Is anyone cancelling a WDW trip or moving it up because of the early SWGE opening?

[Stinkomann20x6]

I'm not buying it.

I think you're going to see a large influx of people the week of the opening coming from Florida and surrounding states who will be coming for day trips for the sole purpose of seeing SWGE. Especially with the fact that both rides won't be open right away, I don't think a ton of people are going to be booking full vacations, in March, for the back-to-school season.

This is a ploy by Disney to turn the low-low-low early fall season into a low early fall season for the purposes of closing out their fiscal year (end of September) stronger than the previous year. Does that mean crowds will be insane? Especially at the other three parks? I don't think so. My guess is instead of seeing September-like crowds, we'll see the old January/early Feb crowds we used to see where most days are 2s, with a few 3s and maybe a mid-week 1 sprinkled in there.

I think a lot of people are freaking out over nothing.

Agreed and it’s Definitely possible. I think it’s important with anything to not make knee jerk decisions based on emotion right now. We have time to make a more educated, even keeled decision even in a week

 

[Wishfuiiy]

I did some digged on the historical crowd levels at the parks, surrounding parks and other factors for the opening of TSL/Pandora which both fell in Spring Break/Summer vacation months and the data said the other parks were fine, and there were huge spikes for guests at those specific park at the beginning which died down a lot by the end of the first months the lands were open. I think everyone who booked late September will be fine. I think Early September folks might be uncomfortable in HS, but then again, it might be better at the other parks for your trip!

 

[Traveling on cc points]

Yep. We check in August 30th. Was not expecting this at all. Fortunately it will be our 5th trip of the year so I may just cancel. I really don't know yet.

I thought I was the only one who wasn't thrilled by the news. We also arrive on august 30th. This will be our 3rd trip of the year. We have the 4th booked for the first week in December.

 

[jknc]

I think some are overestimating crowds for September.

Sure the Star Wars die hards will be there but many families simply cannot make it work with the start of school.

Having been there several times in September, it’s a great time of year to visit. Sure it’s hot, but crowds were always manageable.

Keep in mind many hardcore SW fans will opt to do Disneyland instead.

I’d hedge there will be many more families in October - December and beyond.

Early January 2020 visit would be ideal IMO.

 

[Iralyn]

I have a friend who is planning a September trip with her little girls...first time. She hasn't booked anything yet as far as I know. Wondering if I should suggest a different time but when? I just looked at some of the resort prices for September and OMG! AoA is $326/night for the cheaper promotional price! So price alone may end up changing her plans.

 

[yorkieteacher]

We will be there at the end of September with 3 kids under 6.. I guess it will be crowded for the weekend, but I hope the others parks are gonna be ok the rest of the time. No HS for us this time!

My exact feelings! My grands are 2 and 6-we are doing HS on Saturday the 7th, after MNSSHP the Friday night before. We planned on doing a big mid day break from HS for naps after a late night, and that's still our plan. We are not going to attempt to get into GE. Just hoping we can get some fast passes and see some of the shows. We will know July 8th when our fast pass day is! We may just go and see what we can and leave and do a resort day if it's totally crazy. It will be what it will be.

 

[VAtink]

We're arriving Sept 25th, and while definitely worried about the crowds, are not planning on canceling. Although I did just do a quick check of room availability for September to try to ease my mind, and my goodness, there is hardly anything even for one and two night stays! Yet October has tons of availability. So much for easing my mind!

ETA: Nevermind! For the first time the website automatically searched for the deal without me having to actually select it! Non-deal rooms are still available, phew! Way to make me panic Disney IT!

 

[Miffylynx]

While we are not cancelling, I did change our HS day from Sunday of Labor Day weekend to the Wednesday after. At least it cuts down a little with the school schedule.

 

[yorkieteacher]

I did some digged on the historical crowd levels at the parks, surrounding parks and other factors for the opening of TSL/Pandora which both fell in Spring Break/Summer vacation months and the data said the other parks were fine, and there were huge spikes for guests at those specific park at the beginning which died down a lot by the end of the first months the lands were open. I think everyone who booked late September will be fine. I think Early September folks might be uncomfortable in HS, but then again, it might be better at the other parks for your trip!

Heavens I am praying you are right! Our trip that we can't change is September 6-12. We wanted low crowds because our grands are 2 and 6 and don't wait patiently.

 

[princess_ariel_85]

No way I can change my Oct 5 - 10 trip at this point. We were there for Christmas 2017 and thought it was fine so I guess as long as we keep expectations in check and enjoy ourselves at F&W each night then all is well.

That’s what it’s all about for me, keeping expectations in check. With Disney advertising a Fall opening date we factored in lengthy wait times and large crowds into our DHS days. I’m just excited that we’ll get to see it because we were worried that it wouldn’t be open until after our trip.

 

[bobbie68]

how bad will the september crowds be?

I am considering cancelling a trip or moving it up to before opening day since our trip it planned for the first week! yikes!

How bad do you think it/ the other parks will get? Are we talking half an hour bathroom lines?!?

Hi OP I think it is going to be crowded and I believe it will spill over into the other parks a bit. There is going to be capacity issues to get in and people especially with kids are not going to just wait there. I think people are going to buy more hoppers and hop to another park then try back. With that I think you know your family and if you think it will be hard on anyone due to the crowds whether it will be missing out on stuff or long waits I would change the trip. The worse thing is to spend a lot of money and not enjoy your trip.

