A TP Riddle: Crowd Calendar says "5" but Parks have "0" availability. Hmmm?

Walt Disney World
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I’m a bit flummoxed, and this is an absolute curiosity, nothing more: I can’t reconcile the crowd calendar with the fact that the park reservations are “sold out” on most days. I get that the Crowd Calendar is a “the parks will feel like” number, but if Disney isn’t letting any more people in then theoretically the parks should be “full”.

Any masterminds have an explanation for this? It doesn’t matter so much other than setting appropriate expectations. Thanks!

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The CL isn’t a “feels like” number, but based on actual WAIT times, which is used to approximate actual crowd levels.

Anyhow, just because park reservations are full on any given day doesn’t mean the maximum number of people Disney is letting in is the same each day. Disney can and likely does vary the number of park reservations based on any number of variables, including, for example, their known staffing levels.

Also, keep in mind that predicted CLs right now beyond 3 months are not likely as accurate. Furthermore, with so many things in flux for the past year, it has made it difficult for any predictions to be as accurate as they have been in the past. It will probably at least another year before we see the new normal.

Oh…and welcome to the forums!

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You need a quicktext for this by now :wink:

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While I agree with everything you just said -

  • Park reservations have been full the last few weeks and CLs have been averaging between 6 and 8, with the occasional 9. So they are capping attendence far below capacity.
  • I’m going the week after Easter. Crowd levels are listed as 3-6. Usually by now before a trip I’d get an update on crowd calendar, when park hours adjust. I do wonder why that hasn’t happened. Based on current trends, I would expect my trip to have a similar 6 to 8 CLs, probably leaning towards the 8.

Perhaps @len or @SteveBloom could provide some insight?

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That’s interesting…sounds like staffing issues still, perhaps? It is curious.

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They are still struggling with staffing just now. The International Programme doesn’t restart until the Summer I believe.

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I think I read August. I know the international CMs won’t be back for our 14-28th July trip.

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Thanks all! I figured it was a combination of things. Had zero problems navigating LL and getting to all of the attractions we wanted to at HS over the weekend (CL 6). I stand informed though re: CL equating to WAIT time; that makes a bit more sense.

Signed,
Long time Lurker, first time poster. :slight_smile:

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CL is crowd level? @amyryan11 (Welcome!) is asking about Crowd Calendar. Is this different than CL?

For years I’ve felt the crowd calendar was based in part on how crowded the park felt. This is copied directly from narrative at the crowd calendar page: “When I tour around the parks how does it feel? Do I feel like people are in my personal space or is there room to breathe?”

The point is also made that many things affect line wait, like which ride you’re wanting to experience. What time of day are you in the park.

I’ve wondered about the crowd calendar vs level definitions whenever this question comes up.

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The Crowd calendar is just a way to represent the CLs.

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The predicted Crowd Levels (CL’s) for each park displayed in the Crowd Calendar are derived from the predicted wait time average from the busiest part of the day, which in turn can give you a good idea of how crowded a park will “feel”.

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