What Do You Consider "Busy" at the Parks?

[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.

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.

[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.

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.

[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
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