4th of July?

[D L and K's Mom]

Has anyone been during the 4th of July?? Is it PACKED??? Is there any special things planned? We are thinking of going on July 3-14. Would you do it?

 

[WDSearcher]

4th of July is one of the single busiest days at WDW, so be prepared! July 3, 4 and 5 will be packed; the rest of the dates you list will be normal summer crowds.

MK will likely close at capacity on July 4, fairly early in the day, and Epcot will be shoulder-to-shoulder as it gets later and closer to fireworks time. The fireworks at all the parks are pretty spectacular and worth the wait, but it will be crowded, hot, and humid.

 

[CarolA]

I have gone several years. My plan is to spend the 4th at the hotel pool. Early in the evening I head to MGM for thier fireworks and then powerwalk to Epcot for thier fireworks.

 

[msbinky]

We went 2 years in a row on 4th of July. We usually arrive on the 1st and stay past the fourth. Avoid the Magic Kingdom on the 4th! The park is like a zoo and often is "Closed" We always spent the 4th at Animal Kingdom, not that busy at all. THe parks are generally not that bad as long as you use fastpass and follow a touring plan. This was what we did and never waited more that 20 minutes, and that was for the Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh rides! Hot, but bearable with an afternoon break. Have fun!

 

[DisneyMomx7]

We're also going to be there for the 4th. We'll be at GF July 1-15. I've tentatively planned to go over to Epcot in the am, spend the afternoon at the pool, have dinner at LTT, and then come back to watch the fireworks from our hotel. We booked lagoon view so hopefully we'll be able to see the fireworks from our balcony. For anyone who has already been there on the 4th does this sound like a reasonable plan? I've debated because I know Sorcery in the Sky is only on the 4th and we've never seen it, but with 3 kids (7, 6 and turning 5) watching from our hotel seemed like the sanest plan.

 

[mhingher]

We went this past 4th of July and probably won't do it again. THe fireworks were hyped up but didn't seem any different than the usual (which is still awesome, we were just expecting something different) MK was absolutly packed. Couldn't move an inch and the lines were really long. OUr first day in WDW was 6/27, that week was regular summer crowded, started getting more crowded as the 4th got closer. We left 7/5 so I don't know about the crowds afterwards.

 

[D L and K's Mom]

thank you for the unfo. I think we will skip MK on the 4th and stay at the hotel pool most of the day. Thanks again

 

[jiminyfan]

We did the July 4th vacation in 2002 and loved it. The extra fireworks at Studios and Epcot were great. We watch Illuminations from the area to the left of the american Adventure and got to see MK's fireworks from a distance. We already have our plans for late July this year, but will be there in 2006 and I cannot wait.

As special events go - we did not see many in Studios or Epcot except for a special flag area near American Adventure and Mickey and Minnie in Colonial Garb for photos. My son got to particpate with all the kids in a little drum and fife celebration with the pledge to the flag. Overall it was a very nice vacation and time to visit.

 

[CarolA]

DisneyMom
The problem with your plan is getting into MK for your dinner reservation. The last few years by late afternoon MK has been CLOSED. No guests and I don't think dinner reservations would help.

Personally I would avoid MK at ALL costs with three little ones that day. It is hard to explain exactly how packed it is, but assume you will be walking very slowly person to person (like a crowd exiting a big sporting event?)

 

[DisneyMomx7]

DisneyMom
The problem with your plan is getting into MK for your dinner reservation. The last few years by late afternoon MK has been CLOSED. No guests and I don't think dinner reservations would help.

Personally I would avoid MK at ALL costs with three little ones that day. It is hard to explain exactly how packed it is, but assume you will be walking very slowly person to person (like a crowd exiting a big sporting event?)

I thought if you were a resort guest and an AP holder you would be allowed in if the parks were officially closed. Am I wrong? We weren't going to stay in MK. Do you think we could get an early reservation for LTT for dinner or should we skip it altogether and eat at GF?

The other thing I wasn't sure about is SOrcery in the SKy. Has anyone seen it. It seems strange that they only show it once a year. Thanks for all your help.

