Does "Park to Avoid" matter when the crowd level is a 4?

[princesslover]

On the crowd calendar, December 1 is a 4 overall, with Epcot being the park to avoid (morning EMH that day.) We're going to be in Epcot that day, just because it works out overall with our touring schedule.

Do you think this is a big deal with such a low crowd level? We have a morning ADR at Akershus for 8:10, so I probably won't move it anyway, just wondering, I guess. Thanks!

[rie'smom]

I wouldn't worry about it.

[SarRoc1020]

Agreed. Our itinerary rarely matches the crown calendar's recommendations, but we've never had a problem with time of year.

[PIRATEGIRL007]

YES!! We went 1st of September, scroll back thru the board and you will see it was DEAD those days w/ very few people around. We walked on w/ NO wait things like Splash Mountain, Pirates, BTMRR, etc in the MK and had similar experiences in the other parks. We decided to play w/ the best days/worst day calendar this last trip and see how accurate it was. The difference in a best day park was walk on vs 20-50 min waits at same time of day in same park on 'worst day'. The crowd levels for first week of Sept were 4's and 5's.

BTW the calendar hasn't went under a '4' in a few years from now and the number is the corresponding wait time at the MK Big 3 (mountains) during peak hours (think 10-2). It also is the 'worst case scenario' time.

[brittanyherndon]

I guess I am confuessed is 4 the biggest crowed and 1 smallest crowed

[HLAuburn]

Originally Posted by brittanyherndon

I guess I am confuessed is 4 the biggest crowed and 1 smallest crowed

No, a 10 would be the biggest crowd and a 1 would be the smallest....but Touring Plans never has any days less than a 4 that I've seen.

[Golf4food]

All rides will be walk on or less than 30 minute waits, most likely. Lots of empty space. Ignore the stupid recommendation.

[brittanyherndon]

Originally Posted by HLAuburn

No, a 10 would be the biggest crowd and a 1 would be the smallest....but Touring Plans never has any days less than a 4 that I've seen.

txs for the clarifcation

[princesslover]

Thanks everyone! Sounds like the majority says not to worry..so I'll go with that for now.

I've also never seen the crowd calendar go lower than a 4, so I am encouraged by that. Plus, we will be using the UG touring plan if we need to, which they say is more important anyway, right?

[suebedo]

I believe the UG crowd calendar takes lots of thing into account but one of the main things is the EMH. If you are not staying onsite I would DEFINITELY avoid the EMH park.

I like the follow the park recommendations because I figure, they know more than I do right?

But if you have to go to the "park to avoid"on that day then make sure you have a good turing plan and you arrive at RD.

[wmharley]

for me.. summers are a no no... christmas is a no no...

other than that... its a-ok.

and to let you know... These times were from Wednesday.. a holiday..


TSM (10am)- listed 30m, reality 5m
StarWars (10:30am)- Listed 10m, reality walkon
ToT (12pm)- Listed 20m, reality walkon
Soarin (2:30p)- listed 50m, reality 35m
Nemo (3:30p)- Listed i forgot, reality walkon
BTM (4:30p)- listed 20m, reality about 10m

not bad at all..

[itchin2go]

If you can move it, I would.

You will have a fine time if you don't move it, but it's not the optimal plan.

First off, you're not going to be able to take advantage of EMH because you'll be dining during that hour. Besides that, Epcot will be more crowded on that day than it will be on a non-EMH day.

This past January (low crowds), we went to DHS on a non-EMH, non-Fantasmic day. It was DEAD. I have actually never seen a park so dead. TSM posted 20 minute waits from opening until lunch time. The actual wait was less. We hopped to Epcot for lunch. Epcot was hosting EMH that day. It was a madhouse. PACKED.

Now, PACKED for January is not a big deal overall. I'm just saying -- compared to DHS, it was slammed. So, as far as picking the optimal park -- DHS beat Epcot by a mile.

Would that have ruined our trip if we had gone to Epcot that morning instead of DHS? No. Would we have still seen everything we wanted to see? Yes. But, was it better to go to DHS on that day? A thousand times, yes.

If you can't move your ADR and you just really want to do Epcot that day, it's not going to impact your vacation. But if you can move your ADR and pick another park, you will probably have an easier time.

Hope that helps.

[tinkbyday]

I wouldn't worry about it either. 4's are really low crowd levels.

If it was 7's or above, then yes, I would follow that advice.

[princesslover]

Originally Posted by itchin2go

If you can move it, I would.

You will have a fine time if you don't move it, but it's not the optimal plan.

First off, you're not going to be able to take advantage of EMH because you'll be dining during that hour. Besides that, Epcot will be more crowded on that day than it will be on a non-EMH day.

This past January (low crowds), we went to DHS on a non-EMH, non-Fantasmic day. It was DEAD. I have actually never seen a park so dead. TSM posted 20 minute waits from opening until lunch time. The actual wait was less. We hopped to Epcot for lunch. Epcot was hosting EMH that day. It was a madhouse. PACKED.

Now, PACKED for January is not a big deal overall. I'm just saying -- compared to DHS, it was slammed. So, as far as picking the optimal park -- DHS beat Epcot by a mile.

Would that have ruined our trip if we had gone to Epcot that morning instead of DHS? No. Would we have still seen everything we wanted to see? Yes. But, was it better to go to DHS on that day? A thousand times, yes.

If you can't move your ADR and you just really want to do Epcot that day, it's not going to impact your vacation. But if you can move your ADR and pick another park, you will probably have an easier time.

Hope that helps.

Thank you for your reply...but - I don't think you are considering all variables here. I'm a total newbie, but from what I understand, all parks get busier after lunch. Most people don't like to get up early for rope drop. Epcot may not have been that bad during the early morning hours. Granted, I'm sure it was probably busier than DHS, but it probably wasn't a 'madhouse.'

FWIW, and slightly off topic, we are going to DHS on a Fantasmic day (we don't have hoppers so we needed to pick a fantasimc day) and the crowd calendar does not have DHS as park to avoid on our day.

There are so many things to consider when doing a touring plan, it seems, and while I try to abide by the crowd calendars, there are other things to consider for us, too. This is our 2nd day in the World and we wanted to do Epcot the first two days we were there. (Well, arrival day is just a half day.) I could swap with AK and put AK here, but that would mean putting the 2nd day at Epcot toward the very end of our vacation (December 5), *after* my kids have seen MK twice, and DHS. I really don't think that's a great idea. How thrilled are they going to be with Epcot after all that? I like having the half day and full day of Epcot back to back and at the beginning. Yes, if it was a 7 that day, I would have to suck it up and change it. But for a 4? Is it really worth mucking with our plans? I guess that is the question...

I do appreciate everyone's comments - even the ones that tell me I should move it. I'm just not convinced that it is worth upheaving our plan -- that I think works well. You know?

[Anglefan]

Epcot is the worst park to be in with high crowds, IMO, because Test Track and Soarin' get BOMBED more than the major attractions at any of the other three parks (not including Toy Story). I wouldn't dream of going when other guests have a one hour head start on me. You'll be waiting at least a half hour for both of these rides by nine AM.