attendance over MLK weekend in January

[readingallnight]

This is our first Disney trip and it was planned at the last minute, as in this week (Oct. 16th). We opted for Jan 14-19, which is over Martin Luther King weekend. Any tips on what to expect, crowd wise? We chose this weekend since my husband had time off and I thought it wouldn't be too terribly bad, but I want to be prepared for planning purposes. Any thoughts would be appreciated, neither me or my husband have ever been, and my kids are excited beyond words, and we are pretty much clueless.

Thanks!

 

[Belle1962]

Welcome to the DIS. I have gone over MLK for the past several years. While the crowd is not huge it is larger than most January weekends due to the holiday. Plan to do another park other than Magic Kingdom on Monday and you should be fine--especially with fastpass.

Be sure to check out the budget boadr here on the DIS and the mousesavers site mousesavers.com

 

[debster812]

This will be a little roundabout, so sorry, but bear with me.

In Jan of 2003, we were in WDW from January 25 to February 5. It was AWESOME. NO crowds (and I mean NONE), there was not a fastpass machine uncovered ANYWHERE. We had APs for this trip.

So, flash forward to Jan 2004. Got to get another trip out of our APs, so we move up a week, which is the week that MLK weekend starts. The crowds on Sunday and Monday were pretty big, and I would agree with Belle--STAY AWAY from MK on Sunday and Monday, and you should be good to go. By Tuesday and Wednesday, the crowds were back to being pretty thin, and we pretty much had run of the parks again.

It's a great time of year to go. The weather is comfortable, the crowds are light.

ENJOY!

 

[Mad4Dizne]

I was shocked at the crowds on MLK weekend this year. We were at AK on Sunday--crowds were as bad as we have seen them in August. From now on we are steering clear of the parks over that weekend. The whole following week though, we thought was unseasonably crowded-(MK)-might of had something to do with the bad cold from we were getting in the northeast and everyone who could opted to go to warmer weather??? I would get the Unofficial Guide and utilize touring plans in case you find the same.

 

[AimeeM]

IM another one who wont be going over MLK weekend any more if I can help it!! We go every Janaury and I could not believe the crowds over MLK!!! Magic Kingdom will be crowded for 3 days.. Saturdays are always crowded, so just imagine a holiday, Sunday is EMH, so that means it will be more crowded than usual and Monday, everyone will be wanting to go there before they leave.We waited to go to MK on Tuesday, thought the crowds would be gone, and as a bonus, they were showing Spectromagic that night too.. WRONG.. it was STILL crowded. IM not sure what day would be best for MK over the weekend. Id go Friday if you are there, and maybe Sunday?? Im not planning on going back then. It was too frustrating trying to escape the crowds. We go in January to avoid the crowds.... not be stuck in them...lol If you take advantage of EMH, that might help you do more while the crowds are still there. Stick with Epcot on Saturday, the crowds will seem less noticable. Get your fast passes early.. they will run out, or give you a time hours later.! You will still have a great first trip!!

 

[tinkerbee]

MLK weekend was BAD this past year. I totally forgot about it until it was about 2 weeks before we left. NEVER again will i go that weekend. We went a few years before that the weekend after MLK weekend and it was great we had the parks to ourselves. We were really stupid and went to MK on Saturday and boy that was a big mistake. It was worse than it was during spring break the year before. We couldn't walk though main street with out bumping into people. Just be ready for the crowds and use fast pass as much as you can and you should be fine. Have a wonderful trip.

 

[christianweecare]

Our family has been to WDW over the MLK weekend for the past three or four years and never once had a problem. We do avoid the MK past the Friday before the holiday and do not do a park on that Monday. We will be back again for 2005!

 

[miche61]

We were there this last year, 2004. I don't remember the crowds being unmanageable. We did not do any parks on MLK Monday, we kind of knew it would be busy. I'm also thinking we didn't do any parks on the Sat. before, but Sunday we went to Epcot. We had great weather, the crowds weren't unreasonable. Just be prepared for a possibility of busier parks, avoid MK on Monday like they say.

Enjoy it!

 

[Villain Dude]

Heavy crowds over the holiday weekend.

Dude

 

[Jcricket Fan]

We have always gone the week after MLK and the crowds are getting more heavy each year and not just on Monday of that week the whole week! I asked CM's about this and they also said that the crowd now stays for most of the week and they have been surprised by it.

The only park that we really noticed it was MK but we were surprised and we will plan to go the week after MLK week from now on.

Colleen

 

[lionQueen5]

We are planning on going to WDW Jan 8th through the 19th. We will be going on Disney Cruise the 13th and come back on Sunday the 16th so will miss part of the weekend crowd. I had planned to go to MK on the Sunday when we get back from the cruise but it sounds like we should shift our plans. Are the other parks as crowded as MK? I also thought about going to Blizzard Beach or Disney Quest that day. Any suggestions?

 

[christianweecare]

I would think that you would be fine at any other park other than the MK. At least that has been our experience.

 

[StormalongKay]

Readingallnight, welcome! I love your screen name, it definitely applies to me too! We're also going over MLK 2005, we'll be at BCV from the 13th to the 19th. We're a family of 5, this will be our 5th trip. We'll definitely hit the MK first on Friday. Since you're arriving that day, I guess it depends on when you get to WDW and if it justifies buying passes for that day. If you arrive before noon, I'd say go for it because I think the MK could be gridlocked for the rest of the long weekend. We're planning on going back on Wed because we don't fly out until 8pm.

I think you can manage the other parks on the rest of your days. Utilizing the touring plans in the Unofficial Guide is great advice. Also, even if you're not early risers, get to whatever park you want to see at opening. Every time we've ignored that piece of advice we've regretted it!! Depending on how young your kids are you'll probably want a rest by midafternoon.

The only other thing I'm doing ahead of time is priority seatings for Sat, Sun & Mon. If what the other posters say above is correct, best to have a reserved meal time!

Hope you have a fantastic first time at Disney! Don't worry, you won't see it all in 5 days and you'll want to go back!!!

 

[DNBois]

We actually scheduled our WDW trip with this holiday in mind; we are arriving in WDW on 1/18 for 11 days so hopefully we will miss the crods

 

[justlikeeyore]

I will be at WDW 20-27Jan. I hopping the crowds are gone by then.