Mardi Gras crowds?

[disneynan]

We will be visiting during the last weekend of Mardi Gras but are not interested in participating in any of the events as this will be our first visit to "The Dark Side" and we only have 2 days. US will have EE both days and we have park hopper tickets. So our plan is to visit each park at rope drop and then take Hogwort's Express mid-day to finish the day in the other park. This way we get to experience the ride in both directions while also utilizing rope drop and getting an evening in both parks. I am trying to decide which order to do this.
My flight arrives at MCO at 11 pm on Friday; we are staying in a friend's condo, but will check into the Royal Pacific on Saturday so we can get the fastpasses. I initially planned for us to do IOA then US on Saturday so we could have a bit of a later start on that day as I will be tired (rest of family will already be in Orlando on Friday) and then do EE at US on Sunday and finish at IOA.
However, US is open later on Sunday and I am concerned about hitting crowds there on Saturday night, so I don't know if I should switch our plans and just know that I won't get much sleep on Friday night.
Thanks for reading this long post, any advice would be appreciated.

 

[pepperandchips]

I don't know how Mardi Gras crowds will specifically impact crowd levels at attractions but I do know the crowds at concerts can impact your ability to get around the entrance/New York area/Shrek/that whole section. In general, I found the Wizarding World areas much less crowded in the last hour or two that the parks were open. Gringotts and Forbidden Journey were practically walk ons in the last hour and the roller coasters were absolutely walk ons.

I think the way you have it planned now with check in, then rope drop at IOA on your Saturday is the way to go. You might want to plan on a rest for you at the very minimum - even sitting down for a nice lunch in City Walk can make a world of difference on your "barking dogs" after going early on little sleep. With Express Pass we got everything we prioritized done with ample breaks and not going at breakneck speed. It's important to make the Wizarding World your first and last things of the day though if those are important to you (and of course hitting them at rope drop/early entry and then again in the last hour of the night allows you to repeat favorites).

 

[disneynan]

I don't know how Mardi Gras crowds will specifically impact crowd levels at attractions but I do know the crowds at concerts can impact your ability to get around the entrance/New York area/Shrek/that whole section. In general, I found the Wizarding World areas much less crowded in the last hour or two that the parks were open. Gringotts and Forbidden Journey were practically walk ons in the last hour and the roller coasters were absolutely walk ons.

I think the way you have it planned now with check in, then rope drop at IOA on your Saturday is the way to go. You might want to plan on a rest for you at the very minimum - even sitting down for a nice lunch in City Walk can make a world of difference on your "barking dogs" after going early on little sleep. With Express Pass we got everything we prioritized done with ample breaks and not going at breakneck speed. It's important to make the Wizarding World your first and last things of the day though if those are important to you (and of course hitting them at rope drop/early entry and then again in the last hour of the night allows you to repeat favorites).

Thanks for this information. Were these rides walk-ons during a Mardi Gras night or in general? I think you are right about sticking with the original plan. No sense going in tired just to gain an hour. Especially with the Express Pass. It will be nice to not have to go at breakneck speed as we usually do at WDW. We will probably go back to the hotel at some point for a swim break (read nap for mom haha).

 

[pepperandchips]

I have never been during Mardi Gras, so no experience with those crowds personally, but will be there in just 2.5 weeks! What are your dates?

 

[disneynan]

You are there before us, we will be there on April 16 and 17. Have a wonderful trip!

 

[macraven]

Have you read keishashadow's trip report, fallout boy?

She talks about the crowds at the fall out boy Mardi Gras concert last month

It's worth a read if you go during a very highly popular concert

You might not do the concert but crowds around that area where you exit out of the park, can be heavily packed

 

[disneynan]

No I haven't. Thanks for the tip, I will check it out.

 

[pepperandchips]

I'm not saying the artist at the last concert won't be popular but I had never heard of him before and neither had the universal podcast team. I understand there may be a huge following for this guy that I'm not a part of, but Fall Out Boy is extremely popular with top 40 hit singles and they've been around for over a decade. You should definitely read the fall out boy trip report but I don't think the concert during your dates will be as "well attended" as the insanity that sounded like it surrounded poor keishashadow's trip.

 

[lvdis]

I really think you should try to see the Mardi Gras parade if at all possible. I highly recommend it! We just got back from a 2 1/2 day trip and the parade was a big highlight of our visit! They had Mardi Gras on both Saturday (The Fray) and Sunday (Adam Lambert) of our trip and we ended up watching the parade both nights it was so fun!

We got a spot across the street from Louie's Italian restaurant on the corner in front of Starbucks the first night (Sat) and found out you didn't really need to get there so early. It was a great spot and super fun; the music, the floats, the stilt walkers and all the beads and confetti! That spot is near the last part of the parade route so I think it was maybe about 20 minutes after the parade started by the time it made it there. After the parade we rode the Mummy twice as pretty much a walk on (with express pass) and even went over near the concert to hear a couple of the songs that we knew by the Fray. You can see them on the big screen that is set up and hear them from a little ways away. We didn't think the crowds were too bad at all. Except earlier in the day in the Harry Potter area in IOA, it was crazy crowded there.

The next night (Sunday), we decided at the last minute to go see it again and got a spot around the corner and down a little from our first night, on the side street along the lagoon side. Great place to see it too and by the time we took our spot the parade was coming around the corner. After the parade passed by we went back to Diagon Alley and got to ride Gringotts twice with little to no wait and explored Diagon Alley until the park was closed then we slowly made our way to the front and out with no crowds.

I hope you have a great trip! You'll be amazed at how much you can get done with the Express Pass.

 

[Hunterr]

Mardi Gras crowd really depends on what artist is playing that night. I don't believe there are many HUGE acts left, so you should be ok (otherwise, I'd have said stay away from the Diana Ross and Fallout Boy nights. Crowds were bananas).

As others have said, a lot of the rides were essentially walk-ons (10-20 minute wait times, and single rider lines were pretty instant).

I think you might enjoy the parade (catching beads is fun, i don't care who you are), but if you REALLY don't care, avoid the parade route as you can't cross the streets in those areas and the sidewalks are crowded.

But as recent as last week, Diagon Alley was relatively packed, but I walked right onto Gringotts.