For those who went over MLK weekend

[sdteacher]

What did you think? We were there the 14th - 21st and I thought the crowds were quite manageable. We got up early and went at rope drop each morning and never waited more than 15 minutes. The only ride we didn't get on was Test Track because the wait was 60 min. and fast passes were gone and we wanted to hit the fireworks shop. Just curious what others though about the week.

 

[stacym]

We were there January 11 - 21st. We went to Magic Kingdom on Tuesday the 13th and basically had no waits for anything. We were planning on avoiding the parks for MLK weekend but my son really wanted to hit Animal Kingdom on Sunday....it was crazy busy, we didn't stay long. Went back on Tuesday the 20th with hardly any lines.

Overall, it was the best trip to date for low crowds.

 

[mommytocalliesue]

We just got back. I have to think about it....

Overall, it was busier than I expected it to be...but manageable. Sunday we did DHS and MK and it wasn't too bad. However, we went to Epcot on Monday Morning...and it was PACKED! Then went to AK...which was also busy so we pretty much did shows.

Tues. and Wednesday were pretty good. Longest wait was at MK for Pooh like 20 min. Now Thurs. afternoon/night at MK was PACKED!!! Looked like the weekend crowd showed up! We still got to do all of DD's favorites before heading home today!!

We ran into a lot of Brazilian groups...especially at our hotel!

 

[DisneyDoc1895]

Agreed, manageable. We got good at avoiding the tour groups - if we saw the flags going in one direction, we reversed course. We would do it again.

 

[sdteacher]

On Monday morning we hit Animal Kingdom for am EMH and it was great. Later that day we hopped over to MAgic Kingdom (about 3:00) and the crowds were much bigger than on the THurs. when we had been there before. However, we fast passed and did great! Someone leaving had actually given us their fast pass cards so we could get double fast passes for the day.

 

[Condorman]

We just got back. I have to think about it....

Overall, it was busier than I expected it to be...but manageable. Sunday we did DHS and MK and it wasn't too bad. However, we went to Epcot on Monday Morning...and it was PACKED! Then went to AK...which was also busy so we pretty much did shows.

Tues. and Wednesday were pretty good. Longest wait was at MK for Pooh like 20 min. Now Thurs. afternoon/night at MK was PACKED!!! Looked like the weekend crowd showed up! We still got to do all of DD's favorites before heading home today!!

We ran into a lot of Brazilian groups...especially at our hotel!

What hotel were you staying at?

 

[Cibahwewah]

We arrived on the 17th, too late for any park-going. Downtown Disney was packed. The 18th (Sunday) at HS was nuts. I couldn't believe the crowds. We got there early for RD, but accidentally went towards ToT instead of TSM, so probably lost some time there, as we spent 30+ min in line. The 19th (Monday) went to Epcot in the morning. RD wasn't quite as crowded, did Soarin' first, but had to child swap, so took about 40-50 min total. Biggest wait that day was TT, about 20 min even with FP. Had to skip Mission Space, not enough time. Went to Fantasmic that night, which was doubly nuts. I had never been so freaked out by a crowd and was envisioning death by trampling. Magic Kingdom the next 2 days wasn't too bad (supposed to be 5 on the crowd calendar) but by 11am the park was pretty full. Got there at RD both days, was about 10th in line at Dumbo, when they said it was not working, try back in 20 minutes, but by then, it was working and the line was 20 minutes. Did it anyway. DD desperately wanted to do Dumbo again later, but the line was always 30 minutes and she didn't do well with waiting in line. On the 22nd (Thursday) we went to AK, again at RD, did Safari first, and EE after lunch with FP. Crowds were fine until lunch time. We left at 2pm, and I thought the crowds were pretty thick by then. Friday, 23rd, yesterday, we were at MK, this time pre-rope drop since we had CRT at 9am. By the time we were done at the castle, it was 10am. Crowds were nuts again. Dumbo was 30 min, Tinkerbell was 90 min, later "down" to 60. Lines were long for Mickey and Minnie. We ended up looking for things with short lines, the heck with the touring plans. We ended up riding the carousel, IASW, Liberty Belle, TTA (x2), Barnstormer, and CoP. We had to find a spot on Main St 40 min before the parade and had to look hard for a curb spot. We were in direct sun, so my scalp is a little burned. If this is the low season, then I don't want to know what high season is like, and will only go during the ultra-low seasons in the future, as that was plenty crowded for me.

 

[mommytocalliesue]

Condorman ~ We were at ASMovies. We were not happy with our stay there. And like I said....tons of Brazilians!

I'm not sure if I would go back MLK weekend again! I'm a teacher...so it was a good time beings I had 3 personals days. But couldn't stand the tour groups!

