July 4th

[duckfish]

We will be landing in the world on July 4th and would love to hear what you guys think the best plan of action would be. I am a bit afraid that it will be crowded beyond belief. What park do you think we should try? BTW, we are traveling with a 2 and 5 year old. Any advice would be really appreciated.

 

[jenr812]

When we were there last year (July 2-8) we spend the morning of the 4th at AK. It wasn't too crowded at all (well, in comparison to what we expected!). We decided to spend the evening at DTD and had dinner at RFC. It turned out perfectly - as soon as we got off the bus back at POR around 11ish, the fireworks were starting and we had a great view. MK had done a special 4th of July fireworks presentation on July 3rd with patriotic music and such, so we didn't feel like we were missing out on anything and it was just a bonus that we caught the fireworks anyway. At the time, our kids were 11, 6 and 2.

 

[HollisterSweetie]

Last year, we spent the evening in EPCOT to see the special July 4th edition of Illuminations. It was crowded, but not half as bad as the MK was. I guess it would really depend on what time your arriving and whether or not you`d like to see fireworks.

 

[PlainJane]

Something you might want to take into consideration is that Epcot is the park that is getting evening EMH on July 4th. Normally Epcot would be a good choice because of its size, but because of the EMH I'm not so sure. Stay clear of MK if you don't want crowds.

 

[AStamm]

We spent last July 4th at MGM. The park itself wasn't packed to capacity, but we definitely had to make use of FP to get on many rides. By fireworks time it was almost impossible to find a seat down the main street. We ended up heading to our car and sitting on beach chairs there to watch the fireworks. The music was a little hard to hear because we were parked so far back, but it wasn't crowded, we could relax, and were back to our resort within 10 minutes of the last firework going off.

 

[STEAMBOAT209]

Depending on the time of arrival, and how eveyone has handled the travel. By the time you get checked in, settled into the room, whether lunch time or dinner time , ADR's scheduled on the arrival, ?, MK will be packed, MGM right behind MK, and a smaller park, Epcot would be a good choice, but after the travel, there may not be too much for the children if they are tired. Its really going to be a toss up arriving on the 4th ? If I was making the choice, I would go over to MK, if you can get in, try to get located in another section of the park away from main street, which will be extremely crowded. Hint, it will be overwhelming if you are there at closing, if you are; find a spot to relax for about 20 - 30 min. before trying to leave, it will be much easier getting out. Good Luck on what you decide, and have a Wonderful Trip....

 

[senecabeach]

I think check in day is tiring enough without runing to a park for a few hrs.
Remember...it WILL be "HOT".
Enjoy your hotel pool with the kids, have a nice dinner then get ready for an early start in the AM.!!

 

[Minniespal]

Personally I would avoid MK ~ We did MK in 2002 and it was packed. It took us 90 minutes to get from Main Street to the TTC.

 

[Tanya90210]

We did MK in AM last year and it was packed... and we had seen the 3rd fireworks there the night before which I was told would be the same as the 4th.... So for the evening of the 4th we did MGM and then took a bus right after back to hotel...

 

[momof2minnies]

YES! Avoid MK!

 

[tomerin]

last year we also were in MGM ofr the 4th. yes it was crowded but not overwhelming as MK is on the 4th. you can pretty much do what you want you just have to use fastpasses etec but this is usually the norm during this peak time. one word of advice though, dont wait until it is late to get and food and sit down will be packed until closing and for some reason it seemed like most of the counter service places were actually closing or already closed doen almost an hour before park closing. the only placewe could find anything to eat was at pizza planet and those lines were long but it moved pretty well. we had a great time to our start of our trip

 

[dizzneebabe]

I guess it depends what park you really want to be at and how much you are willing to put up with.

In 2003, we flew in on the 4th, checked into our hotel around noon and made a beeline over to MK. We knew full well it would be crowded and that there was there potential for reaching capacity and not getting in. It was indeed crowded, but were anticipating that, so we were not surprised and because of that, it didn't ruin our visit. We did hear from several CM's later on in the day/evening that MK had closed the gates, reaching capacity.

We had read all of the posts that said to avoid MK, too, but we really wanted to see the fireworks in the round--it was really cool. About 60 min before the show, we grabbed a spot on the bridge into tomorrowland, figuring we were off Main Street and could get around the crowds without much problem. That wasn't really the case. The CM's had roped off areas, to stop people from entering/leaving Tomorrowland--not exactly sure why, but some ignorant people were still ducking under the rope.

The show was amazing and it wasn't too bad, until the show was over. When that rope dropped the sea of people behind us pushed us into Tomorrowland. Peoples tempers had worn thin by this time and a guy with a double stroller (no kids in it) started ramming people (hard) to get through--including me. I was 6 1/2 months pregnant at the time and he actually ran me down--my right leg got caught under his stroller and my knee was on the ground. This was very scary--DH was in front of me with our two boys and didn't know this was happening. I thought I was going to be trampled. I grabbed DH's arm from behind, pulled myself up and kicked the stroller back at this guy, yelling a few choice words. It didn't seem to phase him or anyone else. Everyone just had one thing in mind--GETTING OUT! Other than him, it wasn't too bad.

The CM's led us out the back way behind Main Street. It was sort of neat to see that and people seemed to have calmed down by this time.

Given a choice, I would still choose to go to MK again. We loved the fireworks!!! But, like I said, it depends on how tolerant you are, I think.

 

[duckfish]

Thanks so much for the hints!! The kids really want to do MK but like many of you said it may be best to steer clear for the 4th. I'm planning to do 2 days of MK on the July 7th and 9th anyway. I hadn't thought of seeing MGM's fireworks, we may do that. Thanks again, you guys are great!!