MK Day crowd level 9 vs 8, worth switching?

[Dis703]

We are headed to WDW in 30 days and are only doing 4 park days no hoppers. We planned out our days largely by hours and avoiding EMH. I've already picked our FP and have dining plans for most days but just looked at touring plans and it has our MK day (Monday 12/12) as a 9! I knew it would be busier because the parties that week effect things but wasn't expecting a 9. Anyhow only other option would be to move it to Weds but that's listed as an 8. All other park days are 4-6 which is more what we are used to traveling late April to mid-May as well as the occasional late February or mid-November.

FP options won't likely be great at this point but my DS does have a DAS which helps. Normally 20 minutes is about the max he can handle and we've done well with keeping to that as the longest wait in past trips. I'm envisioning insane waits this time around though. But not sure a difference of 9 to 8 is with the hassle of all the changes.

Is rope drop still helpful when you are at a 9 crowd level? With only 1 MK day I want to make sure it's not going to be a miserable experience fighting the crowds.

Original plan for this trip was this week but flights were much cheaper for December.

Would love opinions. Thanks!

 

[lovethattink]

If you already have dining and FPs planned that day, I'd keep it as is.

If you plan well, you should be able to work it out that you're eating, snacking, shopping or whatever during the DAS waits.

Save standby waits for high capacity/ fast loading attractions.

 

[CAS239]

Avoid EMH and then don't put much thought into the crowd level predictor. You've already planned your trip out so just keep it

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

I wouldn't change it for 9 to 8 if you already have ADRs, etc. The crowd calendars are predictions anyway. Even if they're right it's not going to be a huge difference. We went in March two years ago with crowds around that level and RD definitely was the way to go. We walked on BTMR three times and had a short wait at Splash. Same for RD on the Futureland side. Fantasyland might not be as easy - 7DMT and PPF build lines quickly. But yes, RD is a good way to go even on crowded days.

 

[gap2368]

there really is no difference in a 9 crowded and an 8 crowd as other have said keep what you have and just know you will not be the only ones in the park that day.

 

[mshanson3121]

Keep as is. Between rope drop, FP+ and DAS you'll be fine.

 

[summerw]

Keep it as is. The difference is small and those are just predictions. We had 6s predicted, got 9s. Just rolled with it and your good plans

 

[Dis703]

Thanks! I needed some talking down off the ledge, lol, but I'm leaving it as is and hoping for the best. I don't have great dining reservations, but we have great times for our Epcot FPs and we'd lose Peter Pan on our MK day at this point. I'm still stalking the site for better ADRs, but I don't want to start from scratch.

We've been going annually for a few years now (myself more than the rest of the family) so it's not the end of the world if lines are awful and we miss some things. We'll just plan for the priorities and get there early with a positive attitude and enjoy what we can.

 

[MaizeRage25]

Maybe like a 9 and a 4, but I would imagine 8 or 9 is very similar.

 

[maryj11]

Keep it. There is not much difference between 8 and 9 crowd level. MK is most always crowded, so I wouldn't worry about it. If you know how to work the FP system you can about ride any ride you want in the FP line. We were there in June with crowds around 8 and had no trouble getting FP for the rides we wanted. After you use your first three go for another and just keep refreshing and changing times for the next ride. The FP's change and pop up within minutes if you keep refeshing your choices or changing your time. We even got Seven Dwarfs 2 hours away from the time we searched it.

 

[Dis703]

Keep it. There is not much difference between 8 and 9 crowd level. MK is most always crowded, so I wouldn't worry about it. If you know how to work the FP system you can about ride any ride you want in the FP line. We were there in June with crowds around 8 and had no trouble getting FP for the rides we wanted. After you use your first three go for another and just keep refreshing and changing times for the next ride. The FP's change and pop up within minutes if you keep refeshing your choices or changing your time. We even got Seven Dwarfs 2 hours away from the time we searched it.

Good to know you were able to do that even with a high crowd level. Last trip we went through 12 FP on our MK day. As soon as the first 3 are done we keep adding, but I was worried with a level 9 that there won't be much left to do that with. Thanks!