take what we learn on our trip/reading this board/watching youtube videos and make adjustments for the next one. When things go well in the parks it is very satisfying to me for some reason.

 

[ksdave]

Been going to WDW since 1972. After our trip for GD's first visit last September, we are done too. It is just not enjoyable anymore, even with my daughter having all our FP's, dining, etc. pre-set up. Too many people. Felt more like the that Star Trek episode, The Mark of Gideon.

 

[DeeCee735]

Not trying to be combative here. But what do you want Disney to do about it? They increase ticket prices and everyone complains. Increasing prices are one of the only ways to try and slow down the crowds. They arent going to limit even more and cut down the amount of people in the parks.

Something that gets overlooked so majorly whenever the Disney crowds are being discussed is the nations economy. (Without getting political) The Nations Economy is BOOMING right now and more people have more money to spend. Therefore they are taking more trips which means more people to Disney. I can 100% say that this is why my family has been able to take two straight trips the past two years. Park attendance will slow down some next time there is a recession. Just hope im still able to be one that can make the trip.

Me either, not at all being combative, however I disagree. Disney doesn’t raise prices to slow down crowds. They raise prices and implement amazing rides Like ROR, FOP, and market like the geniuses they are, specifically and only to make more money.

Gone are the days of high echelon management caring about happy guests. Now it’s only about the almighty dollar making them richer and richer and richer. I know Walt Disney was a businessman, but he also had a focus of making families happy. He’s gotta be rolling in his grave with what’s going on now. Prices and economy aside, people come here because it’s supposed to be one of the best family vacations in the world. How can that possibly be when one spends more time in long lines, sweating half to death with family members doing the same just waiting, waiting for rides that just keep breaking down, or 240 minute lines. By the time one ride is completed, I just want to get the hell out of there. It’s very hard to get in more than 3 major rides in a full day, IF that. For about $125 per park per day, really? We used to be able to ride all the popular rides, have a sit down meal, see a couple of shows and a parade and do some of it again before nighttime fireworks. Now, especially after these last two days proving my point, we’re lucky if a snack and a popular ride happens before we can’t take anymore.

I’m doing AKV tomorrow for 1/2 day, ONLY because I have my AP and a FP for Fop. Otherwise, I’m done with the parks. Just not fun anymore. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll go over to universal next trip. If it’s no better, I’ll leave the parks to others and keep my hard earned money in my pocket.

I will make use of my timeshare because the resorts are amazing in and of themselves, but no more parks. They actually put a major damper on this trip. Pool, boardwalk and spa. Much more of a vacation.

Good luck for those of you out there today. Hope it works out better for you than it has for us.

Dee

 

[aloha517]

Don't know why, but I really enjoy planning a trip to WDW. It is kind of like a game to me that lasts a year+ leading up to the vacation. It never works out perfect but we take what we learn on our trip/reading this board/watching youtube videos and make adjustments for the next one. When things go well in the parks it is very satisfying to me for some reason.

I agree ! I get so much satisfaction when the things I had planned helped with making our day as enjoyable as possible ! And I always am leaving the parks with this pat yourself on the back kinda of feeling like ..job well done me !!

 

[Scoobie]

I think employing less CM's, working them 12+ hour shifts, & running rides without full capacity is partially to blame. Disney is also letting way more people into the parks each day than they used to, at the same time shortening operating hours & taking even more hours away with the upcharge events. Also a factor, DW is an international destination so the economy in other countries comes into play here. In the end it really is about Disney making more money - and it will probably only get worse for the forseeable future as Disney has had to close 3 parks overseas due to a virus crisis. That lost money is going to come from somewhere, which will mean more cuts (refurbs on hold, too) & price hikes for their remaining parks. For how long, who knows. But once Disney makes those cuts, they may not bring back what we lost since most will have already gotten used to them. I think the powers that be are just taking as much as they can get away with & waiting for public reaction. When the parks continue to thrive, they take more. Still thriving? No reason to give more - but certainly "new" once in awhile. There is a difference between cuts & stale, so they keep making strange new offerings that look thrown together at the last minute. Why? Because they were. They must have money making, brainstorming meetings constantly. Remember the "tents" in Future World?

 

[Revan46]

Crazy how much things have changed and what crowds are like. I was just checking wait times, you know it's a weird time at Disney when Kilimanjaro Safaris is 180 minutes while Flight of Passage is 120. Never in past year of having the MDE app and just checking wait times fo the heck of it, have I see KS have a higher wait time than FoP, even in evening. So yeah...park crowds have really changed and become crazy...

 

[Tbiafore]

Dont rely on crowd level calendars. I really dont get the reliance on those things. They are so far off base and any given day, any event, anything can change levels.

Can you give an example of when/how a crowd level calendar is inaccurate? It's a little weird to mention that on this particular thread when, at least in this case, the crowd level calendar was accurate it seems.

This is exactly what I was thinking. Very odd statement to say when it was right on the money...Yes, they are not ALWAYS accurate, but they get close in many occations and they are valuable tool at least to give you a rough estimate as to times you should avoid.

 

[CastAStone]

This is exactly what I was thinking. Very odd statement to say when it was right on the money...Yes, they are not ALWAYS accurate, but they get close in many occations and they are valuable tool at least to give you a rough estimate as to times you should avoid.

This. Exactly this. The better ones get probably 320 days a year directionally accurate a year ahead of time (it's nuts, its busy, its OK) and everyone complains about the 45 they miss. Within 6 months that's probably 340-25.

Disneyland crowd calendars I can understand kvetching about, because the weather makes a big difference there, and that's totally unpredictable. But the WDW crowd calendars that are developed via science are pretty good, especially within 6 months.

 

[Revan46]

Given it's close to March Break (and is MB for some people), any idea what people think crowds COULD look like on March 6 (Friday). I'm seeing mixed crowd calendars as usual (hence why I'm iffy relying on them). But given it's not a holiday weekend technically thoughts?

 

[CastAStone]

Given it's close to March Break (and is MB for some people), any idea what people think crowds COULD look like on March 6 (Friday). I'm seeing mixed crowd calendars as usual (hence why I'm iffy relying on them). But given it's not a holiday weekend technically thoughts?

At MK? I would be shocked if any Friday in March wasn't busy at MK.

 

[Boopuff]

Just curious, I get that DHS is always crowded, but how are the other parks in comparison?

 

[Revan46]

At MK? I would be shocked if any Friday in March wasn't busy at MK.

Guess I just have to keep my fingers crossed it's not insane is all. You know it's insane when Philharmagic is a 40 minute wait (Jan. 6 my last visit O_O). And actually going to be at all parks. Park hopper.