Disney during Independence Day

[BuddyThomas]

Don't do it. It will be as hot as the surface of the sun and all you will do is wait on lines.We tried this when I was a little kid, before Disney got as crowded as it is now, and it was still insane. My mother thought it would be a fun idea to take us to Disney World for the Fourth of July, so we drove all the way up from Miami. She paid admission for 4, and it was so crowded that we could not get on a single ride. She was a cashier at Publix at the time, so had saved for this. She cried all the way home.

 

[Seanual757]

Don't do it. It will be as hot as the surface of the sun and all you will do is wait on lines.We tried this when I was a little kid, before Disney got as crowded as it is now, and it was still insane. My mother thought it would be a fun idea to take us to Disney World for the Fourth of July, so we drove all the way up from Miami. She paid admission for 4, and it was so crowded that we could not get on a single ride. She was a cashier at Publix at the time, so had saved for this. She cried all the way home.

Geez you make it sound like it's hell, if you plan accordingly July 4th Weekend is a blast at the mouse house. We have been doing it for years and as long as you understand that it will be busy you can still enjoy the parks, resorts, and the July 4th holiday. Last year was surprisingly not as busy as the year before.

A few things that will make your July 4th celebration a magical one.

1. Plan ahead (don’t’ go and wing it and expect to get a dining reservation or fast passes)
   
2. Plan your fast passes for the morning for the MK
   
3. Allow an additional 60-90 minutes to get to the parks due to surface traffic.
   
4. Know it will be hot and humid, and this is Florida it can downpour at 4:15pm and be over a 4:17pm.
   
5. July 4th Celebration Fireworks happen on July 3rd and 4th
   
6. Make a dining reservation @ Poly, or GF to view the fireworks.
   
7. Tiered closings of parks will happen from time to time, if you are a DVC member, APH, or staying at the resorts. A total of 4 tiers of closings and the Tier 4 closing will be closed to ALL arriving guests. If you are staying at the WDW resort, APH, or DVC member you get to Tier 3 closing.

As I stated before we have been attending July 4th Celebrations for years at Disney. We arrived 2 days before and depart the day after. We always plan our 3 FP’s for the MK in the morning on the 3rd and 4th. Any dining reservations for the MK we make sure we allow up to 90 minutes to arrive before the start time due to the extremely busy surface traffic.

We normally try to relax and enjoy the resorts so we spend allot of time at the pool and enjoy the July 4th activities.

This year we are staying at AKL (DVC) we will have our fast passes planned in advance, we already have ADR for Cinderella’s Royal Table for 7/4 in the morning we will do our 3 fast passes then head back to the hotel and relax. We will head over to Bay Lake Tower Top of the World Lounge and watch the July 3rd Fireworks celebration.

 

[BuddyThomas]

Geez you make it sound like it's hell, if you plan accordingly July 4th Weekend is a blast at the mouse house. We have been doing it for years and as long as you understand that it will be busy you can still enjoy the parks, resorts, and the July 4th holiday. Last year was surprisingly not as busy as the year before.

A few things that will make your July 4th celebration a magical one.

1. Plan ahead (don’t’ go and wing it and expect to get a dining reservation or fast passes)
   
2. Plan your fast passes for the morning for the MK
   
3. Allow an additional 60-90 minutes to get to the parks due to surface traffic.
   
4. Know it will be hot and humid, and this is Florida it can downpour at 4:15pm and be over a 4:17pm.
   
5. July 4th Celebration Fireworks happen on July 3rd and 4th
   
6. Make a dining reservation @ Poly, or GF to view the fireworks.
   
7. Tiered closings of parks will happen from time to time, if you are a DVC member, APH, or staying at the resorts. A total of 4 tiers of closings and the Tier 4 closing will be closed to ALL arriving guests. If you are staying at the WDW resort, APH, or DVC member you get to Tier 3 closing.

