Most of our Nov trip stayed the same or had minor changes at parks we weren’t planning to be at that day. The one big change was Nov. 4th going from a 9 to a 6 at Epcot. I thought all along it was wrong (relying too heavily on the same Monday last year, when MK’s 4:30 close seemed to drive people to Epcot), but I’m feeling better about my plans after seeing that adjusted.
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I’ll ask.
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Thank you for posting this. I am tracking those dates also but did not get any email about those time changes (I usually get at least 2 emails also) was able to adjust my FPP thanks to seeing it here!
I assumed it was one for every day you have a touring plan set up? That could be completely wrong…but I got two…and right now I only have 2 TPs built for my upcoming trip.
No, I always get 3 and I currently have a 14 day trip with 2 touring plans on almost every day.
Welp, there goes that theory! 
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I was wondering if maybe the emails are programmed to go out every time there is a change, and maybe sometimes they run the refresh more than one time in a short period of time. That said, I only got two emails and I only have one WDW trip.
FYI – A common misconception about Crowd Levels is that they are an indicator of the number of people in each park. However, they are an indicator of average queue waits at the park.
A CL 1 can feel like a CL 4 in terms of park capacity, but the queues may be moving quickly. Conversely, you can be in a CL 9 park that feels like a CL 5 because the streets aren’t packed. However, all the queues are super long.
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Is there any way to know in which months the park will feel more empty?
Historical Crowd Levels - SWGE openings may increase attendance.
| Dates | Holiday | Crowds |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 1 | New Years Day | high |
| Jan 2 to mid-Feb | low | |
| Presidents Week | Winter Break | high |
| late Feb to early Mar | moderate | |
| mid-Mar to mid-Apr | Spring Break | high |
| late Apr to late May | moderate | |
| Memorial Day weekend | Memorial Day | high |
| early to mid-June | moderate | |
| mid-June through Labor Day | Summer | high |
| early Sept to mid-Nov | Labor Day | low |
| Thanksgiving weekend | Thanksgiving | high |
| early to mid-Dec | low | |
| late Dec | Christmas | high |
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We do not intend to send out multiple, identical Crowd Calendar update emails, and I apologize for that! We’re working to fix that problem before the crowd calendar updates scheduled for the beginning of August. Thanks for letting us know.
If anyone experiences problems like this in the future, please “submit a request” via the link at https://touringplans.com/contact-us.
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It should be noted with this that the opening of Rise of the Resistance this December may change these typical crowd levels, especially the “low” figures for January - mid-February.
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Yeah… I was only using historical CL info. The original question seemed to ask for this:
I edited my chart to reflect “may be subject to SWGE crowds”
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Previous crowd levels for HS were higher on the weekends - 10 for Saturday. Week days lower with Thursdays being the lowest.
Just released levels have essentially swapped Thursday - now a 10 - with Saturday - now a 7 or lower.
What’s the reasoning for the higher crowd levels for Thursday?
You’ll need to provide dates rather than day of week for people to be able to answer/guess. 
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I’m looking at pretty much the month of September. Which is currently showing a lot of red on Thursdays.
Previous calendar had much less red on Thursdays with Saturdays being all red.
Both previous and current do lighten up in the second half of the month. With free dining going away about mid September I was surprised to see crowd levels declining.
Wondering what’s the thinking behind the switch to Thursday - unless it reflects most folks arriving Sunday or Monday, but grabbing HS FPs at 60+ days out? And possibly departing for home on Saturday?
Look at 12 September. It sticks out with its 10 crowd level.
I definitely think your theory absolutely contributes, I also think that it would be the start of a long weekend for many who are trying to squeeze in a quick visit and may feel like the crowd levels will be lower before RotR opens.
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The crowd calendar may have recently updated because I’m not seeing the large discrepancy you mention. Remember, the Crowd Calendar continues to update each week as TP gets new information.
On the dates you’ve mentioned Thurs. 9/12/19 = CL 10 and Saturday 9/14/19 = CL 9
A lot of Orlando tourists arrive on Thursdays and Fridays. If you look at the calendar, you’ll see how the CL tends to “ramp up” starting on Thursday of each week.
FYI – A common misconception about Crowd Levels is that they are an indicator of the number of people in each park. However, they are an indicator of average queue waits at the park.
A CL 1 can feel like a CL 4 in terms of park capacity, but the queues may be moving quickly. Conversely, you can be in a CL 9 park that feels like a CL 5 because the streets aren’t packed. However, all the queues are super long.
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I rcvd update emails over the weekend.
The crowd calendar is definitely one indicator to use. I’ve discovered on this forum that our way to experience WDW is often quite different from what appears to be the norm. At least here.
Our last two trips were 4th of July week and Thanksgiving week, pretty much doing all we wanted.
This trip we were trying for a quieter time as we’re 17 folks, with a bunch of newbies. Maybe 8.
I usually determine park days by avoiding morning EMH. This trip I used crowd calendars - a few months ago Thursday was lowest for HS. With current indicators (room bookings, FP availabilities, etc) I’m inclined to keep Thursday as our HS morning. Only two are interested in SWL any way.
My question was prompted by mild curiosity mostly. And perhaps there was something I hadn’t considered.
Thanks for responses!
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