So Much for a Recession?

[AmBo]

Hey guys! So we were in the parks this past weekend on a quick vacation and BOY were the parks crowded! MK was INSANE with Space lines up the 150 minutes and buzz up to 45 minutes. There was even a line for TTA and CoP! Is this normal for this time of year?

Also, we took a quick run to MK on Sunday for a dole whip before leaving to find them running the Christmas parade??! Why did I pay for MVMCP if they just run the parade during the day??!

[Altair]

The Christmas week mob has arrived.

[AmBo]

The Christmas week mob has arrived.

Isn't the xmas mob supposed to come from Xmas through New Years?

[Melanie]

We were at the MK on Saturday as well meeting up with some old friends. She remarked the same you did about the Christmas parade/shows, but they do that every year. The week of Christmas they always run the parade and shows from MVMCP.

But yes, the parks were insane! We went to Epcot for the morning, and it was manageable, but MK was a zoo!

[faline]

Crowds typically pick up significantly on the weekend before the actual holiday and continue to increase until the reach peak attendance from the Christmas holiday through the weekend after the New Year's holiday.

[AmBo]

Crowds typically pick up significantly on the weekend before the actual holiday and continue to increase until the reach peak attendance from the Christmas holiday through the weekend after the New Year's holiday.

Ahhh ok, well now i know to go the first 2 weeks of Dec, not the 3rd. lol

[Darbylew]

WDW is always crowded during the holiday
season. I leaned a long time ago not to go
during this season. Much better to go in
November. We were there the second week in
November and it was great. We did go to the
MVMCP and had a fun time!

[Disney4us2]

WDW is not alone. I was at Disneyland on the 19th and it was just as insane as what you were reporting. The lines for everything were long in the afternoon. The morning was ok. The line for It's A Small World Holiday seemed to go on forever, even the disabled line was long. We left at 5:45pm to escape the maddness.

[Strmchsr]

Eric, you're not alone in being surprised. Touring Plans' crowd calendar (which I know is sporadically accurate at best) was way too low this month. I know most everyone has been saying it's much more crowded than previous years at this time, but I've heard folks saying that at almost every time of 2009. Certainly it was that way for us back the 1st week of May and I've heard folks saying it for October, November, and December. However, regardless of crowds at least you accomplished your primary mission.

[Gator]

That's funny. I was there 12-7 through 12-17 of last year and I said the same thing. Huge crowds during the Christmas season is the norm now.

[mom2morgan]

Ahhh ok, well now i know to go the first 2 weeks of Dec, not the 3rd. lol

I think the secret's out. When we went in 2006, we went from the 16th - 22nd. By the 20th, the crowds had picked up SIGNIFICANTLY. So last year we got "smart" and went from the 8th to the 18th. Guess what? Crowds were getting heavy by the 15th or so - MK was jam PACKED on the Thursday - I was miserable. So I think the crowds are starting earlier and earlier due to all the hype about it being such a low crowd time to come.

[mudpuppysmom]

We were there last year the 14th - 20th and I thought the only place that was really insane was MK.....my "touring plan" seems to work no matter what time of year it is -- so far that is!

When we were at Epcot waiting to see Santa were got in line about 10 min before he arrived and were about 10 ppl back, which I did not think was bad for the best Santa EVER!!! WS was not jam packed either we thought.

MK was another story -- I just wanted to leave as soon as we got there -- it was THAT bad (and I've been there on the 4th of July too.....).

[NH Disneyfan]

We were there 12/13-12/16 2008 and don't recall the crowds being bad. With a 3 & 5 year old, we did 3+ days of the parks 14 hours per day. Saturday, 12/13 was MK and I don't recall crowds at all - I would know if it was bad. We had dinner at 6 at CP and saw spectromagic on the curb (right after coming out of dinner). Also did MK most of the day 12/16 and I recall it was good. The lights at Holiday Studios (right after Fantasmic released) was very PACKED and IMHO the worst experience ever.

I've never been as an adult when it is PACKED and certainly not the Christmas week. Been 12/4-12/9 and 12/12-12/16 in two separate years and really enjoyed the crowds, festivities, MVMCP, etc. With kids getting into school now, I don't think I'll see Holiday Disney for some time. Bring on April vacation! (NH is a different week from the rest of the planet - so I hear....)

[GreenBeetle]

Hey guys! So we were in the parks this past weekend on a quick vacation and BOY were the parks crowded! MK was INSANE with Space lines up the 150 minutes and buzz up to 45 minutes. There was even a line for TTA and CoP!

I've been keeping an eye on the ride wait times this week with the awesome i-Phone App I downloaded. I can't believe some of the times I've been seeing!! It's crazy!!

We're not going until January 2nd, but I like to keep my eye on these things before we get there.

[Rekenna]

I read somewhere, I'm sure on one of these boards-that park attendance has been up b/c of travlers from outside the US-b/c of the weak dollar$. The exchange rate is better than ever for travelers.

Or maybe all these people just realized how awesomely fantastic WDW is!