Happy Birthday!
2 Likes
HBD!!
12 Likes
Happy Birthday Jeff! 
Thank you for the wonderful and informative trip report, and for keeping us all up to speed about Genie+! Looks like you got so much done while you were there. It’s always good to get back home though, especially with that beautiful family!
2 Likes
Happy Birthday, Jeff! 
2 Likes
Happy Birthday 
2 Likes
Happy Birthday!
2 Likes
Happy Birthday!
2 Likes
Happy B-Day!
2 Likes
Happy Birthday! I hope you have a great day.
2 Likes
Happy birthday Jeff!
2 Likes
Happy Birthday!!! 
2 Likes
Happy Birthday!!!
3 Likes
Happy birthday!
2 Likes
Happy birthday, Jeff! 
And thanks for another fun and informative trip report!
2 Likes
Thank you everyone! It’s been a great birthday celebration so far. Wish I didn’t have to work though. LOL
13 Likes
happy birthday, jeff! cheers to a great year to come!
2 Likes
TRIP RETROSPECTIVE
Part 4: Spring Break
I’m going to give some thoughts about visiting this time of year.
Crowds
Crowds were very high - between 6-9 daily (see chart below). Lines were long - rides like RotR were 2.5 hours, a 2-hour wait was typical for ToT, 90 minutes for RNRC, 60 minutes for Jungle Cruise, etc. And it wasn’t just long lines - there were masses of people everywhere, impeding quick transit between locations within a park or between parks.
While it’s hard to compare exactly, I think it’s pretty clear that crowds were higher last week than they were for my previous trips in early October 2021 and late May/early June 2021. I had the thought multiple times that it would have been awful to be pushing a stroller around or to have to worry about standing in multiple hour(s)-long lines for popular attractions.
This is the average posted wait time across all WDW attractions throughout the day. I marked off our three trips (roughly), and you can see that Spring Break was clearly higher posted waits. How much of this was due to Covid restrictions / travel hesitancy vs. 50th anniversary vs. Genie+ impacts vs. actual crowds is hard to say. But it certainly felt more crowded now.
Weather
The weather on the other hand was fantastic. I’ve never been at a better time of year. There was torrential rain most of the day Thursday (when I was in my work conference), but other than that, it was dry, breezy, and warm without being every too hot or too cold. I only remember feeling “muggy” once or twice, even in the afternoon.
Conclusion
For solo travel, I wouldn’t hesitate to come at this time of year again. With my family, I would either be careful to choose a week that wasn’t busy with Spring Break (which is becoming difficult to avoid), or I’d suck it up and brave the heat of the summer, which honestly doesn’t bother me too much.
October was still very hot and muggy that first week of the month when my kids have their fall break from school. The crowds this year were about the same as May/June, but I’ll have to watch the patterns in the future. It could be a decent alternative to summer.
Summer is better for our school schedule and work cadence (as a financial accountant - this was actually a very hectic work week for me and it was a lot to juggle with a trip. I was often answering emails in line and even had to take a couple of calls in the parks 
).
If your family is ok with long lines but prefers cooler weather, Spring Break is a good option. Just pack your patience.
18 Likes
Happy Birthday, Jeff! It’s a lovely day temperature wise in the valley!
We’re on our way back to California and then flying home to Washington. Had hoped to stop by DD to see construction on the new DVC tower, but don’t think we’ll have time.
5 Likes
Happy Birthday!
2 Likes
I am thinking the higher-than historical crowd estimates are related to several factors.
- A smaller sample of alternatives for vacation activities are available to people. Things are opening up, but there are still several typical vacation destinations that are not available.
- A large number of people who need their yearly or every-other-year Disney fix have been held away from the parks for a few years. They are throwing caution to the wind and taking those vacations now.
- A large amount of DVC owners have points that they need to use before they expire. That is increasing the number of people at WDW.
- Airfares are starting to climb higher. Therefore people are looking for vacations closer to home where they can drive.
I would be interested to see how the crowd levels are in about a year from now. I am thinking that the factors leading to higher crowd levels will have played out by then. Then we will get to see who is still onboard with a Disney vacation and the increased “nickel and diming” they have implemented.
You can see from the latest round of survey questions on the Disney Dish, that Disney did not get the crowds they wanted for the 50th and are looking for reasons. Maybe the power of the people and where they spend the mighty dollar will start to have an impact on Disney’s bottom line.
6 Likes