How Bad are the Crowds, Really?

[MrsPete]

They don’t need a fifth WDW park. They need a third US Castle park, somewhere in like Iowa or Ohio or whatever.

This is a great idea -- maybe Northern Texas would be the ideal mix of central location and warmer weather.

A stroller ban would effectively ban most families with small children.

Yes.

We don't book our FPs or meals in advance. We enjoy strolling through the parks and winging it, taking things as they come. But that's gotten increasingly difficult in recent years because of the sheer volume of guests.

Honestly, this approach is less and less feasible. Without some planning, you could easily end up paying $$$ and only managing two rides in a whole day, and that's not worthwhile.

 

[GovieMom]

I’m here now and was bracing for shoulder to shoulder, and....it really hasn’t been too bad. i check TP to see how close their predictions were, and so far every day those week, actual crowds have been below the prediction. Good for me, I guess!

I'm here this week and the crowds are huge. I can't get over TP saying they're seeing lower crowd levels than predicted, like 3s and 4s. Ridiculous!

 

[Heather07438]

I'm here this week and the crowds are huge. I can't get over TP saying they're seeing lower crowd levels than predicted, like 3s and 4s. Ridiculous!

Because crowds have gotten so crazy over the past several years, even with a drop it still feels packed. A 4 today feels like the 7 of 2016.

 

[disneysteve]

Honestly, this approach is less and less feasible. Without some planning, you could easily end up paying $$$ and only managing two rides in a whole day, and that's not worthwhile.

We have yet to find that to be true. We go on the app the night before once we decide which park we're going to and book 3 FPs. Once we've used them, we will usually get a 4th and maybe a 5th. And we'll do standby lines for some things as well.

We've used mobile ordering a few times to try and avoid the lines at the restaurants but honestly, that system needs a lot of work. Sometimes the wait is just as long and the pick up system can be very chaotic. We don't do table service dining so the 6-month ADR thing doesn't affect us.

If it ever gets to a point where we could only do 2 rides in a day without booking weeks in advance, we will stop going.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

For those talking about a 3rd US park location, I've been arguing a Texas location for years.

Somewhat centrally located, large population centers in Houston and Dallas to draw locals and minimum wage employees.

Large areas of empty land, warmer weather so the parks can stay open year round.

 

[Remy is Up]

We have yet to find that to be true. We go on the app the night before once we decide which park we're going to and book 3 FPs. Once we've used them, we will usually get a 4th and maybe a 5th. And we'll do standby lines for some things as well.

We've used mobile ordering a few times to try and avoid the lines at the restaurants but honestly, that system needs a lot of work. Sometimes the wait is just as long and the pick up system can be very chaotic. We don't do table service dining so the 6-month ADR thing doesn't affect us.

If it ever gets to a point where we could only do 2 rides in a day without booking weeks in advance, we will stop going.

Ill echo this. We go every other weekend on either Saturday or Sunday and then do 3 or 4 staycation long 4 day weekends during the year. We never book FPs in advance. Normally just show up and on the drive over grab 2 or 3 depending on if its a tiered park, the burner options etc. We will generally arrive close to or at RD and by the time people start cancelling or moving their FPs, we can pull whatever because we understand the drops. We also dont eat much in the parks, particularly MK or Studios due to the quality of the food being much better outside the gates. Inside we usually do easy quick stuff and between our daily park hop we will grab a lunch and can generally find a ressie for whatever that accepts TIW. So the Table service for us, while we do use ut, we can generally pull a ressie day of unless we are planning a ncie dinner on Staycations but even then, outside of a limited set of restaurants in Epcot or Tiffins at AK, the best options for us are sigs outside the parks in resorts or over in Springs. We generally use 10-15 FPs on those days and the majority are Eride level stuff.
Like you, if we could only manage 2 rides a day we would also consider curbing our trips.

 

[DisAg]

For those talking about a 3rd US park location, I've been arguing a Texas location for years.

Somewhat centrally located, large population centers in Houston and Dallas to draw locals and minimum wage employees.

Large areas of empty land, warmer weather so the parks can stay open year round.

I went to Texas A&M in College Station, TX and there used to always be rumors floating around about Disney opening another park in the area. College Station is located in the middle of the triangle made between Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio. I don't think it would ever happen but would be great for the central Texas economy. I would say the weather is very similar to Florida (hot and humid in the summer, winter is all over the place, hurricanes are present but not as bad that far inland). Land is not that cheap though. There is a piece of land (32000 acres) for sale between College Station and Austin with an asking price of $250 million.

 

[disneysteve]

I was so disappointed when they scrapped the plans to build Disney's America in Virginia. That would have been just a few hours away for us. We would have loved that.

 

[yorkieteacher]

This week they have been manageable - but- on our MK day Haunted Mansion was down for the day, Mine Train was down half a day, but our FP was for 1 so we got to ride. HS day MMRR was down off and on (we got to ride) Epcot Day Test Track and Frozen and Figment were down for an hour- we had waited for Frozen for 45 minutes when they told us it would be a long delay- got out of line for it to open 20 minutes later with us in a restaurant eating breakfast! So the average crowds didn’t have as much to do a lot of the time-

 

[disneysteve]

This week they have been manageable - but- on our MK day Haunted Mansion was down for the day, Mine Train was down half a day, but our FP was for 1 so we got to ride. HS day MMRR was down off and on (we got to ride) Epcot Day Test Track and Frozen and Figment were down for an hour- we had waited for Frozen for 45 minutes when they told us it would be a long delay- got out of line for it to open 20 minutes later with us in a restaurant eating breakfast! So the average crowds didn’t have as much to do a lot of the time-

The frequency and duration of attraction downtime seems to have really gotten out of hand. That's purely a reflection of cutbacks in maintenance and staffing in my opinion. Disney used to excel in that department but not anymore. With brand new attractions, I'm willing to cut them some slack while they work out the kinds, but with something like Haunted Mansion or Figment that are basic Omnimover rides that have been there for decades, it shouldn't be happening.

