Is a Monday at MK really *that* bad? (crowd level 5ish)

[Stacymarie1216]

We're going the week of April 17, starting at the parks on the 18th. Our schedule *was*:

Monday - HS
Tuesday - MK
Wednesday - break day
Thursday - MK
Friday - Epcot

But we're wanting to try to stay out late for Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios. our Magic Kingdom days will be rope drop days, soooooo....with a 3 and 7 year old, that's not going to work.

So now we're looking at something like:

Monday - MK
Tuesday - MK
Wednesday break day
Thursday - HS
Friday - Epcot

Or something like that. But MK is always the least recommended park on Mondays :/. Our plan would probably be rope drop, do as much as we can until lunch, head back for breaks and back to the park for some nigh time fun and probably our fast passes.

Any thoughts? Thanks!!

 

[theyoungs07]

It is hard to start a trip somewhere other than MK.

Rope drop on Monday, head back to the room once things get crazy, then if things slow down some head back. There is just something special to me about heading back into the park after dark. I can always find more things to do at MK. Often we want to get back to do some things a second time for one child or another, we commando the other parks a little more. MK is seemingly always busy now, and if a Monday looks like a day that works for me, I'd go for it. On my last trip, the Monday was exponentially better at MK than the Saturday...if you plan things out you can do just fine. We showed up around that date last year (2015) and it was definitely busier than I've ever seen it but FP+ helped a ton. Make sure you split FP+ up to take advantage of parent swap.

 

[ougrad86]

That is based on statistical evidence that everyone flies in on Sunday and MK is the first park on Minday morning...

I dunno - I arrive on Saturday and head straight for parks! Not going to waste a single day off!!

Get there early and you can knock allot of the park out, then leave and hit HS then, unless it is an all-day park for you. Use your FP's that day in HS. Then you gain an extra day!

 

[skuttle]

We've been to WDW almost every year since 2000 and I have never looked at a crowd calendar to plan my days. We always go to MK the first and last day of our trip, no matter when that day falls! The only thing we pay attention to are EMH days and when there are special events that may make weekends more crowded due to locals.

Personally, I wouldn't want to do MK back to back.

 

[senadler]

I do plan my trips based on the crowd calendars in general, but my bigger issue would be going for two days in a row and not returning to the MK the rest of my trip.

 

[senadler]

Based on your issue with HS, I would probably schedule:

Monday: MK
Tuesday: HS
Wednesday: Break
Thursday: MK
Friday: EP

You are still going to the MK on the more crowded Monday, but you should be able to pick up anything you missed when you go back later in the week.

 

[Stacymarie1216]

Thanks for all of your replies everyone! I would love to not worry about crowd calendars, but I do feel like the people who write them up kind of know what they're talking about. And I'm dealing with a "crowds-make-me-crazy" husband and 2 smaller kids, so I take every opportunity I can .

Last year we were there on crowd level 8 days and this year, the time of year we're going they will all be 4/5 level days. So it can't be that much worse than last year, right? . We did awesome with hitting up rope drop at MK and going left. We had planned on *only* doing that side of the park that day because we had 3 days at MK and actually ran out of rides to hit before 11am!

I think I'll ignore the crowd calendars and go with what will work for the kiddos (and the hubs, he's just as bad!). After all - a low crowd park with an exhausted family would be far worse than a more crowded park with a well rested family, right?

 

[Paigesmom2013]

Are you doing Wishes at MK any night? I would think that would be a better late night option than Fantasmic?

 

[skuttle]

I think I'll ignore the crowd calendars and go with what will work for the kiddos (and the hubs, he's just as bad!). After all - a low crowd park with an exhausted family would be far worse than a more crowded park with a well rested family, right?

You hit the nail on the head here! My kids are 12, 5 and 3. A lot of how we plan is based what works best for the kiddos as far as which park we go to on which day. This past year we were there for Easter week and then again a few days before Christmas. Doesn't get much worse than that! LOL!

 

[Stacymarie1216]

Are you doing Wishes at MK any night? I would think that would be a better late night option than Fantasmic?

We're planning on staying for the fireworks at MK one night (with probably a late morning Epcot day afterwards). We've been 2 other times and never stayed for Fantasmic. But looking at more about it online it seems like something the kids would really enjoy (they're 7 and 3).

New plan looks like this:

Monday - MK rope drop (not staying super late, having the kids in bed at a fairly normal time)
Tuesday - HS rope drop (staying for Fantasmic)
Wednesday - break day
Thursday - MK rope drop (staying late for fireworks)
Friday - Epcot (heading over whenever we get up and going - not much we *need* to see here so no need for rope drop (at least I think))

I would love to end on MK, but that second MK day we'll be staying late and totally pushing bedtimes and attitudes. And we've got a looooooong drive ahead of us on Saturday, so I figured Epcot - where we'll likely be out early-ish - would give us a better opportunity to get in a last swim and pack and all that goodness.

Again - thanks everyone so much for your input! My husband is tired of listening to me obsess

 

[pickles]

I never plana break day..maybe a few hours but not day

 

[Stacymarie1216]

I never plana break day..maybe a few hours but not day

Oh bless your heart. I wish we had that much energy, but we need that break day. There's so much to see and do outside of the parks - we look forward to sleeping in, swimming and doing the pool games with the kids, disney springs, checking out other resorts, good solid naps, etc. It really helps us recoup. After 18 hours in the car on the way down, then 2 days of about a zillion times more activity and stimulation than we're all used to, it helps us enormously! We'll have break afternoons on one of the MK days and the Epcot day too . Just not at that point where we can go 24/7 with the kiddos yet.