 

[CarolA]

If you are a resort guest you are guanteed admission to A park, not always the park of your choice. I don't think the AP has any bearing one way or the other. So if MK is closed you can still get in Epcot meaning Disney has lived up to it's promise.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

If you are a resort guest you are guanteed admission to A park, not always the park of your choice. I don't think the AP has any bearing one way or the other. So if MK is closed you can still get in Epcot meaning Disney has lived up to it's promise.

Thanks for the information. I think we'd better have a backup plan just in case. It sounded so easy. We're at GF so I thought we'd be able to take the monorail over, eat and leave, and watch the fireworks from our hotel. Maybe I'd better make a PS at Cinderella's Gala Feast just in case we don't make it into the park. Thanks for your help.

 

[VistaLeigh'smommy]

I was on my CP for Fourth of July in 2002. We knew the parks were going to be nuts so we headed over to the Poly beach to watch the fireworks! It was pretty packed there too (the luau got out and they watched right around where we were) it was truly amazing to see though! You could see everything AND the Water parade and MK's music was played on the beach! We just grabed a few towels and sat right near the water. It still might be our favorite disney memory ever!

 

[DeDixie]

Our 2003 July 4th experience: We were staying at the BCV

We went to MGM till about 1 -- not crowded at all. Could not believe how empty it was. We rode RnR 3X in a row when we got there. Hung out at SAB in the afternoon, went to Narcossees for dinner, watched MK fireworks from Narcoossees, drove back to BC and walked down to the International Gateway and saw Illuminations and 4th fw from there. It was a perfect day.

Our reservations for Narcossees was for 6:40, the MK music was piped in and we had a perfect spot on the porch. We leisurely walked back to our car parked at GF and drove back to BC. Of course the crowds from MK have to get to the parking lot which takes several minutes, so our drive back was on empty roads.

On another note, one thing our family realized last summer was that we loved Disney even when it was hot and crowded (most of our trips have been off season). I think your plan and your attitude has a lot to do with how much fun you will have.

 

[tomerin]

we are also going to be there for the 4th of july. we usually plan our vacation to start a few days after the 4th but we decided that it would be nice just to be there once and experience the MK fireworks.

so i guess that the best advice that the veterans of the MK 4th of july fireworks can give me and my family is to be in the MK by at the latest 3pm? is there a number we can call to see if the park is already closed due to full capacity or should the desk CM know this info.

if MK is closed that would be a bit dissapointing but epcot or mgm really wouldnt break my heart if i enjoyed the fireworks there.

 

[tomerin]

i just thought of another question...

if we made a PS for dinner or lunch at MK wouldnt that guarentee us admission into the park?
thanks
tom

 

[lclark0621]

The MK is absolutly PACKED on the 4th of July!

If you want to get into the park, I would be there NO LATER then 11:00am.

PS does NOT guarentee you admission into the park. If the park is at capacity, you will be turned away regardless of any PS.

I dont think we will ever do the 4th of July in WDW again. It is to hot, to crowded, etc.

But if I were to go back, I would book at one of the monorail resorts. Maybe hit a park in the morning. Stay in the pool all day. Watch the fireworks from the hotel. Go to the parks on the 5th!

 

[oldportroyaler]

we went from July 3-10 last year and it was great! The heat is bearable if you spend afternoons at the hotel pool. on 4th we went to epcot in the morning with no crowds, headed back to CBR for the afternoon and then went back to MGM for the evening, again with no crowds. if you're there on the fourth, forget about MK, save it for another day. We're going again this summer over the fourth. Have a great time

opr

 

[KevinFSU]

This will be our first trip on July 4th. I think we are going to do Epcot that day.

 

[coasterville]

4th of July seems to be a popular day to visit any theme park, not just a Disney park.

I have a funny anecdote from one visit on July 5th. We had gone to the MK on July 5th, and as soon as the ropes were dropped we started touring the park using our traditional pattern, which put us at Jungle Cruise first. We were in maybe the 2nd or 3rd boat out, and as the skipper was getting everybody settled, he said: "How many people were here yesterday? <no one raised their hand> "Consider yourself lucky, at this time yesterday we already had a 2 hour wait"