What Do You Consider "Busy" at the Parks?

[Main Street Jim]

So, reading through some threads about how "busy" the parks seem.

I'm just curious as to what y'all consider "busy".

Let me elaborate.

Since I worked in MK, we knew the approximate crowd estimate each day. On a *good* summer-vacation day, there'd be 35-37,000 guests. Christmas/New Year's week and Fourth of July - 75-77,000 plus. Easter week/weekend, 55-60,000. Even when things like the cheerleading thing is going on, it's not nearly as "physically" crowded as you would think; *maybe* 40,000 at MK.

Not sure about the "average" crowd at the other parks, but, I've heard EPCOT maxes out at about 80,000 (three times as big as MK), AK and DHS not nearly as many (I've heard that 35,000 at DHS is like a New Year's crowd there).

So, do you base your "busy" comments on the wait times, on what you see for crowds, or something else?

[MrPeetrie]

Main Street Jim, I am reasonably sure my idea of "busy" is far different than yours.

We are always attending during "off-peak" times (if there is an off-peak anymore). For our family, busy is when there's more than a 30-minute wait for Pirates of the Caribbean. Usually, it's only 15 minutes or so. For us, busy is waiting in line more than 10 minutes for Tomorrowland Transit Authority. We usually (almost ALWAYS) walk right on.

Coming from Pittsburgh and having Kennywood as our nearest park, I am always amazed when I view a sea of park-goers and expect to find 60- to 90-minute waits, only to encounter wait times of merely 20 minutes or less. Magic Kingdom handles crowds exceptionally well.

We have little kids. We study park traffic very well and usually have a good idea of which park will be "light" on a given day. We almost never wait more than 30 minutes for any ride in any park. (To qualify: we have only ridden Toy Story Mania once in four years because the wait is too long.) So when we attend a park and find 40-minute wait time abundant, we consider that park crowded.

We play a game sometimes when we go out to dinner. We have a few wait-time apps and we try to guess the wait times of rides at each park. When we see 90-minutes here and 120+ there, we say, "I'm glad I'm not down there now!" I know they exist. We've never been there when it's that busy.

[KylesMom]

An interesting question, Jim. We have vacationed at DisneyWorld since DS was 28 months old, predominately during late spring and summer months. He is now on the cusp of turning 16 - and our last family vacation was in July/August of 2011. In the early years, I always gauged what would be "busy" by the room rates and activities such as F&GF or SWW. Then it graduated to ADRs and availability. Now? It's all of the above and more.

* Lines at opening ceremonies / through the initial gates stemming back through the turnstiles - and bag check lines snaking way past the tables
* Quick-serve dining, beverage or merchandise lines more than 20 minutes during non-peak dining times
* Lines for the buffets; i.e., Crystal Palace and such that equal more than an hours' park time missed in total just to wait in line for food
* Queue times for attractions such as Small World and PeopleMover, or Carousel of Progress as well as the smaller attractions at the other parks that equal more than 30+ minutes . . . or e-ticket lines in excess of 120 minutes without a FastPass - in recent years this has been a constant
* Wait times of 1 to 2 hours to get back to a Deluxe resort with a boat (why we always rent a car now and use valet parking at MK)
* Guests using whatever body or pushing parts they can or other items just to get out of the parks when no one can move - in other words, the "ugly factor"
* Participating in Extra Magic Hours, only to see waits of more than an hour at 12-1:00 am for mediocre attractions

These are some of the things that I would consider as "busy" at DisneyWorld - and what I hope to avoid by going during an off peak time (if there is such a thing) in the future :mickey:

[AndrewJackson]

I've been making our nearly annual trip to WDW since 1974. First ad a child with my parents, now with my own family.

Most of our trips have been during spring break with a few over the summer. We've gone once over Christmas (never again) and once over Thanksgiving (never again).

During spring break and summer, we are able to manage the crowds pretty well. With the use of FP, and arriving at rope drop, we rarely wait in line over 20 minutes.

I judge the crowd by the lines as a counter service at lunch, or just simply trying to navigate a congested area at MK.

For example, I know it is crowded when I arrive at Pecos Bill at noon, and the line is 8 deep across each register, or when I try to navigate the Splash Mountain/Big Thunder Mountain area around 2:00 in the afternoon, and you can hardly walk.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

We've been Christmas week and the week after and both were super busy. We went the first week of January and it felt relatively slow to me.

[Dulcee]

I've been visiting since '87 and have visited leading up to Christmas, numerous Easter and 4th of July trips and plenty of "quiet times."

For me busy means:

-Having to wait for more then 1 monorail to get on.

- E ticket attractions with waits of 120minutes +

-Waits for normally quick rides (Like SE or Pirates) at 35-45 minutes.

-Not being able to find a seat in a quick service restaurant

-Literally wall to wall people when trying to exit a park.

