Busy Parks

[mudpuppysmom]

We returned on Tuesday (12/16) and I was wondering if anyone else who was there noticed that the parks were busier than they anticipated?

Tuesday I will say that MK was manageable though.

MK on Friday was NUTZZZZZZZZZZ. Epcot on Thursday was NUTZZZZZZZZZ AK on Saturday was you guessed it....NUTZZZZZZZZZZZ. Heck, even MGM on Wednesday was NUTZZZZZZZZZZZ there were just people everywhere!!!

I never thought it would be as busy as it was!! We went a couple years ago and it was NOT at ALL like it was from Dec 10-16!! BUSY BUSY BUSY!!! We were walking thru a crowd at Epcot one evening and I heard someone say, "Remember the recession people!"......you would never know there WAS a recession by the crowds that were there when we were!!!

Anyone else think it was busy?

[Goes4FastPass]

We were there Dec 3-7, traditionally the time before Pop Warner and all that follows and the parks seemed NUTZZZZZZZZZZ.

That's one of the reason I get bored with fans suggesting WDW should "leave the icing off the cake" until the economy stops hurting them so much.

[Beast_fanatic]

I too found the crowds much heavier than on previous trips around the same time frame.

[Gator]

I'm with you. I was really upset at how crowded it was. It wasn't even close to that busy two years ago. I saw no signs of recession at WDW.

[Strmchsr]

I'm not surprised. December has become MUCH more popular and the crowds have been getting bigger each year.

[lindique]

I noticed that it was much more crowded than usual too. I have been going to Disney World during the first 2 weeks in December for 25 years now, and I've never seen it this busy.

[Daisy'sMom]

We were there from the 1st thru the 6th and I didn't think it was that bad. We are going Saturday for the day, I will let you know how it is then. :mickey:

[lighteningqueen]

The worst I was there Dec 5-14th and there was not even a less crowded day in any of the parks we hopped most days. Stood in lines to the point we could only get a few rides in and maybe a show and the day was gone and so were our feet. Waiting waiting standing,. Jut too much won't go again in Dec. It will be early spring or between spring breaks and school out if I ever go again. Thinking of Disneyland for the future. People were rude and cut lines eat every ride we were on. Holding places for 5 more of their family till it got close then that would throw the line longer. We have never been this impatient but this was too much and too few CM's to help the problems.

[Ian]

I too found the crowds much heavier than on previous trips around the same time frame.:ditto:

I really think the growth in popularity of DVC has spurred some of this upswing in early December crowds.

With it being considered Adventure season, so many DVC owners are coming in at this time that the crowds have just skyrocketed. I can tell you I met so many fellow DVC members when I was down there, it was nuts. Plus they have the Merry Mixers going on, the annual meeting ...

[KevMcNJ]

could be that word is getting out of when the slow times of the year are at The Mouse and more people are taking advantage of it.

Like Yogi Berra once said,
"no one goes there any more, its too crowded"

Also many people make Disney reservations months and months in advance.

Things may have been a bit brighter when people visiting the parks now made their reservations.

[Polynesian Dweller]

I'm with you. I was really upset at how crowded it was. It wasn't even close to that busy two years ago. I saw no signs of recession at WDW.

You're probably looking a little early for signs of recession at WDW. WDW is a lag indicator, in other words, the effects show up later than elsewhere. That's because of how long in advance people have to book the vacation and have already commited to the trip, generally at least 6 months out and often longer. So, a lot of vacationers are people who booked in the summer before the economy started to crumble.

The real signs of the recession, if they will show, will start hitting Disney around March and onward. The promotions Disney has had suggests that their booking for 2009 are likely down. If, on the other hand, the crowds stay up March to June, it will be a good sign of resilience in the global economy.

[thumperbug]

As an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, I can tell you that right now, even with the buy 4 get 3 free promotion..no one seems to be booking any trips past February. Even with the extention of the booking deadline until Jan 24...I still see nothing for March or after that.

Will have to see what happens after the holidays. Budget is a huge factor.

8 weeks from today is my next Disney trip...waaa hoo. I expect it to be crowded...but hey...its still Disney

[Dr. Disney]

We were there the 8th through the 15th and I couldn't believe how crowded it was. In fact, One day DHS was at max capacity.. they weren't letting anybody in!! I guess well have to go back the week after labor day again :)

[rmfreder]

We just returned from our trip (Dec 12-20) and also found it to be much busier than expected. The worst day was Saturday, Dec 13 at Magic Kingdom, but otherwise the parks were still manageable. When we checked out on Saturday and was waiting for the Magical Express, the bell hop said that for the week of Dec 14, the Beach Club was at 100% occupancy. For the week of Dec 21, they were only at 43%. I'm sure the points usage for DVC members definitely has something to do with it.

[stitchaholic]

well i certainly hope everybody got it out of their system and it quiets down for the end of jan when i go.

[WDWFanatic]

The real signs of the recession, if they will show, will start hitting Disney around March and onward. The promotions Disney has had suggests that their booking for 2009 are likely down. If, on the other hand, the crowds stay up March to June, it will be a good sign of resilience in the global economy.

While I don't want to jinx the global economy, I would mind having lighter crowds for my April trip ;).

[spoonful of sugar]

recession . . . there definitely isn't a recession in disney. my husband and i were there dec. 13-20 and omg, what a horrible trip we had!! 90 minutes for toy story mania, never again. i mean the ride is cool, but for the 5 minutes or so you are on it, not worth 90 minutes of standing and listening to crying and complaing kids. WDWFanatic i am with you on the april thing. we are going back 4/25-5/2 and i am so hoping that it is quiet that week. i was also very disappointed with pop century. we stayed there in 2006 and from then to now i have no idea what happened, but the people staying there, well, there's not much to say about them being i have nothing nice to say. horrible!! defnitely never a value resort for us. we have coronado springs booked for april and from what i hear it's perfect for adults.

[Heller109]

We were at Disney from 12-21 to 12-26 and found the parks not too bad until Christmas Eve. We stayed at the Contemporary so we popped over the MK in the evening & found the lines not too bad. We walked on Thunder Mountain, Pirates, etc. The lines at Epcot the WHOLE trip were long. We tried several times to get on Mission to Mars but at 10am the fast passes were available for 8pm that night. It was crazy! We never saw Soarin without a 120 minute wait. Additionally..the fastpasses were gone for they by 11am! It was really crazy there and never really seemed to get better. Hollywood Studios was really busy on Christmas Eve due to Osborne Lights. But it seemed that so many people were looking at the Lights that we were able to hit a lot of the rides without a very long wait (20 minutes for Tower of Terror). My sons walked right onto Star Tours.

We decided to stay away from MK and Epcot on Christmas Day so we hit AK as they had early morning hours. We were there around 7:30 am or so and it was pretty empty. We were able to walk onto Expedition Everest three times in a row. It was AWESOME! After we were done there we went to Blizzard Beach. We practically had the part to ourselves! That was awesome. We did have to go to Epcot for the Processional and that was crazy busy. Absolutely horrible. It took us almost an hour to get from San Angel Inn to the processional! We saw the processional & then left right after that (again almost a hour to get out of the park).

We only have 2 hours on 12-26 so we decided to stroll around MK. The park was so crazy we decided to hit the train & get off at Toon Town. It was pretty cute as we never have been there (my boys are a bit older to enjoy it) But we walked thru Mickey & Minnie's homes. Main Street was so jammed with people I couldn't believe that they were allowing more people into the park.

Jenn