Early entry days

[eaptmck]

Hi- We are finally going back 5 weeks from yesterday after 3 long years away. My family will be at WDW Aug.17-22nd. My kids will be 7 turning 8 while at WDW and 5 turning 6 a week after we get back. We are staying at the Beach Club Resort (stayed at Polynesian our last 2 trips) and are trying to plan our itinerary. So I want to know from you experts which days in Aug. are early entry days at which parks. Also I have been told by some sources that we should plan to go to parks that are NOT early entry on the day that is early entry at an opposite park, because then the park we are at would not be so crowded. Can anyone give me advice on that- do the early entry parks, or do the opposite parks- which is better? (I hope this question made sense.)

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

With evening extra magic hours I think there will be some change to visiting patterns so dont know how historical records will stand up.

Theres info on this stuff on the main page.

It all depends on the party how effective Early starts are. It always works for us, but then Im a drill Sgt when it comes to getting the squad moving

 

[Master Yoda]

I have found the early hours to be quite a nice perk providing that you get to the park at least 1/2 hour before it opens. If you are not the early rising punctual type and would like to arrive at the park at you leisure avoid the early hours and use the later extended hours.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

If you have a "park hopper" option on your ticket I would the EE park first thing and then as the morning progresses re-assess your options and how busy the park is - you can always go elsewhere.
Without the hopper option I would probably steer clear of the EE park

 

[tigsmom]

We usually try to take advantage of the extra hours (both early & late). Get there before the park opens and you should be able to complete most of the park before lunch. We usually break around noon have lunch, take a swim & maybe even a nap. Then we head back to the parks for the evening and some dinner.


EMH as per allearsnet:

<table border="1" bordercolor="#cccccc" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1"> <tbody><tr><td colspan="11"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td rowspan="2" width="54">[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Week of
Aug. 14[/font]</td> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" height="21" width="29">[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]a.m.[/font]</td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" height="2" width="54">[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]N/A[/font]</td> <td colspan="2" bgcolor="#bfdfff" height="21"> [font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Epcot[/font]

</td> <td bgcolor="#bcbcde" height="2" width="59">[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Studios[/font]</td> <td bgcolor="#fbe3f3" height="2" width="54">[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Magic
Kingdom[/font]</td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" height="21" width="54">[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]N/A[/font]</td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" height="2" width="54">[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]N/A[/font]</td> <td bgcolor="#ccffff" height="2" width="59">[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Animal
Kingdom [/font]</td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" height="2" width="29">[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]p.m.[/font]</td> <td bgcolor="#bcbcde" height="2" width="54">[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Studios[/font]</td> <td colspan="2" bgcolor="#fbe3f3" height="2">[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Magic
Kingdom[/font]</td> <td bgcolor="#ccffff" height="2" width="59">[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Animal
Kingdom [/font]</td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" height="21" width="54">[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]N/A[/font]</td> <td bgcolor="#bfdfff" height="2" width="54">[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Epcot[/font]</td> <td bgcolor="#fbe3f3" height="2" width="54">[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Magic
Kingdom[/font]</td> <td colspan="2" bgcolor="#cccccc" height="2" width="84">[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]N/A[/font]</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="11"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td rowspan="2" width="54">[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Week of
Aug. 21[/font]</td> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" height="21" width="29">[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]a.m.[/font]</td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" height="2" width="54">[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]N/A[/font]</td> <td colspan="2" bgcolor="#bfdfff" height="21"> [font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Epcot[/font]

</td> <td bgcolor="#bcbcde" height="2" width="59">[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Studios[/font]</td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" height="21" width="54">[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]N/A[/font]</td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" height="21" width="54">[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]N/A[/font]</td> <td bgcolor="#fbe3f3" height="2" width="54">[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Magic
Kingdom[/font]</td> <td bgcolor="#ccffff" height="2" width="59">[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Animal
Kingdom [/font]</td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" height="2" width="29">[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]p.m.[/font]</td> <td bgcolor="#bcbcde" height="2" width="54">[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Studios[/font]</td> <td colspan="2" bgcolor="#cccccc" height="2">[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]N/A[/font]</td> <td bgcolor="#ccffff" height="2" width="59">[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Animal
Kingdom [/font]</td> <td bgcolor="#fbe3f3" height="2" width="54">[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Magic
Kingdom[/font]</td> <td bgcolor="#bfdfff" height="2" width="54">[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Epcot[/font]</td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" height="2" width="54">[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]N/A[/font]</td> <td colspan="2" bgcolor="#cccccc" height="2" width="84">[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]N/A[/font]</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="11"> </td></tr></tbody> </table>

These are always subject to change so check at the resort/park daily. Enjoy your trip. We will be at the Boardwalk Inn from Aug 21-25. :wave:

 

[eaptmck]

Thanks everyone for the help. We planned our itinerary and made our PS today thanks to all the hints here on wdwmagic.

Hey TigsMom- we'll see you there . Have you been in Aug. before- if so what was your experience like for crowds and weather?

 

[tigsmom]

Thanks everyone for the help. We planned our itinerary and made our PS today thanks to all the hints here on wdwmagic.

Hey TigsMom- we'll see you there . Have you been in Aug. before- if so what was your experience like for crowds and weather?

Very hot & humid, daily afternoon thunderstorms (a good time to rest/eat) and the crowds are big in the early part, but not so bad later

 

[ypcat]

We went the first or second week of August last year. Hot, humid and crowded. Big reason we decided to go in early May this year and January next year.