Why do I torture myself?

[mgrayar]

That’s my week as well. I’m not happy to hear they expect large crowds. I admit I didn’t see the original prediction, so how much worse did it get?

It was mostly 2-5. One or 2 6’s. It was really low last week.

 

[hereforthechurros]

Mardi Gras is March 5. I’m from LA & can say with certainty a lot of families from here go to Disney that week because the kids are out of school & some businesses also close for at least Mardi Gras day.

We were there over Mardi Gras in 2018 and actuals wound up being 8/10 & 9/10... every single person from La seemed to be there. Luckily y’all are easy to spot in your head to toe LSU gear and super friendly demeanors!

 

[Klayfish]

That’s my week as well. I’m not happy to hear they expect large crowds. I admit I didn’t see the original prediction, so how much worse did it get?

Remember, the "crowd calendars" really don't predict crowds...that was a big part of the discussion in this thread.

Not point at you PP, just using this as a perfect example of why I think these crowd calendars are intentionally deceptive and misleading. It's a shame.

 

[epcotty]

Same with us. I'll take it even one step further. In addition to the above, we also had no clue what parks had EMH, ABC, XYZ on any given day..with one exception. My kids wanted to try EMH once just to see what it was all about, so we had one day where we knew. While it was fine, it was not all that impressive, so we're right back to our blissful ignorance.

XYZ- Xylophone Yippee Zipadeedoodah, where the park's open from 4-5am every other Thursday
ABC- Another Boring Cash-in, where the park randomly opens for a half hour and if you happen to be there you're one of the "lucky" ones

 

[teachmedis]

We go on Easter week, because it's beautiful weather and we're teachers. I know it is going to be crowded. I'm not going to pay for someone to tell me that. I'd plan the same way regardless.

 

[Laura's Dad]

I would imagine that the crowd calendars are based on previous years' data until they get new data around 2 months out and then make adjustments. I, too, was surprised at the data increase for our upcoming March trip, but the big reason we are going is to do Mardi Gras at Port Orleans. My wife is not even going to the parks, but I wanted to see the first day of the Flower and Garden Festival and am upgrading to an AP for our December longer trip. Right now our early December trip is being tracked on TouringPlans. I know that when they release SWGE opening dates that this could change drastically. It is not going to change our plans. I do think, however, that there is no way that TP is trying to mislead anyone. They wouldn't be in business very long if the did so.

 

[alrushton]

I’ve tried to use the crowd calendars in the past, and have pretty much given up on them. I think it’s just getting harder to predict. My general rule now is to avoid the EMH parks and the ones holding a unique parade or special, non ticketed event.

Interestingly, I found Magic Kingdom to be the lowest crowds during the day that they would close early for ticketed Christmas or Halloween events.

YES!!! One of the best days we have had at the Magic Kingdom was last year in Dec on a MVMCP! We got all 17 things that we wanted to get done in that one day even with them closing at 6pm. We had a 2nd day planned there but canceled it because we didn't need it. IT WAS AMAZING!!!

 

[eagle1992]

Count us in the minority where every day of our trip (save for our last day) the predictions have now gone down...We are going April 5th to the 12th and some significantly went down (for example April 6th HS went from a 7 to a 3)...all went down between 1 to 4 and the last day they went up 1-2.

Honestly I don't pay much attention to the calendar...we book when we can go based on the kids' school calendar, and then book the park days that make the most sense for us based on combinations of DAH, EMH, etc. as well as what works for us from scheduling in downtime, what we want to see, etc...

The only time of the year I refuse to go is during Christmas/New Year's...thanks but no thanks...

 

[Gussie Granger 1969]

Not only do I not check crowd levels anymore, I don’t use any paid touring plans. They royally screwed up one of our days last trip. We just go when it’s convenient for our family and we’ve been touring for so long, I know how to schedule our days without help.

 

[tsme]

We were there over Mardi Gras in 2018 and actuals wound up being 8/10 & 9/10... every single person from La seemed to be there. Luckily y’all are easy to spot in your head to toe LSU gear and super friendly demeanors!

Lol, yes some of us are rabid LSU fans (and Saint’s fans), and most of us are very friendly & quick to start chatting with strangers about absolutely everything & nothing at the same time.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Lol, yes some of us are rabid LSU fans (and Saint’s fans), and most of us are very friendly & quick to start chatting with strangers about absolutely everything & nothing at the same time.

Yeah you right!

I hate when I wind up with "line duds" who stare at me like I'm crazy for striking up conversations! I am ready to see more of my fellow Louisiana people at the World.

Hopefully we will be celebrating a BIG WIN.

