Crowds During SWGE Reservation Period

[Michael Krusing]

Hey y'all. Greeting from Texas!

First, I wanted to say that this is my first post and by the looks of this forum, it appears to be a slice of Disney on the internet with all of the great advice that is given to us DL newbies.

So, we will be headed out to California the week of June 2nd and plan on visiting DL on the 5th, 8th and 10th (DCA). I also have reservations for SWGE for the 8th. My wife and two kids (5 & 7) are beyond excited and it has turned to crunch time for our trip. One thing that I have not been able to find, other than the general crowd calendars, is an opinion on the expected crowds during the reservation period in DL. We all know that things will go nuts after the reservation period is over but what is everyone's opinion during the reservation period?

I am hoping that the reservations were limited enough that a true "soft open" will occur and it won't affect DL too much, i.e. it will appear to be a normal June day, not at full capacity but busy. I am hoping for the best but have been preparing my kids for loooong lines. What does everyone think?

Thanks in Advance!

 

[RomCom]

I am going a week and half later and am hoping the same thing. That is it is busy but not shutting down to capacity every day busy. If you consult FB groups they will tell you it will close for capacity every single day but honestly I don't think anyone really knows what will happen. Believe me the anxiety of not really knowing what to expect is killing me too but at least you have the benefit of over a week of reviews and feedback on here.

 

[RomCom]

Also be sure to join the June 2019 check in thread. I'll be interested to hear your reviews since I have similarly aged kids (5 & 8).

 

[StageTek]

Yep, all we have is speculation. General crowd calendars won't be of much help. That first two weeks May 31 to June 14 is likely to be crazy busy - lots of people waiting a few days thinking the soft openings and opening weekend will take up most of the hard core fans.

My speculation is the park will not reach full capacity in June but it will far more busy than June of the last few years.

 

[dieumeye]

Here’s an article on this exact topic! They don't know either, but at least it sounds like they are preparing for anything!

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/h...-plagued-by-massive-crowding-it-opens-1190368

"We can make our best guesses about what the demand is going to be, but they're just guesses until we get there," Scott Trowbridge, creative executive at Walt Disney Imagineering overseeing Galaxy's Edge said during the first-look media preview. "So, we have a lot of different contingencies that are being evaluated and planned."

"It's not lost on our operators [demand will be immense] and [this is] not the first time they have done something like this on either coast," Trowbridge said of the planning efforts for crowds. "We want you to come to this park and to this land and have a great time. If we make that a real pain in the a** to do, then you're not set up to have a great time. So, our whole thing is to make sure when you come here to share time with your friends, to share time with your family, that we've made that as seamless and easy and as comfortable as possible."

 

[ImDMous]

We also have our reservation for the 8th. Waiting for all the folks with June 1st and 2nd times to report back after their turn.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

It's all just speculation, and DL crowds are notoriously difficult to predict.

It seems that everyone expects madness all summer. My suspicion is that this summer as a whole will not be as crowded as people seem to expect just because SO many people are avoiding the parks, which they assume will be crazy, which leads to the parks not being that crazy (a trend that's been observable quite a few times in recent years). At the same time, a lot of lower-level APs didn't renew or are blocked out of DL, so those factors together seemed hopeful - but the introduction of the FlexPass may make up for that depending on its popularity. The fact that they DID introduce that pass NOW, though, tells me that Disney itself has a reason to think they need to pull in more people this summer. Whatever metrics they're using - hotel capacity, reservations, AP numbers, etc. - must suggest that they still have the capacity for that pass. That's interesting to me.

My thought is that at the end of the summer, we will look back and see times that were slammed, but also lulls. No way to know when those lulls will be. As far as during the reservation period, keep in mind that Deluxe APs are blocked out of DL by the end of June, so they may visit a lot throughout the first three weeks of June, SW reservations or not. There also may be people who assume, as you do, that June 24 is when the REAL crowds will show up, so they may visit during the reservation period if they think that will keep crowds down.

Capacity closures are so rare. I don't understand how anyone thinks the summer is going to be full of capacity closures. I think that's ridiculous.

 

[Lauren in NC]

Plan for it to be very busy, and then you're prepared for the worst but hopefully pleasantly surprised! I think having a good touring plan in place will be helpful either way.

 

[StarSpeckledSky]

One thing that I have not been able to find, other than the general crowd calendars, is an opinion on the expected crowds during the reservation period in DL. We all know that things will go nuts after the reservation period is over but what is everyone's opinion during the reservation period?

Plan for the worst (very busy). Remember that many people don't understand reservations and might just go to DL unaware that they won't be able to access SWGE. Smh non-planners. Either way I agree with Skyegirl - there's probably going to be some reverse psychology, also, Disney introducing FlexPass now must mean something, right?

 

[RomCom]

It's all just speculation, and DL crowds are notoriously difficult to predict.

Capacity closures are so rare. I don't understand how anyone thinks the summer is going to be full of capacity closures. I think that's ridiculous.

FB groups are super extreme it seems like, or at least that is who voices in their options the most. That is why I generally go here since the attitude is more keep calm and Disney on.

 

[Castillo Mom]

Hey y'all. Greeting from Texas!

First, I wanted to say that this is my first post and by the looks of this forum, it appears to be a slice of Disney on the internet with all of the great advice that is given to us DL newbies.

So, we will be headed out to California the week of June 2nd and plan on visiting DL on the 5th, 8th and 10th (DCA). I also have reservations for SWGE for the 8th. My wife and two kids (5 & 7) are beyond excited and it has turned to crunch time for our trip. One thing that I have not been able to find, other than the general crowd calendars, is an opinion on the expected crowds during the reservation period in DL. We all know that things will go nuts after the reservation period is over but what is everyone's opinion during the reservation period?

I am hoping that the reservations were limited enough that a true "soft open" will occur and it won't affect DL too much, i.e. it will appear to be a normal June day, not at full capacity but busy. I am hoping for the best but have been preparing my kids for loooong lines. What does everyone think?

Thanks in Advance!

Hello and welcome to Disboards! In case you haven't seen it yet, there's a a great thread on SWGE, linked it for you here: https://www.disboards.com/threads/o...pening-may-31st.3738392/page-95#post-60621764.

Have a great day!

 

[tarheelalum]

It will be remarkably busy.

 

[shortred]

What is flexpass?

 

[crystal1313]

What is flexpass?

Is a new annual pass Disney is rolling out....

https://disneyland.disney.go.com/guest-services/flex-passport/

 

[shortred]

Is a new annual pass Disney is rolling out....

https://disneyland.disney.go.com/guest-services/flex-passport/

Thanks!