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Post by Eeyorelover22 on Jan 24, 2024 8:43:03 GMT -5
Anyone have any idea why it's so crowded this week? I really don’t know. But, I have only seen it like that once and it was not even when we went between Christmas and New Year’s. One time at opening and it was right after New Year’s 2020 which is marathon time that week and it was when they required you to be in the park to get a VQ for RotR. It was complete bedlam outside the tapstyles. Security was crazy too. That had to be before scanners too. I went bagless as I recall. Yesterday trying to get out at 9 am was a challenge even at the tapstyles and then to get out through the crowd and I had to tell the CMs at the resort guest entry point (which was over) that we just wanted out as the exit gate was behind them. I said something like…”we just want out of here” and she responded with…”we are just trying to figure out what holiday we all missed.” |
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Post by helenabear on Jan 24, 2024 9:05:39 GMT -5
It's pretty ridiculous the amount of fanfare Disney created around the "good to go days" when most reservations/planning is required 30-60 days in advance and there are no good to go days listed more than a week out. agreed! I’m just going to call them Good to Avoid Days Thanks Disney for making it so much easier: And they have added a few days in the month of February… Planning to avoid Feb 1 , Feb 4 , and Feb 6 listed dates as good to go crazy per Disney Why would you avoid those days? It has nothing to do with if it's more crowded or not anyway. Nice to know they're adding like every other day or so in. This is really kind of stupid (good to go days that is) |
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Post by helenabear on Jan 24, 2024 9:06:55 GMT -5
Anyone have any idea why it's so crowded this week? I really don’t know. But, I have only seen it like that once and it was not even when we went between Christmas and New Year’s. One time at opening and it was right after New Year’s 2020 which is marathon time that week and it was when they required you to be in the park to get a VQ for RotR. It was complete bedlam outside the tapstyles. Security was crazy too. That had to be before scanners too. I went bagless as I recall. Yesterday trying to get out at 9 am was a challenge even at the tapstyles and then to get out through the crowd and I had to tell the CMs at the resort guest entry point (which was over) that we just wanted out as the exit gate was behind them. I said something like…”we just want out of here” and she responded with…”we are just trying to figure out what holiday we all missed.” I just remember that my boss said his kids were off this week in New York. I wonder if there is something else going on with some that they have this week off? I don't pay attention to the Northeast which tends to go much later into the summer than we do though. |
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Post by Adelard of Bath on Jan 24, 2024 10:21:21 GMT -5
And to think wife and I used to go annually last two weeks of January (alternating with first two weeks of February to get two years out of one AP) and now I really don't want to go if the crowds are like I am reading. I do recall it getting busier and busier as years went by. It became harder and harder to avoid random holidays, too, like one year I completely forgot about MLK jr day, then another year I said, "what the F is going on?" and somebody was like "It's Mardi Gras, dude!"
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Post by brp on Jan 24, 2024 10:25:11 GMT -5
It's pretty ridiculous the amount of fanfare Disney created around the "good to go days" when most reservations/planning is required 30-60 days in advance and there are no good to go days listed more than a week out. Of course, if people are planning 30-60 days out, park reservations do not present a problem as they're trivially easy to get. Good to go days are clearly not for people doing the 30-60 day planning as it makes no sense. So having a late calendar for these would seem to be irrelevant. Day before should be sufficient.
Cheers.
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Post by baymaxfan on Jan 24, 2024 10:47:57 GMT -5
I guess we'll see how these "good to go" days go. Although making reservations is not difficult, I have to wonder if the simple process of making a reservation psychologically keeps some people away. Reservations are now very easy to get, but it wasn't always like that. Could there be some lingering perception? I could see someone with an annual pass waking up, thinking they want to go to WDW, say "I probably can't get a reservation," never check, and do something else that day. I've seen very minimal barriers change behavior all the time. I don't have the foggiest idea of how many people that would truly impact. It could be negligible. After all, these folks spent big $$$ on an annual pass and most know the system well. On the other hand, perception is oftentimes stronger than reality.