That being said we very rarely visit on Easter or the 4th anymore so usually we are happy with the crowds we encounter.

[TikiLounger]

For me busy means:

-Having to wait for more then 1 monorail to get on.

- E ticket attractions with waits of 120minutes +

-Waits for normally quick rides (Like SE or Pirates) at 35-45 minutes.

-Not being able to find a seat in a quick service restaurant

-Literally wall to wall people when trying to exit a park.


Yup...exactly.

[TikiLounger]

Oh...and...I just have to say,

Two more days! Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! :coaster:

[BrerGnat]

For me, it's the lines.

Lines for restrooms.

Lines for Counter Service restaurants.

Lines for rides that usually don't have lines (like TTA)

I prefer to be able to meander through the parks and not have to be dodging people left and right. So, when the walkways are really congested, that's crowded to me.

[Altair]

It's always busy at WDW, some times are just less busy than others. :mickey:

[JerseyDad]

...."Busy" is the week between Christmas and New Years Day (40 - 60 min lines ..avg)

...."Very Busy" ...is Easter Week or Spring Break (60 - 80 min lines avg)

...."Insane Busy" ...is New Years Eve (90 -120 min lines not uncommon ....parks, are pretty a wall of people ...those that use strollers & scooters ...do so with intent to maim the heels & toes of the general population)

...."Ghost Town" ...is January 2nd thru MLK day (walk on to most attractions)

[AndrewJackson]

...."Insane Busy" ...is New Years Eve (90 -120 min lines not uncommon ....parks, are pretty a wall of people

Been there, done that. Never again. We watched Illuminations on New Years Eve back in 1992. The crowd was scary. It took 1 hour just to exit the park, only to wait in line for another hour to catch a bus. Good stuff.

[tundramom]

We usually go during "off peak" times (according to points charts for DVC during second lowest "cost" times) where you can walk on TTA, IASW is 5-10 minutes, Soarin' is always 45'+ after 11:30 AM, but EE is walk on first thing in the AM. We went May-June this past summer and found it to be a little busier, but still quite manageable using FP and avoiding early EMH parks. There have been a handful of occasions where we've left a park because the crowds were just too much: preview night of Wishes (we stayed but I was very uncomfortable), a filming day for the Christmas show (not sure if it was truly that crowded, but the way Main Street was roped off made it very congested), and 1 day at AK when I nearly had a panic attack because I felt so claustrophobic because of the crush( I'm 5' 2'' and just can't deal with not being able to see an escape route- but weirdly enough have no problem with spelunking). For me it is definitely the amount of personal space I have while walking, for DH it's the wait times (he's all the about the rides). We using another site crowd predictor and find up to 6 bearable, over that I :giveup:

[tjstrike]

We had never been at Christmas / New years so we went last year and when the big rides have waiting times of 180 minutes, that's pretty darn busy... too busy for me. I'll stick with October and January from now on.

[waymickey]

Very busy is when everything has a line even tikki birds. When at Epcot there is a 45+ wait for Figment, when it is impossible to get on any rides at DHS because of the wait times and you are stuck sitting on a bench starring at the Sorcerers hat. I have been going for over 30 years and for the last twenty always in August. This past summer it was not crowded but the lines were out of control. Seems Disney did something IMHO that messed up the lines. It really left me feeling like it would be a while before I return. Too much time in line, too little time in/on attractions.

[masonlovesdisney]

I would say when most of the BIG rides (TOT, RnR, EE, etc) are longer than 45 minutes waits. I know that some rides, such as Soarin', RARELY have lines shorter than 45 minutes anyway. We normally go during off-peak times though also (January, November, early October) so we have never really seen the parks reach an absolute threshold.

[masonlovesdisney]

...."Ghost Town" ...is January 2nd thru MLK day (walk on to most attractions)

Yep! Have been in the middle of January and MAN was it slow.

[Bay Lake]

We have done Christmas week, 4th of July week, and trips during JUly and August. So when we go in Feb and March, it seems like a ghost town.

[SBETigg]

Busy, for me, is a combination of wait times and ease of getting around. If I can easily walk without bumping into/having to avoid people from one side of the park to the next, then even if wait times are long, it doesn't feel too crowded or busy. And if the walk is slower going, because of crowd congestion, but wait times are low, it doesn't feel too crowded or busy. But when crowd congestion hinders my pacing and wait times are high, then I consider the parks crowded or "busy."

And at those times, I park hop to check out other parks to see if they are as busy, or I spend more time at the resort. But I still have a great vacation.

[disneynarula]

For me I base busy on what the wait times are like at the non FP attractions. For example, if there is more than a thirty minute wait at It's A Small World I would say that the parks are crowded.

[JerseyDad]

Been there, done that. Never again. We watched Illuminations on New Years Eve back in 1992. The crowd was scary. It took 1 hour just to exit the park, only to wait in line for another hour to catch a bus. Good stuff.


