Which Crowd Calendar Do You Trust Most?

[DizFan13]

I have a habit of looking at Kenny the Pirate's and Touring Plans and making decisions based on what they both agree on. Lately, though, the overlap seems rare if at all, and our last two trips didn't seem to line up with either (other than the fact that the week of Christmas was, of course, busy).

I'm curious which crowd calendar all of you DISers find most reliable? If not one of these two, which?

 

[FCDub]

None.

 

[monkyby87]

My true answer is none, but since that's not really what you're looking for, I personally prefer Kenny the Pirate. I've agreed more with his stuff than other websites.

But again, my true answer is none, I don't think any of them are that great

 

[holden]

None

 

[sam1998]

I always swore by EasyWDW, but he doesn't do one anymore. Since then, I peruse multiple ones, try to gauge which park is best which day, and go from there. I follow the same strategy many of the calendars use- Mondays are busy at MK, parks with EMH will be busier by midday, etc.

 

[DizFan13]

My true answer is none, but since that's not really what you're looking for, I personally prefer Kenny the Pirate. I've agreed more with his stuff than other websites.

But again, my true answer is none, I don't think any of them are that great

I've been wondering this myself. Not only do they not always agree with each other, but sometimes their predictions seem to argue with what I know to be true, such as predicting lower than usual crowds in a park with morning EMH . . . say what?!

 

[SaintsManiac]

None

 

[gharter]

I don't trust either, but do look at them.
If I had to pick one, I think it would be Touring Plans only because he had the interview where he sort of explained his algorithm of how they decided on a crowd level.

 

[Jolly Cackle Farm]

we use touring plans. never had an issue

 

[Brett Wyman]

I think TouringPlans is the best tool to make your own informed decision.

 

[garris3404]

I use both as a guide, but swear by neither. When they both agree I tend to follow their advice.

 

[Klayfish]

I hope they all go away, but sadly they probably won't.

 

[FastPasser.]

I've had to be at WDW so often for so long that out of necessity, I think my brain has developed a biological crowd level calendar. Kinda like a biological clock. It's very accurate, and it's free.

 

[Klayfish]

I've had to be at WDW so often for so long that out of necessity, I think my brain has developed a biological crowd level calendar. Kinda like a biological clock. It's very accurate, and it's free.

Kinda like lumbago acting up? You can feel it in your bones when it's going to be crowded?

 

[FastPasser.]

Kinda like lumbago acting up? You can feel it in your bones when it's going to be crowded?

Exactly! Where is my lumbago?

 

[Holly]

I always swore by EasyWDW, but he doesn't do one anymore. Since then, I peruse multiple ones, try to gauge which park is best which day, and go from there. I follow the same strategy many of the calendars use- Mondays are busy at MK, parks with EMH will be busier by midday, etc.

His reasons for why he no longer offers them are pretty compelling, too, and make me jump on board with the “none” gang.

 

[evlaina]

I like KtP. We went for 9 days in Nov/Dec and his crowd predictions were spot on every day, it was fantastic. His rule of thumb seems to be avoid the parks with EMH which I agree with, because although we stay onsite, we like PPO breakfasts. I'm waiting on his October calendar to drop any day now to get ready to finalize my itinerary before my ADR day. I'm wondering if he will update Sept to be busier since the news of Galaxy's Edge broke (he only updated the end of August).

TP just seems off all the time, and they're always correcting their predictions. Their reservation finder is awesome though, and I used their Lines app in the parks instead of MDE. It was awesome.

Both are good for different reasons IMO.

 

[maryj11]

I've had to be at WDW so often for so long that out of necessity, I think my brain has developed a biological crowd level calendar. Kinda like a biological clock. It's very accurate, and it's free.

 

[TangledHairDon'tCare]

Its not that I don't TRUST crowd calendars, its just that crowds can mean so many different things to different people. We've been on a day that TP called MK a 10 and we rode every single ride we wanted with a FP and we've then we've been on a 4 where it felt like we couldn't get away from a horde of people no matter where we turned and no luck in getting 4th, 5th etc FPs. We've really come to the conclusion that the crowds do not matter, we just try our best to plan around them (eating at off times, hitting up rides during parades/shows etc).

 

[skippytx]

TP and KtP are good useful tools, but you shouldn't rely on them 100%.

After a couple of "off season" supposedly "low crowd" visits, I've come to the point where I rather just go when its busier. The parks are open longer hours and we actually get more done than the "slow" times where the parks are open shorter hours or reduce staffing and capacity of rides. Bring on the 12AM to 2AM EMH at MK please.

We're done chasing supposedly "low crowd" times. I don't think they exist anymore. I'm going to focus on timing my visits around nice weather instead.

I just looked at the Lines app, and funny enough, the crowd levels are 9/10 this week, but the wait times are the exact same as when I was there 2 weeks ago and the crowds were only 5/10 or 6/10. Yeah there's more people around, but looking at this snapshot it makes no difference on actual ride wait times. I'm sure it affects getting a table at a QS restaurant, and transportation and all that, but the ride waits are the exact same.