Which park, which day?

[toothfairy]

I need a stategy. We will be at Disney from Aug. 8-11, which is Friday thru Monday. I need input as to which park to visit on which day to make the most of our time there. We do not plan to visit any of the water parks due to time restraints. Any suggestions on which of those days are best for the particular parks? Thanks in advance for your input!!


Toothfairy

 

[cleo]

Here's a brief rundown, subject to change at a moment's notice based on any number of unforseen factors :

Slow days:

MK: Wed, Fri
Epcot: Mon, Wed, Sat, Sun
MGM: Tues, Thurs
AK: Fri, Sat

Heavy days:
MK: Mon, Thurs, Sat
Epcot:Tues, Fri
MGM: Wed, Sun
AK: Tues, Wed

Hope that helps!

 

[lentesta]

Hi toothfairy,

Try this interactive page:

www.TouringPlans.com/BestDays.htm .

It'll tell you the best (and worst) days for each park, depending on your specific trip information.

Sincerely,

Len

 

[toothfairy]

OK guys - first I want to thank you so much for your feedback! I think it is sooooo great that someone actually wants to help give me info about things to make our trip better!!! After reviewing both answers above, I found them to be cotradictory from each other. How do I know which to choose?
Thanks again and sorry for seeming a little dense

Toothfairy

 

[Cindy'sCastle]

Let me give you what experience we encountered on our trip. We were there 7/15-7/18:
Tues Morning-Epcot: no crowds and hardly no waits
Tues Aft/Eve- MK: crowds were pretty heavy, had to use FP to ride just about anything until late that night

Wed Morning-Animal Kingdom: not too crowded, was able to ride everything with no waits but started to get crowded in the afternoon
Wed Aft/Eve-MGM: sorta crowded, grabbed FP, did Fantasmic PKG Dinner so no wait for Fantasmic-but it definitely was crowded for the 9:00 show and a huge line waiting for the next show when we got out

Thu Morn-MK: Small crowds, small waits for rides
Thu Aft/Eve-Epcot: No crowds in FW, No crowds in WS

Fri Morn-MGM: Small crowds, got FP and rode big rides first, got FP for WWTBAM and played it a few times, FP system worked out great that day
Fri Aft/Eve-MK: Large crowds, got FP but started storming, rides shut down, still storming at closing time (what a way to end my magical honeymoon!!!)

Of course everyday something could change but hopefully this helps!!

Cindy

 

[lentesta]

Far be it from me to contradict one of the mods. But I will humbly point out that Friday is an early entry day at the Animal Kingdom.
During summer, when EE is used by literally thousands of Disney resort guests, I don't think one can reasonably classify that as a "slow" day.

Similarly, one might think that the EE days for each park are probably the busiest, so the Epcot "slow" and "busy" days below are also probably not correct.

Finally, Tuesday is also an EE day for the Studios, so again, during summer it's probably busier than average.

I'll close this post by bowing and scraping the floor with my hat. Cleo, you are both a handsome and powerful mod.


Len

 

[disneysteve]

One other thing to consider is the weather. We find that MK is the best park on rainy days. There are many attractions and they are densely packed into the park. You can do all of Fantasyland and hardly get a drop on you when its raining. EPCOT, on the other had, has large pavillions widely spaced and you can get pretty soaked walking between them, or walking from FW to WS. As for heat, for some reason AK seems to be particularly bad when its really hot. I guess its because there is more open space and fewer buildings to cool off in.

Steve

 

[Local_Girl]

Len,

I have a question...How much do things like MVMCP or the fact that Spectromagic may happen only on Wed. and Sat. weigh in on daily park crowds at the MK in Dec.? And what about the holiday season (Christmas)? As an "off-siter", we avoid EE days anyway, but do these events tend to affect the size of the crowds during the day?

Thanks for any info...

 

[lentesta]

Hi Local_Girl,

MVMCP does certainly increase attendance at the MK. I've not attended one, but other DIS folks have noted that it's wall-to-wall people during the event. I'd imagine that many folks simply make a day of the MK when they're doing MVMCP, and that may boost crowds a little during days when these kinds of events are held. So, in short, yes, events probably do affect crowds.

I'm not sure whether Spectro does, however, for a couple of reasons: (1) not many people visit the MK just because of Spectro, and (2) Spectro is at night, so at least some folks will visit another park during the day and stop by the MK at night.

Hope this helps!

Len

 

[Local_Girl]

Thanks for your insights, Len!

Toothfairy,

Here's what I would do and why:

Friday: MK (your 1st day there; it's the day after EE; avoids usually super crowded Sat. and Mondays which are often crowded because it's the first day of many folks' vacations; and avoids EE on Sun.)

Saturday: AK (day after EE; MK is usually packed Saturdays; it's MGM's EE day) **if you have a park hopper, you could go to another park in the evening--maybe EPCOT, since it's too big to cover in one day

Sunday: MGM (day after EE; leaves Monday, the first vacation day for many, free to do Epcot, which is a large park and can handle a bigger crowd)

Monday: EPCOT (for some of the reasons above! )

Perhaps my reasoning is flawed, but this is what I'd do! This plan assumes a couple of things that you didn't mention in your post...that you have a park hopper pass and that you would not be planning on EE mornings (I always avoid them cuz we stay offsite!). If you want to do EE mornings...you'll need another plan!! Good Luck!!

 

[toothfairy]

I want to thank all of you for the GREAT info you have provided!! I have taken good notes and this info will certainly help to plan out our trip!
I just love this board and I can't believe how much info I have gleaned from it. My DH is so amazed at the great tips I have obtained!
Thanks again to all of you!


Toothfairy

 

[lentesta]

If I was staying off-site I'd probably go with Local_Girl's recommendation of the "day after" rule. There may be instances where it's not completely optimal, but it is easy to remember.

And from now on, can we refer to this as the "Day After" rule?

Len

 

[Local_Girl]

The "Day After Rule" it is!

Actually, if Toothfairy were planning to be there on Tues, Wed, and Thurs my recommendations would probably have been totally different. And of course, these are only my own opinions based on some of the great, valuable info found here on the DIS and thanks to research done by folks like you, Len! No doubt "rules" like these often go straight out the window when you factor in special events and bad weather...oh well, we can plan as best we can and then vow to have a great time regardless!

 

[sarahandhannahsmom]

The only other thing i would take into consideration is kids. the unofficial guide (thanks len testa) taught me that if you have small children with you, there is also a park order to consider:

For example, if you take little kids to the MK first, they will not enjoy the other parks as much, because they will be expecting the same type of park. I think we all agree that there's nothing like MK for kids (for me too, really).

The book suggests that families with small kids should tour in this order:

Epcot, AK, MGM, then MK.

May not be possible with EE and your given touring days. With our schedule in September (and the help of the brilliant Len Testa ), I was able to accomplish both the right park order with the least crowded days.

Hope this helps.

 

[eeyore0062]

These are the days we like to go to each park:
MK: Friday
Epcot: Saturday
AK: Sunday
MGM: Wednesday (the day after an Early entry day is usually very good!)