? about crowds on EE day (MK)

[MrsMud]

I have a dilemma. I have worked and reworked our itinerary many times, and finally feel like I have it pefect... except for one thing. I have MK planned for Tues, 10/7, but I really want to see Philharmagic, which won't be open to the public it seems until 10/9. I really don't want to change my whole itinerary around and do MK on Fri, as I am concerned about crowds going into CD weekend.

So.. my question is would it be crazy to get to MK at regular opening on Thurs (even though it is EE day and we are off-site)? I'm not talking about spending the whole day there; we would basically just be there to see Philharmagic and then we are spending the rest of the day at MGM. Of course if we finish Philharmagic and it still isn't that busy, we might stay longer. So what time does it start to get really busy on EE day? If we are there at 9:00, would we have at least an hour before the mobs hit? Thanks for any advice

 

[Sarangel]

This is really a Theme Parks Board question & you're likely to get a much better response there, so I'm moving it to that board.

Sarangel

 

[cd&kids]

That's a tough one, Mrs. Mud. When we stay off site, I avoid any park on EE days like the plague. To me, the whole philosophy of Disney is rise and shine early, early, early and be among the first there...and losing that hour is tough.
Not quite sure if I understand your whole itinerary...is there only the one Magic Kingdom day? If Thursday becomes a second MK day and purely for Philharmagic, then that's not so bad. If Thursday is the one and only MK day, I'm not sure I would go for it.
Does this make any sense....Tuesday at MK as planned....then a quick visit there Thurs or Fri JUST for Philharmagic?

 

[MrsMud]

cd&kids:

Tuesday at MK as planned....then a quick visit there Thurs or Fri JUST for Philharmagic?

Exactly! In this scenario, I wouldn't change my whole schedule, except that we would go to MK at 9:00 just for an hour (or two?), before going to MGM Thursday. We would still do MK all day on Tues., and we're also going to MNSSHP on Sun, so we don't need a lot of time there Thurs, just enough to experience Philharmagic. Anything else we are able to do is a bonus.
My only other option would be to do MK on Friday ALL day, rather than on Tues, but I think Tues would be much less crowded. Also, I would have to make other changes to our itinerary if I went that way. So what I really am asking is, if I get there at 9:00, will I have at least an hour to do a couple rides before the crowds hit, or does it get crowded as soon as they open the gates at 9:00? Thanks!

 

[MrsMud]

Anyone?

 

[FFerret]

I got the impression that PHIL will be open to the public before the grand opening (as a soft opening), so you might be able just to pick whichever day you want.

At least that's how I'm choosing to handle the situation--we leave WDW on the 7th and I really wanted to catch this!

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

It seems to me this is early in October so...why would there be big crowds anyway? Isn't it before the Food & Whine so its just MNSSHP as a draw?

Your plan seems okay to me...hit Philharmagic first then hit a couple rides on your way out. But I have to say that the reason it seems okay is because MGM isn't a full day park for me...especially in the middle of the week in October...lines will be lacking. The last year I went in Oct I went into the park and rode TOT and Aerosmith over and over one morning that I was on my own.

 

[DrTomorrow]

Hooooold On!

The Happy Dancing Ferret speaks wisely!

There is supposed to be a soft opening of MPH ( sorry, I just can't type "a soft opening of PHIL" ) starting Sept 30. Not official, so I'd check before making large-scale changes, but we're outta there on Oct. 8, so we're hoping the info is correct.

 

[MrsMud]

Thanks for the replies
FFerret:

I got the impression that PHIL will be open to the public before the grand opening (as a soft opening), so you might be able just to pick whichever day you want.

We will certainly keep our fingers crossed that your impression is right. Then we will see PHIL on one of our other days, and avoid MK on its EMH day.
Doubletrouble:

It seems to me this is early in October so...why would there be big crowds anyway?

Well, I also hope that you are right! We have never been at that time of year, and have never been to a park on its EMH day, so we don't know what kind of crowds to expect (also heading into Columbus Day weekend).
Thanks again!