Are there any reports on how the opening of this ride has affected crowds at the other parks? I would expect that MK is pretty busy at this time anyway. Are people park hopping to EPCOT a lot via DS?
Good timing question. Fred Hazelton, crowd level analyst for Touring Plans, today did a crowd analysis report on TouringPlans.com/blog/...His findings and some quotes from the article.
Nov. 18 to Dec. 16 Crowd Analysis
.................................Predicted Crowd Level............'Observed' Crowd Level
MK..........................5.4.............................................5.4
Epcot......................6.0.............................................4.8
DHS........................7.1..............................................4.6
AK..........................6.0..............................................4.9
*"Crowds were down in general over the last 30 days at the three parks (Epcot, DHS, AK). DHS numbers were much lower than expected. Crowds were very light leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday, much lighter than normal."
* "Crowd levels at DHS were very down from predicted levels during the last 30 days.".....Our models are showing that DHS crowds are about as large as they would normally without the new ride (RotR)"
* Animal Kingdom. "There is some indication that AK crowd levels are finally decreasing to pre-Pandoran levels. Of the last 30 days ,our predictions have overestimated on 19 days. Perhaps the new lands are drawing a few more guests away from Pandora."