MLK JR. weekend...anyone have any experience with the crowds then?

[Winka]

I am used to going in the winter off-season but not usually on MLK Jr. weekend...do the crowds at the parks and resorts go up dramatically, relative to the rest of January, or is it manageable?


I'd greatly appreciate any stories/experiences of trips during this particular holiday, thanks.

 

[gallaj0]

I'll be there also over the MLK weekend for our first winter trip; so I'd like to know also.
Thanks.

 

[crazywig]

we were there last year during that time. we stayed offsite.

we only go in off season and i must say i thought the crowds pretty large by off season standards on sat, sun and especially monday. totally manageable though if you hit the parks early.

after that they were fine.

 

[bell.of.the.ball]

What is MLK?

 

[gallaj0]

MLK= Maritn Luther King

 

[RN01]

I'm going to be there during that time also. I tried to pick a time when I though it was going to be slow but it doesn't look that way!! It's kind of scary knowing 3 of us already are going to be there.

 

[christianweecare]

We have been at WDW for MLK weekend for the past two years and will be returning for that weekend in 2004. We arrive on Friday and depart on Monday, so we have not actually been to a park on Monday (MLK Day). We usually hit DTD and DQ that day. We have done MK on Friday upon arrival, MGM on Saturday, and AK/Epcot on Sunday and found all to be very manageable.

 

[skoba-nelson]

Arrived last year on Sat. night of MLK weekend. Stayed at PO-R. Since we just got there at 8pm after driving from NE OH nonstop we crashed. We did notice the place was packed. Sunday we went to DtD and monorail resort-hopped and had dinner at O'Hana. Noticed the monorails being packed with people leaving MK. PO-R still busy. Mon. (MLK day) we went to AK and then on to Epcot. Early at AK was dead. Mickey and Minnie even sat with us on a bench to help us feed our DS5mths because they had no takers for pics at Camp Minnie Mickey. Later on the crowds came but we moved to Epcot to find no crowds there. Tue. morning we found our car the only one in our Pantere Place parking lot for the rest of our stay. We only heard one other room being used in our area until we left Sat. It's almost like we had the whole mansion to ourselves.

 

[Winka]

Thanks everyone...so I gather that the Sat and Sun crowds are a little larger by offseason standards but still manageable, and Monday may just get a touch larger than the previous two days. I can live with that.


Just wondering - for those who stayed onsite...were you able to use a code for your reservation or is that some sort of blackout date?

Thank you.

 

[christianweecare]

Winka-We could have gotten AP rate for our two previous trips but our family had their heart set on All Star Movies. Movies does not usually have the AP rates like the other All Stars. We did get a AAA discount each time, however. This Jan. we are staying at POR. So far we have AAA rate but hoping for AP rate for Jan. Good luck!

 

[skoba-nelson]

With our Jan 03 stay at PO-R we used a discount code open to everyone. I read about it first on Mousesavers, then my local paper. If I remember right the codes were announced around this time last year for our time frame of travel. Maybe the upcoming codes I've read rumored to be coming mid-Oct will help everyone. Our rate at PO-R was 89.00.

 

[Winka]

Interesting...I was under the assumption that there'd be codes for the Jan/Feb off-season and was just wondering if MLK weekend was a blackout period...I guess we'll be lucky to even get ANY codes for that time period.

There's always AAA and maybe AP rates...what an excuse to buy an AP.

Thanks for your responses.