Hi folks,
I expect we'll have a new version of the "Best Days" calendar out in the next ten days or so. The new version will incorporate the wait time data we've collected since January 2, when the new EMHs went into effect. It'll also include the results of a guest survey we did, where we asked more than 350 families which parks they visited on which days. It'll also include the details of our discussions with other research groups, including Consumer Reports and the Department of Transportation.
The early results (from the survey, the DOT and Consumer Reports) all indicate Saturday should be a good day to visit the MK. The survey results, in particular, show that Saturday is the second slowest day at that park (Tuesdays are the least-busy, Sunday's the busiest). And the difference between Tuesday/Saturday and the other days is fairly large.
How large? Even assuming no locals were surveyed (not true, but go along with me), the number of Orlando-area residents would have to exceed the number of guests from everywhere else in the world, and the locals all have to visit only on Saturdays, and then only the Magic Kingdom, for that ranking to change. I think those conditions are fairly unlikely. In any event, the actual wait times in the parks will be a key component either way.
One thing I think we're fairly confident of is that Sunday's a bad day for the Magic Kingdom. By a wide margin, families indicate that Sunday is their preferred day to visit that park. This fits in well with the DOT's data, which show Saturday to be the most common day for families driving on their vacation. (And driving accounts for more than 90% of domestic leisure travel.) And the wait times on Sunday seem to bear this out.
This also matches Consumer Reports' analysis, which we confirmed with several DTD hotels, that Saturday generally has the highest hotel occupancy rates.
In short, more families driving to Orlando get there Saturday than any other day. They spend the night at their hotel, and the first park they visit is the Magic Kingdom.
One thing we're trying to figure out is why some parks seem to be slower on their EMH days than other days of the week. Epcot's EMH morning on Monday, if I recall correctly, doesn't translate to large crowds on that day. It could be that EMH doesn't hold as much appeal for those parks, or that people tend to visit parks in a certain order regardless of EMH schedule. Any ideas you may have on this would be appreciated.
Finally, as Uncleromulus notes, if you're just going to the parks to have fun, ride a few rides, and soak up the atmosphere, any day's a good day. The "best days" recommendations apply mainly if your primary concern is to avoid crowds as much as possible. But I'd dispute the 2:47 pm time on May 11 - our models clearly indicate a time of 11:34 am. (Joke!)
On a side note: I'm still running about 300 emails behind, so I apologize in advance if I haven't yet got to everyone's questions. As of last week, I was still getting more than a hundred emails a day. Once spring break and Easter are over, things should get back to normal.
Thanks!
Len Testa
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