Change itinerary due to this Crowd Forecast?

JChoma

JChoma

Active Member
http://www.easywdw.com/easy/calendars/april-2016-walt-disney-world-crowd-calendar/

Our first day at WDW is Monday, 4/18. Was planning to hit MK the first day
and DS day 2, but the above crowd calendar estimates MK on Monday to be fairly crowded.

I LOVE the idea of MK on our first day just since it's the most exciting/ most anticipated (and this is the kids' first Disney trip!!), but am debating switching day one to DS and day 2 to MK based on crowds. What are your thoughts? Do you think this crowd level warrants changing up our plan?
 
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sxeensweet

sxeensweet

Love a little Disney every day!! ;)
I never change my itinerary for a crowd calendar and have never even looked at a crowd calendar in all the years we have been going to WDW. If the above works best for you keep it. We have been to MK on many Monday's! We never have issues or enjoy anything any less by not using one. That just my opinion and experience. Some people use them religiously but not me and the hubby. :)
 
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Weather_Lady

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
I look at park-specific crowd calendars solely so I can have a rough idea of what to expect. I don't set or adjust my itineraries based on them.

As all the good touring plan/wait time websites will tell you, having a good touring plan, making intelligent use of Fastpasses, and being willing to either arrive early at a park or stay late at one, will make exponentially more difference in your touring efficiency than any crowd calendar.

So to the OP, I'd say, go ahead and structure your itinerary based on your own preferences (we, too, always begin with MK, regardless of crowd levels), and don't worry overmuch about day-to-day fluctuations at the different parks, unless you find that there are days that you really don't care which park you visit, in which case considering park-specific crowd level estimates might save you a few minutes here and there...

The only times there's a huge difference in park crowds -- one large enough that you might consider taking it into account in your planning -- is on days when there is a hard-ticket event (Halloween or Christmas party) that closes the MK early, in which case crowds in that park take a substantial dive because guests who don't have parkhoppers don't want to waste a full-day ticket on a park that's closing early (and, by virtue of that, the non-party days in between see larger-than-usual crowds at the MK). If you are visiting during a hard-ticket event at the MK (and especially if you have parkhopper tickets), you might consider visiting the MK at rope drop on a party day, to take advantage of the dramatically-lower crowds. But even if you don't, you'll still be fine... :)
 
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SAV

SAV

Well-Known Member
The flip side of doing MK first is that you set the expectations for the other parks too high for the kiddos. The other parks won't stand up to the comparisons.

I always use the crowd calendars as a guide and it has worked well for me. I always listen and avoid MK on a Monday.
 
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Timsierramist

Timsierramist

Active Member
When I did my first Walt Disney World Trip, I toured each park in the order I thought I would enjoy them from least to best: AK, HS, EP then MK (turns out, I was correct too).

The flipside is I got in early evening on day 1 and Rafiki dropped by my room, nodded, put his hands on my shoulder and simply stated: "It is Time!".

I agreed, so I visited the MK in the evening for day 1.
 
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DarthVader

DarthVader

Sith Lord
I avoid MK on Mondays because all the new people who just arrived to WDW, rush to MK the first chance they get.

With that said, if you have your reservations/FP+ setup for MK on monday, I'd not look to change anything,

I'll be in WDW that week as well, and since its school vacation, there's nothing you can do about the crowds, No matter what day you pick that week, its going to be very busy.
 
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jaklgreen

jaklgreen

Well-Known Member
I agree that you should do another park, maybe Epcot first. Magic Kingdom is tough to compare to, especially for kids. Although we all love Epcot, the kids still would rather go to MK more. We also avoid parks that have morning extra magic hours since they tend to be busier the rest of the day. Plus you will get more done at MK on less busy days.
 
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MickeyMomV

MickeyMomV

Well-Known Member
Also keep in mind you have Runners in the parks for the Run Disney Dark Side weekend. As this is the first time for this event the crowd calendars will probably not reflect the additional traffic. Even though a good number of people will leave on the Sunday/Monday, there a lot of people that will hang around for a few days.

