Who's version of most and least crowded days do you trust?

[mill4023]

Now that May park hours and EMH times are out, I'm trying to decide which days to do which parks. Our first full day will be Friday, April 29 and our last full day will be Friday, May 6.
I'm planning on going to MK two days. Tuesday for sure, but I don't know what other day to go.
Many of the guidebooks, websites, and personal opinions seem to conflict with each other.

Friday is an EMH day plus it's grad night.
Saturday is a grad night and it's supposed to be the busiest day of the week according to everyone except the Unofficial Guide.
Sunday is a busy day according to some people and a good day according to others.
Monday pretty much everyone agrees is really busy.
Tuesday we are going to MK.
Wednesday is an EMH day.
Thursday might be a good bet except it's the first day of the celebration.
Friday is a grad night again and an EMH day.

So right now, I guess I'm leaning towards Wednesday despite it being an EMH day. I'm wondering if it will be less busy than Thursday.

Any other opinions on which other day out of that week would be good to go to MK?

In general, who do you trust to help decide which days to go?
The methodology of the UG seems pretty good. But I can't get over the conflict about Saturdays. Virtually everyone I've heard from says Saturdays are very very crowded. I've heard Len argue the UG's opinion that Saturday is less busy and frankly, I don't buy it. All he has talked about is statistics about what days people travel. It seems to me like they are completely failing to consider the effect local visitors have on the crowds. To me, just the fact that they don't seem willing to accept overwhelming opinions from people who have gone on saturdays, makes me nervous about trusting their "best days" guide.

 

[Wishing on a star]

We will be there at exactly the same time!!

If you have seen any other posts of mine, you will know that I have decided for sure to visit MK on Tuesday and Wednesday... May3rd and 4th.

Tuesday, by ALL accounts, is a least busy day
Wednesday is he usual EMH, if you are offsite, you wouldn't want that, but heck, you can't avoid EVERY possibility of crowds at WDW.
I have decided to AVOID May5th at MK!!!!! Not only is the big kick-off on that day, This is also Spectro, and to top all of that off, EPCOT is closed that day. There will be complete HOARDS of people there at MK on Thursday May5th.

I have heard one peson speculate that they will move the usual Wed. EMH for MK to Thursday, to coincide with the celebration, Spectro, etc... I can only HOPE!!! That would leave Tuesday and Wednesday completely clear for me to spend a perfectly Magical visit to MK with my DS and DH (who have never been!) .

PS: your comments about Saturdays and the more localized (DRIVING DISTANCE) crowds. This time of year I think would bring in huge crowds of local FL and Southerners... Everyone is anxious to get a start on Summer Fun and vacations... Locals KNOW that you just don't go in the oppressive heat and crowds of the Summer.

 

[mill4023]

Yep, I think you responded to my post a few days ago about which parks to visit on which days. I thought I'd make this one a little more focused since MK will probably be the highlight of our trip and it's the one I'm most concerned about enjoying.

That would be great if they moved the EMH to Thurs. But either way, I think I'm going to plan on Tues and Wed at MK. I've got a place booked off-site for the whole trip, but I think I've convinced myself that it's worth the money to stay at POR for at least the second half of the trip. I'm thinking I may do off-site for the first Thur, Fri, Sat, Sun nights, then stay at POR from Monday, 5/2 until we head home on Sat, 5/7. If I end up doing that, I may try taking advantage of the Wed evening EMH.

 

[colleen costello]

Why is Epcot closed?

 

[mill4023]

I don't think Epcot is closed that day.
I think it just closes early. I think I saw 3pm as the closing time on May 5th.

 

[Mama Twinkles]

Mill, I share your confusion. The UG recommends MK on many Mondays despite so many subjective impressions that Mondays are crowded there. Now, I do understand their reasoning, which is that Epcot's a.m. EMH should draw people away from MK, but neither that nor their thoughtful algorithms should take the place of simple observation of crowds. Maybe they derive their algorithms from observation rather than conjecture, so maybe they are right; I wish we knew. Would love to hear about any recent observations of MK on Mondays relative to crowds there on other days.

 

[Crazy Kanga]

I don't think Epcot is closed that day.
I think it just closes early. I think I saw 3pm as the closing time on May 5th.

Last year at the Mission Space grand opening Epcot closed at 3 also, and MK was a MOB!!!!!!

 

[EEyorelover22]

I thought Monday would be a good day for MK since EPCOT opens early that day?

 

[Mama Twinkles]

I thought Monday would be a good day for MK since EPCOT opens early that day?

