Here now

[casjen]

the crowds feel no different to me than they did in August or any school vacation week I've come. We came early and did everything we wanted to including the parade.

I was honestly expecting way worse.

 

[anniemae]

I have been checking the wait times periodically and other than the huge rides, the times did not seem that bad to me this past week at all.

 

[Gina Starr]

I have been checking the wait times periodically and other than the huge rides, the times did not seem that bad to me this past week at all.

I just saw dumbo at 170 minutes!!

 

[AngiTN]

Well, we saw Figment at 45 min
And we actually stood in a full queue at Boat Ride in Mexico, stretched all the way out of the queue to the plaza area actually.
Those are things we've never seen in June or August.
But, we still didn't find it all that bad and we did get in most of what we wanted. What we missed was due to our own choice to change our plans
In general though, if you arrive early you can get a lot done. The difference is in June or August arriving early isn't as critical as it is at Christmas. Sure it's nice to do it to beat the heat but it's not needed to beat the crowds in the same way.
What we found was the crowds in the morning equaled what we'd see in the afternoon in the summer.
Afternoon crowds in the summer never reach what they do in the afternoon at Christmas.

 

[Madame]

We r here too. Teacups at 20 mins. Pooh 55.

 

[Disneylover99]

We're here now too, and I agree. Yes, you're going to see some higher wait times mid day compared to August. But crowd wise, it's not bad at all. We've had no delays going through bag check or getting into the parks.

Last night we did Living with the Land, Figment, and Spaceship Earth with zero wait. Soarin was 45 minutes, so that's not too bad.

 

[AngiTN]

Also, I think it's starting tomorrow and through New Years where the crowds really ramp up. Today may well be the slowest of the rest of the days of the year

 

[AngiTN]

We thought the crowds out and about in the streets, so to speak, were not bad at all. We rarely had trouble moving around. That probably surprised me most. I expected that to be worse based on pictures I've seen in the past. Though with us leaving on Tuesday we may have gotten out of there before they got heavy

 

[Disneylover99]

Also, I think it's starting tomorrow and through New Years where the crowds really ramp up. Today may well be the slowest of the rest of the days of the year

I know that's what they say, but we were here last year too from Dec. 20-30. Crowd wise it seemed the same each day.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

Crowds do not peak until the week between Christmas and NYD.

 

[mom-2-3]

Just left EPCOT - looks like restricting entrance to MK. There was a sign at Monorail entrance stating at/near/approaching capacity (don't recall exact wording).

 

[cuteduck223]

i think crowds depend on a) when christmas falls--if its late in the week, most schools are out the full 2 weeks so before christmas also sees bigger crowds. b) expectations. i think crowds are managed better when they plan for capacity. c) weather is usually awesome for park touring. this week is our favorite week to go.

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

Just left EPCOT - looks like restricting entrance to MK. There was a sign at Monorail entrance stating at/near/approaching capacity (don't recall exact wording).

Yeah, MK hit a "Phase A" closure around 2pm - I only remember the time because they told us in the ticket booths just as I was leaving for the day.

 

[disny_luvr]

I'm glad crowds are manageable. Hopefully they stay that way for the rest of your trip.

 

[mom-2-3]

Yeah, MK hit a "Phase A" closure around 2pm - I only remember the time because they told us in the ticket booths just as I was leaving for the day.

Can you tell me the closing phases - we're "going in" tomorrow, we're onsite guests, have MK FP+, and BOG res for lunch - will we be ok? We'll be there by 10. TIA

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

Can you tell me the closing phases - we're "going in" tomorrow, we're onsite guests, have MK FP+, and BOG res for lunch - will we be ok? We'll be there by 10. TIA

Being an onsite guest will get you in during all but the very last phase of closures, at least as far as I know.

 

[skuttle]

We were there earlier this week. We did AK Sunday, MK Monday and DHS Tuesday. AK and DHS weren't too bad, crowded but manageable. MK, however, was VERY crowded. Much more crowded than we saw it Easter week this year.

 

[Disneylover99]

We were there earlier this week. We did AK Sunday, MK Monday and DHS Tuesday. AK and DHS weren't too bad, crowded but manageable. MK, however, was VERY crowded. Much more crowded than we saw it Easter week this year.

It's interesting how crowds can change so much from day to day. We were at MK Tuesday morning, took a mid afternoon break, returned in the early evening and closed out the park. It seemed just slightly more crowded then our end of August trips.

 

[Pauline Tinker]

The difference is in June or August arriving early isn't as critical as it is at Christmas.

 

[AngiTN]

Parks don't not any closure level in August so yeah, it's more crowded right now for sure

I hope everyone continues to have a great trip this week

I do know that being there and seeing the crowds before Christmas confronted to me I won't do the week after, even getting up early. At some point you want to be there at night too