Saturday Strategy

[ewasilau]

Say that 5 times fast!

We are going to WDW for just 5 nights (wish it was longer!) in May but still don't think we can make it without exhausting ourselves unless we have one non-rope drop day. So going for the middle of the trip, or the 3rd night, that means our sleep in day is Satuday (May 12, to be exact). Which we think works well as it should be the busiest day of the trip crowd-wise too.

Our question - where to go on that busy Saturday in the late morning/early afternoon (after a mid-morning character breakfast)? We will get FPs for that day, and we have PHs. The whole day is rated a 6, and all four parks get a 6, on Touring Plans. Morning EMH is at AK that day. Is MK still the park to avoid on a Saturday though? Or are we ok with FPs? Avoid AK because of EMH? Tentatively, I'm thinking MK or EP (though EP has concerts for F&G that day), and we would RD each of those on another day of our trip too.

Thanks for your thoughts!!

 

[mousehouse23]

I'd probably pick Epcot because I do think it best to avoid MK on a Saturday. Rolling FP+ availability might be pretty slim by the time you use your first 3 at MK.

I'd get FP+ reservations at Epcot for whatever I wasn't doing on the Rope Drop day, then spend much of the day in World Showcase, which is always a good choice on a busier day. Maybe grab a snack instead of lunch, since you're enjoying a character breakfast that day, then book a yummy table service dinner in WS. Via Napoli is a favorite of ours when trying to save some money since we can all share a pizza there.

Whatever you decide, have a great trip!

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

My two cents, I wouldn't spend too much time analyzing crowd calendars but I would go with my gut on this and likely skip MK on a Saturday and choose Epcot over it. I would skip AK late AM or midday all together with or without EMH, I find AK to be a really hot (temperature wise) park and wouldn't want to start my day there unless it was early morning or late in the day closer to sundown.

 

[nkereina]

Undercover Tourist's crowd calendar lists Epcot as "busy" for that day with no rating for the other three parks. To my knowledge, no rating means that the other three are about the same crowd-wise with Epcot being the worst of the four. I agree with PPs that MK is probably just as busy.

For me, we are starting our trip on a Saturday so we'll be arriving mid-day to a park and have opted for AK. Not sure if there are EMH that day, but it won't change my decision. It was my initial instinct that AK would be least busy on a Saturday and the crowd calendars have confirmed it so far. So I would choose AK with EMH over MK or Epcot.

 

[MainMom]

I like Epcot for afternoons and evenings so that is what I would choose.

 

[KenHutch]

Like most of the others I would avoid Magic Kingdom on a Saturday. Epcot would probably be a lot easier to do.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

“Just” 5 nights? I think that’s a nice trip length.

I would definitely do Epcot!

 

[Fangorn]

I would tend to choose Epcot as well, despite it being a Saturday during F&G. Normally, I try to avoid Saturdays during Festivals, but in this case I'd go for it.

I'd look at that day as being more relaxed than normal - sleep in a bit, have that later character breakfast, enjoy the gardens and displays at F&G, use my FPs and try some of the food offerings in the afternoon. maybe do the Behind the Seeds tour and have a nice dinner just prior to watching Illuminations.

Might not work for you depending on kiddos (if any) and their ages, but for me, that could be a very relaxing and fun day.

And since you have Hoppers, if it's to crowded at Epcot, you can always go somewhere else.

Enjoy!

Steve

 

[ChristineOH]

I hate Epcot on a Saturday night. It's so crowded in WS that it bottlenecks in places. There are lots of people drinking around the world. I'd only do Epcot if my plan was to do FW only.

We love DHS, so we might do that. There's not really enough to fill a whole day there, so the late arrival will work well, and you can choose one of the nighttime shows. ToT at night is fun!

But AK wouldn't be a bad choice either. Since it's your third day, that might be a good day to grab an evening FoP FP, if you're onsite. If you're offsite, you might check every now and again through the day to see if you can luck into one.