Magic Kingdom Halloween Day?

[Poddomaquassy]

Okay, so my family is considering going to the Magic Kingdom on Halloween day. This will include extended family with three young grade schoolers. Normally, what I'm seeing is that a day with MNSSHP is a good day to be in the park. We don't care as much about fireworks, etc. That day because we'll be in the park another day when there's no party. The shorter hours don't matter to us because the kids are young enough that they will be tired out by that time.

However, the crowd calendars I'm seeing show a high crowd for that day. Is that because it's Halloween day and people come to the MK anyway? Should we steer clear? Just FYI, we're only planning on being in the Parks a couple of days and we're not going to several of the others because this is a first visit and we want to focus on the MK.

 

[kangamangus]

Which crowd calendar have you been using? Easywdw is not out, ************** ranks Halloween week in the top 5 or 6, dads guide ranks it at a light blue or waits less then 30 minutes for most rides and touring plans has it at a 3 I believe. Just wondering if I missed one.

 

[Poddomaquassy]

I was using Undercover Tourist. I looked at several and now see that you're right. I guess I was giving more weight to theirs subconsciously because it's a fancier calendar. Probably a mistake, huh?

 

[siskaren]

Which crowd calendar have you been using? Easywdw is not out,

Josh doesn't have his day to day analysis out, but he does have the October crowd calendar out:

http://www.easywdw.com/easy/blog/october-2016-disney-world-preliminary-crowd-calendar/

It's showing Halloween as a 4, with MK as recommended.

 

[MelanieRI]

I was there on Halloween this past year (did not stay for the party) and the crowds were not too bad. The closer it got to the party time, the more crowded it became but it was awesome getting to see everyone dressed up in there costumes (especially since it turned out to be the last year adults could really do it up!) I went to Epcot after and it was crazy crowded. People were dressed up there, too, but not as much. I, too, find in general that crowds are not too bad on days MK closes early b/c a lot of people don't park hop anymore and don't want to waste a day on MK when it's closing early.

 

[samsteele]

MK may be a good choice. I chose Epcot last Halloween & it was not a good pick. More crowded than usual. It was Food & Wine and that always draws in crowds but this was beyond that. I had an early dinner at San Angel and then decided it was time to get out of the park because of the crowds and just an edgier vibe. On my walk out of the World Showcase, I happened to find myself walking beside an older CM. As we crossed over the walkway into Future World, we saw young men pulling latex masks out of their backpacks and put them on. You could feel the atmosphere of Epcot start to change and not in a good way. The CM mentioned to me that he was nearing the end of his shift & was relieved not to be working in Epcot that night. Maybe I just had a one off experience. However, if in WDW for Halloween another year, I'm going to stay clear of Epcot and find someplace else to spend my time.

 

[River Country]

Last year Halloween was a Saturday so I don't think it was a good measuring stick....however, I did attend MNSSHP on Halloween last year and to me it seemed to have normal crowd levels for a saturday when I got there at 4

 

[absolutmey]

We were there on Halloween in 2014 and we found crowds to be pretty manageable. We, of course, had to be out of the park by 7pm, but planned to leave earlier (had ADR somewhere else). Honestly, I didn't notice a jump in crowds or wait times between 4 and 7 but once we left (around 5:45) there were lots of folks milling about out front - I could only guess they didn't realize they were allowed in at 4pm.

 

[joanchris]

We were at MK on Halloween 2014. It was a good day, I didn't notice that crowds were noticeably heavier that day than other days that week (we left the next day). Many or maybe even most of the kids entering the park that day had their costumes on (it was the first Halloween after Frozen hit, so a million Elsas and Annas!).

 

[Poddomaquassy]

Excellent! Thank you all so much! I think we're gonna go for it.

 

[cgattis]

I believe some (most?) of the resorts have activities for guests on the day of Halloween. Sounds like a good alternative to the party--park during the day and then do some "Halloween-y" stuff at your resort later.

 

[siskaren]

MK may be a good choice. I chose Epcot last Halloween & it was not a good pick. More crowded than usual. It was Food & Wine and that always draws in crowds but this was beyond that. I had an early dinner at San Angel and then decided it was time to get out of the park because of the crowds and just an edgier vibe. On my walk out of the World Showcase, I happened to find myself walking beside an older CM. As we crossed over the walkway into Future World, we saw young men pulling latex masks out of their backpacks and put them on. You could feel the atmosphere of Epcot start to change and not in a good way. The CM mentioned to me that he was nearing the end of his shift & was relieved not to be working in Epcot that night. Maybe I just had a one off experience. However, if in WDW for Halloween another year, I'm going to stay clear of Epcot and find someplace else to spend my time.

I think the issue was that you were in Epcot on a Saturday during F&W that just happened to be on Halloween, not just that it was Halloween. (It's generally recommended to avoid Epcot on weekends during F&W.) With Halloween being on a Monday this year, I would think Epcot would be a good choice.