July 4th: Epcot or DHS?

[2Tiggies]

We are tied into MK for July 3rd as DD's best friend and her parents only have one day at Disney and want to do MK that day. They are offsite but we are onsite and will stay on to use the evening EMH that night. It works well for all of us so that day is sorted.

I had intended to go to Epcot for Independence day, but I'm having second thoughts now. Not for any particular reason, but I see that Epcot has evening EMH on the 4th until midnight, however DHS is open regular hours til 12 am that night too. We have never been at this time of year and have also never experienced any of the DHS fireworks offerings. Now I'm wondering if we should do Studios instead that night.

I know they ran the special fireworks all week last year, but that was with LTM so we can't count on that in making plans this year.

Aside from the fireworks, though, what would we experience in either Epcot or DHS that day that is unique to the holiday? I've pretty much accepted that hopping (we do have hoppers) may not work as crowd levels might make entering a problem if we time it wrong and don't want to risk it.

Any pointers to what I don't know and/or have overlooked would be greatly appreciated.

 

[kneedeep]

I would also be interested in responses to this-- we will be at BWV and are planning to go to MK on 7/3 and Epcot on 7/4, mostly because we will have the ability to walk back to our resort on the 4th.

Anyone been to parks on July 4th who can share their experiences?

 

[photo_chick]

Epcot. We did DHS last time we were there on the 4th and were not impressed. The park isn't set up well for fireworks, IMO.. it's the paths. There's just not enough room to accommodate that kind of crowd when everyone gathers together. The concert was OK but not especially patriotic and the fireworks were very disappointing. This trip we're opting for MK on the 3rd and Epcot on the 4th this time so we can see the other things that Epcot has going on that day (special performances, characters in patriotic dress, etc) in addition to the extra fireworks at the end of Illuminations. DHS had nothing extra beyond the concert and fireworks when we were there.

Now.... fireworks aside, the crowds at DHS that day were actually not bad for the rest of the day. No different than any other summer day really. MK on the 3rd was a little more crowded, you really only felt it when it got close to time for fireworks though. I've read that Future World is very congested at Epcot on the 4th but that World Showcase isn't that bad... so that's planned to be our WS day.