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Edit: There seems to be a problem loading certain FASTPASS return times.  Taking a look at it.

Live Disney World wait times and FASTPASS return times are now available on the site at http://www.easywdw.com/waits.  You can point your Internet browser or mobile device to that page and quickly see what the current wait times are at the various attractions – no login or subscription required.  Brad Rosenbaum created the script and Matthew Turk helped out with the style.  Matt is also the designer and illustrator behind the Cheat Sheet maps.  Brad had emailed me a couple of questions before his trip earlier this month.  I emailed him back and he included a link to the wait times script he was working on a couple emails later.  I knew I had to have it.  And here it is.  I cannot take any credit for it.

This is a trial run to see how it works.  If you would be so kind, please leave a comment with your browser or mobile device and let us know how it looks and how quickly the pages load.  This is “Stage 1″ so to speak in development, but also please share any ideas of what you’d like to see in the future and we’ll see what we can do.

The page is intentionally minimalistic with an emphasis on quick loading times.  Click a Park.

[click to continue reading..]

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Below is what I think we’re looking at for November:

Click the image to enlarge or click here for a more attractive PDF file. If you have no idea what any of the letters and numbers mean, read the top of this post, which explains it.

The full November 2013 operating schedule is available here.  The Crowd Calendar and recommendations should look familiar to last year.  See this post for some thoughts on visiting in November.

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Just kidding.

But Disney will be “celebrating” Animal Kingdom’s 15th anniversary on Monday April 22nd.  The morning Extra Magic Hour that was originally scheduled on Monday the 22nd has moved to Sunday the 21st.  Animal Kingdom remains recommended on the 21st, but it would be more important to arrive early (and ideally during the 8am – 9am morning Extra Magic Hour where you’d be able to accomplish a ton) or stay through close.  I’m not expecting Animal Kingdom’s 15th anniversary to attract a ton of people.  Considering Disney only had a short parade featuring the usual characters and not much else for Magic Kingdom’s 40th, Animal Kingdom’s celebration budget is probably in the neighborhood of $35.  Still, it’s worth noting.

It’s likely that Disney will be offering another 24-hour day at Magic Kingdom on Friday May 24th to kick off their Monstrous Summer promotion.  I’m on the record as saying it’s 85% likely.  Should that come to pass, Magic Kingdom will no longer be recommended on the 24th and would instead be recommended on Saturday the 25th.  With Memorial Day Weekend crowds, overall crowds will already be high.  Another 24-hour promotion would only serve to increase those crowds, particularly coupled with Star Wars Weekends.  Since the 24-hour day has not been confirmed or announced, I’ve left the recommendations intact.  If you are visiting over Memorial Day, it’s worth taking into consideration that the schedule may be changed.

Disney has indeed canceled Hollywood Studios’ 3pm Parade and Disney Channel Rocks.  There will be no afternoon Parade moving forward and there are no current plans to add a new one.

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Below is what I think we’re looking at for October:

Click the image to enlarge or click here for a more attractive PDF file.  If you have no idea what any of the letters and numbers mean, read the top of this post, which explains it.

On one hand, October is a pretty easy month to plan.  For the most part, crowds are slightly below average to average.  Picking Magic Kingdom days is easy if you’re willing to forgo seeing the Electrical Parade and/or Wishes.  But Mickey’s Halloween Party closes Magic Kingdom at 7pm on three to four nights each week.  That pushes a ton of people to the days with longer hours and nighttime entertainment, which makes seeing the Electrical Parade and Wishes that much more difficult because the only options will be more crowded than the overall crowd level suggests.  Magic Kingdom is recommended on Wednesdays throughout the month, but those days are going to be significantly busier than Party dates, including Thursday Party dates with a morning Extra Magic Hour attached.  Expect Disney to extend the close on most Party dates to 8am – 7pm when they update the operating schedule, eliminating the benefit of those 8am breakfasts.  Those 8am opens will be more common in the first two weeks of the month.  Expect Disney to extend the hours on Saturdays all the way to 8am – 12am with two Electrical Parades.

The Food & Wine Festival also creates problems.  Friday, Saturday, and some Sunday nights can be downright uncomfortable with massive crowds in World Showcase.  The effect on Future World is not as intense, but the “newly imagined” Test Track should pull crowds.  Mondays and Thursdays are your best days to visit Epcot.  To have the most success, you’ll want to be on your way up to World Showcase right at 10:45am with plans to return to Future World as soon as 5pm.  You shouldn’t run into any major problems with that plan of attack.

Other wrinkles include Columbus Day on Monday the 14th.  Columbus Day really isn’t a big deal.  The Florida schools here don’t get a day off and longer breaks over the holiday are less common.  Fall Breaks over the first full week in October (7th – 11th) will actually bring in more people.  Local school breaks on the 18th, 21st, and 25th are the reason for the bumps in the overall crowd level on those dates.

Fantasmic isn’t scheduled on three Saturdays during the month.  Fantasmic won’t be scheduled on October 5th due to the Tower of Terror 10-Miler race.  Disney may add Fantasmic on the other two Saturdays as we get closer to October, but the Studios would remain the best Park to visit.

Overall, October is a pretty good month to visit with Mickey’s Halloween Parties and the Food & Wine Festival.  It’s still extremely hot in Florida, particularly during the first three weeks.  Luckily, rain is less common than September and the summer months.  An October trip is more than doable with diligent planning and the right expectations.