...the one thing I did notice about the New Years Eve crowd at Epcot ...was that parents with little ones in tow ...stayed just for the 9pm Illuminations ...and then left (I suppose they told them that it WAS the New Years fireworks). So the crowd did thin by about 10% after that.

...but yes ....it was the kind of crowd that ...if you fainted ...or tripped and started to fall ....you'd never hit the ground ...because you'd bang into someone first! (yup ...scary crowded)

[Aurora]

Busy, for me, is a combination of wait times and ease of getting around. If I can easily walk without bumping into/having to avoid people from one side of the park to the next, then even if wait times are long, it doesn't feel too crowded or busy. And if the walk is slower going, because of crowd congestion, but wait times are low, it doesn't feel too crowded or busy. But when crowd congestion hinders my pacing and wait times are high, then I consider the parks crowded or "busy."

And at those times, I park hop to check out other parks to see if they are as busy, or I spend more time at the resort. But I still have a great vacation.


For me I base busy on what the wait times are like at the non FP attractions. For example, if there is more than a thirty minute wait at It's A Small World I would say that the parks are crowded.

Both of these are true for me as well.

[TSLtrek]

I hope to never find out as we always go in mid-September.

Though we did wait in line for 60 minutes for TSMM because we had to ride it one more time before catching the bus to the airport. :mickey:

Consistent lines over 45 minutes is crowded for me.

[pcoleman]

I find if the park is really busy there are still lines for rides during the parades.

[Main Street Jim]

We usually go during "off peak" times (according to points charts for DVC during second lowest "cost" times) where you can walk on TTA, IASW is 5-10 minutes, Soarin' is always 45'+ after 11:30 AM, but EE is walk on first thing in the AM. ...etc, etc...^^^Canton?

Canal Fulton here! :)

Those of you saying "more than a one-monorail wait", is that *first* thing in the morning, or is that after about 11:00am when most folks are already in the park<s>? If you're talking a little later in the day, then, yes, I would consider that "busy"...

For those of you that try and exit the parks right after fireworks - when everyone else in the World is trying to leave - why not stick around and let those crowds thin out a bit? I mean, why not shop, grab a bag of popcorn and a drink, sit and people-watch, watch the Kiss Goodnight at the Castle, watch the Inferno barge burn-off...*then* enjoy a nice "end to your day" without *FIGHTING* throngs of people trying to get back to a resort.

This:

...."Busy" is the week between Christmas and New Years Day (40 - 60 min lines ..avg)

...."Very Busy" ...is Easter Week or Spring Break (60 - 80 min lines avg)is backwards...The *one* week between Christmas and New Year's sees more guests at the parks than the entire THREE MONTHS of summer vacation. The parks usually close due to reaching capacity early in the day; not to mention at Magic Kingdom, when guests *think* the "Christmas parade" they're seeing is being shown on TV, when, in reality, it's taped three weeks earlier...

Thanks for your replies...it's exactly what I was looking for in responses.

[Jared]

I don't think I will ever consider the Walt Disney World parks "busy" again after my experience at Disneyland over Christmas. I was there in 2010, and the crowd levels were simply absurd.

I couldn't even tell you what the wait times for the attractions were because it was virtually impossible to maneuver down Main Street to reach them. Once we arrived at the hub, we saw that the Cast Members weren't allowing two-way traffic over the Adventureland bridge. To reach the west side of park, you had to enter through Frontierland and exit through Adventureland. There simply wasn't enough space to allow free walking through the lands.

So we left. It was the first time I've ever been in a Disney park and desperately wanted to leave. We gave up an entire day's worth of paid admission because it was so miserable.

I have been at the Florida parks over Christmas. It was nothing compared to what we experienced in California that day. Looking forward to being back in Disneyland in January, when the crowds should be light.

[Opus X]

Never been to WDW/DLR when it was busy..and there is no need to.
We go in Late April or early May.
NEVER busy then.
Planning is easy and its easier to avoid busy times.
Going then is by choice.
I guess its busy when you need a fast pass.
Yes, I do use them...but honesty...during late April early May..they almost arent needed...
I get them anyways...but just to have them in case.:thumbsup:

[MCeee]

The previous post shows exactly what I mean when I say... "its all relative". Its like asking... "what's the best food"?
Everyone's perception of "busy" is going to be different. The reason I mention the previous post is because we were there in late April/early May of this year (2013). All four of us (two couples) considered it very busy. If not for fast pass, we probably wouldn't have ridden half the stuff we rode. Standby lines for Maelstrom were 30 min.+. We consider that too busy, and very likely will not go there at that time again.
Its all relative... perception based.

[kbean]

When they run out of toilet paper!

