5 Reasons why Disney crowd calendars can be off or seem off when they aren't

This year more so than any other year I have read and even had some people call up my business to yell at me that my crowd calendar was wrong. To see my crowd calendar, please click here.  The ironic annoying part is these people didn't book with me, so they just called to yell that I offer free advice and I have even explained how I came up with the number. The strange thing is most of the time when I fact check with the figures of how packed the park was...I am usually not that far off on my numbers. (there were honestly a few days in January I was way off but I contributed that to the first time a lot Annual Pass holders were blocked for the holiday and they needed their Disney fix and flooded the park as soon as they were allowed to go again, so that is the first time in history this happen so of course it made my calendar wrong since my calendar is based off of PAST crowd levels, this was a new event that was unexpected, I don't even think Disney expect it.) Anyways, why it feels more crowded at the parks.

1. The biggest change is the amount of area Disney had to shut down in order to work on Star Wars land. I don't think people take in to consideration how much of an area Disney had to block off to star building Disney, and with this area cut off, the attractions and the walking path that was alleviated when this area was open is now not there. Think about it, those big ships can hold a few hundred people, and the train around the world can too, then the island, last but not the least the petting zoo and walking path even took some of the crowd. (Though maybe not much, as it was my favorite spot to head to when my autistic son wanted some quite time to unwind and I miss it dearly.)

2. Annual pass holder...as my opening paragraph said the new tier system affect the crowds in ways that couldn't have been predicted.  But not only is the new tier system affecting the crowds, there are probably over 70,000 annual pass holders within 20 minutes of Disneyland park, and if all of them showed up in the evening the park would be at 70% full, and they are constantly asking in groups if the park is empty, and I swear when one says yes about 1/2 of the jet down to the park and then they are all on social media complaining that its packed now. The data I am given gives the average crowds in the park during the day. Its an over all average, they extra people showing up in the last hours usually aren't factored in.

3. Disneyland has caught on to the patterns of crowds, and their new tiered system for 1 day tickets are bringing more of a crowd. They did not have 1 day, (except for the crazy raining days) where the park was at 10%, this was a first in a few years, so that affects my calendar but even then I was usually only off by a point. Disney is doing what they really wish for...they want their park to never be empty.

4. Adding to the value days, Disney knowing its a value day and they schedule most of their ride maintenance or (refurbishments) for these times. So, we have Disney offering people to come in for a cheaper price...thus adding to the crowds, then they shut down more rides, limiting what people can go on. We already touched on this with star wars land, and how that area being closed off has affect crowds but even without Star Wars Land,  the yearly ride maintenance shut downs have affect crowds but not to this extend as it has this year. Or perhaps its the last reason...

5. This is my own opinion but frankly I find that peoples attitudes have affected peoples perceptions of things. It has been debated often in the "Disneyland" annual pass Facebook fan site what is considered an empty park and the opinions vary largely. And many people see the park at 2 and thinks I'll be able to walk on everything. That isn't the case, at least not for all the rides. Plus, there have been some studies that show people in theme parks tend to bunch up in certain areas and one family may be saying gee I am walking on everything today and another will be at the park and claim they had to wait 20+ minutes for everything. Why is that? I really don't know, but I know it happens more often than not, is it perception? luck? or something else? I am not sure. I'll love to hear your opinion.

Either way, please know I am providing this data out of the kindness of my heart. It is based on PAST HISTORY. History I guess changes more now than ever or perhaps its just perceptions. I really wish I had a crystal ball to truly predict the best times to go to Disney but I can't I can just give my best educated guest based on past history.  I provide this information in the hopes of families booking their Disney vacations with me so I can support my son. So with that said...here is my pitch for why you should used me as your travel agent.

I would like to inform you that when you book with RMH Travel it doesn't cost one cent more than booking direct with Disney, in fact your statement will look the same because you are booking with Disney, but you are allowing RMH Travel to book it on your behalf and in return Disney will give me a small commission that goes toward supporting my family. But if you book direct, Disney just pockets that money, so please when you book your vacations, please consider booking it with me.

