How was 4th of JULY week this year??

[annabug]

How was 4th of JULY week this year??

we are booked for this week next year, I'm a little nervous

Any recent experiences to ease my mind, or fuel my anxiety!!!

either way, we are still going, knowing it will be Hot and Crowded.

We are returning from a cruise on July 4, and planning on avoiding the parks all together on the 4th. (staying at POLY, watching fireworks from the beach) we plan on heading to MK on the 5th, Epcot on the 6th, and AK or HS on the 7th, then head home

any tips?
thanks annabug

 

[Bill and Jen]

We were there this year. The weather was hot but no worse than it was in Boston when we returned home.

There were a couple of very rainy days.

The crowds were heavy but were manageable if doing rope drop and havimg a touring plan.

ADRs were wide open and the resteraunts were easy to get into with very short waits

We would go again during that week.

 

[amy_in_wonderland]

We were there the 3rd through the 8th this year. The most crowded day for us was July 4th. We did HS on July 4th and it was pretty packed but still managable with FP. We also had the Fantasmic! dining package which prevented us from having to wait in a long line for that. I guess if you are not going to a park on the 4th then you don't even have to worry about that.

It rained on Thursday and Friday but that wasn't bad either because it cooled things off a little bit and thinned the crowds out. Hope you have a great trip!

 

[frank430316]

We were there on Sunday, July 3. Definitely hot, sticky, and crowded, but doable. The only time the crowds really bothered us was during the special fireworks display. We took a wrong turn, got stuck in a mob, and couldn't move for 1/2 hour! However if you plan for the crowds during parades & fireworks, you should be able to avoid most of the problems.

 

[annabug]

excellent.....manageable crowds is what i was hoping to hear!!

we plan on doing rope drop, and heading back to the resort fairly early, as we will be with 2 little ones...

thank you for your thoughtful replies

btw......surprised that ADR's were open, surprising for such a busy time of year!

 

[zurgswife]

3rd 4th of July in a row for us..It was hot and crowded.. Instead of skipping parks I would highly suggest doing the Illuminations fireworks at Epcot...it is the most amazing fireworks display you will ever see in your life (unless you do the New Years Eve one- they are the same)....

 

[juliebug1997]

We went to Typhoon Lagoon on the 4th this year. It was awesome!!!!

Anna,
I'll be on that cruise with you and I would think that we might arrive sometime after 10 AM so I don't know that any of us will be able to do RD that day.

 

[keypooh90]

It was not too bad. It was hot/muggy, but crowds are managble if you utilize FPs/EMHs. What we did was go to the parks in the AM, then leave by 1ish, go back to the resort for nap/swim and then go back into the parks late evening/night.

This was our 5th year there for July 4th week (July 3rd to the 12th).

 

[ugadog99]

I thought the 4th was pretty dang hot! Other days weren't as bad, though. I really thought Epcot was not crowded at all until around 6:00pm or so. We start our July trips on the 2nd or 3rd, so the 4th isn't really about getting a lot of rides and attractions done. We save that for later in the trip. The 4th is used to soak up the celebrations of the day!

 

[Ichiban]

Overall, it was definitely manageable. On July 4 we went to Epcot and while it was crowded, it wasn't nearly as bad as I had expected.

 

[CarrieR]

Crowds-wise, I found out something: two weeks can both be "10s" (and 4th of July indeed was a 10,) and be vastly different. The "10" of 4th of July week and the "10" of Christmas/NYE are two different birds. The first is crowded, the second is sardines.

Heat-wise, we were there at RD and between noon and one each day there was a switch flipped and we were just DONE. Usually we were ready to leave, occasionally we needed to grab one last set of FPs.

The rain on Thursday, holy cow, we refer to that as "swimming through Tomorrowland." We waded through, I'm not exaggerating, ankle-deep water at the base of the TTA there. The Speedway was flooded. (I have pics somewhere.) It was the craziest thing I've ever seen!

All I can say is, I would swear by have a good touring plan, get in at RD, get out at noon, go back after dinner. I read that advise and we planned for it, and I figured we would (as we always have in the past) somehow manage to stay in the parks regardless. Um, no. We were done.

 

[happydisneyfan]

My DD and I were there from 6/30 to 7/5 and were pleasantly surprised at how easy the crowds were to manage. She does not like fireworks, so we did DTD on the 4th and hung out at our resort.

We had great time and I would do it again.

Edited to add: we planned the trip less than a week in advance (other plans fell through at the last minute) and were able to book the resort we wanted and all the ADRs we wanted--even Chef Mickey's. (DD loves character meals). I was shocked!