[TheVBs]

We've only been in early Sept., late Sept./early Oct. and in early May. So, our concept of busy is definitely skewed. Sept. is certainly busier than it used to be, but May feels busier than Sept. to us. I'm really grateful right now that we can still go those times of year. I don't know how we would handle summer crowds/heat or holiday crowds!

[MOJoe]

When they run out of toilet paper!

Now That's busy!

I've been to MK on two occasions that i would consider to be insanely and uncomfortably busy. The first was years ago during Christmas Week. The second was this year during the 24 hour day. During Christmas Week, wait times in Fantasyland were all in the triple digits. And if you were trying to see Wishes somewhere within eyeshot of the Castle on the 24 hour day, it was so crowded that it was hard to breathe. Total gridlock. Not to question Main St. Jim, but i would suspect that over 100,000 people were in the park at those times.

But those types of crowds are rare and unusual. Normal "really busy" to me would be 100+ minute wait times for the Mountains, 30+ minute waits to order counter service, and not being able to walk from point A to B in anything like a straight line, due to the mass of people. On those days, i normally hop to another park or head back to the resort and try later.

[Terra]

About 12 years ago, we did Magic Kingdom on the 4th of July. NEVER again! That is busy. Wall to wall people. 2+ hour waits for almost everything. I consider that beyond busy.

Just "busy", and this is corny. If Maelstorm is over 20-25 minutes at EPCOT, it's busy ;)

I do agree with some previous posters, that if there are wait lines for bathrooms, or long waits for counter service [beyond 10 minutes], that's busy to me.

[CaptSmee]

It's always busy at WDW, some times are just less busy than others. :mickey:

Exactly. But # of people in general is my biggest indicator. Then line length for the biggies would be #2. If there's over a 30 min wait for the MK mountains then it's fairly crowded. 60 mins? Forget about it...

[CaptSmee]

I don't think I will ever consider the Walt Disney World parks "busy" again after my experience at Disneyland over Christmas. I was there in 2010, and the crowd levels were simply absurd.

I couldn't even tell you what the wait times for the attractions were because it was virtually impossible to maneuver down Main Street to reach them. Once we arrived at the hub, we saw that the Cast Members weren't allowing two-way traffic over the Adventureland bridge. To reach the west side of park, you had to enter through Frontierland and exit through Adventureland. There simply wasn't enough space to allow free walking through the lands.

So we left. It was the first time I've ever been in a Disney park and desperately wanted to leave. We gave up an entire day's worth of paid admission because it was so miserable.

I have been at the Florida parks over Christmas. It was nothing compared to what we experienced in California that day. Looking forward to being back in Disneyland in January, when the crowds should be light.

I have been to DL during the months of June & Oct in recent years & it seems soooo busy because the park is so small.

[DNS]

Good question-
I base about 90% of my opinion on wait times. The rest on crowds. Fantasyland is always crowded when we are there and the parade route at parade times, but if we are in Adventureland and shoulder to shoulder with people, I would call it crowded. If wait times on less popular attractions seem consistently long, is what I usually base it on though.

[jnfr2424]

When there is a line to wait for the PeopleMover in Tommorrowland

[Melanie]

When there is a line to wait for the PeopleMover in Tommorrowland

Great answer! This is the truth. :yes:

[Jared]

I have been to DL during the months of June & Oct in recent years & it seems soooo busy because the park is so small.
Yeah, that's the amazing part. There were thousands of fewer people in the park than there are on a busy day at the Magic Kingdom, and yet it felt unbearably crowded.

[Main Street Jim]

Not to question Main St. Jim, but i would suspect that over 100,000 people were in the park at those times.Fire marshals cut off attendance at MK at about 75-77,000. There have *never* been 100,000 people in MK.

[The Dad]

For those of you that try and exit the parks right after fireworks - when everyone else in the World is trying to leave - why not stick around and let those crowds thin out a bit? I mean, why not shop, grab a bag of popcorn and a drink, sit and people-watch, watch the Kiss Goodnight at the Castle, watch the Inferno barge burn-off...*then* enjoy a nice "end to your day" without *FIGHTING* throngs of people trying to get back to a resort.

This is an excellent point....... missed by the great majority! Just kick back, relax and enjoy the experience!
Brian
____________________________
Love all, trust a few, do harm to none.

[CaptSmee]

For those of you that try and exit the parks right after fireworks - when everyone else in the World is trying to leave - why not stick around and let those crowds thin out a bit? I mean, why not shop, grab a bag of popcorn and a drink, sit and people-watch, watch the Kiss Goodnight at the Castle, watch the Inferno barge burn-off...*then* enjoy a nice "end to your day" without *FIGHTING* throngs of people trying to get back to a resort.

This is an excellent point....... missed by the great majority! Just kick back, relax and enjoy the experience!
Brian
____________________________
Love all, trust a few, do harm to none.

We often do this at MK & Epcot. Only downside is that buses seem to come less often than at closing