Best park for 4th of July

[Minnie824]

I'm planning ahead for 2014 already, and trying to pick dates. Not sure yet if we'll go end of June, or the week of 4th of July. If we end up going on the 4th, I'm trying to figure out what to do for the day. I already know we'd avoid MK...kids don't care if they see fireworks or not. Was thinking to maybe do blizzard beach in the morning and animal kingdom at night? Then have dinner somewhere? Any suggestions or input on 4th of July crowds? Thanks.

 

[JennLynn]

We did 4th of July last year at Hollywood Studios followed by dinner at Ohana. Crowds were reasonable and by getting there at rope drop we got a lot done. Ohana was great as we watche the fireworks from the beach afterwards.

 

[mm1971]

I'm planning ahead for 2014 already, and trying to pick dates. Not sure yet if we'll go end of June, or the week of 4th of July. If we end up going on the 4th, I'm trying to figure out what to do for the day. I already know we'd avoid MK...kids don't care if they see fireworks or not. Was thinking to maybe do blizzard beach in the morning and animal kingdom at night? Then have dinner somewhere? Any suggestions or input on 4th of July crowds? Thanks.

EPCOT or AK. Because EPCOT is so large area wise, it disperses the crowds a little better than the other parks. If you get there at RD, you can ride Soarin and TT and then enjoy the day without having to wait forever in those lines. We had friends there this last year and they were at AK and it was not bad according to them.

 

[poohs_hunny]

I'm going to be at WDW this 4th of July. We decided to make it a rest day, with no major park. Right now we have a dinner at 'Ohana planned and we'll watch the MK fireworks from the beach afterward. During the day, we'll either hang out at the resort pool, walk around the Boardwalk, or go to Typhoon Lagoon. I was at WDW on the 4th of July in 2009 also and we did AK. I'd say the crowds weren't any worse than any other summer day. Good luck!

 

[danny1649]

It was crowded and hot but we had such a great time,it was a very special day for us.

 

[Kimosabe]

We did the water parks a couple of years ago on July 4, and surprisingly, they were not terribly crowded. Doing it again this year with dinner at Narcoossee's so we can at least watch the July 4 special fireworks at MK.

 

[richmo]

Several years ago I was at Epcot on the 4th and was surprised at the lack of crowds. Since its already summer break for many, I don't think July 4 has the impact of a holiday weekend during other times of the year. Thats not to say it won't be crowded...it is summer.

 

[Southern Bell]

We have been to Disney over July 4th more than any other time. We must like it! LOL! In 2007 we went to Magic Kingdom on the 3rd and the 4th we spent at Epcot. It was crowded but not so bad that we couldn't walk through the people, or get a hamburger to eat before the fireworks started. Of course you are going to have a big crowd when you leave. Of course we have never been smart enough to do this but I have read its better to look around the shops while the crowd passes.
In 2011 we switched Parks! We didn't feel like it was going to be that big of a deal to go to Magic Kingdom on the 4th and do Epcot on the 3rd. It was terrible. Of course in the morning it is better and steadily got worse as the day got later. By the afternoon we couldn't hardly make our way through the crowds. We went over to Tom Sawyers island to get some relief from the crowd and let my grandson play. If not for having a reservation to eat we may have left. But.... by having the reservation it made the day alot better. We were so glad to have a reservation at Crystal Palace!
Then we left there and held a place for the fireworks with a piece of plastic to sit on untill they started, while my grandson took a nap in his stroller. Better hold on to your children, have your water, fans, patience for July 4th! We say this year we are going to just stay at the pool for July 4th day! Will see! LOL! If we change our minds I will definetly not go for all day! On the other hand if you want to go to the park to ride you better get there when it first opens! LOL!

 

[loveysbydesign]

What I find interesting is that when I go to try and book a rental for that last week in June 2012, many of them are already booked while the July 4th week is not!
I had thought I'd find the opposite since Juny 4th weeks is supposed to be so very busy!

 

[BeenDISedTwice]

Please take the advice of someone who went to WDW for July 4th in 2007 and didn't take the advice of fellow board members: AVOID ALL PARKS! on July 4th whatsoever!

Go to the water parks, downtown disney, pool hop the resorts, anything else instead. My then 12-year-old nephew and I had a Character Dinner ADR in Liberty Tree Tavern at 6pm in MK on the 4th of July. We spent the morning at Typhoon Lagoon then headed to MK around noontime because of info on the board here that the gates would close when the parks reached capacity. After arriving at MK we ended up taking the train around to Frontierland to avoid Main Street USA. It didn't help. The park was so packed it made Times Square on New Years Eve look empty. It took nearly four hours just to make it out of Frontierland after going on just a couple rides. We ended up taking the raft out to Tom Sawyer Island to get away from the crowds. We ended up just sitting on the bench at the dock until it was time to go to the ADR. After getting to Liberty Tree we checked in at the desk and ended up waiting for nearly 90 minutes while people who had come in after us were called. Turned out the place was so packed and loud we hadn't heard our names called not two minutes after checking in. No biggie as the wait-time made us hungrier for the all-you-could-eat dinner which was better than when we went to O'hana's the next day and were giving enough food to feed ten people. Looking back I probably should have gone with my gut at the time sitting on the bench on Tom Sawyer Island dying from exposure to the hot Florida sun and said screw it, ditched the ADR, gotten out of MK and taken the boat over to the Fort and gone to Trail's End instead.