Any idea on the crowds?

[meganew]

We're going in a few weeks and the pictures of the crowds during what's normally the "slow" season are giving me hives. If you've been in the last two months, how manageable was it? I'm checking my Disney app every once and a while during the day and the wait times seem insane- like over an hour for barnstormer and the last time we were there we just walked right on a few times in a row. 

I follow a disney food instagram account and the comment section has been filled with people complaining about crowds/wait times/lack of staff, etc. It's making me nervous. Or is this just always how it's been and I've never noticed the complainers before? We've always had to go at busier "spring break" times and never minded before. It's just so much money. lol. 

[huckleberry]

We were there three weeks ago. We have gone the same week twice before and crowds were definitely higher this time around. However, we were still able to accomplish so much which I mostly attribute to utilizing Genie +. If you’re on the fence about that, I’d highly recommend. It really helps maximize how much you can get done and minimize wait times.

[meganew]

Feb 19, 2022 15:08:21 GMT -5 huckleberry said:

We were there three weeks ago. We have gone the same week twice before and crowds were definitely higher this time around. However, we were still able to accomplish so much which I mostly attribute to utilizing Genie +. If you’re on the fence about that, I’d highly recommend. It really helps maximize how much you can get done and minimize wait times.

Thanks! We’re definitely planning on using that, and also probably buying some LL passes to certain must-do rides (like Star Wars). Any tips for getting the most out of it? I plan on checking it at 7am every morning since I’ll be up anyway, but wondering if I should book something as early as possible or go for the one we want to ride most, no matter what time of day it is. I’m worried that if I book a genie pass for 1pm by the time we’re done with that ride there won’t be any left.

[huckleberry]

Feb 19, 2022 15:39:48 GMT -5 meganew said:

Feb 19, 2022 15:08:21 GMT -5 huckleberry said:

We were there three weeks ago. We have gone the same week twice before and crowds were definitely higher this time around. However, we were still able to accomplish so much which I mostly attribute to utilizing Genie +. If you’re on the fence about that, I’d highly recommend. It really helps maximize how much you can get done and minimize wait times.

Thanks! We’re definitely planning on using that, and also probably buying some LL passes to certain must-do rides (like Star Wars). Any tips for getting the most out of it? I plan on checking it at 7am every morning since I’ll be up anyway, but wondering if I should book something as early as possible or go for the one we want to ride most, no matter what time of day it is. I’m worried that if I book a genie pass for 1pm by the time we’re done with that ride there won’t be any left.

Definitely be on and ready to book a couple of minutes before 7am. Are you staying in property? If so, I suggest teaming up with another adult in your party so one can go for the first Genie+ lightning lane and the other can go for your paid individual lightning lane at the same time.

I would also prioritize the ride you want most as your first Genie+ selection. I was able to score slinky dog on both of our HS days this way. They sold out for the day by 7:01am.

Read up on the 120 minute rule as well. I was able to stack several lightning lane passes in the afternoons and it was awesome going from ride to ride with no wait (we did less popular/lower wait time rides in the mornings and just waited so we could stack LLs for the more popular rides).

[meganew]

Feb 19, 2022 20:06:18 GMT -5 huckleberry said:

Feb 19, 2022 15:39:48 GMT -5 meganew said:

Thanks! We’re definitely planning on using that, and also probably buying some LL passes to certain must-do rides (like Star Wars). Any tips for getting the most out of it? I plan on checking it at 7am every morning since I’ll be up anyway, but wondering if I should book something as early as possible or go for the one we want to ride most, no matter what time of day it is. I’m worried that if I book a genie pass for 1pm by the time we’re done with that ride there won’t be any left.

Definitely be on and ready to book a couple of minutes before 7am. Are you staying in property? If so, I suggest teaming up with another adult in your party so one can go for the first Genie+ lightning lane and the other can go for your paid individual lightning lane at the same time.

I would also prioritize the ride you want most as your first Genie+ selection. I was able to score slinky dog on both of our HS days this way. They sold out for the day by 7:01am.

Read up on the 120 minute rule as well. I was able to stack several lightning lane passes in the afternoons and it was awesome going from ride to ride with no wait (we did less popular/lower wait time rides in the mornings and just waited so we could stack LLs for the more popular rides).

Jesus. I really miss being able to book our fast passes months in advance, I don't want to have to plan all this that morning. Blech. 

