Nobody said to avoid Mardi Gras.....

I did a TON of research planning my WDW trip and I was surprised after my visit. What was supposed to the 10th least busy week of the year turned out to be SHOULDER TO SHOULDER in EVERY park. Wow - it was a nightmare. And it was the week of Mardi Gras. If Disney is this busy during February I would HATE to see it in the summertime.

For the love of all that is good - AVOID Disney during the week of Mardi Gras unless you love crowds.
 
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JTT

JTT

Well-Known Member
Mardi Gras can be bad.

Mardi Gras plus the thousands of cheer leaders that were there this year made it much worse.
 
A

amyclaire1976

New Member
Original Poster
Yeah, we were always there at rope drop. So when you finish doing what you wanted to in the park in 3 hours, then what? Because you can't enjoy the park after that when it's packed even further. You can't reride anything because the wait times are so long. I'm not waiting in line for 2 hours for a ride that lasts 4 minutes. No need to stay at the park. So what's the use in going for such a short period of time, and spending so much money, if you can't enjoy it all day?
 
dkosdros

dkosdros

Active Member
After you finish your rides in your 3 hours. which to be honest usually you can get 4 to 4 1/2 before it gets really crowded this is the time to stock up on FP's for the rest of the evening, hit the shows (WDW has some of the best shows on earth, NEMO, FLK, VLM) schedule your meal reservations during the busy time of day so you are in the AC eating a nice meal out of the crowds. Then after use your FP's as they come up so you are still enjoying the rides, Do some shopping, check out the sites and sounds that are all around that most people miss since they are standing in a line somewhere. I truly believe your WDW experience is all based on how well you plan and how flexible you can be. But I have been during really busy and not so busy times and honestly with our planning, being there at rope drop, our FP management, and being flexible to hop in a short line real quick for a ride we didn't plan to hit until later because it happens to be low, and so on led to both very great trips and we couldn't tell if one was busier than the other because our system just works no matter what.
 
dannyboyindc

dannyboyindc

Well-Known Member
coachwnh said:
Was there as well that time. Arrived Feb 8 and left the 17th. We have gone several times at Thanksgiving and Christmas (was there for both this year) and have done the 4th of July as well as Presidnest week and I have to say this is the worst I have seen the crowds. We waited over 25 minutes with FPs late afternoon in AK for the safari. the FP line was out of the queue and they had ropes set up for the overflow. Crazy. I expected to see 3 plus hour waits at Christmas, but not now. We used the same plan we did then. Get in early and do what you can then leave. Didnt think we were going to have to do that this time.
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This is interesting. We're planning on going 1/31/14-2/9/14 and seeing that President's Day isn't until 2/17 AND Mardi Gras not until 3/4 it'll be a good time to go. What do ya'll think?
 
coachwnh

coachwnh

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
There is no way it can be worse. That's well after MLK day and well before anything later. I believe the Marathon will be over before then as well. Really, anytime in WDW is great if you think about it. I hope you enjoy your trip!!! Have you ever been there at that time if year?
 
Britt

Britt

Well-Known Member
That sounds MISERABLE! UGH. I hate crowds and would do just about anything to avoid them!! I think I could handle them better as long as the weather is ok....was that at least decent?

Any pics of your time there? : )
 
Dads 2 Boys

Dads 2 Boys

Well-Known Member
amyclaire1976 said:
I was there Feb 10-14. Big mistake thanks to this website here:
http://yourfirstvisit.net/wp-conten...it-Walt-Disney-World-Ranked-in-Order-v1.2.jpg
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No one could have expected the crowds from the 9th on..... We were there from the 7th thru the 13th and we went to Epcot on the 8th and the crowds were so incredibly less that day than the rest of the trip. The cheerleaders arrived Saturday the 9th and the Brazilians and the New Orleans residents arrived on the 10th.....lol
 
KappleB2

KappleB2

Well-Known Member
Dads 2 Boys said:
No one could have expected the crowds from the 9th on..... We were there from the 7th thru the 13th and we went to Epcot on the 8th and the crowds were so incredibly less that day than the rest of the trip. The cheerleaders arrived Saturday the 9th and the Brazilians and the New Orleans residents arrived on the 10th.....lol
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Exactly. I was there the 7th and the 8th. Sure am glad it wasn't the 8th and the 9th! I couldn't believe the difference in people!
 
MikeTaylorSound

MikeTaylorSound

Well-Known Member
My wife and I had visited that week, just because we had very discounted plane tickets and decided to go. The cheerleaders weren't too bad, because I guess the had competitions to train for. The crowds at MK were pretty thick until dusk. DHS was packed all day, but EPCOT was fine (other than the LAND pavilion and TT) and AK was fine, too (we got there early and rode KS first-out of the stand-by line and it only took 10 minutes). We only experienced the Brazilians on the last day, riding the bus back to our hotel. They were loud and annoying, especially since we were trying to wind down. I caught a cold from one of them.
 
disneygirl76

disneygirl76

Carey Poppins - Nanny and Disney Enthusiest
amyclaire1976 said:
I did a TON of research planning my WDW trip and I was surprised after my visit. What was supposed to the 10th least busy week of the year turned out to be SHOULDER TO SHOULDER in EVERY park. Wow - it was a nightmare. And it was the week of Mardi Gras. If Disney is this busy during February I would HATE to see it in the summertime.

For the love of all that is good - AVOID Disney during the week of Mardi Gras unless you love crowds.
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So funny you mentioned that! We noticed that there were way more people then we thought they were. And they were all dressed in purple green and gold! We didn't find it too too busy though. Definitely more people then we thought but not packed and we were able to get on almost everything with less then a 15 min wait which is good considering. But I have to say, I will take the Mardi Gras crowds over the obnoxious flag toting, shirt wearing tour groups. Everyone was super friendly and nice and great to talk to. We had a great time at Epcot with some of them! Super fun times! :)
 

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