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Here’s what we’re looking at for August 2013:

The above image is available in a prettier PDF file here.  If you’re unfamiliar with what the numbers/letters/symbols mean, read the top of this post which explains it.

Most of August is similar to July, with heavy crowds, hot temperatures, long operating hours at the theme parks, and plenty of nighttime entertainment.  Crowds begin to drop off near the end of the month as more and more schools start back up.  Crowds in September are much lower across the board, even after the Labor Day holiday is taken into account.  If you’re flexible, you’ll want to visit in September, which sees some of the lowest crowds of the year.  Like July, August is doable, but most people are going to want to tour in the morning and evening when crowds are lighter and the weather isn’t as restrictive.  The daily analysis for August will follow in the next few days.  There may be some slight changes to the recommendations and crowd levels at that time, but I’m not expecting things to change much.  August is one of the more straightforward months.

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Here’s what we’re looking at for July 2013:

If you have no idea what the numbers and letters mean, check out the top of the June Crowd Calendar, which explains it.  The above image is also available in a prettier PDF file here.

As you can see, July is a busy, wet, and hot month with no major lulls in crowds like most months.  July also features plentiful evening entertainment and longer operating hours than most other months.  The daily analysis will follow in the next couple of days along with an update of the crowd calendar image if necessary.  A few changes are usually made, but this should give you a good idea about what to expect.

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Edit: Also, Test Track 2.0 and a Pork Panini.

Edit: New Magic Kingdom post in case it gets lost, Splash Mountain Could “Literally” Kill You, Rapunzel Rapunzel, Corn Dog, Not Mickeyroni, Recommended with EMH! – Magic Kingdom 11/29/12

You may have noticed that there have been a lot more posts than usual popping up.  I’m attempting to consolidate and organize the information in the various walkabouts into individual pages that have as much pertinent information as possible.  For example, the Fairfax Fare review has pictures of the building, where you can find it, the menu, some opinion on advantages/disadvantages, and then pictures/reviews of the food I’ve eaten.  Once that’s done, I’ll move on to rides, resorts, and table service restaurants.  Then assuming that ever happens, we’ll move off WordPress to a website that actually makes site navigation possible.  I’ve been talking about this for years, but hopefully it will become reality.  Finally.

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Here is the preliminary June 2013 Disney World Crowd Calendar.  It should look similar to last year’s.  Click to enlarge or click here for the handy PDF file.:

If you have no idea what any of the numbers and symbols mean, read the top of this post.  A couple of notes – first, June is “Summer Season” at all Disney operated resorts.  The difference is that at the Values and Moderates, pricing is actually close to Peak Season pricing.  For example, at Pop Century during Summer Season, rooms are $143/weekday and $168/weekend.  During Peak Season, it’s $145/weeknight and $175/weekend.  Regular Season is $121/weekday and $143/weekend.  At the Deluxes, Summer Pricing is slightly lower than Regular Season and much lower than Peak Season.  That’s why you see the discrepancy in the $$$$ / $$ pricing ($$$$ for Values/Moderates and $$ for Deluxes), even though both are technically Summer Season.  See MouseSavers for a complete pricing rundown.

June is a month that just gets hotter and more crowded as you get closer to July.  More and more schools are out on summer break and more and more South American tour groups arrive as July approaches.  The good news is that operating hours are long at all theme parks and nightly entertainment is abundant.  Disney should add a second Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios and extend the close to 10pm on most/all nights when it updates the operating schedule in May 2013.  At Magic Kingdom, expect 11pm closes and a second Electrical Parade at 11pm.  With cooler temperatures in the morning and evening, the best plan of attack is almost always a 9am – 1pm and 5pm – close day, with a lengthy break back at your resort to cool off and rest up for dinner and the evening entertainment.  You’ll also enjoy the lowest crowds possible no matter where you go and miss the busiest part of the day.  June is doable, but you’ll need to keep heavy crowds and high temperatures in mind.

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I updated the December 2012 Crowd Calendar with the changes listed here.  None of the recommendations or crowd levels changed as just about everything that was changed was expected.  I actually assumed there would be more Fantasmic shows added at 8pm throughout the month, but we only see a couple before the week that leads up to Christmas.  There was a question about whether there would be additional changes.  I’m not expecting any.  Disney usually makes one big update.  If there are additional changes, they’ll likely be the day of due to weather or unforeseen circumstances.  Also as far as 8am dining reservations on a day where the open has moved from 9am to 8am – I’d cancel them. You’re paying too much money to be hurried through the meal and eating from 8am – 9:30am is a waste of the best time of the day to tour.  Try to reschedule around 10:30am if possible.  Of course, you can also keep those reservations if you want to!

One of the biggest misconceptions with the extended hours is that Disney is now expecting heavier crowds.  That’s patently false.  Disney is initially conservative with the operating schedule and extends as necessary.  It’s a lot easier for Disney to extend the close at Magic Kingdom from 9am – 8pm to 9am – 9pm than it would be for them to decrease hours, which would just result in complaints.  Disney extends hours and adds additional evening entertainment every month all year, typically on a Monday or Friday in the middle of the month.  We should see July’s operating schedule and an update to January on December 14th or 17th.

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