So, we're doing HS two days while we're there. I guess I'll try for Slinky one day and Star Wars another day. I'm stressed. Lol

[nicolewi]

Wait, that’s how this works now? You have to book at 7 am same day you want to ride?!? That is horrible!! I like to have everything set and enjoy my vacation. I don’t think I was awake at 7 AM a single day we were on our Disney trip. We were out late at night and I would not have wanted to wake up before seven to book ride passes. This system sucks!

[abs]

Booking things at 7 am every single day was not my favorite BUT the new system seems to work much better than the old FP one. We were able to ride everything we wanted without ever waiting more than 30 minutes when we went at Thanksgiving. In 2019 that was not the case at all! Definitely book your highest priority ride first.

Right now people are traveling like crazy but staying domestic because traveling out of the country is so complicated. So there has been no down season for Disney and they still aren’t 100% capacity. It’s going to be busy but it’s manageable.

Other tips: make sure your dining is booked. Also if you are doing quick service place your mobile order way ahead of time of when you actually want it so you can pick your window.

[meganew]

Feb 20, 2022 19:56:11 GMT -5 abs said:

Booking things at 7 am every single day was not my favorite BUT the new system seems to work much better than the old FP one. We were able to ride everything we wanted without ever waiting more than 30 minutes when we went at Thanksgiving. In 2019 that was not the case at all! Definitely book your highest priority ride first.

Right now people are traveling like crazy but staying domestic because traveling out of the country is so complicated. So there has been no down season for Disney and they still aren’t 100% capacity. It’s going to be busy but it’s manageable.

Other tips: make sure your dining is booked. Also if you are doing quick service place your mobile order way ahead of time of when you actually want it so you can pick your window.

This is making me feel better. I already booked all the sit down dining we want- we're definitely cutting back on the bigger meals. The only "character" dining we're doing is Ohana and I'm just hoping Lilo and Stitch are coming back in a few weeks. lol. 

I'm also trying to remind myself how magical it is just walking around the parks, and if the crowds get to be too much it's suppose to be in the 80s and we can just swim at the pool at the Poly until we feel like going back. 

[abs]

Feb 20, 2022 21:12:44 GMT -5 meganew said:

Feb 20, 2022 19:56:11 GMT -5 abs said:

Booking things at 7 am every single day was not my favorite BUT the new system seems to work much better than the old FP one. We were able to ride everything we wanted without ever waiting more than 30 minutes when we went at Thanksgiving. In 2019 that was not the case at all! Definitely book your highest priority ride first.

Right now people are traveling like crazy but staying domestic because traveling out of the country is so complicated. So there has been no down season for Disney and they still aren’t 100% capacity. It’s going to be busy but it’s manageable.

Other tips: make sure your dining is booked. Also if you are doing quick service place your mobile order way ahead of time of when you actually want it so you can pick your window.

This is making me feel better. I already booked all the sit down dining we want- we're definitely cutting back on the bigger meals. The only "character" dining we're doing is Ohana and I'm just hoping Lilo and Stitch are coming back in a few weeks. lol. 

I'm also trying to remind myself how magical it is just walking around the parks, and if the crowds get to be too much it's suppose to be in the 80s and we can just swim at the pool at the Poly until we feel like going back. 

Definitely!!

Since you are staying on-site take advantage of the extended resort guest hours, too. It doesn’t help at MK much but does at HS and Epcot (we skipped AK). We got 4 rides done at HS before the park even opened. Crowds build here the fastest IMO and doing some of the shows is a nice way to balance it out while waiting for your next ride. Like just do whatever looks fun and don’t worry about doing it all.

Afternoon breaks are definitely a must! Love the Poly pool. Best place on property to get a Dole Whip, too!

[bronxgirl]

I’m here right now. It’s super busy , but still doable and we’re having a great time. Yesterday we were at Magic Kingdom we rope dropped Mine Train and we’re able to get 3 big rides with Lightning Lane. Overall we did 14 rides, Met Mickey, and went I the fireworks show and after party. It was a really fun day. Today we’re at Animal Kingdom. It’s very busy, but a slower day for us because there aren’t that many attractions. We did Pandora on the morning. We waited 30 minutes for Navi River and over 2 hours for Flight of Passage. Then had lunch at Satulli. Tonight we’re having dinner at Boma. Tomorrow is our Epcot Day.