 

[V.B.]

I am also wondering how much the hurricanes from last year and people delaying their vacations for ROTR to be opened have impacted the crowds so far in 2020. I read so much about how the parks were empty in late summer and early autumn in 2019 and now, I keep hearing that people can't believe the crowd sizes so far in 2020. So, as I said, I do wonder if that has had anything to do with the crowd sizes (of course, we know that slow seasons are becoming more and more a thing of the past).

 

[Lady Hiss]

This week has been a bit better than Mardi Gras week crowd-wise, but we’ve also lowered our expectations. We no longer trust that rides will be running perfectly, that transportation will be timely or reliable (esp buses), that decent FPs can be had after using your first 3, that the park restaurants will be open in the evening, etc. Evenings are more pleasant as far as dodging the crowds, but headliner FPs are still difficult to get. The effort to get them detracts from the overall experience. More extended evening hours, especially at Studios, would‘ve helped with availability. I agree with others who’ve mentioned another park being needed. I really wish Disney would put the brakes on building new resorts and adding even more people to already crowded parks. Yep, it all comes down to $$$. I wonder what the breaking point might be as far as guest experience vs. $$$.

On a few positive notes, the CMs have been absolutely the best we’ve seen in recent years - cheerful, helpful, friendly; the weather has been awesome for those of us escaping the cold, gray North; the Skyliner is a winner ( mostly); Epcot is still beautiful despite the construction walls.

After this trip, we’ve decided not to return within the next few years. So there ya go - a few less people in the parks. You’re welcome.

 

[disneysteve]

I really wish Disney would put the brakes on building new resorts and adding even more people to already crowded parks.

Building more resorts brings in people who otherwise would have stayed offsite. I'm not sure it actually brings in more people overall though. It does, however, put more strain on the transportation system as that means more people riding the buses particularly.

 

[finedice]

with something like Haunted Mansion or Figment that are basic Omnimover rides that have been there for decades, it shouldn't be happening.

You've made a point both ways here. The point is exactly that they've been there for decades... routine maintenance is still only that.- Eventually steel fails, computer systems that run the rides become extremely obsolete and complicated integrated systems don't always play nice anymore.

We rode Splash Mountain on its reopening day last week with lights on, ride running, a FEW lines of repeated dialogue by a single character being the only audio in each room (no music or sound effects), and none of the animitronics moving (except that the riverboat was still rocking at the end with nothing else in the room moving). It was still a fun ride, but definitely weird in the still and quiet version. Funny thing was... no one ahead of us seems to have reported it. The ride staff seemed totally surprised when we told them after disembarking from our log.

 

[Ajan]

I’m here now and was bracing for shoulder to shoulder, and....it really hasn’t been too bad. i check TP to see how close their predictions were, and so far every day those week, actual crowds have been below the prediction. Good for me, I guess!

I'm the same way. Haven't been in almost five years- Sept 2015 was the last time and had myself mentally prepared for all these unmanageable crowds... Besides our HS day, the parks haven't felt all that busy. We're at MK today, lines aren't all that crazy, found tons of extra fps, walkways are fine... I don't know if my expectations were super low or what, but the longest we've waited was for lunch at Columbia Harbour House- about 15 mins.

Yesterday at AK was fine too- FOP was 75-90 mins most of the day, we picked up two same days, so we didn't even wait for that. I guess maybe the crowds will be ramping up as we head towards the weekend, but we've gotten so much in already, all that is left are the less popular things anyway.

 

[disneysteve]

You've made a point both ways here. The point is exactly that they've been there for decades... routine maintenance is still only that.- Eventually steel fails, computer systems that run the rides become extremely obsolete and complicated integrated systems don't always play nice anymore.

Sure, but that's why every ride goes down for maintenance once a year for a good cleaning and general overhaul. If that is being done on schedule, the ride shouldn't be breaking down several times a week. If it is, then it needs to be taken offline and repaired before being reopened.

 

[Remy is Up]

The frequency and duration of attraction downtime seems to have really gotten out of hand. That's purely a reflection of cutbacks in maintenance and staffing in my opinion. Disney used to excel in that department but not anymore. With brand new attractions, I'm willing to cut them some slack while they work out the kinds, but with something like Haunted Mansion or Figment that are basic Omnimover rides that have been there for decades, it shouldn't be happening.

Lots of assumptions there

 

[JayMass]

I wonder how FP+ has impacted standby lines. I feel like crowds are bigger than before but hours have been reduced. 5 or 6 years ago MK was open until 12 or 1 am during Mass Feb Vacation week. This year they closed at 9. More people pushed into a shorter day.

 

[crzy4mickey]

is anyone there this week? Are the crowds manageable? Someone I know was at EPCOT on Monday and said it was empty!

 

[malialaine]

We’re here now and have been pretty disappointed for the past 4 days - extremely crowded at every park, very limited success with decent 4th FPs, long lines for all quick service restaurants including Starbucks, just lines, lines, and more lines. At one point my DH said it brought back memories of going to Great America where we were lucky to get on 3 rides in one day. There isn’t much ‘magic’ here lately.

Please don’t tell me to stop and appreciate the theming and little details - Disney took away a lot of the benches where we might like to sit and do so!

Sorry to rant, but this WDW is not what it used to be and while some of the new rides & experiences are awesome, the long lines and crowds at all times of the year ( not to mention the expense) detract from the experience of ‘happiest place on earth’.

WDW is not the happiest place on earth, DL is. WDW is most magical.