Avoid MK on MNSSHP days?

[Punzel]

As a general rule of thumb, is it wise to avoid MK on MNSSHP days? Or is that one of the better days to go?
We are NOT going to the party, just revising our schedule and trying to figure out the best strategy for MK. We have young kids who are early risers, so we'll get a lot done in the earlier hours of the day and in turn we don't expect to spend much time at the parks in the evenings.

 

[3cmom]

Just the opposite to me. The party days are the best days to visit because the crowds were always lighter until around 4 when the party guests start arriving

 

[toasterstrudel]

I would think the crowds would be lighter! As long as you don't plan on staying past 6 anyway it should be a great day to visit MK!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

If you don’t mind missing out on evening park time and the nighttime fireworks, going to MK on a MNSSHP day can be a great strategy - especially if you really hit rope drop. There are tons of people out there that see early park closing, no fireworks, and opt for another park.

This year with all of the 8/29+ MNSSHP days also having 7-8am EMHs and 8am park openings, it seems to me the early birds will have very decent opportunities to get a lot of quality MK time in, despite the early park closing for MNSSHP.

 

[Skippyboo]

The crowds are normally pretty light on party days especially in the mornings. The MK is doing morning magic hours everyday this fall to help with the Galaxy Edge crowds. AK has them too.

Going in the morning when the park opens you should be able to a lot of stuff before the party crowds appear at around 4pm

 

[Punzel]

Okay thank you for confirming!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Although one note, since MNSSHP guests can get in starting at 4pm (2pm for DVC blue card holders with MNSSHP tickets), conditions do tend to pick up for those final few hours of regular park time.

 

[gharter]

We have gone to MK several times on party days.
It seems to be less crowded during the day until about 4 when the party goers start to show up.
I think less people go on those days because the park closes early and you don't have HEA that night.
We found the other non-party days at MK to be much more crowded.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

With younger children who are early risers, the day of a MNSSHP could actually work out perfectly for you. As others have mentioned, those days tend to have lighter crowds. As PP mentioned, the park generally does get a little more crowded between 4 pm - 6 pm as the party guests start entering, however, you could use that time to still get a few rides in, hop to another park (if you have hoppers), or even exit early and have a nice, early dinner somewhere. We are actually planning on MNSSHP on Aug. 27, but I haven't bought our tickets yet as I'm waiting on reports from the first few parties. If we don't end up going to the party, we will still go to MK that day to take advantage of the lighter crowds!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Myself, I'd aim to eat dinner 6:30pm or later that day. It might also end up being a good day to hop if you'll have hoppers and want more park time. If not, it is possible to add hopping that day, if you decide you want to hop.

It could also be a good evening to swim, rest, play mini-golf, play arcade games, or visit some of the WDW hotels.

 

[scard192]

we always go on party (both) nights and then hop to another park; get so much done at MK on party nights due to lower crowds

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

Yes - if you rope drop and then clear out no later than 3 pm. 3-7 is the worst IMO. The last time we had party tickets we didn't even show up until 6 to avoid the worst of the crowds.

 

[kniquy]

Or is that one of the better days to go?
We are NOT going to the party, just revising our schedule and trying to figure out the best strategy for MK.

If you don't plan or want to hit the evening fireworks then going on a party day usually is a better option. People who only have single day tickets (or non hoppers) will want to get the most park time possible and will typically avoid a party day. Party goers aren't let in until the evening.

So I say pick a party day for your MK day.

 

[a11ie]

There are three parties scheduled during our Sept trip. We planned MK days on two of them. There are a lot of people without park hoppers who will skip those days due to an early closing time.

 

[Day-Day]

Are you staying at a Disney resort and able to attend during the morning Extra Magic Hour (EMH)? 7am to around 4:30pm is a good amount of time to spend in the MK (even 8am to 4:30). The good thing about the EMH is that no fastpass lines are operating so the standby lines move at a decent pace.

 

[RAPstar]

I remember when I was there for my first party, I spent the day at MK (I didn't have park hoppers, and I only had one day for each park), and like 1-2 maybe 3ish, I was walking around Fantasyland and I swear it was deserted. I don't remember seeing another person at all.

 

[BarlowFamily]

We are planning on going to MK the day of MVMCP. We do not have tickets to the party, so we'll leave at 6pm. We picked this day for the lower expected crowds. My question to you all: When party guests arrive at 4pm will they be able to get Fastpasses for the 4-6pm window? How does that work? Or are those remaining hours just for regular park guests before MK switches into party only??

 

[GADisneyDad14]

We are planning on going to MK the day of MVMCP. We do not have tickets to the party, so we'll leave at 6pm. We picked this day for the lower expected crowds. My question to you all: When party guests arrive at 4pm will they be able to get Fastpasses for the 4-6pm window? How does that work? Or are those remaining hours just for regular park guests before MK switches into party only??

Yes, a party ticket does let party guests book FPs in advance under most circumstances, if they haven’t otherwise booked pre-booked FPs at another park earlier that day.

Party guests that show up that early are generally on varied strategies. Some will ride rides, either standby or FP, some/many will start to line up for some of the rare character meets, etc, etc.

And of course not every party guest arrives at 4. Many will wait until later. For us, we don’t tend to like to arrive until 7 when the party is just starting.

Lots of different agendas.

 

[Shellyred8]

We have gone to MK several times on party days.
It seems to be less crowded during the day until about 4 when the party goers start to show up.
I think less people go on those days because the park closes early and you don't have HEA that night.
We found the other non-party days at MK to be much more crowded.

This has been our experience too. Less crowded on the party days, more crowded on the non-party days.

 

[cjlong88]

You should definitely consider going to MK on a party day! Our very first day on our Sept 2018 trip was MK on a party day. Checked into CR and our room wasn't ready (it was 8:30 am), so we decided to randomly just walk to MK, no big deal . I was thinking the entire walk to MK, "WE HAVE NO FASTPASSES WHAT WILL WE DO OMG ITS GONNA BE SO CROWDED?!?!"

It was empty. We took our time, strolled down main street right at 9am as they were finishing the welcome show. Everything in Frontierland and Adventureland was a walk on...lines were non-existent. We were shocked. Went over to Tomorrowland, same thing. My partner, who has been many times before, was very confused (especially after he told me over and over how bad MK can get). We also had great luck with finding excellent day-of FP's. It was the BEST and most relaxing way to start a trip.