 

[DWFamilyof6]

I thought I’d come back and post this link. I really appreciate them addressing the changes. They also were very clear in stating their numbers are based on wait times not people in the park. In all I am impressed with how they handled the shocking change in numbers for som many of us. However, I’m still done with crowd calendars in general. Happy planning everyone!

 

[dlavender]

You don't really need a crowd calendar to tell you when its busy. I'll put my crowd calendar out there for your free use, ranked insane to less insane:

Christmas and New Year - Insane
Easter - Insane
Any other time there is a holiday that's not labor day - insane (especially Columbus day)
Labor day weekend - Less Insane
Marathon's - Less Insane
Summer - Less Insane
Times during school hours middle of the week - Least insane

Oh, and EPCOT on a Saturday or Friday night during a festival - Most insane

That's all you need.

There is no appreciable difference between a 6,7,8, or even 9. It's either insane or less insane.

 

[jaysmom4285]

I think TP explained their 1-10 rankings something like this at one point (and I hope someone will correct me if this is no longer the case). They said to imagine that there are 365 marbles (i.e., days of the year) , each a different, unique size, from teensy to gigantic. Since they only have ten rankings, they would take the 36-ish smallest marbles (i.e. lowest wait times of the year) and call them 1's, the next 36 would be 2's, on up to the 36 largest, which would be 10's. I know it isn't precisely 36 of each and that the groupings are undoubtedly of varying unequal sizes, but you get the general drift. If you accept the premise that there are 36-ish days that are 10's, obviously some 10's are bigger than others. Christmas day and New Year's day 10's would be larger than spring break or summer 10's. But since they only have ten rankings, this is just how they have to group things, unless they decide to expand their rankings to 15 or 20 or 50. So all 10's are not created equal (yes, I get the Orwellian reference). A 10 just means among the longest wait times, but probably not THE longest, wait times of the year. And a dive into the touring plans site will show you exactly what they are talking about for wait times for the major attractions at each of those levels. As has been pointed out, there is really not a significant difference in wait times for just a couple of levels. And again, they are measuring wait times, which is just about the only objective measurement that can be done. How a crowd "feels" will depend on personal opinion and specific experiences in different parks at different times of the day. No one can really measure the "crowd," but I know people like to nitpick, because TP does refer to crowd levels and crowd calendars, so some will say the reference to crowd levels is deceptive. Maybe they should change their terminology, who knows, but any brief glance at their information will show that they are in fact referring to wait times.

 

[DisneyMom93]

Does anyone know where I can find FREE past or historical crowds at Disney World? I'm particularly looking for the first three weeks of November (before Thanksgiving). I know about Veteran's Day and New Jersey week theories and was wondering how it was in 2018.

I keep finding crowd calendars for past years but they seem to be past "predictions" for that year.

 

[dlavender]

Does anyone know where I can find FREE past or historical crowds at Disney World? I'm particularly looking for the first three weeks of November (before Thanksgiving). I know about Veteran's Day and New Jersey week theories and was wondering how it was in 2018.

I keep finding crowd calendars for past years but they seem to be past "predictions" for that year.

I think TP is the only one that goes back and "updates" after the fact. Best bet would be trying to search the boards for first hand accounts, but as I'm sure you already know what one person says was busy another will say it was dead

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

Does anyone know where I can find FREE past or historical crowds at Disney World? I'm particularly looking for the first three weeks of November (before Thanksgiving). I know about Veteran's Day and New Jersey week theories and was wondering how it was in 2018.

I keep finding crowd calendars for past years but they seem to be past "predictions" for that year.

There is a whole Historical Crowds section on TP that is free. It's the actual crowd level seen, not their predictions. Hi under the Crowd Calendar link and it should be the last option.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Out of curiosity, for those that buy and use the crowd calendars, would you continue to use if your trip is at a 7/8 but ends up being at a 4/5?
On the same note would you continue to use and buy if it was the opposite scenario?

Personally, yes. And I will say that I've had both scenarios your express happen to me over the years and still feel a subscription is worth it to me. I use it for planning but also while in the parks for lines, etc.

 

[scrappinginontario]

I booked FPs this morning for friends who are going in March and was easily able to get everything they hoped for! Their DHS day is a 9 and all FPs were available including SDD at 60 + 2 days.

I will say I was concerned for them when the new crowd calendars were release but will say after this morning's experience that I believe the crowds will be manageable (going in with a good plan and realistic crowd expectations) and I'm sure they'll have a great time!

 

[DisneyMom93]

There is a whole Historical Crowds section on TP that is free. It's the actual crowd level seen, not their predictions. Hi under the Crowd Calendar link and it should be the last option.

I just tried. It keeps telling me I need to Subscribe to view them. Oh well. Thanks.