[bronxgirl]

Dup

[sent]

I am using an agent this time around and was not thrilled with the restaurants she booked when the 60 day window opened. So I went into the website this weekend to see what I could shift around. I sorted by "character meals" and apparently a bunch of them are still closed? If restaurants are closed, that means more people spilling into the parks and looking for rides. What else is still closed?

[quesyrah]

We were there 1/13-1/24 and crowds were heavy but not unmanageable.

We used Genie+ and I’m a huge fan of it.

[quesyrah]

Feb 20, 2022 10:29:20 GMT -5 nicolewi said:

Wait, that’s how this works now? You have to book at 7 am same day you want to ride?!? That is horrible!! I like to have everything set and enjoy my vacation. I don’t think I was awake at 7 AM a single day we were on our Disney trip. We were out late at night and I would not have wanted to wake up before seven to book ride passes. This system sucks!

I found it very easy but then again the last time I went was 14 years ago.

I set the alarm on my Apple Watch for 6:55, bought genie+ and ILL
and made our first LL selection.

Then I enjoyed my coffee and watched all the people heading out to the skyliner while my family slept.

When they were up and ready we headed out for the day. We left a little later than everyone else so missed all the morning bus and skyliner crowds. It was fantastic!

We got to the parks about an hour after opening.

[quesyrah]

Feb 21, 2022 20:27:53 GMT -5 sent said:

I am using an agent this time around and was not thrilled with the restaurants she booked when the 60 day window opened. So I went into the website this weekend to see what I could shift around. I sorted by "character meals" and apparently a bunch of them are still closed? If restaurants are closed, that means more people spilling into the parks and looking for rides. What else is still closed?

I am pretty sure they are all open. Chef Mickey, Topolino, Hollywood and Vine, Garden Grill, Cinderella’s Royal Table and Be Our Guest are all open but the character aspect is distanced.

[abs]

Feb 21, 2022 20:27:53 GMT -5 sent said:

I am using an agent this time around and was not thrilled with the restaurants she booked when the 60 day window opened. So I went into the website this weekend to see what I could shift around. I sorted by "character meals" and apparently a bunch of them are still closed? If restaurants are closed, that means more people spilling into the parks and looking for rides. What else is still closed?

There are only a few restaurants still closed. Some restaurants no longer have characters though (O’Hana, Cape May), some are lunch/dinner only (Garden Grill), and traditional character meet and greets aren’t happening anywhere. I personally would not pay for a character meal right now.

[mrsslocombe]

We were there end of January/beginning of February. Crowds were definitely much heavier than we were used to at that time of year, but we still were able to do everything we wanted to do.

We didn't use Genie + or LL at all, but we rope dropped every day (were at the parks about an hour before the early morning resort access). They let us in at that time every day and the wait at the front entrance was very short. We knocked out 1 or 2 major rides at rope drop, some days we were even on the ride before the posted opening time.

FWIW, we found that the lines were usually 20 minutes + shorter than posted. Sometimes they were half as long as posted. The only attractions that were actually accurate were Space Mountain and Remy.

[Deleted]

My boss was there a few weeks ago. He said they picked that week because on before times calendars it showed as a low-crowd week. He said it was absurdly crowded and lines were insane.

[sent]

Feb 21, 2022 21:31:16 GMT -5 abs said:

Feb 21, 2022 20:27:53 GMT -5 sent said:

I am using an agent this time around and was not thrilled with the restaurants she booked when the 60 day window opened. So I went into the website this weekend to see what I could shift around. I sorted by "character meals" and apparently a bunch of them are still closed? If restaurants are closed, that means more people spilling into the parks and looking for rides. What else is still closed?

There are only a few restaurants still closed. Some restaurants no longer have characters though (O’Hana, Cape May), some are lunch/dinner only (Garden Grill), and traditional character meet and greets aren’t happening anywhere. I personally would not pay for a character meal right now.

So only now have I had a chance to look up the character meals but yes, a bunch of them have reopened but don't have characters like Trattoria al Forno and at least Akershus is still closed. For my family, I took them to multiple character meal to do a 2-for-1 - eat and get a dose of Disney. This time around, I have so many less to chose from. 

Traditional meet and greets are supposed to resume soon so hopefully that helps with crowds. I'm still not super thrilled with my restaurant choices for our upcoming trip in 2 weeks.