The 4th?!

[Greg K.]

Plotting and planning for the big July 4th holiday, when we'll be in The World...any OFFICIAL word on the policy for park admission?

We'd like to experience the special fireworks at the MK that night, but does that mean we have to enter the park early and stay there all day and all night? If we enter in the morning, can we leave and come back for dinner and the fireworks? I know it will prolly be at capacity by the afternoon, and they'll close the gates...but what about people staying on property? (We'll be at the Contemporary for the first leg of our trip...) What about people who were admitted earlier? Can we get back in?

Any ideas?

Or should we just plan to camp out with the mob all day and all night, until our nerve (or tempers) fray? Anyone with experience doing this??

 

[Greg K.]

Just bumpin' ...

 

[Ms. S. White]

We'll be there on the 4th also!

Great question--does anyone have any input?

 

[jtnsami]

Bump....

 

[jimmiej]

DW & I will be at WDW on the 4th. We're planning to be at Epcot. We're staying at Beach Club Villas.

OP- There was a thread a while back on the Disneyland forum about people not being allowed back in after leaving (due to capacity). However, isn't the policy that on-site guests are never denied access?

 

[Tinker*Shell*Bell]

The policy is that on-site guests are the last ones denied entry due to crowds but there is a limit to the number of people they are legally allowed to have in the parks. When they get close to capacity they limit entry to on-site guests only. When they are full, they are full. No one can enter until enough leave. I asked this question in another thread a while back and the answers varied. In general you can expect a hard closing (no entry at all) some time on the 4th, some said it re-opened mid-aftenoon for a while but not to count on it. We are hoping to get in for the parade but since we're at the Contemporary we'll ask them to call first and see it if is closed or just limited entry.

HTH Sheli

 

[tmt martins]

And the on-sight guarentee is that 1 of the 4 parks will be available to you.

I'm not sure of how I planned it this year but we are leaving on July2nd and again on Dec 22nd this year so I'm just missing all the REAL crowds.

 

[Philadisney]

we are so nervous about this too! planning to do Epcot on the 4th - but my mother is in town for a convention, so she has meetings in the morning and won't be able to join us until noon or so. my dad and i can be sure to be there at opening, but i'm worried she might get shut out. and we're staying at the convention hotel, so we're not on site guests

 

[Greg K.]

we are so nervous about this too! planning to do Epcot on the 4th - but my mother is in town for a convention, so she has meetings in the morning and won't be able to join us until noon or so. my dad and i can be sure to be there at opening, but i'm worried she might get shut out. and we're staying at the convention hotel, so we're not on site guests

Of all the parks, I would imagine Epcot would be the least congested, simply because it's so big and it absorbs crowds better. It's not uncommon for the MK to reach full capacity at peak periods -- it happened Memorial Day a few years back when we were there -- but I've never heard of that happening with Epcot. Has anyone else???

Right now, we're planning to enter the MK sometime in the morning and just stay for the duration, figuring if we leave we might not get back in... But it would be nice if we could take a break.

 

[java]

July 4th veteran here. We have been probably 10 of the last 11 July 4ths.
In that time MK closes generally to the public around 11AM(with resort guest still getting in until that capacity is reached.) Twice it has totally closed to everyone in our times there(and trust me you don't want to be there at that point anyway- not fun) EPCOT closed to general public last year and the year before that. But it never closed to resort guests. *and it feels less crowded because of the layout- but after the fireworks YIKES where did all these people come from
But the July 4th fireworks at the MK were shown on July 3rd also last year. I think they are doing that again this year. So if you HAVE to be IN the park the 3rd may be a better day to do it. The July 4th fireworks are shot from all around the Seven seas lagoon. So if you are at your hotel- you will be able to see most of it.Have fun and look for us! We'll be the family with all the kids.

 

[disgirl]

We are planning on going to MK on the 3rd instead. On the 4th, we will probably just want to hang at the pool, but I did make ADR for Prime Time at MGM, a few weeks back, for a 5:30 dinner. I hope we do not get closed out of MGM at that hour, around 5:00. Any one know about late arrival at MGM on the 4th.