That's definitely the reasoning, Eeyorelover, but I do wonder whether folks have observed Mondays actually to be good MK days under the new EMH schedule.

 

[puggymom]

I have found that going to the park the day before EMH, is best. For example if Wednesday was EMH at Epcot, I go to Epcot on Tuesday. Seems to work like a charm.

 

[EEyorelover22]

I have found that going to the park the day before EMH, is best. For example if Wednesday was EMH at Epcot, I go to Epcot on Tuesday. Seems to work like a charm.

Were you there recently? I just wondered if you were there during a busy time for WDW or an off time (if there is such a thing at WDW!!)? We'll be there in June which is a rather busy time.

 

[ms.ojo]

Tuesday at MK sounds like your best bet. Wed might not be bad but I wouldn't discount going on Sunday to MK either. It's MGM's late night so that will take a lot of people away, and it is a travel day for many. Just a thought if you want to spread your days at MK apart a bit.

My vaca'n is just before you 4/26-5/3. I am SOOOO bummed there is no Spectro during my stay! First time that has EVER happened. I thought for sure w/ Grad nights they would offer it on Mon or Thurs. No such luck...yet. i'm keeping my fingers crossed it might be added.

 

[jlaspoq]

When you look at the UG, you have to remember that they are trying to make sure that each park is represented each week.... the algorithm is a fairly long one. So during busy weeks, the "best" park to go to on any given day might still be crowded. They won't just say to avoid MK every single day of a given week. I think you really have to take all the available info and make your own educated choice. I've second guessed my choices, but at some point, you just have to go with it! Have fun no matter when you go!

 

[EEyorelover22]

I was trying to remember how I decided what park to go to last June and I pulled up our old schedule. I went to the park that had EMH and we still saw all that we wanted to see. I never used "avoid this park" when I planned our days. I am trying to avoid them this year because there are non-park hopper tickets, but I could still hop to another park. I also thought that perhaps it would seem more like a vacation if we weren't up and out for the bus at 7am!!

 

[goofy4tink]

After 7 trips to WDW, the only thing I keep in mind when figuring out which park on what day is this...Stay out of MK after lunch on Saturdays. Even my dd, 11, has gotten that one down. I don't care who says what, but MK is a zoo on Sat afternoon into the evening. I haven't found that the other parks are as impacted. We do MK on EMH mornings and then leave by lunchtime. That has worked very well for us, even at Thanksgiving time.

We will be there in mid-June this year and the no MK on Sat is the only thing I'm really paying attention to. If you don't do MK after 5/5, will you be missing out on anything that is planned for just the big celebration? I would try to get to MK early on Friday morning if that is the case and then leave at noon.

Try not to overplan or get too stuck on which park is going to be too crowded. They will all be crowded. Just get to the park that is most important to you early in the day. Then hop to another later on. The practice of doing the park that is EMH in the morning the day before is a good one. AS is doing the park that has EMH in the evening the next day.

 

[puggymom]

Were you there recently? I just wondered if you were there during a busy time for WDW or an off time (if there is such a thing at WDW!!)? We'll be there in June which is a rather busy time.

My lsat visit was almost a year ago, two weeks before Easter, so it was spring break season.

 

[colleen costello]

I agree with Goofy4Tink. Anymore, "crowded" is the norm and a lot seems to depend on luck. There have been recent posts claiming the crowds at MK extra hours were low, others (from the same week) saying "insane." Maybe the World is so busy nowadays you just have to go and HOPE?

My family sleeps in. I have got to work on them. We'd see so much if I could get them up early. "Get there early" and "No MK Saturday afternoons" seem to be the main truths nowadays!

 

[mill4023]

I think I've decided to get the hopper tickets. That way we'll have the flexibility to just switch parks if one gets too crowded.

 

[caitycaity]

the nly rules we ever follow are - don't go to the park with emh and don't go to mk on saturday. we've never had a problem, but we are roll with the punches kind of people.

 

[lentesta]

The UG recommends MK on many Mondays despite so many subjective impressions that Mondays are crowded there. Now, I do understand their reasoning, which is that Epcot's a.m. EMH should draw people away from MK, but neither that nor their thoughtful algorithms should take the place of simple observation of crowds.

The Unofficial Guide does measure crowd levels (through wait times, which we collect every thirty minutes at each attraction). And we do this for a full week at a time, several times per year, so we're able to compare variations on a day-by-day basis. We couple this with guest surveys and outside research.

Hope this helps.

Len