Never before have a seen the touring plans so inaccurate!

[connorlevismom]

I have been visiting WDW twice a year for the last 4 or 5 years now. I am here now, and this would be my 4th trip this year.

I looked at easywdw to check the crowd calendar and it could not be more WRONG! On top of that, the undercover tourist app is totally wrong too! easywdw showed today as a 3. I have been many times when it is a 3 and it never included lines that were 60+ minutes for several rides at MK. Even Stitch had a 20 minute wait!! Then at lunch I was looking at the undercover tourist app. It had MK, Epcot and HS all at yellow and AK was red. I looked at AK ride times just for the heck of it and it was the ONLY park that had reasonable ride times. It was just crazy!

We love Disney, more than most anything. We love coming here. But the crowds this year are completely not what we are used to and we don't care for it. It is no longer fun when all you are doing is fighting crowds. That along with this fast pass + thing, I think we are done with Disney for a while. We went to Epcot yesterday morning and fast passes for Soarin and Test Track were gone by 10:30am.

So I think that we both decided that in 2014, we are going to skip Disney. We are not renewing our annual passes and we are going to try somewhere else. It is so sad to even think about, but it has become more of a hassle, than fun. That usually means that it is time to move on.

 

[curemyreed]

There is a trend toward fall breaks now in some school districts, apparently. I read that most Florida schools have a week long fall break in October. That could definitely have affected the crowds you are seeing. I know spring breaks really bump up the numbers in March & April. Just a thought. It really is true that there isn't a "low attendance" time anymore. Just crowded and CRAZYcrowded!!

 

[mesaboy2]

There is a trend toward fall breaks now in some school districts, apparently. I read that most Florida schools have a week long fall break in October. That could definitely have affected the crowds you are seeing. I know spring breaks really bump up the numbers in March & April. Just a thought. It really is true that there isn't a "low attendance" time anymore. Just crowded and CRAZYcrowded!!

I don't think that's true.

 

[delmar411]

I don't think that's true.

It's not. Many schools in he Midwest have instituted a fall break though which is affecting park attendance.

 

[DisneyFreaks]

It is sad but I do understand. I have always loved planning our WDW trips but this time it has been such a hassle I'm not even excited to go now. This whole MDE account thing has had so many problems that I'm already feeling wore out. We arrive in 11 days and from what I have read I think the crowds are going to be horrific. We too may choose to go somewhere that's a bit more peaceful next year.

 

[millweather]

I have been visiting WDW twice a year for the last 4 or 5 years now. I am here now, and this would be my 4th trip this year.

I looked at easywdw to check the crowd calendar and it could not be more WRONG! On top of that, the undercover tourist app is totally wrong too! easywdw showed today as a 3. I have been many times when it is a 3 and it never included lines that were 60+ minutes for several rides at MK. Even Stitch had a 20 minute wait!! Then at lunch I was looking at the undercover tourist app. It had MK, Epcot and HS all at yellow and AK was red. I looked at AK ride times just for the heck of it and it was the ONLY park that had reasonable ride times. It was just crazy!

We love Disney, more than most anything. We love coming here. But the crowds this year are completely not what we are used to and we don't care for it. It is no longer fun when all you are doing is fighting crowds. That along with this fast pass + thing, I think we are done with Disney for a while. We went to Epcot yesterday morning and fast passes for Soarin and Test Track were gone by 10:30am.

So I think that we both decided that in 2014, we are going to skip Disney. We are not renewing our annual passes and we are going to try somewhere else. It is so sad to even think about, but it has become more of a hassle, than fun. That usually means that it is time to move on.

ITA and this is a very well written post!

Although, this was just our 2nd trip so you have more experience than us! We just got back and went the same time of year 2 years ago.

It just loses its fun. I spent all my time in the parks on my phone and at night changing around FP+ times. I am grateful for the technology but it is a double edged sword.

I know Disney won't miss my meager $6-7K every two years but there are other ways to enjoy a trip on that amount of money.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[AuroraRora]

Josh posted a thing on his blog recently comparing his predictions with Touring Plans', and the crowds, and he was SO much more accurate. I just checked in yesterday morning but honestly I think the crowds have been great. At F&W yesterday every booth we went to was either walk-up or 2-3 people in front of us, and today at AK we walked late into FOTLK with no problem, the safari was 10mins once and 15mins another time, Kali Rapids was only 30mins in the middle of the day, and Everest had such a short wait that they closed the single rider lane. I based both days on easywdw's calendars and I'm loving it!

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

I just don't understand why the crowd calendars at easy wdw & TP are so off. Both are listed at 3 -4 today.
This is the second post I've read over the last few days with the same complaint.
Do you think the calendars are that far off - or is something else going on?
And if the calendars are wrong, I wonder why they're not being updated?
Does it really seem that crowded, or are things backing up because of the new MB's, or what????
How crowded are the fast food places?
TIA

 

[curemyreed]

I WAS WRONG!!! Thank you to other posters who didn't flame me, but did note that I was absolutely wrong about Florida schools getting a week long break. Sorry for the bad intel. I had confused day(s) with weeks; i.e. Orlando schools are out Oct. 24 & 25, Miami schools Oct. 25, etc. Sorry about that.

 

[bsbrady]

I was listening to the WDW Today podcast, these are also the ones who run Touring Plans, and it looks like the new Fast Pass+ is effecting things.

Disney calculates the number of riders per hour on an attraction and then the allocate x amount of fast passes for that. More than half of the total allocated spaces are given to the fast pass system. Now that guests can make fast pass+ reservations prior to arriving these are being taken up much faster, which is making the standby lines longer than usual.