I promised to make your vacation even more magical and to take your Disney vacation to a whole new level. As your travel planner, I am here to help you every step of the way with as much or as little help as you wish for.  Whether this is your first time going to a Walt Disney Park or your 100th time, I am here to help make your vacation a magical one.

For you free no obligation quote, please click here to be taken to my website. 

If you would like to join a FACEBOOK planning discussion group, I invite you to join one of the groups I run: 

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You can also check out my website: www.RMHTravel.com, 

On my web site you will see that I work with many suppliers not just Disney to book magical vacations to many destinations and I try to make each and every vacation I plan and book a magical one, whether its to one of Disney's many parks, or taking a trip to the Bahamas I am here for you. 

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When should I book my Vacation? ~The Answer

When to book your vacation? Try­ing to fig­ure out the ide­al time to book your vacation and get the best deal is like try­ing to pre­dict a sports score: All you can do is look at the stats and make an educat­ed guess, and that is where a great Travel Agent comes in handy. It is our job to look at the constant changing stats and we are trained, learn from experience, etc when to book a vacation and get the best deals.

More often than not...book EARLY. Most vacations offer early bird specials and with cruise and certain hotels you get to pick the best cabin or room, as you are one of the first to book. Also, when booking with a Travel Agent, and booking early more often than not, if there is a better price before your final payment, we can get the better price.

Sometimes a Travel Agent will tell you to hold off on booking because they are aware of a sale for your particular destination. For example:

For Cruises a big sale blitz happens in late Oc­to­ber and again in Jan­uary and Febru­ary (dur­ing what the cruise in­dus­try calls Wave Sea­son, when many pas­sen­gers tend to plan and book peak-pe­ri­od cruis­es). Spe­cial deals sud­den­ly ap­pear, in­clud­ing for sum­mer itineraries pop­ular with fam­ilies in the Caribbean, as the lines look to get more busi­ness on the books. Best time to go for the best price, depends on your destination: Caribbean would be hurricane season (June to November) but the draw back to that is you may not make ports and there are no refunds if they don't. Alaskan the best rates are the first and last cruises. For the other choices, cruises are usually all in season so the best prices are booking early.  Cruises sometimes offer last minute deals, but with these come draw backs, first the best cabins are gone, second you have to pay in full, and third if you have to fly to make the cruise the price of a last minute flight cost more, usually not saving you much.
 

For all inclusive vacation in the Caribbean or Mexico, book about 11 months in advance. You won't find deals during the most popular time winter break, but you also won't find any rooms if you don't book early. As for the best time to go? For the best deals, book your vacation or the hurricane season (June to November),  which can bring discounted rates up to 60 percent off their high-season counterparts. But, with hurricane season comes risk, be flexible, and buy insurance. Spring and fall offer some discounts (minus spring break, which is an expensive time to go again). Last minute deals can be found for all inclusive but the cost of flights book so close to your vacation often counter any last minute deals.

For Walt Disney World there is a double edge sword, you want to book your vacation at least 185 days in advance, so that at 180 days you can book your dining choices, but if you don't care where you will eat (you don't have a daughter that MUST EAT at Cinderella's Royal Table, or you aren't dying to trying Be Our Guest) then I suggest waiting until a deal comes out before booking your vacation, most deals come out about 90 days in advance. Some deals aren't really deals, for the summer they offer up to 30% off some resorts but that price is still higher than the same room non- discounted in September (but they are still cheaper than booking last minute where you won't get even 30% off). There best deals are usually for the month of September, parts of October, November, and December, with occasionally good deals in parts of January, February and March.


Booking your vacation can be stressful for some, there is lots of research that goes into finding the prefect deal when you can travel. Let RMH Travel take the stress out of booking your vacation, contact us and we can set you up with the perfect destination, resort or cruise ship. More often than not you will also find extra amenities added to your vacation that you won't find anywhere else. Let our expert staff help you.


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