As I stated before we have been attending July 4th Celebrations for years at Disney. We arrived 2 days before and depart the day after. We always plan our 3 FP’s for the MK in the morning on the 3rd and 4th. Any dining reservations for the MK we make sure we allow up to 90 minutes to arrive before the start time due to the extremely busy surface traffic.

We normally try to relax and enjoy the resorts so we spend allot of time at the pool and enjoy the July 4th activities.

This year we are staying at AKL (DVC) we will have our fast passes planned in advance, we already have ADR for Cinderella’s Royal Table for 7/4 in the morning we will do our 3 fast passes then head back to the hotel and relax. We will head over to Bay Lake Tower Top of the World Lounge and watch the July 3rd Fireworks celebration.

Yeah but you're an expert. You go every year, you know all the cool kid abbreviations, the tricks, etc. That's not the situation with the general public for whom that weekend would, in fact, be a living hell.

 

[Seanual757]

Yeah but you're an expert. You go every year, you know all the cool kid abbreviations, the tricks, etc. That's not the situation with the general public for whom that weekend would, in fact, be a living hell.

Love the sarcasm but back to the topic on hand, I would figure the majority of the folks coming on this board have a decent knowledge of WDW so I was just giving my overall opinion over the past 4 (this will be 5) years staying on July 4th Holiday weekend. Some tips from those of us on here can help those who do go have a magical stay at WDW.

 

[DryerLintFan]

Geez you make it sound like it's hell, if you plan accordingly July 4th Weekend is a blast at the mouse house. We have been doing it for years and as long as you understand that it will be busy you can still enjoy the parks, resorts, and the July 4th holiday. Last year was surprisingly not as busy as the year before.

A few things that will make your July 4th celebration a magical one.

1. Plan ahead (don’t’ go and wing it and expect to get a dining reservation or fast passes)
   
2. Plan your fast passes for the morning for the MK
   
3. Allow an additional 60-90 minutes to get to the parks due to surface traffic.
   
4. Know it will be hot and humid, and this is Florida it can downpour at 4:15pm and be over a 4:17pm.
   
5. July 4th Celebration Fireworks happen on July 3rd and 4th
   
6. Make a dining reservation @ Poly, or GF to view the fireworks.
   
7. Tiered closings of parks will happen from time to time, if you are a DVC member, APH, or staying at the resorts. A total of 4 tiers of closings and the Tier 4 closing will be closed to ALL arriving guests. If you are staying at the WDW resort, APH, or DVC member you get to Tier 3 closing.

As I stated before we have been attending July 4th Celebrations for years at Disney. We arrived 2 days before and depart the day after. We always plan our 3 FP’s for the MK in the morning on the 3rd and 4th. Any dining reservations for the MK we make sure we allow up to 90 minutes to arrive before the start time due to the extremely busy surface traffic.

We normally try to relax and enjoy the resorts so we spend allot of time at the pool and enjoy the July 4th activities.

This year we are staying at AKL (DVC) we will have our fast passes planned in advance, we already have ADR for Cinderella’s Royal Table for 7/4 in the morning we will do our 3 fast passes then head back to the hotel and relax. We will head over to Bay Lake Tower Top of the World Lounge and watch the July 3rd Fireworks celebration.

Fast passes for MK in the morning because the evenings are super crowded with folks coming in to watch the fireworks or is this your general advice for all super crowded days? I only ask because we're going on a super crowded week that doesn't have fireworks.

 

[Seanual757]

Fast passes for MK in the morning because the evenings are super crowded with folks coming in to watch the fireworks or is this your general advice for all super crowded days? I only ask because we're going on a super crowded week that doesn't have fireworks.

This is for the July 4th Holiday for the MK guests will start to stake out spots for the Fireworks the second the park opens, and as the day goes on the crowds get larger and larger, so go 1st thing in the morning when it's calmer (still busy) but good enough you can enjoy your time. We never have an issue any other day we visit since we are local we visit almost every Friday evening 7-12, and 1-2 Saturdays a month and at night we have no issues walking onto rides except for the usual (7DMT, Peter Pan, Space Mountain) those will always average 90+ minutes.