Are party days really less crowded?

[SullyD13]

We are debating going to Magic Kingdom on a normal day (12/4) or on a MVMCP day (12/3). We’d be moving some things around if it’s worth doing, but we’re wondering if the crowd levels and wait times will really be that different or if it’s so minor it’s not worth moving our plans around. Any advice/help is appreciated!

 

[siskaren]

The general wisdom is that party days are less crowded because a lot of people don't want to go on a day with shorter hours, and in particular, no nighttime entertainment.

 

[tmoo]

The park becomes miserably packed at 4 when party guests are first allowed in. Up until then it can be pleasant

 

[Skallywag Steph]

probably not as slow as it used to be because the question is asked a lot on here so i think a lot more people are going on party days and/or hopping

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

The park becomes miserably packed at 4 when party guests are first allowed in. Up until then it can be pleasant

Exactly.

You have to get out before the party guests come in. In fact, we try to make out of the park by 3:30.

But it isn't as crowded in the morning. People that don't have park hoppers won't go to MK on a party day.

 

[IrishNYC]

We had a spontaneous MK day on a MNSSHP night because we flew in a day early. We had no FPs and had a great day. Rode BTMRR 3 times in a row with little wait, and most of the park was a ghost town.

 

[klrobinson999]

I was there 11/14 and it was definitely less crowded on the party day. We had no waits longer than 20 minutes (though luckily had FPs for SDMT, PP, and JC). Even BTMR and SM had 15-20 minute waits, Pirates was walk on.

 

[sharonabe]

We went back-to-back on a party day, no party day. DEFINTELY felt and saw a difference. Non-party day had very little waits on most things. Pirates was just the wait it took to walk down through. The next day Pirates stayed at 30-40 min all day. Just walking and moving around the park was much more difficult. Non party day felt like a 4 or 5 and party day felt like an 8 or 9.

If you can move things around AND you have another night to see HEA, I'd change to the party day.

Editing to say my mind was backwards above!! The party day is the one that is LESS crowded than the non-party day. We did have an early EMH on the party day too which gave us more time to do most of what we wanted in that one day. Our non-party day was mostly to see HEA and see the park change from Halloween to Christmas overnight.

 

[RichSp]

Agree with above. We noted significant differences at the end of October with party days being less crowded. We were out of parks by 2-3PM though.

Just another point though - because of the limited hours, we did notice fewer FP+ and especially 4th FP+. My advice is get there early and you can get lots done before noon. Schedule your FP+ for noon-3PM and then get out of Dodge.

 

[disneycountrygirl]

probably not as slow as it used to be because the question is asked a lot on here so i think a lot more people are going on party days and/or hopping

Yep. That is what we are doing...and it is making for lots of extra park hopping, which isn't ideal because it means lots of our trip will be spent traveling. Even if we can refine our schedule, for us, it is contigent upon swapping our Ohana and CP days. Those are NOT easy ADRs to get, but we are trying! If not, park hopping galore, and we will just have to adjust our expectations accordingly and be happy for the lesser crowds in the MK.

Our hope is that many people will not be willing to make the sacrifice of travel time, especially for a shorter trip. So that, combined with the fact that many people dislike research and therefore won't ever know hopefully will give us an edge. [The percentage of DISers (or other Disney board participants) at WDW you'd think would be small given how many visitors they get each day!]

 

[kathy884]

If you have park hoppers or don't mind a short day leaving at 3:30 p.m. a non-party day is really great and much lower crowd wise. For our November trip, the non-party days (already predicted to have significantly higher crowds that party days) were heavier than in past years and significantly greater than touring plan crowd predictions (and they are pretty good at their predictions normally). We one time did a non-party day from rope drop to 3 p.m. Except for the line for lunch at the Beauty and the Beast castle (new popular dining experience at that time) which was ridiculous, it was walk on or 20 minute or less waits for almost everything.

There may be a lot of people like my family out there that aren't that enamored with the parties (been there, done that, bought the T-shirt), don't have park hoppers, and want to go to the MK one and only one day on an Orlando trip and do both rope drop and fireworks. I'm personally not into the fireworks and would be fine with a short MK day. If that would have been true with the rest of my family, I really and truly would have definitely picked a non party day for our past trip.

From previous experiences when we got to the park right at 4 for a party, our experience was that between 4 and 6 p.m. with both sets of people on those party days I can attest that it really is a mod scene.

 

[Carla1183]

We went last week and it was a massive difference. Party day on a thurs, touring plans showed a level 3. We walked onto almost all rides except highest profile stuff. Longest line all day was 15 mins.
Non party day on a Sunday, we waited an hour for DUMBO. Until about 7pm it was elbow to elbow people.

 

[FootracerJ]

My experience is that it is worth it to go there and enjoy less crowds on a party day, but only if you are going to get there EARLY enough to make it worth your while.

 

[DIShawn]

I agree... we went at rope drop and it was pretty much dead for a good hour and very low crowds until around 11am.

 

[stinkpickle]

It can be a big difference.

 

[Babs1975]

We tend to also do the party days and I understand it is less crowded. But I don't want you to think that rides are a walk on. That has not been our experience and we go when it is considered to be a lower time and suggested week to go. It is still busy. Lines for the big attractions are still going to be 45 minutes or more in some cases. 7DMT will be it's normal 60 or 90 minutes. The mountains may be 45 minutes or more. We didn't even wait in the Jungle Cruise line because it was 45 minutes! If it really messes up your plans, I'm not sure I would change them. Depends on what your expectations are and what works for you.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

my last day we are doing am in MK and the eve is a party day but we are in Epcot. so I am hoping we will get our favs in one last time on our last day.

 

[Spork24]

Party mornings are one of my favorite times to go to MK usually much less crowded!

 

[NY Pirate Princess]

We were just there in early November and did MK on a Sunday (non party day) and Thursday (first and sold out party day). On sunday we arrived just after rope drop, got rides in between our fp, ate lunch and got out when it started to get crowded at lunch. Ate dinner at 1900 Park Fare and returned to MK around 6:30 for 4th fp booked that morning and HEA. The party day was dreadful. We had stacked our FP early and were unable to book a 4th. Lines exceeded 30 minutes for every ride. By lunch we gave up on rides and did Sorcerers and shopped until it was time to get out. I would not move your plans.

 

[Lorelei18]

We were just there in early November and did MK on a Sunday (non party day) and Thursday (first and sold out party day). On sunday we arrived just after rope drop, got rides in between our fp, ate lunch and got out when it started to get crowded at lunch. Ate dinner at 1900 Park Fare and returned to MK around 6:30 for 4th fp booked that morning and HEA. The party day was dreadful. We had stacked our FP early and were unable to book a 4th. Lines exceeded 30 minutes for every ride. By lunch we gave up on rides and did Sorcerers and shopped until it was time to get out. I would not move your plans.

So, you actually had a better experience on the non party day than the morning/afternoon of a party day?