July 3rd at MK

[Shaft41]

So, I've read a couple of threads about the July 4th holiday and the crowd expectations, etc. Is it insane to go to MK on July 3rd if we're not really worried about the special holiday fireworks? I know it will be packed with people, but will ride times be manageable before and during the fireworks time because so many people are waiting to watch? We were planning on doing Epcot on July 4th and watching Illuminations/fireworks there, so, since we're not huge fireworks people in general, we were debating what to do on the 3rd. Thanks.

 

[Accident]

the morning and early afternoon is very doable. starting 3-4 it'll just keep getting more and more packed (shoulder to shoulder everywhere packed) and then the crowd will disappear just after the fireworks.

 

[Shaft41]

the morning and early afternoon is very doable. starting 3-4 it'll just keep getting more and more packed (shoulder to shoulder everywhere packed) and then the crowd will disappear just after the fireworks.

Have you ever done rides instead of the fireworks? Are those still packed too?

 

[Klayfish]

Have you ever done rides instead of the fireworks? Are those still packed too?

Yes, the rides are still busy. Lots of people have that same idea. The 3rd and 4th are extremely, extremely busy days in MK. So everything will be very crowded. It'll clear out a lot after the fireworks, but from 3pm until then, expect it to be busy.

 

[Shaft41]

Yes, the rides are still busy. Lots of people have that same idea. The 3rd and 4th are extremely, extremely busy days in MK. So everything will be very crowded. It'll clear out a lot after the fireworks, but from 3pm until then, expect it to be busy.

Thanks for the info. We haven't been to WDW over July 4th since 2001. Things have changed a bit.

 

[disneyvoice]

When we were there over 4th of July a few years ago, we stuck to our normal rope drop touring plan for MK on July 3 and found that it really wasn't any different than a "normal" day in the morning and early afternoon. By late afternoon/early evening the masses started pouring in for the fireworks so we left and spend the rest of the afternoon/evening at Trader Sam's at the Poly and then just watched the fireworks from our balcony at the Poly. On July 4 we spent the day at Epcot and found the crowd to have a similar pattern. We were originally going to watch the fireworks at Epcot that night but as the park started to get more and more crowded we decided to just go back to the Poly and watch the MK fireworks from our balcony again.

We aren't huge fireworks people either (we can take them or leave them). My advice is to go to whatever park you want, regardless of the fireworks, but plan to get there at rope drop if you can. That way you can decide as you go whether the crowd is starting to affect your enjoyment of the park. Both days we just decided that when the crowds started to bother us we would just leave but both days we felt that we had done pretty much everything we wanted by that point. I'm not sure what the lines for the rides were like during the fireworks since we had already left by then but I would imagine they would be MUCH shorter than usual.

 

[PrincessV]

... and then the crowd will disappear just after the fireworks.

I'll attest to this! We tried MK on the 3rd for the first time last year and, while it wasn't a ghost town, it was really very pleasant post-fireworks and we wound up doing a lot more than we expected. We opted to be behind the castle and planned our rides/FPs to be back in that region by 7:30pm, so as to avoid the gathering crowds. That also wound up working well after the show, as the area cleared very quickly.

 

[ktate82]

We are going to MK on the 3rd and Epcot on the 4th. We have a FP for Illuminations, but what time should we get a spot in MK in the Hub? I had been hoping they would have a dessert party, but still nothing, so going to Plan B. There will be 6 of us and MIL uses an ECV.