Looking for some hope.

[parkluvr]

My wife and I visited WDW the middle week of February. While it was a very different experience than what we normally have, we adapted ourselves to it and ended up having a pretty good time. My wife is talking about a return visit the second week of June with my college aged sons to give them a chance for a much needed vacation. My biggest concern is the crowd levels. In February, the rumored crowd level restrictions were 30 to 35%. Due to ride and show closures, many parts of the park seemed busier than we had ever seen them. Since our return, I have seen many rumors of Disney increasing capacity, but little to no stories about Disney reopening rides or shows. Festival of the Lion King is supposed to return sometime this summer and I saw a vlog that the brew pub on the boardwalk reopened, but not much else. We've been vaccinated, so I am not concerned with some crowds, but seeing sold out park reservations and hotel reservations has me scared that we're going to be paying for a nightmare.
I'm not trying to sound negative. I realize that we have a choice to go or to not go. I'm just looking for some positives that I may have missed before making the decision of whether or not to go.

 

[glocon]

Maybe make the reservations now while there is availability and keep an eye out on these boards to see what the experience is like. You can always cancel closer to the time or postpone the trip if you think you won’t enjoy it. But if you wait too much longer you might be locked out of some of the parks for reservations.

 

[RoseGold]

You can see the crowd levels for Spring Break on people's Youtube videos. I wouldn't expect it to be as crowded as Spring Break, but it could be, especially on weekends. I'm not sure I would call it a "nightmare," but maybe you would? I'd go watch some recent videos about the crowd level to see if you are comfortable with how the crowds look lately.

 

[Traver Freeman]

The earlier you go in June the better it's likely to be. The later you let things go, the busier it will get is my thought.

We are going first week of May specifically because it's final exam week for a lot of Colleges and too close to the end of the school year for High Schools. We assume that'll mean lower crowds. Crowd Calendars report increased crowds following Memorial Day.

That being said, June 6th through the 12th is our backup trip in case something happens to derail our May trip. That's the best week in June that we could see for crowd levels.

 

[cmarsh31]

This June? Or June 2022? You might want to check the Park Pass Reservation calendar. I think Hollywood Studios is completely booked and MK has some full days too.

 

[lanejudy]

I don’t know if WDW actually increased capacity or they just consistently reached max capacity in recent weeks which hadn’t occurred in early Feb. You are correct that with some attractions and restaurants still closed plus social distancing measures it makes the park feel crowded. If you may go in June, I recommend making the plans now; you can always reschedule or cancel if it seems to be too much. I expect the days of light crowds are behind us at this point.

 

[dizneedoll]

Yeah, if you are thinking this June only the last week has availability at all 4 parks. There is no availability at MK or HS during the first three weeks.

 

[Traver Freeman]

Yeah, if you are thinking this June only the last week has availability at all 4 parks. There is no availability at MK or HS during the first three weeks.

Some availability is likely to pop up at the end of April this month for June 6th-12th

That's when we'll be cancelling our June reservation. I have a reservation for both first week of May and first full week of June just in case any craziness happened where people got sick or out of state travel was restricted.

 

[parkluvr]

Thanks for all of the replies. We actually do have hotel and park reservations booked already. I think as we get closer to final payment I'm just getting a little bit nervous. I watched videos before the February trip and I thought we could sneak in the week after President's day weekend and avoid the big crowds, but things were much more crowded than expected. I think that all of the parks were available for every day in February. As a few of you have said, the Magic Kingdom and Studios are both unavailable for every day that we are supposed to be on property for June. I can handle crowds, I just don't want it to be so crazy that we have to wait an hour just to get a bus from the hotel to the park every morning with increased crowds and social distancing restrictions.

 

[cmarsh31]

The week after President's Day was Mardi Gras... and still vacation week for the Northeast (we were there too). It's always a busy week, not as busy as spring break or Christmas, but right in line with Thanksgiving. Add in Mardi Gras and it was REALLY busy. I don't know how June will be, but the week you were there in Feb was destined to be a big crowd week. We go that week every other year.

 

[martikus]

It’s going to be busy. And crowded and no real way yet to know how much more will be open. Most of our k-12 schools won’t get out until closer to end of June due to starting late so I have a feeling that last week in June is going to be crazy.

another option is universal! Stay at one of their 3 premier resorts that offer express passes. It is SUCH a relaxing vacation as you don’t have to plan anything and you can walk or take boat back for afternoon pool relaxing.

While we love Disney our teen son prefers universal so because it is so much more relaxing we go there.