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Post by helenabear on Jan 24, 2024 10:52:41 GMT -5
I guess we'll see how these "good to go" days go. Although making reservations is not difficult, I have to wonder if the simple process of making a reservation psychologically keeps some people away. Reservations are now very easy to get, but it wasn't always like that. Could there be some lingering perception? I could see someone with an annual pass waking up, thinking they want to go to WDW, say "I probably can't get a reservation," never check, and do something else that day. I've seen very minimal barriers change behavior all the time. I don't have the foggiest idea of how many people that would truly impact. It could be negligible. After all, these folks spent big $$$ on an annual pass and most know the system well. On the other hand, perception is oftentimes stronger than reality. You could be right! Those like me who only go when I have a resort reservation, we're going to just plan out our days anyway to not lose our money. However a local person they just go not worth it if I have to make a reservation. I'm still very annoyed that if I am on site I have to make a reservation in the first place. I've kind of changed how I'm doing them, and do MK and Epcot for the virtual queues only. AK is pretty easy to get into always anyway, and DHS is one I can just skip a lot and not care anyway. But with Park hopping back completely, I won't care as much which day I start with. |
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Post by baymaxfan on Jan 24, 2024 11:01:32 GMT -5
I guess we'll see how these "good to go" days go. Although making reservations is not difficult, I have to wonder if the simple process of making a reservation psychologically keeps some people away. Reservations are now very easy to get, but it wasn't always like that. Could there be some lingering perception? I could see someone with an annual pass waking up, thinking they want to go to WDW, say "I probably can't get a reservation," never check, and do something else that day. I've seen very minimal barriers change behavior all the time. I don't have the foggiest idea of how many people that would truly impact. It could be negligible. After all, these folks spent big $$$ on an annual pass and most know the system well. On the other hand, perception is oftentimes stronger than reality. You could be right! Those like me who only go when I have a resort reservation, we're going to just plan out our days anyway to not lose our money. However a local person they just go not worth it if I have to make a reservation. I'm still very annoyed that if I am on site I have to make a reservation in the first place. I've kind of changed how I'm doing them, and do MK and Epcot for the virtual queues only. AK is pretty easy to get into always anyway, and DHS is one I can just skip a lot and not care anyway. But with Park hopping back completely, I won't care as much which day I start with. Park hopping at any time is a game changer. I happen to be in the group that doesn't need reservations, but I totally get the annoyance with it for annual pass holders. |
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Post by brp on Jan 24, 2024 11:05:19 GMT -5
Park hopping at any time is a game changer. I happen to be in the group that doesn't need reservations, but I totally get the annoyance with it for annual pass holders. Agreed. We are in the "need reservations" camp and I could (almost) not care less. We plan in advance and they are so easy to get that it's just another easy step. I'd rather not have to, but it has no impact on our trip. And I realize that it's different for others, but this is us. Free hopping is huge. We like to go somewhere in the morning and then to Epcot for F&W closer to 11. Now we can.
If they make reservations for AP go away, cool. If not, cool. Especially if they introduce advance Genie+. Then, when we use it, we'll already know where we're going at like 60 days.
Cheers.
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Post by Adelard of Bath on Jan 24, 2024 11:10:28 GMT -5
We like to go somewhere in the morning and then to Epcot for F&W closer to 11. Now we can. Wait, we can hop before 2pm now? |
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Post by brp on Jan 24, 2024 11:13:22 GMT -5
We like to go somewhere in the morning and then to Epcot for F&W closer to 11. Now we can. Wait, we can hop before 2pm now? Yup. See details here: Cheers. |
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Post by skywatcher1206 on Jan 24, 2024 11:32:19 GMT -5
I was at Disney and Universal last week and noticed that it was a lot more crowded than I was expecting. I also heard a lot of foreign accents and saw the group flags while at Universal. I think the large groups are back.
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Post by Eeyorelover22 on Jan 24, 2024 11:41:40 GMT -5
I was at Disney and Universal last week and noticed that it was a lot more crowded than I was expecting. I also heard a lot of foreign accents and saw the group flags while at Universal. I think the large groups are back. That’s what we both think too. |
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Post by Eeyorelover22 on Jan 24, 2024 11:43:46 GMT -5
We like to go somewhere in the morning and then to Epcot for F&W closer to 11. Now we can. Wait, we can hop before 2pm now? Yes and it was glorious too! It was a Good To Go Day so we could have gone anywhere we wanted. We just wanted OUT of Studios. |
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Post by nickys on Jan 24, 2024 12:14:05 GMT -5
I was at Disney and Universal last week and noticed that it was a lot more crowded than I was expecting. I also heard a lot of foreign accents and saw the group flags while at Universal. I think the large groups are back. It’s currently Summer holiday time for several South American countries, including Brazil. |
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