One comment was that on a random Wednesday the wait times for some attractions were the same as on New Years eve. Since this system is new, hopefully Disney will work it out. If there are going to be 60 minute + wait times on the least crowded days, it will turn off many people, including myself, I go during low times just for that reason

 

[kapoof]

I do understand the op. We just got back last month and my problem is with disney and stalling tactics it is using for lots of attraction. Ie mission space...you think you are ready for the ride but you have to watch a movie, then you think you are all good to go when you have to wait again! we found this true at the bog restaurant as well, once your in, you think you will be seated but no! More lines to wait in!! It is starting to take a lot of work to go on vacation here! I do love disney but we are thinking if switching to dcl instead of wdw.

 

[connorlevismom]

It is sad but I do understand. I have always loved planning our WDW trips but this time it has been such a hassle I'm not even excited to go now. This whole MDE account thing has had so many problems that I'm already feeling wore out. We arrive in 11 days and from what I have read I think the crowds are going to be horrific. We too may choose to go somewhere that's a bit more peaceful next year.

Exactly. I don't do commando Disney touring and I do not want to book not only my food reservations, but now my ride reservations months out.

We decide where we are going to go the night before. I usually can snag a dining reservation for something we like and we are good to go. We get excited on the way to the park deciding what we are going to go on first. Now - I feel forced to plan like crazy and stick to a strict schedule while I am there. Not for me and it will make my family miserable to visit WDW like this.

 

[2Tiggies]

It is sad but I do understand. I have always loved planning our WDW trips but this time it has been such a hassle I'm not even excited to go now. This whole MDE account thing has had so many problems that I'm already feeling wore out. We arrive in 11 days and from what I have read I think the crowds are going to be horrific. We too may choose to go somewhere that's a bit more peaceful next year.

I totally get this!!

I also love planning; so I struggled to figure out exactly why I am not happy about all these changes that actually facilitate the planning that I love so much ..... until I realized that it's because I can no longer plan because I choose to; I have to do it because I feel if things go wrong and I haven't, that I can only blame myself. Whereas in the past you could choose what aspects of the trip you wanted to plan and where you wanted to wing it or have room to change things up on the fly, suddenly that is gone. While I sort of understand where those are coming from who say you don't have to plan, I think you really do now. Failure to plan now puts a lot more at risk than it did in the past.

I'm not ready to ditch the Disney trips just yet, at least not until we have given it time and given it a try and hopefully a lot of the problems will have been addressed by then. I'm just not sure that I want to do it every year anymore, especially if things continue as they presently stand

 

[AmyB2006]

I don't think that's true.

Definitely not true. I've lived in fl my whole life. Never a week long break. It's mostly out of state schools that do this.

My kids have early release tomorrow and then Friday off. Makes for a long weekend at best.

 

[Planogirl]

I have a feeling that all of the changes are giving those who make up the calendars fits. It's impossible to predict what Disney will do next so how can they predict the crowds? Everything has gone haywire lately.

 

[Chelley00]

It's not. Many schools in he Midwest have instituted a fall break though which is affecting park attendance.

Most of the school systems around us have gone to 2 week Fall Breaks. 80% of the people we know were either at Disney last week or this week.

 

[FLchick415]

Florida has definitely not adapted to the "year round" school schedule that seems to be happening everywhere else. It's true that WDW has no REAL "slow season" anymore, but there are times where it's definitely more manageable.

 

[fairy8i8]

Josh at easywdw commented in a post over the weekend that crowd predictions were WAY off. He said the crowds look more like Thanksgiving week than the low season. Anomalies happen.

As for FP+ making a difference in the length of lines, is it that they are issuing more Fastpasses? I can see them running out sooner because there are fewer in the kiosk system, but I wouldn't expect there to be a big change in line times unless more Fastpasses are being distributed overall than before. It could just be that a bunch of people decided to enjoy Disney in October this year, as Josh indicated above.

 

[linco711]

I was listening to the WDW Today podcast, these are also the ones who run Touring Plans, and it looks like the new Fast Pass+ is effecting things.

Disney calculates the number of riders per hour on an attraction and then the allocate x amount of fast passes for that. More than half of the total allocated spaces are given to the fast pass system. Now that guests can make fast pass+ reservations prior to arriving these are being taken up much faster, which is making the standby lines longer than usual.

One comment was that on a random Wednesday the wait times for some attractions were the same as on New Years eve. Since this system is new, hopefully Disney will work it out. If there are going to be 60 minute + wait times on the least crowded days, it will turn off many people, including myself, I go during low times just for that reason

I have no experience with the new system, but am wondering if it is possible to go to the parks and enjoy a day without using the fast pass? I just don't want to have to do all that planning in advance, yet I'm concerned that we wouldn't be able to do much without using them. It sounds like we wouldn't even be able to find a decent spot to view the parades and firework. Am I right? Thanks in advance for your thoughts

 

[Planogirl]

Josh at easywdw commented in a post over the weekend that crowd predictions were WAY off. He said the crowds look more like Thanksgiving week than the low season. Anomalies happen.

As for FP+ making a difference in the length of lines, is it that they are issuing more Fastpasses? I can see them running out sooner because there are fewer in the kiosk system, but I wouldn't expect there to be a big change in line times unless more Fastpasses are being distributed overall than before. It could just be that a bunch of people decided to enjoy Disney in October this year, as Josh indicated above.

Maybe those who stay offsite or aren't paying attention to all of this are running into a lack of or very late fastpasses unlike previous years and are getting into line? That could contribute at least somewhat I would think.