Crowd Calendar Changes 2/22/22

What are everyone’s thoughts on the crowd calendar changes that just came out? Do you feel they’re accurate for Mid-May now? The article says it covers dates 2/22/22 - 12/31/23… I just subscribed Monday and didn’t see what the levels were prior to the update. Going 5/14-5/17 and the crowds range from a 4-6… I can handle that (although we haven’t been for a big trip since 2016 and just a quick 1 day blissful day at HS in Sept 2020 with no FP to worry about and SUPER low crowds). I just don’t want to squeeze in this trip and go through the hassle just to find out it’s a 10 those days. It seems like a lot of the Jan & Feb days were predicted 3s & 4s then show up to 8-10 actual. I know nothing is guaranteed, just wondering everyone’s thoughts. Thanks!

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Well I just saw that my Magic Kingdom Wednesday will be 10/10.

OK People. It’s May 4th.
Why isn’t everyone at DHS?!?!?

Anyway, we’re planning on heading over for supper and hanging around for that Extra Hours thang
Hoping it won’t be jam packed in the evening.

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I’ve been wondering the same thing for the new April forecasts. It still says we’ll be middle of the road at MK, but hearing the experience of a friend from last weekend and others has me preparing myself for 10s. But i reeeeeeeally want to believe the crowd calendar.

Prepare for a 10.

When it’s a 6 you’ll be delighted.

If you prepare for a 4 and it’s an 8 you’ll be miserable.

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Exactly! I was just saying this to my littles last night. Trying to prepare them (and me and DH) for insane crowds and fewer rides just in case. Thankfully they’ve been quite a few times and we can prioritize just a handful of rides.

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Was this MK day changed in their recent update?

Good idea. In my mind it’ll be very busy although I’m secretly hoping the crowd calendar is correct!. I guess I’m more concerned because my parents may be going. Dad will be a month out of his 6th round of chemo and due to his neuropathy will probably need a scooter (he won’t want one, but he can walk as much as a Disney trip requires).

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Do you have a link to the article?

Thanks!

Im hoping that since they updated it, the new forecasts will be closer to accurate? I’m also holding out hope (probably false hope!) that by mid-May everyone will be done with their “pent up travel” and needing to be at school to finish out and complete exams. :grimacing:

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I’m happy to see this. While it’s pretty easy to mentally prepare for it to be crowded, I found that because my predicted CL 2 was a CL 7, re-optimizing my TP just didn’t work well at mid-day in MK. Because we were using G+ it also means that ride return times were much later in the day than I had anticipated. By the time we hopped to HS later in the day I had better luck with the app. I found the evening at HS much more enjoyable than mid-day at MK. Even with the higher CL, ride waits (minus ROTR which went down) were closer to predicted.

Given that a lot of trips were postponed over a nearly 2 year period…I don’t think pent up demand is going to be done within the next couple months.

I’d guess at least a year of higher than “normal” (maybe tempered by increased pricing / decreased perks - but that certainly hasn’t been seen yet). Even pre-COVID a lot of low-crowd times we’re seeing higher crowd levels.

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I just got the email advising it went up… from 5/10.

That was (and remains) our hope for early May
Although working around the American 11-month Spring Break is like eating soup with chopsticks

image

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No I don’t think this will be the case. More trips were delayed during the spike of Omicron and those will linger on the crowd calendars for a bit. I’m expecting high travel through this entire year, honestly

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Nicely done. Tricky. But effective-ish for one with a steady hand

It is like Mr. Miyagi said: “Man who catch soup with chopsticks…accomplish anything!”

(That IS how the quote went, wasn’t it???)

Something like that

I try to look at crowd calendars as a guide to how to plan my day, but not as something I worry about if it changes or doesn’t turn out as predicted.

I’ve had tons of fun on both CL2 days and CL10 days. The difference is for CL10 days you need to adjust your day unless you don’t mind long lines, specifically in that 11-4 timeframe. Schedule a nice lunch. Go back to the hotel for a swim and nap. Schedule a nice lunch. Go to a quiet spot / sacred space. See the parade at MK (when it returns). Do some shopping or just enjoy the themeing. Schedule your riding times for rope drop/ETPE and morning, and then evening. Make use of ILL/LL for those few headliners if that is something that works for you. Make a touring plan and reoptimize, and plan some downtime activities in each park for when the lines are insane.

Basically CL < 5 allows for more flexibility, and CL > 5 requires more flexibility on your part. It’s still Disney, and high CLs may require more planning and flexibility on your part, but can be just as magical and a ton of fun.

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