As I have stated before crowd calendars are overrated and often inaccurate. We go in expecting it to be really busy and anything less is a bonus.
 
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Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
MickeyMomV said:
As I have stated before crowd calendars are overrated and often inaccurate. We go in expecting it to be really busy and anything less is a bonus.
Click to expand...
EXACTLY. In the past 18 months I have visited WDW in January, February, April, June, July, August, September, November and December. The parks were always busy. 2015 was a record-setter for attendance. MK is always the busiest park; plan your vacation the way you want and ignore predictions.
 
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Weather_Lady

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
SAV said:
The flip side of doing MK first is that you set the expectations for the other parks too high for the kiddos. The other parks won't stand up to the comparisons.

I always use the crowd calendars as a guide and it has worked well for me. I always listen and avoid MK on a Monday.
Click to expand...

This point is well taken. The first time we took the kids, we started with a half-day at MK, and then visited the other three parks before getting back to MK. The kids enjoyed the other parks, but kept begging to return to the MK. Particularly with Epcot and HS in their current state (with several attractions shuttered), the other parks can feel like a letdown if you've been to MK first...
 
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StarWarsGirl

StarWarsGirl

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
I don't go by the crowd predicting sites either but usually, MK is less crowded on a Tuesday that a Monday. You'll just have to decide what's more important to you: doing MK first or doing MK on a day when the crowds are lower
 
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tedsgibson

tedsgibson

New Member
Our second trip we of course were much more savvy Disney Travelers and based our park schedule around the crowd calendar. what we found was that lots of other were doing the same and we were met with crowds! We had park hopper so we were able to regroup towards the end of our trip and work in some of the things we were unable to do on the first attempt. we will be back in a few months and will not be looking at the calendars, or may do the opposite of what it indicates.
i could not believe how many people i seen on buses and in the eatery's looking at the same calendar app that i was.
 
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Princess_AmyK

Princess_AmyK

Well-Known Member
I would say play it by ear, but the new fastpass system makes it way more difficult to switch plans last second. Based on that, I really think that you know best for your family and your priorities. I used the calendar before and it did help me a bit but on my next visit I will be using it less because my families priority is going to be my niece who has never been before, and so we will have to go to MK first because she will be so excited to see the castle asap. I suggest weighing the pros and cons for your family but understanding that even if MK isn't the most suggested park, that it isn't anything some good planning can not fix. Also, look into WHY the park is or isn't suggested. If it is just because it is Monday or extra magic hours but there isn't anything else major going on, then that is easier to deal with. If there is a huge event happening or it is during an already super busy holiday time, then the calendar is a little more helpful to avoid those horrendous crowds.
 
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HouCuseChickie

HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
I wouldn't change itinerary for crowd calendar; however, I would swap days to get a full day in MK. As tempting as it is to head there on day 1...unless you're planning repeat visits to MK and still getting to the park fairly early on your travel day, I'd do DS on day 1 just so you're getting a full day in MK. I just feel like I'm wasting $ to burn a full day ticket on a travel day. I've done it, and it doesn't bother me as much on a longer trip b/c MYW prices bring the daily cost down, but on shorter trips or trips with more downtime built in...I wouldn't do it.
 
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The_Jobu

The_Jobu

Well-Known Member
JChoma said:
http://www.*******.com/easy/calendars/april-2016-walt-disney-world-crowd-calendar/

Our first day at WDW is Monday, 4/18. Was planning to hit MK the first day
and DS day 2, but the above crowd calendar estimates MK on Monday to be fairly crowded.

I LOVE the idea of MK on our first day just since it's the most exciting/ most anticipated (and this is the kids' first Disney trip!!), but am debating switching day one to DS and day 2 to MK based on crowds. What are your thoughts? Do you think this crowd level warrants changing up our plan?
Click to expand...

What is the blocked website?

I'm looking for a good crowd calendar myself for my upcoming trip. Any recommendations would be appreciated.
 
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