We also skipped Fantasmic. I heard from my aunt (who was there Marathon week) that it was CRAZY when she was there. So I didn't want to deal with the crowds with a 2 1/2 year old! Although it is one of my favorites...so I was sad to miss it!

 

[momof3boys71]

we were ther Jan 16-23 and I agree the crowds were managable, but the tour groups were the tough part. I think the cold weather kept them at bay for the night time activities. We went to EPCOT on Wednesday and had a great view for Illuminations. Can't wait to go back already trying to plan a mini trip.

 

[emtmom]

We were there the 16-23, and the worst line was for Mickey's Magical Express at the airport. By far the WORST I have ever seen it. I found the crowds not to be too bad, like others mentioned there were Brazilian groups EVERYWHERE. There was a National Dance Competition at DHS on Saturday which created quite a crowd but certainly not unbearable. I think Monday was the busiest day.

 

[Condorman]

Can anyone compare their trip in January to a trip in December? Not that everyone goes to WDW for a week each month, but these were traditionally the slowest times of the year -- apparently, no more. Just curious if these weeks are now comparable in terms of crowds and wait times, or if one is still generally better than the other?

Disney threw all of us a curve ball with its promotions over the past six months.

 

[GeoffM24]

We just got back from our Jan 21st-24th trip. The parks were WAY more crowded then we had hoped for. We did Epcot on Wed and it was pretty crowded, lots of Brazilian tour groups. Hollywood Studios on Thurs was a MOB SCENE! The new toy story ride was out of fast passes by noon or so. I don't recall ever seeing Hollywood so crowded. We hopped over to MK for Thur night and it was very busy their too. On Firday we went bacl to MK and it was great in the morning for the first hour or two and then got mobbed again but not as bad as Thur. Sat we went to Animal kingdom and it was busy there but manageable. I would classify the corwds as moderately heavy overall.

One of the things that made things worse was that lots of rides were closed down across all the parks.

Great time but not the crowds we were hoping for.

 

[AnitaDisneyVacation]

We were there from 1/14 to 1/20. The crowds were definitely lower before MLK weekend than on the Tuesday afterwards. Overall, the crowds are manageable if you know what you're doing (where/when to eat, FPs, etc.)

We even managed to do 3 parks in one day on the Sunday of MLK weekend - hit DHS, Epcot, and then MK for EMH. The tour groups only got in the way of our plans twice. The first time was when a LARGE group decended upon Gran Fiesta right when we were planning to. We skipped it, went back in an hour or two, and walked right on.

The second time was when one of the tour group leaders was in front of us at an FP machine - they were loading in 50 or 60 tickets to get FPs. The CM saw this and just started handing out FPs to those of us in line behind them. This was a HUGE bonus - our tickets never were scanned, so we were able to go and get other FPs right away. Props to the CM for turning what could have been a bad FP experience into a wonderful one.

 

[harriettb]

We were there the 16th through the 19th and I won't go again over MLK weekend if I have the choice. Maybe if everyone who evacuated Washington DC hadn't also come to Disney it wouldn't have been so bad, but it was a lot more crowded than I was hoping it would be. We saw several tour groups, but didn't run into any problems with them.

We did MK on Saturday and at one point about 2 pm in Fantasyland there was such a press of people that I was afraid we were going to get pushed down. We never did get to ride Space Mountain because the fast passes were so late we couldn't wait.

I thought DHS was a little better on Sunday, but we didn't get to ride TSM because the fast passes were gone by 11:30 am. We did get to do ToT multiple times between fast passes and child swaps.

Epcot on Monday was again more crowded than I hoped and even with fast passes Soarin took so long that my husband and I didn't get to ride it at all....we had stayed with the baby. We did pretty much everything else we wanted to and decided to head out before Illuminations. We're going back in the fall to use the last two days of our tickets and hopefully things will be slower then.

 

[marsrunner]

We've been here since the 20th and besides the first two days (which were pretty low crowds) it has been a nuthouse. I just can't classify it as manageable when the Magic Kingdom has had lines for Space Mountain in excess of an hour, Pirates and Haunted Mansion on Saturday were 40 minutes, heck even Snow White and Small World had a line of 30 minutes on Saturday night. Good grief.

This has been a decent trip, but we won't be rushing back. The people are rude (including about half the cast members) the food is beyond horrible everywhere we've eaten, table service and counter service (aside from the Turkey Legs, which they seem to be able to get right). When you go to McDonald's and it tastes REALLY good you know there's something wrong. I hate the idea from a purist point of view, but if this is as good as Disney can do with food, they should just outsource it to McDonald's or Steak 'N' Shake (which is 100 times better than anything on Disney property, outside of maybe the California Grill and a few other upscale places I've not been).

Anyway, we have one more full day and have decided to give Universal a shot because we're a bit Disney'd out after five full days.