Martin Luther King day in DW

[Tbella]

I have planned a trip to Disney in January 2005 and than realized that it will include the Martin Luther King holiday. Is attendance high on this weekend? I was trying to avoid the crows!

 

[POOH&PIGLET]

Originally posted by Tbella
Is attendance high on this weekend?

How's this for an answer: Yes and no.
Yes it is more crowded than other weekends in January. No it is not as crowded as in the summer and for other major holidays.

 

[Leota]

We went last year for MLK weekend & it was fine.

 

[Tbella]

Thanks for the replies! Can anyone tell me how long the waits for some of the more popular attraction are on this weekend and maybe advise on which parks to stay away from at this time.
Thanks in advance!

 

[Shannon G]

We've gone over MLK weekend & into the following week a couple of times, and will be arriving at WDW on Sunday of MLK weekend this year. It is not bad at all. I would just advise you to avoid Magic Kingdom over the weekend - save it for later in the week, and you'll be fine. Then again, I think it's smart to avoid MK on the weekends no matter what time fo year you go! In my experience, both Epcot and MGM have had light crowds over the MLK weekend.

 

[Tbella]

Thanks for the advice. We are also coming in on the Sun. of MLKD weekend.
Can't Wait!

 

[AimeeM]

I was thinking.. DONT DO IT.. But I see you are coming in on Sunday, so thats not TOO bad. We were there this year from Friday of MLK weekend until the following Friday. It was a mad house ( by January standards, and we go every Jan, so I had lots of trips to compare it to) Im sure by Tuesday, the crowds are completely gone, but I made the mistake of avoiding MK until Tuesday, thinking everyone would be gone.The were showing Spectro Tuesday night. Well, I found out after I came home and read the boards that the locals avoid spectro on the weekends, and go during the week. MK was PACKED! ( again, but january standards, and esp on a weekday thats not EMH) I was really disappointed. We should have went to another park and hopped over to MK at night. Sunday is EMH for MK, so it will be really extra crowded over MLK weekend. I would wait until Wednesday before hitting MK. The parks were dead on Wed. ( the rest were probably dead on tuesday, I just picked the wrong one to go to). As for crowds, Fri, Sat & Sun had some pretty long waits.. 45 min and up for the popular ones. YOu never see that kind of wait in January. A lot of the fast passes were gone by mid day, of the time on them was hours & hours later.
Id definately go to Epcot on Sunday, your arrival day, if you are hitting the parks. It will seem less crowded since its so big. Monday, Id maybe hit AK(EMH that day) and head somewhere else whem the crowds set in. You could make a PS dinner package for Fantasmic on MOnday, and head over there in the afternoon. It might still be crowded, but you could spend the day walking around,see the shows, and at least not have to wait 2 hours for Fantasmic. How many days are you going to be there? If you will be there a whole week. you could do AK in the morning and they spend the rest of the day at DTD!

 

[Tbella]

Thanks so much for the great advice AimeeH! Can you please tell me what EMH is? We are staying from Sun. to Fri. Leaving early Fri. morning.

 

[AimeeM]

EMH = Extra Magic Hour. Some people still refer to it as EE or Early Entry. Every day is a different park, and if you are staying on Disney property, you get to enter that park an hour early. Most of the popular rides are open. I hear its a great way to ride all the fantasyland rides with out a wait. The downside is that that particular park will be pretty crowded by lunch time. So, most people that do EMH hop to another park when it starts to get crowded. Here are the EMH parks and their days-
Sunday- Magic Kingom
Monday-Animal Kingdom
Tuesday-MGM
Wednesday-EPCOT
Thursday- Magic Kingdom
Friday- Animal KIngdom
Saturday- MGM

If I were you, Id definately go to Epcot on Sunday. That is Magic Kingdom's EMH so it will still be crowded there. I still think that Animal Kingdom on Monday will be good. It is their EMH, so if it gets crowded, you could either hop to another park,(epcot or MGM) or go to Downtown Disney.Im not sure about what parks you like, but we always hop over to Epcot in the evenings whenever we can.There is so much to do and see in the countries! Or, you can just stay at AK all day. Its the park that closes the earliest and I think the parade is at 4. If you get there for EE, you can get the main rides done, and spend the rest of the day walking around, seeing shows, shopping, eating, and reriding everything. They were showing Spectromaginc on Tuesdays last year, so that will be your only chance to see it since you arent going to be there on a Saturday. Magic Kingom was packed last year on Tuesday after MLK, so you may want to go somewhere else for the day, and hop back in the evening for the parade.Then you can go back to Magic Kingdom all day On Wednesday,as there will be NO crowds then. Thursday is Magic Kingdoms EMH, so its better to spend Wednesday there instead. Thursday can be your MGM day. Stay all day and make sure you see Fantasmic. You wont need the dinner package. At that time of year, and with it not being a weekend, I bet you could get there 45 minutes early and there will still be many seats. If you want a sit down dinner, then you could always do the fantasmic dinner package. Hollywood & Vine is the cheapest, and they dont charge more for the fantasmic package. Its a buffett and we are eating there for THanksgiving. That would be MY schedule based on our 6 other january trips and the MLK crowds we experienced this year. This way, you get a least one full day of each park. Sunday-Epcot, Monday AK, Wednesday-MK, Thursday- MGM, and Tusday you can split up and do epcot or mgm in the day and MK at night for Spectro.

 

[Tbella]

Thanks AimeeM! That sounds like a great plan to follow. I am convinced that everyone needs a plan even during the slow periods and especially during heavy attendence. I'm hoping that my traveling companions can keep up!