magic kinhdom at phase three again today

[sydneysmom]

As much as I love Disney and our experiences in the various parks, we NEVER and I do mean NEVER went to any of the parks during the highest level crowds of spring break.
Just didn't enjoy that packed in feeling. I know some people will say just go with the flow. It didn't flow!!

I completely agree....we went over July 4th years ago and the park closed so early. It was just THAT packed. You couldn't sit down in the HUB to watch fireworks because people were literally standing too close to you so you couldn't bend. It was the worst feeling ever. the ride times were all over an hour and it was people soup. never again.

 

[myjourney]

I do not understand who would stand in line for 2 or more hours to get on a ride

 

[KMarston]

What the heck were we thinking??? We NEED a vacation and this was the only time that works for all of us! Hoping everyone leaves Friday!! We have a plan so hopefully we'll be ok. No way I'm waiting for hours to ride, I'm mostly afraid of the lines for the potty!


Those of you there now, please keep us updated and for an awesome vacation!

 

[teresa kay]

We stayed in MK until it closed at 3am Sunday night & it wasn't crowded at all. We have been hitting the other parks early and been able to ride with no wait.

 

[Robbi]

Not the picture I was looking for but it was like this at Easter 2009. DHS and MK closed 3 times that week. AK was wall to wall people.

 

[FortForever]

You couldn't pay me to be at WDW this week ... Well, I might have a price ;-)

Anyway, I could never understand why people pay all that money for a vacation then won't just take the kids out of school for a week so they can enjoy it.

My cousin's wife and DD always come down during spring break and Christmas and haven't learned their lesson yet. One year they got to go on exactly ONE ride all week.

She always tries to get me there with them by offering me the other bed in her room. Nice of her, but never gonna happen.

For this year, I talked her into a Disney cruise instead. Even at full capacity, it should be more pleasant.

Sent from my SCH-S950C using DISBoards

 

[Hasil72]

What the heck were we thinking??? We NEED a vacation and this was the only time that works for all of us! Hoping everyone leaves Friday!! We have a plan so hopefully we'll be ok. No way I'm waiting for hours to ride, I'm mostly afraid of the lines for the potty!

Those of you there now, please keep us updated and for an awesome vacation!

Us too! We arrive Friday and plan on doing rope drop all week. Hoping that works for us.

Have a great vacation!!!

 

[stormer]

Anyway, I could never understand why people pay all that money for a vacation then won't just take the kids out of school for a week so they can enjoy it.
Sent from my SCH-S950C using DISBoards

Unfortunately that isn't an option for everyone. I am a teacher so I do not get vacations days. I have to go when the kids are off from school becasue that is when I am off. I love my job and am glad to have as much time off as I do, but it means doing DIsney when it is crowded!

 

[my2disneyboys]

How do you know when Spring Break is? I thought people had all different weeks throughout March and April? Our kids have April vacation which for the northeast is week of April 16th and crowd levels are "predicted" at 3-6 level. Is it because of Easter that it is so crowded this week? I heard that my week will be good because Easter is early this year- but seeing these crowds freaks me out.

 

[Alesia]

I'm so intrigued by the Phase thing.

Can someone explain to me what Phase 1, 2 and 3 are?

Thanks to the DIS I doubt I will ever go during these Phase weeks. Although it's going to get harder to pull the kids out of school once they start going to public school.

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.

Also, if you are staying at a Disney owned and operated Resort and have a ticket, you are guaranteed entry into A park. Not necessarily the one you want (unless you want to go into AK). And if you have entered and left a park and do not have a hopper you may not get into anything.

*Guests of WDW Swan and Dolphin Hotels and Shades of Green at the Walt Disney World Resort are considered part of this group for Stages 2 and 3. In addition, Guests from Hotel Plaza Boulevard hotels arriving by bus are included.

 

[mrsp1030]

We arrive next Tuesday and based on ADRs still bin available especially later in week and rooms opening up at some of the sold out resorts, I'm hoping it tones down a little. We just never take our kids out, maybe we will extend one day over a holiday weekend but not for 5 straight days so we have few options this year.

