Crowds in early June?

[sharonk]

Does anyone know what the crowds are usually like the first week of June? I booked our trip starting the day the kids are out of school, thinking we'd miss out on the summer vacation rush. We are going June 3 - 9.

I thought our timing was great, but then I learned it was Gay Day at MK on June 5 and heard that the crowds will be awful, that the MK may be full to capacity by late morning.

Any truth to that?

How do you think the parks will be for the rest of our trip?

Thanks!

Sharon

 

[NCRedding]

We're going for the first time in June (4-13). I plan on avoiding MK on Saturdays, but otherwise I expect the crowds to be manageable--at least that is what others have posted here.

 

[tjkraz]

I'd recommend checking-out the "Gay Days" schedule and avoiding each park on their "day". IIRC, they pick a day for each park over a week's period.

This isn't intended to be a lifestyle commentary--rather it's simply advice based upon the expected crowd levels. Thousands of people will be following that schedule in addition to whatever other WDW guests may unsuspectingly decide to go to that day's "Gay Days" park.

Save yourself the aggravation and just schedule around it.

 

[disneydentist]

I'll agree with avoiding the parks on the Gay Days schedule. I'd advise this for any other special function, too. Avoiding big crowds is always good. The crowds should otherwise be very manageable. We were there the same time last year and are scheduled again this year. You will find some lines but that's why they have Fastpass. Weekends are more crowded, especially at MK. We generally avoid Extra Magic Hour unless park hopping later in the day.

 

[CanadaPT]

... and will avoid MK on Saturday and Epcol on Sunday. I anticipate the crowds won't be that bad the first week. Not all of the schools are out by then and it's not deemed Disney's "Peak Season".

Have a great time!

 

[Chica650]

According to www.gaydays.com their schedule for the parks is as follows:
Thursday-AK
Friday-MGM
Saturday-MK
Sunday-Epcot

Hope this helps!

 

[il-gander]

We were there the first week of June last year, and the crowds were pretty manageable. The only place where we felt crowded was MK. We were able to get an awful lot done from park opening to about noon, and then the crowds started to swell and Fast Pass return times got longer. We also started to wilt about this time from the heat - it was REALLY hot! Fast Pass times were about 20 minutes - 1 hour until later in the afternoon, when they got longer.

One thing to plan around (if you want to see it) is Spectromagic. It was only offered twice the week we were there, so MK was wall-to-wall people that evening. This parade was important to us, so we made sure we got back from dinner early enough to snag some great seats and stake them out for 2 hours prior to the parade.

Star Wars Weekends will also be going on at MGM on the Friday, Saturday & Sunday - we went specifically for this, but did not find it made the park overly crowded - the only crowds were in the Star Tours area where the events were, and even those were not bad.

There is really no need to worry about Gay Days crowds except for avoiding MK on Saturday, which is good advice any weekend! LOL We had absolutely no crowd problems attributable to Gay Days. We had a great time despite the heat, and will be doing it again the 1st week of June in 2005! Have a great time!

Carla

 

[TCKK]

We were there in 2001 at that time and didn't have any problems. We checked the schedule for Gay Days and then avoided those parks that day and never had a real problem with crowds. We liked it well enough that we're going the same time again this year.

 

[LoveToDisney]

You have picked a great time to go because the huge crowds don't usually show up until the following week, so relax and get excited!! Follow the advice of others and skip MK on Saturday, June 5 because the crowds will be huge...you can tell because they have the park scheduled to stay open until 11pm. We never had a problem in any of the other Disney parks or US/IOA during Gay Days except for the huge crowds at MK on the first Saturday in June. Have fun on your trip!!

 

[vicnmickey]

We are going to be at WDW June 2nd thru June 5th. Planned all of our days around Gay Days, but my ? is about Spectro. It is only offered on Sat. June 5th. Would you go to MK that night only to see Spectro, or would you avoid it? Also can I call before leaving AK that day and find out if the park is closed due to the crowds?

 

[HaleyB]

When they close the parks to new guests, people park hopping can still get in... I think. I am pretty sure, anyway, but I bet someone can tell you if I am right or not.
I can't say about the parade. We never do a parade that you have to 'stake out' for (we prefer the short lines at the rides). I feel a little guilty about it as my Daughter would love Spectro, but I don't think I could talk my Hubby and Son into it.