Are party days really less crowded?

[Lorelei18]

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 non-party day.

I'm finding it interesting that you and NY Pirate Princess both said you had better experiences on the non-party day versus the morning/afternoon of a party day. So, for you, the non-party day felt less crowded?

 

[Lorelei18]

I'm finding it interesting that you and NY Pirate Princess both said you had better experiences on the non-party day versus the morning/afternoon of a party day. So, for you, the non-party day felt less crowded?

I'm asking because I am nervous about our non-party day in December. We've been during Spring Break a few years so I'm not terribly worried, but I'm following this post to see what people's experiences have been this year.

 

[NY Pirate Princess]

Yes, we had a better time on a non party day. I felt like we had more attractions in less time in the park. It would imagine there were fewer people in the park on the party day, but there was also far less time for all of those people to experience attractions. We were literally unable to book a 4th fast pass from noon on, and we had to leave lines in between morning fast passes to make sure we would get to our next fp in the window. Also, sorcerers seems to shut down at 3pm, which was a bummer. We were on main street moving to the exit and the portals stopped working. No other guests were able to activate the one we were stuck on, so I'm guessing they shut them down. Perhaps other people have better experiences, but I wouldn't advise OP to change plans to try to take advantage of less crowding.

 

[NY Pirate Princess]

I'm asking because I am nervous about our non-party day in December. We've been during Spring Break a few years so I'm not terribly worried, but I'm following this post to see what people's experiences have been this year.

I would go to MK again on a party day, but not with the idea that we will walk on everything and saunter around. If attractions are the priority, have a good and flexible plan. I would also advise you NOT to waste time on a lunch BOG reservation, based on our experience!

 

[sharonabe]

I'm finding it interesting that you and NY Pirate Princess both said you had better experiences on the non-party day versus the morning/afternoon of a party day. So, for you, the non-party day felt less crowded?

I am SO sorry. I mis-typed my previous post. It was the party day that was definitely less crowded than the non-party day. I'll edit my post above.

 

[Wood Nymph]

We went to MK this morning, a party day, and it was much less crowded than it was at the same time yesterday, a non-party day. MK was also open until 1 am last night, which always helps to thin the crowds the next day. By 1:30 pm the inbound monorail was only half full or less.

 

[Babs1975]

We went to MK this morning, a party day, and it was much less crowded than it was at the same time yesterday, a non-party day. MK was also open until 1 am last night, which always helps to thin the crowds the next day. By 1:30 pm the inbound monorail was only half full or less.

But remember, today is the beginning of a lower crowd week too. Thanksgiving week crowds have left so there are multiple things at play here. The difference in general from Saturday of Thanksgiving week to now Sunday of the new week is substantial. And it will continue that way this week and through the next several weeks. Just hard to compare these two days.

 

[Gentry2004]

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.

Sounds like this was Jersey week which is known for much bigger crowds the 2nd half of the week. I think that is more likely the difference.

 

[CMNJ]

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.

Sounds like this was Jersey week which is known for much bigger crowds the 2nd half of the week. I think that is more likely the difference.

Also if the Sunday you are comparing it to was on 11/5 that was the day of the wine and dine 1/2 marathon. I wouldn’t be surprised if runners (and their families) took it easy that day after the race rather than racing to MK upon completion. Plus I think there is an private after hours party that night at Epcot so it may have driven crowds there in the evening instead of MK that day.

 

[TulipMom]

Party days were MUCH less crowded for us when we were there in late October. Like, a level 4 out of 10, vs 8 out of 10. And the difference was very obvious when in the park.

 

[pmaurer74]

Non party days are very crowded. Last December I was in the Little Mermaid line for 90 minutes late morning. The security CM at bag check said you could not see the pavement all morning. I am giving up HEA this time for a party day because I am bringing new people with us and would rather have them experience MK with less crowds.

 

[Happy_2_B]

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!

We are headed over tomorrow for a week, then again in the middle of December for a few days. We will be going to the MK on a party day- and plan to be there at opening. In our experiences- which span many visits during this time frame- the park is quiet early in the day and we can get all of our 'must do' attractions out of the way quite easily with almost no waiting. With that said, we only stay in the MK for a half day (eat lunch then leave) to avoid the 'surge' in crowd levels from the time party goers are able to arrive until the park closes for regular day guests- so cannot speak to the second half of the day in the past few years- but would think that it is still the same as it always has been- and would become problematic once party goers begin to arrive. Again, cannot speak to this year (yet), but one thing that is rarely addressed are all the party goers with park hoppers (or APs) that come in much earlier than those who just have a party ticket. This group of people, in our past experiences, also affect afternoon touring. We find spending the second half of our day elsewhere to be much more enjoyable.

 

[dreiwhit]

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

Absolutely true. Plan to get your rides and attractions done before 4pm - 4:30pm at the latest. Its also difficult to walk against the stream of folks flowing down Main Street.

We actually prefer to go to MK on party days without party tickets. We go at RD and always get everything we wanted done by 4pm, and even ride some rides 2 or 3 times.

 

[GusGusTheMouse]

We went the entire day 11/11 (a non-party day) and MK was insanely crowded, but we knew what we were getting into and really wanted to see HEA for the first time so we sucked it up and dealt with it. We then went again the morning of 11/14 (party day) and got so much done it was amazing. We went on Space Mountain twice around 9:30am and didn't wait more than 15 minutes. We then switched our fast pass for Space to a different ride (Pirates) since we didn't need to go on Space again. I was surprised to see rides that allowed smaller children did have longer waits though (Peter Pan, HM, and Pirates), not sure if its just a different crowd that goes early morning on party days?

 

[jedijake]

Maybe maybe not, Terrible answer I know!
Above all be sure that you have a park hopper ticket or that you’re okay burning admission at a park the closes early and offers no nighttime entertainment

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

Party days are always less crowded before 4:00. If you park hop in the evening just remember that everyone else that isn't going to the party does so too. I think everyone goes to Epcot. It's always super busy the nights of MNSSHP and MVMCP.

 

[SullyD13]

Thanks everyone for your advice! It is helpful! We did our first MK day today and wow, it was crowded. We waited 50 minutes for the Aladdin magic carpet ride and Jungle Cruise was 75 minutes every time we checked. Based on our experience today and what everyone has said, for our other MK day we’re going on the party day and getting out of there after our BOG dinner reservation at 4:30PM. We are still shocked that today was so crowded. We weren’t expecting to walk on to rides but we definitely didn’t anticipate hour minimums on everything.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

Thanks everyone for your advice! It is helpful! We did our first MK day today and wow, it was crowded. We waited 50 minutes for the Aladdin magic carpet ride and Jungle Cruise was 75 minutes every time we checked. Based on our experience today and what everyone has said, for our other MK day we’re going on the party day and getting out of there after our BOG dinner reservation at 4:30PM. We are still shocked that today was so crowded. We weren’t expecting to walk on to rides but we definitely didn’t anticipate hour minimums on everything.

Monday is usually the most crowded day of the week for MK.