 

[backpacktwang]

At HS right now. Don't know what phase, but CMs just told my dh that the park is at capacity and they are not letting people in. We have had so much fun though! Got here at opening, got ds into Jedi Training, got fp for TSM, and then ride Star Tours twice with no wait. We have done everything we want to do and then some and we are now in line for Backlot Tour killing time til our Cape May ADR. It feels crowded but not uncomfortable. Just goes to show that if you follow all the advice you can get on these boards, you can have a great time on ridiculous crowded days even as a first timer. Thanks, everyone!!!

 

[mrsp1030]

I agree. Thanks for the positive vibe. The magic is what you make of it. My parents and brother's family went at Christmas one year and I thought they were crazy but they got up, took a break about 1 and had a blast.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

Yes, the week leading up to Easter is always very, very crowded. I am a teacher, and we have done WDW the past 2 years (our school always goes either the third or fourth week of March) This is our spring break week, but because of Easter being Sunday, we decided not to go.

My school system now has a 2 week break in October. We will probably shift our Disney trip to the fall now. The weather is still great, but we won't have to worry about the spring break crowds.

 

[2Tiggies]

Touring Plans says it "can allegedly hold more than 100,000 guests" If you go to the touring plan site it gives a breakdown of what they believe the guidelines are for each phase.

I have been wondering how much additional capacity the FLE has added to MK. That is sure to have an impact on parade and Fireworks in a big way because everyone in the park can only view the parade (more so than the fireworks) ON the specific route and there is obviously no expansion on space for those viewing spots

Not the picture I was looking for but it was like this at Easter 2009. DHS and MK closed 3 times that week. AK was wall to wall people.

OMG, we were there! The nutters that we are. Funny but it was our second Easter/Spring Break trip and we just didn't know any better. I had researched like I was doing a masters degree before the first trip and followed advice from all over, bought the Unofficial Guide, used the Touring Plans to the letter and we park hopped and used RD and EMH as part of our strategy and I really didn't realize how bad it was until we went in October the following year One thing I do know looking back is 2 things saved us: Research and planning; And I KNOW now that Touring Plans do work! We never waited longer than 20 minutes in a line.

Not sure I'd brave it again looking at this But we had a great time and the Disney bug bit and we were hooked!

 

[zoey9989]

ill be doing mk monday (closes at 1am) and epcot tues (closes at 11pm) 2 adults no children. would you do rope drop or go later and stay until park closes??

 

[2Tiggies]

ill be doing mk monday (closes at 1am) and epcot tues (closes at 11pm) 2 adults no children. would you do rope drop or go later and stay until park closes??

I'd do both. Be there early and just stick it out. If I had to choose I'd rather be there early though - really early - so you can get a head start. Have a great time! Despite the crowds, it's still a blast

 

[AuroraRora]

ill be doing mk monday (closes at 1am) and epcot tues (closes at 11pm) 2 adults no children. would you do rope drop or go later and stay until park closes??

Both! RD til about 1pm, go back to the hotel for a nap/swim/drinks by the pool, then back to the parks around 6pm until close.

 

[chartle]

So, is it this crowded because it's the last week of March, or because it's the week before Easter?

Our break is always the last week in March, and I thinking next year would not be as crowded because Easter is late. Now I'm not so sure!

Primarily because it's the week before Easter.

Last week of March next year should be a whole different story.

Yes since Easter moves around the calendar, if its early like this year you get the perfect storm of Spring Break and Easter. If Easter is later, it just kind of extends the Spring Break Season not add to it.

Around here most K-12 schools seem to center their Spring Break around Easter either before of after. My sons' spring break at the Univ. of Pittsburgh was the second week of March, Penn State's, my niece, was the week before and they are always these weeks.

 

[cburek]

We have AP's and decided on a last minute trip before our tickets expire!!
We are heading down this Friday. Not sure we are renewing them just yet so we are trying to get our monies worth.
I booked about 2 weeks ago and was suprised there was so much available onsite.
We arrived on Easter Sunday a few years ago and that whole week after, while crowded ,was still not any worse than summer crowds we have experienced.
I love this time of year weather wise and would not hesitate to go even with crowds.You have to be flexible and go with the mindset that its busy and expect it to be. Have fun thats what its all about