Hi there
I am new to WDW and this will be my family’s first visit. I have made my ADRs and fast passes for 7/24-8/7 but the crowd levels tend to vary between 2-7 for my stay. Unfortunately my plans seem to be on the days when the crowds are higher in my choice of park eg. crowd level for MK is a 7 for the day I’ll visit and then on other days it is as low as 3! Should I stick to my fastpasses, ADRs and personalised touring plans already made or should I try and amend my plans to ensure I’m visiting the quietest parks each day? Literally rip up all of my plans and start again?? I have done so much research for this trip and would be really disappointed if the large crowds spoilt the trip.
Thanks
Stick with what you’ve got. Crowd levels are an estimate and can be 2 levels off with just a few minutes less or more in line. That means your CL3 could be a 5 on the day…and so could your CL7. A touring plan is way more important. It will make a crowded day feel much less crowded.
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Thanks for the reply and that’s a relief. I don’t know where to begin if I had to start again. Really appreciate the feedback!
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No problem! Just a reminder - in case you didn’t know - you should optimise your plans again right before your trip to make sure you’ve got the most up to date information. Or evaluate if you don’t want to change the order.
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Stick with your TPs…We visited in early May and days that were listed at CL 4 felt like 6 at least. FPPs and ADRs are invaluable!
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Touring plans.
A well developed touring plan trumps any crowd level.
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Stick with the TP. On my last trip, MK was projected to be a CL 2 the day that we were there. As we made our way around the park, I kept saying to DS, this can’t be a 2, it feels like a 7. Sure enough, when we got home, I checked the historical data, and it had been a CL7. So things change, but ADRs and Fastpasses with a good plan make the difference.
tldr: Touring Plans
The important thing to remember here is that the CLs are based on predicted wait times not the predicted number of people in the park, and that any number of unpredictable factors can greatly change actual wait times on the day. For example, if one or more headliners go down or WDW understaffs, then wait times across the park go up and so does the actual CL on what would have otherwise been a low CL day.
With a personalized TP you can cope with these sorts of things. If your plan starts to go off-track or you hear news that attractions are down, you just re-optimize to get the best plan for the conditions at that time. Just be sure to mark all the attractions you have completed as “done” before you hit the button (and mark the most recently completed attraction last so that the software knows where you are).
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