magic kingdom at full capacity?

[FortForever]

Probably not- they were given access to a park. They chose to leave. WDW held up their end of the deal

That's pretty much how I view it myself. Was just seeing if I could stump mesa.

 

[mesaboy2]

Here's one that will stump you.

Resort guests go to MK in the morning, leave for a break, and return to a closed, at-capacity park. They do not have park hopper tickets. Will Disney upgrade them to go to another park?

These type of guests also have priority to enter that same park, but can still be shut out in the final phase of closing, where no one gets in. They will not be upgraded to a hopper per se, but would be allowed to finish that day at another park.

Gotta do better than that.

 

[FortForever]

These type of guests also have priority to enter that same park, but can still be shut out in the final phase of closing, where no one gets in. They will not be upgraded to a hopper per se, but would be allowed to finish that day at another park.

Gotta do better than that.

Thanks for the answer!

 

[mesaboy2]

Thanks for the answer!

Hope you have a great rest of your trip--I'm back home tonight.

 

[Alesia]

Yeah, that's why I had this made up scenario in my mind that they would close to outside guests before real capacity was reached.

They do have staged closures:

Stage Zero - Due to limited available parking, Guests may be directed to alternate parking areas where they will use Resort transportation to travel to the park of their choice.

Stage 1 - At this stage each Guest in a vehicle must have a valid multi-day ticket. Also Guests with a Park Hopper or re-entering the Park, by showing a currently dated Parking Receipt, will be allowed in. Also, any Guests using Disney transportation are allowed.

Stage 2 - At this stage, Theme Park admission is limited to Disney Resort Guests*, Annual and Premium Annual Passholders, Guests with Park Hopper tickets crossing over from another Park, Guests re-entering this Park today. Guests with written confirmation of reservations for Dining or Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique or The Pirates League within one hour are also admitted. Guests using Walt Disney World Resort Transportation will be admitted. Guests not meeting the above criteria are told the Theme Park has reached capacity.

Stage 3 - At this stage, Theme Park admission is limited to Disney Resort Guests*, Annual and Premium Annual Passholders. Guests with written confirmation of reservations for Dining or Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique or The Pirates League within one hour are also admitted.

Stage 4 - Nobody is allowed in.

 

[TDC Nala]

I'd think the 4th of July might be the only day in that area where there could be issues, and then only with Magic Kingdom.

Would WDW parks really turn away their own resort guests?

If there is a stage 4 closure, nobody gets in. No resort guests, no annual passholders, nobody.

Onsite guests are promised access to a theme park. There are 4 theme parks. The odds of all of them being closed at stage 4 at the same time is so astronomical as to be nonexistent. So the onsite guest will get into a park - it just may not be the park they wanted.

I understand MK had a stage 1 closure last week (parking lot only) but stage 4 closures are very rare and usually are limited to extremely crowded days like Easter week or Christmas/New Years week, especially New Years Eve. Magic Kingdom is the most likely park to experience one. Epcot has such a large guest capacity that I can remember hearing they had a stage 4 closure only on December 31, 1999.

 

[Chuck65]

My cousin was at MK during NYE one year when it hit level 4. She said it was not a pretty sight.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

They do have staged closures:

Stage 4 - Nobody is allowed in.

I would think that they almost always have make an exception for guests with dining reservations. I would be VERY unhappy to learn that I was charged as a "no show" at CP because I was refused entry to the MK when I arrived in plenty of time!


I also think that if the park to be THAT full, you will have a pretty good idea earlier in the day. If you start to see a huge line for HoP, CoP, and the TTA. It's like those, "You know you're a redneck if" jokes. You know it's a bad day at MK if you see an hour wait for CoP at 9:15am.

Watch out for the Daytona 500. It is Feb 24 this year. Another event to watch for is Daytona Bike week - March 8 to 17th. Especially if those two weeks also happen to coincide with a large cross-lower-48-states-blizzzard.
This past week was Mardi Gras, which also brings in folks.

 

[TDC Nala]

At a stage 4 there are no exceptions made. No restaurant reservations. Nothing. And yes, it counts as a no-show for credit card holds or prepayment. But as noted Stage 4 enclosures are rare. Bike Week is not going to cause one, nor did Mardi Gras.

 

[RMulieri]

As a Disney resort guest you are only guaranteed access to A park.Not neccessarily the park of your choice.If MK hits a phase 4 closing, NO ONE gets in.Including those with pre-paid dining, and YES you can be charged as a no show.

 

[Octoberbaby]

I am worried now. Would the week after Easter bring a stage 4 closing for MK? Planning on leaving mid day on a Wed and returning for dinner at BOG.

 

[ThreeBeans]

As a Disney resort guest you are only guaranteed access to A park.Not neccessarily the park of your choice.If MK hits a phase 4 closing, NO ONE gets in.Including those with pre-paid dining, and YES you can be charged as a no show.

