Magic Kingdom - weekday or weekend in Jan?

[carwel]

Hi
New here. But I've been lurking! Last time I was at WDW was 30 years ago! Now, I'm taking my family to Orlando next week. We only have one day for Magic Kingdom (I have a 5 year old and an almost 2 year old) and we obviously want to make the most of that day! Is there a big difference in crowds on weekdays vs weekends this time of year? Any advice on how to make the most of our exciting day would be welcome.
Thanks in advance
Carwel

 

[mom2princessj]

Well I'm by no means a touring expert...we just took our first family trip this past week. I found that the weekday was a low crowd level. But I checked unofficial guide crowd levels and tour guide mike crowd levels before actually deciding the day to go. We were there Sunday 1/11, Tuesday 1/13 (by far the lowest crowd), Thursday 1/15, and Friday 1/16. Spectromagic was going on Thursday and it was more crowded but honestly friday was the most crowded day. Sunday had EMH late hours and we got to walk on many rides that night. Tuesday however was our best day...we had CRT in the morning then got right out and rode a few rides, saw Ariel in the grotto, and generally made our way around without much hassle or crowd. I'll definitely go in January again...the crowds were low and our time was enjoyable!

 

[mom2princessj]

Well I'm by no means a touring expert...we just took our first family trip this past week. I found that the weekday was a low crowd level. But I checked unofficial guide crowd levels and tour guide mike crowd levels before actually deciding the day to go. We were there Sunday 1/11, Tuesday 1/13 (by far the lowest crowd), Thursday 1/15, and Friday 1/16. Spectromagic was going on Thursday and it was more crowded but honestly friday was the most crowded day. Sunday had EMH late hours and we got to walk on many rides that night. Tuesday however was our best day...we had CRT in the morning then got right out and rode a few rides, saw Ariel in the grotto, and generally made our way around without much hassle or crowd. I'll definitely go in January again...the crowds were low and our time was enjoyable!

 

[carwel]

Thanks so much for your response and glad you had a good trip! Tuesdays are our travelling days, so we can't go then. Looks like it's going to be Thursday or Friday for us. Starting to get excited! I know the weather hasn't been too hot in Orlando, but anything's better than what we've been experiencing in Ontario lately!
Cheers

 

[pfp258]

Try not to get too worked up trying to figure out which park is going to be crowded on which day. We have been over twenty times with our girls and find that the parks can be crowded or light on any day. We remember one time when the Magic Kingdom was empty on the Friday before Thanksgiving. We did all rides we wanted in one day with short wait times.
Have a great trip!