Current crowd levels

[loldis]

My favourite stat anomoly is the level 1 crowd at MK on October 1st.

The Disney crowds are just weird atm. Lots of people there for "the gram", food, etc and not the attractions. So the numbers are consistently lower than how it actually feels in the parks.

[Keegan]

We’ve been here since the 8th. We’ve travelled before in May, June and Septembers and this is the busiest I’ve ever encountered on holiday.

I did the college program too quite a few years ago now and the crowd levels are definitely similar to what holiday periods (spring break) seemed to be like.

You’re talking 60minutes minimum for most rides, 40ish for the rest. And way longer for the most popular (Rise, Slinky, Flight of Passage, Jungle cruise etc).

We did universal twice, first day was okay and second attempt you could barely move around the park. Wait times through the roof for everything. We haven’t returned since as there’s just not enough to do at Universal when it’s that busy to stay occupied.

We also attempted to stay out the parks on a Sunday, instead we went off property for some shopping and food. we tried 3 restaurants all were 45-60min waits for a table, we ended up with fast food as it was simpler. Vineland outlets were also super busy but I think looked busier than they were as lots of shops still using outdoor queuing systems.

It hasn’t spoilt our fun at Disney. We’ve enjoyed walking around during the days, watching the shows and looking in shops. In an evening the parks quieten down so that’s when we’ve managed all our rides with minimal waits.

Worth noting, not sure if anyone else has picked up on this but wait times are definitely inflated by on average 15 minutes we’ve found.

I also wouldn’t recommend Genie+ as when it’s busy, you just can’t get enough done with it.


I should add I think most of the problems stem from staff shortages and supply chain issues. The crowds mainly down to pent up demand and 50th celebrations. We did expect it to be busy but perhaps not this busy the entire time.

[jim jehosofat]

Just watching some of the vlogs, Tim Tracker, Paging Mr Morrow, etc, will give you an idea of how busy it is at the moment.

[Stitchesmumanddad]

Originally Posted by toffeeman0

Hi,
Anyone reading this in Florida at the moment who could let us no what the crowd level situation is. Travelling next week.

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Horrendous ! Im here now 170 mins for Rise of Resistance
Other premium rides 100 plus mins
Less premium 60 mins

Ive been WDW 32 times and loads of times in Jan. Never ever seen it this busy. To me its like old Easter and Xmas busy times !

……. BUT I love it so much, and so grateful to be here, tbh …. I’d put up with anything

[glenandem]

Originally Posted by Keegan

Worth noting, not sure if anyone else has picked up on this but wait times are definitely inflated by on average 15 minutes we’ve found.

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100%, we thought this yesterday and timed ourselves on a few rides in universal and was done in less than half the time it said going in!

[Keegan]

Originally Posted by glenandem

100%, we thought this yesterday and timed ourselves on a few rides in universal and was done in less than half the time it said going in!

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Disney are the worst for it. Only on two occasions has the waited post time matched, we’ve had anywhere from 30-10mins less waits than posted.

This is probably the cynic in me but I feel the longer posted waits and the way they’re currently operating the queues (lots of outside queuing and not really opening much of the inside queues to pile everyone in therefore making the queues look longer) is just to try convince people to A) buy genie+ and B) make it look like it was worth it for Genie+ when they see the wait time and walk past the “long” queue.

[Stitchesmumanddad]

Originally Posted by Keegan

Disney are the worst for it. Only on two occasions has the waited post time matched, we’ve had anywhere from 30-10mins less waits than posted.

This is probably the cynic in me but I feel the longer posted waits and the way they’re currently operating the queues (lots of outside queuing and not really opening much of the inside queues to pile everyone in therefore making the queues look longer) is just to try convince people to A) buy genie+ and B) make it look like it was worth it for Genie+ when they see the wait time and walk past the “long” queue.

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Totally agree !
Slinky said 60 mins
I was on and off in 30 mins

[dpunison]

We spoke with a cm and they said the crowds are larger than expected, they also said one reason might be the local kids that are playing hookie from their on line lessons.

[Nimbus]

By all accounts its fairly busy at the moment, or at least busier than it normally is in January.

It's clearly not as busy as Christmas, the weeks running up the Christmas and Thanksgiving week though because all the parks are still available to book, even the day beforehand.

However, looking at posted wait times at, say, MK they seem about the same as they did on Christmas Day!

Originally Posted by mandevillepete

We usually come mid to end of August and I would say it is as busy now as it is in August.

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Mid-to-end of August is usually considered a relatively quiet time at the WDW parks. I've been towards the end of August and it's not particularly crowded.

[MUAlumni]

Originally Posted by Nimbus

Mid-to-end of August is usually considered a relatively quiet time at the WDW parks. I've been towards the end of August and it's not particularly crowded.

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Is there any particular reason for this? We have been looking at planning our next trip for August 2023 and I’ve seen a lot of calendars showing the end of August less crowded than other times of the year