I think that there are going to be plenty of people taking there kids out of school. I read on these threads so many times how people do it. I agree with previous posters who said this is going to be something like Disney has not seen before. I would put this more on a scale of when HP opened at Universal. There were 7 hours just to get into wait.

If you think everyone in your family would be okay with any situation by crowds thrown at them and can go with the flow then don't cancel.

 

[kclark9830]

Hi OP I think it is going to be crowded and I believe it will spill over into the other parks a bit. There is going to be capacity issues to get in and people especially with kids are not going to just wait there. I think people are going to buy more hoppers and hop to another park then try back. With that I think you know your family and if you think it will be hard on anyone due to the crowds whether it will be missing out on stuff or long waits I would change the trip. The worse thing is to spend a lot of money and not enjoy your trip.

I think that there are going to be plenty of people taking there kids out of school. I read on these threads so many times how people do it. I agree with previous posters who said this is going to be something like Disney has not seen before. I would put this more on a scale of when HP opened at Universal. There were 7 hours just to get into wait.

If you think everyone in your family would be okay with any situation by crowds thrown at them and can go with the flow then don't cancel.

Agree with this advice. I know my family, and I know absolutely what we do and don't like. I believe it's going to be crazy busy, but even if it's only moderately busy--I know we don't like big crowds (moderately busy at WDW means significant crowds, period). We have small children, and fighting crowds with a stroller is hard. That does not sound like fun to us. We booked Labor Day week specifically for the lower crowds.

We will call off this year's trip. We've been talking about trying a cruise for a while now. Maybe now's a good time to think seriously about it .

 

[Toolulu22]

I'm not buying it.

I think you're going to see a large influx of people the week of the opening coming from Florida and surrounding states who will be coming for day trips for the sole purpose of seeing SWGE. Especially with the fact that both rides won't be open right away, I don't think a ton of people are going to be booking full vacations, in March, for the back-to-school season.

This is a ploy by Disney to turn the low-low-low early fall season into a low early fall season for the purposes of closing out their fiscal year (end of September) stronger than the previous year. Does that mean crowds will be insane? Especially at the other three parks? I don't think so. My guess is instead of seeing September-like crowds, we'll see the old January/early Feb crowds we used to see where most days are 2s, with a few 3s and maybe a mid-week 1 sprinkled in there.

I think a lot of people are freaking out over nothing.

Especially since its not a full opening. Folks planning one vacation to see the whole place up and running, will likely hold off a bit.

It’ll be interesting to see how this pans out though. I’ve seen the crowds during SW events and I am glad to be going earlier in the summer, way before any of this begins.

 

[holden]

We will just miss it during our August trip. No worries, we will be back in November for our annual FWF visit!

 

[Shughart]

I am whooping it up over here. We're going December 14-21 for my SW loving boy's 10th birthday. He wants to spend his day at HS seeing TSL and SWGE and I have been dreading being there the first week(s). It looks like it'll be open a little over 3 months when we go. I am hoping the paid FP+ rumors are true, as we're offsite and I am willing to pay!

 

[Viking7641]

I started a new job in February

Don’t get any PTO for 6 months, when I get a week

I was thinking of Disney in October. I’m canceling and gonna take another year off from the parks and maybe go to Hawaii instead, or bank my week and go abroad next year with 2 weeks

 

[Jessica Rust]

No way I can change my Oct 5 - 10 trip at this point. We were there for Christmas 2017 and thought it was fine so I guess as long as we keep expectations in check and enjoy ourselves at F&W each night then all is well.

I am going the same week! Not a Star Wars fan so hoping I can still get in to see TSL and shows at HS. Also hoping other parks aren't too crowded. I was really looking forard to the lower crowds that time of year.

 

[Atrain13]

I've had reservations for the 2nd week of December for months now. I've had all intent on moving our trip until before the opening of GE, BUT now knowing there will be over 3 full months of it being opening before our trip, I'm so excited not to plan our dates!

 

[ClapYourHands]

I'm sitting here trying not to cry. DH doesn't "do" Disney, so I took my older boys last year with plans to take DD on her own first real Disney trip this fall. She'll be 4, and loves Minnie Mouse and all the princesses. I planned for September to avoid crowds and have a leisurely trip. Since the following year she'll be starting school, I saw this as my last chance to take her at an "off" time. As much as I know it's a first-world problem, I still feel so disappointed. I don't know what to do now.

 

[Tiggerlover91]

I just made an account so I could post about my disappointment in this announcement. I have been planning our 'once in a lifetime' trip for over a year. I managed to get Pop Century with free dining for Sept. 13-23rd. Now I am 95% sure I am going to cancel it. I booked September specifically for the low crowds, which could now be some of the worst crowds the park has ever seen. We are not Star Wars fans, and want nothing to do with the crowds that this will cause across the resort. I am totally devastated and I really don't know when we might even try to re-book.

That's so sad to hear. I hate to hear someone cancelling when they don't really need to, but understand your reason for doing so. I am a Star Wars fan, but not to the point I even want to experience the madness this is going to cause throughout the parks. I've heard people say only HS will be crazy.....no...when it reaches capacity, which I don't believe they ever have, people are going to flock to the other parks and I can only imagine what the FP system is going to be like when this happens. Guess you can call me lucky that I'm teacher and I'm locked into certain time frames when I can travel. Spring breaks, winter breaks, and summer. Just lucky enough that our trip is the first week of June and I'm hearing that May and June and possibly July will be slower because SO many are waiting for Stars to open.

Is there no way you can bump your trip up to June or July and still get the free dining?