No Slow Time Anymore?

Stu29573;2478537 wrote:
In my opinion, Disney has crowded me right out. They want the money, but they can't (or won't) do anything to handle the crowds effectively. FP+ is a bad joke, by the way. It in no way helps the situation. I'm not going to throw thousands of dollars at them to have them treat my family like cattle. I'm done at least until 2019...maybe forever.

I agree with much of what you are saying. I think Disney has done a great job (from their perspective) of drawing people to the Parks and maximizing the money they get from visitors while there. This has been discussed in other threads, but the question is, does Disney really care about the repeat customer (especially those that are visiting every year or every other year). At times it seems that they do not care about this dynamic. I am not a business major, but that seems like a dangerous policy.

Unfortunately, it will probably take them being hit financially before they change - they are far more reactive than they used to be. I really hope Universal starts hurting Disney's market share and financial numbers enough that they start paying more attention to the repeat customers. I think this has started, but then you hear disparaging news about how Disney World is cutting staffing and hours because of troubles with their China parks. This does not give me a warm and fuzzy feeling!

I love Disney World - I know it does not seem like that from my posts, but I really have not been happy with how they are going about their business lately.

Yeah, I agree with MrPeetrie, There just isn't a time when the parks are dead. The best you can hope for is relatively slow. I still target the least crowded times, but I have to concede that Disney has marketed the heck out of the place and there aren't any predictable slow times anymore.

If you change the way you tour the parks you will be a lot happier. #1DonaldFan sums it up well. Never miss a rope drop! Do as many rides as early as you can from opening on. When noon rolls around get back to the resort have a leisurely lunch and hit the pool. A crowded pool is better than a crowded park. Take a nap, watch some TV, relax and then maybe hit the parks a hours before closing and you can do a bunch of rides in a row too.

Have you ever looked at you ever checked out yourfirstvisit.net? They have a free crowd calendar you might find helpful.

Just find a time that is not summer, Spring break, Christmas break, any Run Disney week, any "festival" weeks, any "sports tournament" week, any large tour group months, and any "party" weeks. That leaves you about 3 weeks spaced throughout the year. ;)

But on a serious note, mid April to mid May is a lovely time to go, weather wise, and besides the Flower and Garden Festival, nothing MAJOR is going on and it's far enough removed from spring break to be manageable.

Universal is pretty great if you stay at one of their resorts. The onsite pass assures that you don't have to wait and I've never found it ridiculously crowded like WDW. It's a much more relaxing trip and their hotels are very nice.

We don't mind the crowds so much but the bus system was a mess in September 2015. We were expecting a "quieter" trip in mid September and were surprised to have to stand on almost ever bus. We are all able bodied adults so it wasn't that big of an issue but it's nice to sit after so much walking. We visited a previous September and everything was quiet so I guess you just never know! There were lots oh wheel chair guests stuck having to wait great lengths of time due to full buses already occupied by assistance devices - felt sorry for them! One particular night we waited an hour or more from Disney springs for a bus!

CanadaLovesDisney, we were there in September '15, as well. We chose that time because we expected light crowds. It was very busy. And as you say, bus lines were long, but moved efficiently. Still, we stood almost every ride back to resort at night, as did many others.

thejens;2478978 wrote: Universal is pretty great if you stay at one of their resorts. The onsite pass assures that you don't have to wait and I've never found it ridiculously crowded like WDW. It's a much more relaxing trip and their hotels are very nice.

My 17 year-old daughter, who is a size 18, went to Universal for a day with her younger brother. She was exceptionally disappointed to find that she did not fit in any of the cars for the most popular rides (both Harry Potters, the Hulk, etc.) She's not huge by any means, and has never had a problem fitting in any Disney rides. She was so brokenhearted.