Greg, I understand you wanting to leave for a break at MK. From what we have read on this board, it will be very crowded and of course, hot and humid at all the parks on the 4th, however, especially crowded at MK. I think that might be good for you to plan to stay the whole day, but maybe when you feel like a break, you can check with a CM at the gates and see what they think. I would hope they could give you a good understanding of the crowd level and possible closing for the day. Good Luck and Have a Great trip!!

oops, I did not type fast enough. Java beat me to it with of course, a much better, EXPERIENCED response. Thanks Java.

 

[2 princes 1 princess]

We expereinced the MK closing this past New Year's Eve due to capacity. To be honest, we chose to leave because it was waaaay too crowded. The line was over 2 hours for everything and we could barely move around with three kids. It was difficult to even find a park bench to sit on. We went back to CBR to swim since it was so warm that day. We saw the fireworks outside of Epcot near the Yacht/Beach Clubs. I was starting to freak out a little in Epcot that evening because it was so packed. I've never experienced WDW that crowded before!

 

[tinkwinks123]

Plus! There is going to be a HUGE teachers convention. I am not sure, what day the convention actually starts, but we are leaving out on the 28th of June and coming back July 6. So I'm sure there will be even more people trying to get in. We're hoping that another part of our party won't get shut out also, since he can't leave the convention till noon. What can we do if they won't let him in?

 

[Disneynut71]

I was at Disney last year for the 4th. Magic Kingdom closed it's doors in the late afternoon. If a park gets too crowded they will not let anyone else in. I was at Epcot and they almost closed as well. I was told by a CM to stay in the park because I might not be able to get back in.

Fireworks are great and they show the same ones over a few nights. The CM I was talking to also told me that Animal Kingdom was very slow all day because they do not have fireworks.

My advice...pick a park and stay put or risk of not getting into one at all.

 

[tink 2257]

We too will be there on the 4th this year! We are planning to go to MK on the 3rd and are hoping for the best. We were there two years ago, and the 3rd seemed less crowded. We went to MK on the 4th, but left at 1pm and then went to Epcot later that evening. See you all there !

 

[STEAMBOAT209]

DW and I were in MK last year on the 4th, had arrived at opening. Prior to the start of the fireworks, we parked ourselves at the circle sitting facing the castle, along with many others, around 7:00pm. Talking with the folks next to us, they were waiting for the rest of their party, who were at MGM. They finally showed up around 8:20pm, and advised us that at the entrance gate, there was a crowd waiting to get in, and officials were only allowing so many in as to the number of guests leaving the park. They had been at the entrance waiting to get in for over two hours, but was finally allowed back in.

It is so worth being in MK to see the 4th fireworks, if the 3rd's fireworks are identical, it may be better to see those, may be a hair less crowded.

 

[LUVMICKEY]

The last time we were there on the 4TH of course it closed because it was at capacity. I'm not sure how true it is but, we also heard that they stopped letting people out too for a certain amount of time. We did get there shortly after it opened and stayed till after the fireworks. We just did all the things that we really wanted to do as soon as we got there and just walked around or just relaxed for the rest of the day till it was time to get ready for the fireworks. Then after the fireworks it became real interesting getting out. Ya know what I mean? But we did have a great day. Fireworks were so worth dealing with the crowd.

Michele

 

[Disneynut71]

Funny story...I too was there on the 3rd last year at MK. It wasn't too bad ride times were about normal. We had about 20 minutes before the fireworks were to start so we decided to ride Pirates. Wouldn't you know it broke down with us on it and we missed the fireworks. We did see them at Epcot and they were awesome and I made sure I saw wishes before we left and thats better then any fireworks I would have seen around here.

 

[Philadisney]

Plus! There is going to be a HUGE teachers convention. I am not sure, what day the convention actually starts, but we are leaving out on the 28th of June and coming back July 6. So I'm sure there will be even more people trying to get in. We're hoping that another part of our party won't get shut out also, since he can't leave the convention till noon. What can we do if they won't let him in?

yup, that's what we'll be there for! since we're with the convention we won't be staying on property, so i think i'll just have to be prepared for maybe getting shut out of epcot, although my dad and i can be there early my mom can't leave the convention until around 1pm. hope that it doesn't happen, though.

 

[babiesX2]

I have never been on the 4th of July, and I don't think I'd go if you offered me a million $'s.

Too hot + too crowded = no fun for us.