How were the crowds MLK weekend in WDW?

[26555]

Just wondered.

 

[NCRedding]

We went to AK and to Epcot on Saturday, and found the crowds to be manageable, but it was difficult to get a PS on short notice--we tried Teppanyaki, Chefs de France, Le Cellier. We were able to get a PS at Germany for 8:30. On Sunday, we did Epcot, then went to MK. Crowds were light at Epcot, but were as heavy as I've ever seen at MK, even during our June trip. Not only was it MLK weekend, but Orlando was hosting the International Home Builders Meeting, which was the largest convention they've ever hosted, so I think that probably added. We finished up at AK on Sunday with the EMH, and found the crowds to be fairly light.

 

[disgal1]

we just returned. Thursday, we were at MK, it was perfect...no crowds and perfect weather. friday the front moved in and it Poured and was chilly, ...due to being hit in our car by a truck, we didn't get to MGM till 3pm. Even then, it was more crowded than I had anticipated.
Sat at MK was as crowded as I have ever seen it ( and we go alot) I thought with the lousy weather, it would be ok, but 55 min waits on rides were very common...thank goodness for fast pass.
Sunday again lousy weather, and I thought the crowds at animall kingdom were ok, but more than I had expected.

I won't go over MLK weekend again, but it could have been the convention. it was the largest in orlando convention history. just don't know. I knew when MK was open till 11 on sat night, it was going to be crowded.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

We arrived the Wednesday prior to the holiday. Weather was beautiful Wed. & Thur. and no crowds - we walked on to almost everything (except Peter Pan - go figure!) and we had a great time.

Friday was just a disaster. We were at AK in the POURING rain. No wait for the safari or Dinosaur, but I do not recommend going in the rain. It was miserable!

Saturday we were at Epcot - cool, cloudy, and about 4:00 it started to mist. The mist blew in my face no matter which direction we were going, so around 8 PM we just gave up. I was sad to miss Illuminations but it was miserable to be outside.

We left EARLY Sunday morning, but the Builders Show officially ended Sunday at 1:00. There were people from the show on the plane with us at 7:00 AM so I think there were probably a lot of people who finished up prior to Sunday afternoon.

I was very stressed out about all the extra people from the multiple events, but it worked well for us.

 

[Fla Gator]

We were there for MLK weekend. Arrived Friday night (after the rains) and went to AK Saturday for most of the day. Crowds seemed light to me for a holiday weekend as we only needed fast pass for the safari and waited about 20 min for Dinosaur and Primeval Whirl. No problem getting in the shows. We went to MK that night at 8 pm, hoping that the crowds would be thinning thanks to the awful weather but no such luck. The wait times in Tomorrowland were 45 min. for Stitch and Buzz and an hour for Space Mtn even during the first Spectro parade. We used FP for Buzz and Stitch. FPs for Space Mtn were sold out so we waited till the fireworks started and were able to get on with about a 30 minute wait. EPCOT on Sunday was manageable using FP. Then we made the mistake of heading to MGM. Fast passes were sold out everywhere and there were 45 to 90 minute wait times. FP are great but it's discouraging when they sell out early in the day. We headed home on Monday without visiting the parks.

 

[KAMLEM]

We were in MGM on Sunday afternoon and it was pretty crowded. It was very frustrating because ToT had a 90 minute wait and the fast pass machine was down. ToT is my kids 2nd favorite ride and they never got to ride it. I don't understand why there were no fast passes.

 

[shellybaxter]

I've never been during peak times, but was at WDW over MLK weekend. The rain kept us out of the parks on Friday. We needed a rest day anyway.

Saturday morning we went to Epcot and it was fine. We got fast pass for Test Track right away and it was only for 35 mins later (line was 25 min wait), walked right on Spaceship Earth, then headed for Norway for goodies at 11:00. We poked around the countries until we met friends in Innoventions about noon. It was busy but not crowded. The girls in the trip took a break and had tea at 2:00 at the Grand Floridian. The boys headed for MK and it was PACKED!! The ride lines were long but some were manageable. We had small children that wanted to ride some rides. This was almost 4:00PM, Barnstormer and Buzz were both about 35 mins, Tea Cups were 20, we did all those. Pooh and Peter were 70 mins posted and looked to be taking that long. We didn't do those. We left by 6:00PM and went to Concourse Steakhouse for dinner.

Sunday morning DH and I went back to MK to finish up Tomorrow Land. We were on the first Stich ride of the day (IMHO - Lame), rode Buzz again, Carrosel of Progress and Tomorrowland Transit all by 10:00aM. It was cold and already getting crowded so we left and played resort roulette the rest of the day (that is where you get on the first resort bus that come to the stops, get off and look around the resort and then catch the next park bus back to get another resort bus). It was fun and a good way to spend a cold windy crowded day.

I would have been disappointed in the crowd levels if we hadn't been to all the parks twice already. The rest of our trip (Jan 5-17) the lines were non-existant. We had a blast

Shelly

 

[ccrosner]

We had a similar experience to others over MLK weekend. Although we did brave MK on Friday during the pouring rain. No waits! Glad we had packed our slickers. Had to buy daughter dry socks but it got better as the day went along.

We did MGM/Epcot on Saturday and had little trouble and then AK (in the cold mist) on Sunday--not too crowded--and MK afterwards (very crowded). While people may think that the crowds were due to the builders convention, I would say that we found the parks crowded when we went MLK weekend of 2000, especially Saturday at MK. It's just a busy time.

Jackskellintongirl....I've been looking for a post from you so that we could find out how your child's illness was during your trip. Did he/she rally? Was your trip as fun as you had hoped (with the exception of the weather?).

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Ccrosner -

Hi! I posted an update onto my original post about him getting sick. He was fine for the trip - thanks for asking! He held up great through all four days, even in the rain. He was another one who got dry socks on Friday. We had to purchase a 2-pack, one pair is pink, and I think he really needed the next larger size. He was sitting in First Aid with DH while I went on the Sock Hunt so I wasn't really able to measure the sock against his foot. So we are now the proud owners of a completely worthless pair of pink socks with Minnie on the cuffs, and a rather tight pair of white Mickey socks. At least the 3 umbrellas we bought will come in handy in the future!

 

[ccrosner]

Given that I spent $12 on two pair of Pooh/Tigger socks...I'm sorry yours won't work another day

Glad to hear that he did o.k. I thought he might be coming down with the full-blown flu and, having a child live through that two years ago, I dreaded your situation. The rain was truly awful last Friday but it was great for short lines.

All the best to you and your family!

 

[cranbiz]

We did MK on Saturday night and yes SM and BTMRR had long waits, but Pirates and JC were walk on. DW and I did Seaworld Sat morning and we decided to try to eat at MK that night. Called for a PS at 4:00 and was able to get Crystal Palace for 7:50 with no problem. Watched Wishes from near the Baby Center with a front railing view, and had no trouble getting curbside for the second Spectro. But MAN was it nippy (even for a New Englander). It wasn't the temp that was the killer that night , but the 20 mph wind.

We did Epcot on Monday from about Noon on, and although it was not terribly crowded, MS was fast passing normal times (an hour in advance) TT was fast passing for the 8:15 to 9:00pm timeslot. MS had 10-20 min waits until later that night (then walk on) but TT was 30-60 minute waits all day and night (even single rider was 30-45 minutes). Most everything else was walk on or short waits.