I must admit I find this one kind of baffling. not the stage 4 closure, but the charge for the no-show. Has anyone ever experienced this and successfully gotten Disney to remove the charge?

 

[Planogirl]

I would get there early and leave when I originally planned. If the park is somehow closed to you due to capacity, it likely wouldn't be much fun anyway.

I consider being charged a no-show fee weird when you can't get into the park.

 

[AuroraRora]

I'd think the 4th of July might be the only day in that area where there could be issues, and then only with Magic Kingdom.

We were at MK on July 4th a few years ago during Stage 4... yikes, it was rough . Probably the only time I've ever wished I WASN'T at the parks!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

At a stage 4 there are no exceptions made. No restaurant reservations. Nothing. And yes, it counts as a no-show for credit card holds or prepayment. But as noted Stage 4 enclosures are rare. Bike Week is not going to cause one, nor did Mardi Gras.

Sorry, did not mean to suggest those two events would (normally) bring the park to capacity- in and of themselves.

The most crowded I have ever seen MK though was the year we got stuck in Orlando right after Daytona. There was a huge storm that went acros the country- and many flights were cancelled. I think many folks who were in FL for Daytona (and anything else) also got stranded in FL, so many of them decided to go to MK for the day. There are also many conventions in FL, so perhaps that ws a factor. Lots of folks were weaing racing gear, so that's why everyone thought many of them were from Daytona. The line to get on the monorail at the TTC was over an hour deep!

I still find it hard to believe that Disney would allow the parks to reach level 4- knowing that a certain number of folks have ADR's - and that they would be charged as no shows. I can understand letting the parks get that full before the no-show policy was in place, but I find it hard to believe they would do it under the new policy.


I've been at WDW many times during Easter week, and never seen the parks closed due to capacity. Then again- I usually try to dodge the worst crowds. If I'm at WDW on a holiday, I would tend to avoid MK that day. (AK is usually the least crowded, Epcot will be crowded, but has high capacity. On Easter day, I would only do TT with aFP, skip Soarin', and focus much of the day doing things that don't have a line - like gardens, gift shops, live WS shows, etc.)

If there happened to be a storm such as the one I describe (they do happpen periodically in winter) Then I suppose there's a cance you could see somethiing like what I describe above. If such a thing happens, you may find yourself happier to skip MK.

 

[susienut1]

Was wondering if they typically later on in the evening reopen the park to returning guests or once it's closed it's closed?

We're going Easter week and trying to figure out if we could leave in the afternoon and return after dinner for parade? Or do we have to stay all day in make sure we don't get shut out later?

We are not staying on site, do not have park hopper tickets and would be returing to the same park (magic kingdom)

I know that once when we were at Magic Kingdom on during easter week they did close because when we were leaving after lunch they said we might not be able to get back in.

 

[chartle]

Was wondering if they typically later on in the evening reopen the park to returning guests or once it's closed it's closed?

We're going Easter week and trying to figure out if we could leave in the afternoon and return after dinner for parade? Or do we have to stay all day in make sure we don't get shut out later?

We are not staying on site, do not have park hopper tickets and would be returing to the same park (magic kingdom)

I know that once when we were at Magic Kingdom on during easter week they did close because when we were leaving after lunch they said we might not be able to get back in.

Yes it usually does reopen. They keep a count of everyone leaving and once it hits a certain point they start letting people back in. Though its not a 10 people leave 10 are let in.

 

[chartle]

These type of guests also have priority to enter that same park, but can still be shut out in the final phase of closing, where no one gets in. They will not be upgraded to a hopper per se, but would be allowed to finish that day at another park.

Gotta do better than that.

Are you saying that they would be given some sort of one day comp ticket? First time I have never heard of this.

 

[Alesia]

Was wondering if they typically later on in the evening reopen the park to returning guests or once it's closed it's closed?

We're going Easter week and trying to figure out if we could leave in the afternoon and return after dinner for parade? Or do we have to stay all day in make sure we don't get shut out later?

We are not staying on site, do not have park hopper tickets and would be returing to the same park (magic kingdom)

I know that once when we were at Magic Kingdom on during easter week they did close because when we were leaving after lunch they said we might not be able to get back in.

They do start letting people in as other guests leave, but there's no way of knowing where they'll be when you're ready to go back. It would be highly unlikely that they would be at stage 4 that late in the evening, but they could still be at stage 3. If they're still at stage 3, you won't be able to get in.

If I were staying offsite, I would either stay at the park or be prepared to upgrade to hoppers if necessary.

 

[susienut1]

Is there anyway of official way of knowing when you are in the park how close they are to closing or what level?

A certain person to ask or a number to call?

Or if we leave and wanted to see if we could get back in later?