To state the obvious, yes MK will be slammed 5/23 to 8/7

[wogwog]

That is obvious but maybe even more than you veteran visitors might expect. The latest clue is from a cast member friend who says the use of their free admissions for friends and family are blocked from 5/23 to 8/7 with only two days of exceptions when they may use their pass on June 7 and 8. She tells me this seems like a longer summer blockage than she can remember. Simply tells me I don't want to be there. With the new addition at Uni, I don't want to be there. I think I will be looking for even more DCL cruises than already planned. Yes I know I suffer.

 

[jesemeca]

Hope is nice but do not get yours up to high. Avoid MK the 23rd. 24 hour madness. Avoid Studios any weekend day, Star Wars. Good luck.

We have been to Star Wars weekend before and are going again. We are also going to the 24 hour party. I know those days will be busy, just hoping the other days won't be as bad. I have been in Magic Kingdom when it was at capacity, so I have ideas on how to get away a little.

 

[wogwog]

We have been to Star Wars weekend before and are going again. We are also going to the 24 hour party. I know those days will be busy, just hoping the other days won't be as bad. I have been in Magic Kingdom when it was at capacity, so I have ideas on how to get away a little.

I admire your courage. You are a better Disney geek than me. I will be cowering on the Fantasy.

 

[brifraz]

We will be there the week leading up to the 4th of July and then a couple days afterward. Fully expecting it to be comparable to when we went Christmas to New Years a few years ago. We aren't the biggest fans of FP+, but for a trip that will have the kind of crowds we are expecting, it will likely really pay off to have FP before we arrive (already have 7DMT 2x and Anna/Elsa).

 

[Marc Gil]

Sure it's going to be crowded and hot, but I must ride SDMT!!!

 

[jesemeca]

I admire your courage. You are a better Disney geek than me. I will be cowering on the Fantasy.

It was a family decision. I explained to them that at time it would be disgustingly packed, but the want to anyway. I figured as long as you know what you are getting yourself into, its okay. Some of us are even dressing up!

 

[lunchbox1175]

I'm glad I'm blocked out in June and July. No temptation to even attempt to go in that crowd. I can't imagine that place at near capacity after seeing the crowds on a "low" day this last week. The girl at the ticket booth was boasting how low the crowds were. Um, no. LOL. I fully expect madness on 5/23.

Lol...I can tell you that there are 0 rooms available with the AP discount for the dates of 5/22 thru 5/28. I was going to move us from CB to YC and when I checked on Thursday last week there were Lagoon View rooms available, within two hours of that, there were no rooms available anywhere, not even club level.

 

[lebeau]

Also, a lot of schools are going to go extra long this year due to the number of snow days. Hoping that means that late May early June will be a little less packed.

 

[cw1982]

Also, a lot of schools are going to go extra long this year due to the number of snow days. Hoping that means that late May early June will be a little less packed.

This is what I'm hoping for too!

 

[RiceCrispyMickey]

I don't think anyone thought MK wouldn't be slammed during this time LOL... not only is it summer, but then with 7DMT, of course FL will be a zoo for much of the day starting 5/28.

Of course, there are those who have theorized that the madness above and beyond normal crowds for that time of year will probably be focused on FL, with the main crowds being at 7DMT and PFTH. I feel bad for anyone buying a one-day ticket to MK and expecting to experience both of those without a FP.

Either way, my trip is June 1-7, with our main MK day being Sunday, June 1... so for me, it'll be what it'll be! At least I'll have the evening EMH to help make up for the crowds a little.

Snap, we are also doing MK on June 1st... And it's my Birthday! I fully intend to utilise those EMH until 3am! Not sure the husbands quite as up for it as me tho

 

[cw1982]

Snap, we are also doing MK on June 1st... And it's my Birthday! I fully intend to utilise those EMH until 3am! Not sure the husbands quite as up for it as me tho

3 am? I thought it was 2 am... did something change?!? I wouldn't mind

 

[RiceCrispyMickey]

3 am? I thought it was 2 am... did something change?!? I wouldn't mind

Webbie saying 3am woohoo!!

 

[rangerbob]

What is PFTH?

 

[cw1982]

Webbie saying 3am woohoo!!
View attachment 53443

OMG!!! Now I'm a little too excited!

Of course, this also means they now think the crowds will be heavier that day than originally thought (why else would they be extending hours?) but I'll take it!

ETA: The rest of the week didn't change (yet). Odd... not sure what would warrant needing more time on that day but not the rest of the week?

 

[cw1982]

What is PFTH?

Princess Fairytale Hall. It's where Anna and Elsa do their meet and greet.

 

[Takeitforgranite]

We are going May 22-29th. The 22nd was orginally the last day of school here in my area, but there were 1.5 snow days added on. I'm hoping that will work in our favor a bit because it was pretty widespread.

We went in this time frame two years ago, and it wasn't bad at all. I guess part of it was that we expected madness from the start, and ended up pleasantly surprised. I've also been enough to know how to carefully plan to avoid the worst times to be at certain parks, like avoiding the 24 hour MK thing and then getting to HS by 8:00 AM the next morning while so many are still in bed.

 

[KCheatle]

We're going July 26th - Aug 3rd. I fully expect the crowds and heat to be a lot to deal with. But, I'm pretty optimistic about FP+ helping a lot with that now that you can get additional after you use your first 3. My favorite thing about that is that I have no control over the planning. We just get what we get. Will add an element of surprise.

And, for US, I'm upgrading to the express (or whatever it's called) ticket so that we can bypass lines. Expensive? Yes. Worth it? Absolutely worth every penny.

At the end of the day, we'll be in Disney. Pretty hard to have a bad time unless you let your own sour attitude get the best of you

 

[todd23]

We're going July 26th - Aug 3rd. I fully expect the crowds and heat to be a lot to deal with. But, I'm pretty optimistic about FP+ helping a lot with that now that you can get additional after you use your first 3. My favorite thing about that is that I have no control over the planning. We just get what we get. Will add an element of surprise.

And, for US, I'm upgrading to the express (or whatever it's called) ticket so that we can bypass lines. Expensive? Yes. Worth it? Absolutely worth every penny.

At the end of the day, we'll be in Disney. Pretty hard to have a bad time unless you let your own sour attitude get the best of you

Your dates virtually overlap with ours. My wife and I will be hitting WDW from July 25-Aug. 3, staying at Coronado Springs. We can't wait.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

3 am? I thought it was 2 am... did something change?!? I wouldn't mind

That extension of park hours isn't neccesarily a good thing! It means they are predicting the parks to be more crowded than originally planned. Not all parks will have hours extended and not all days will it happen, just the ones they predict will be the busiest.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

I'd pay money to watch the crowds online from the comfort of my home.

I like this idea! We went to WDW last year May 25-June 1... NEVER again! It was hot and crowded and I was over it after the 3rd day. We'll go in September and if we can't go then, we will go on a cruise. It's not worth it to be pushed and shoved and sweaty waiting in super long lines!

 

[cw1982]

That extension of park hours isn't neccesarily a good thing! It means they are predicting the parks to be more crowded than originally planned. Not all parks will have hours extended and not all days will it happen, just the ones they predict will be the busiest.

I understand that... in fact, I made my understanding of that clear in another post later. But either way, the later the EMH are, the less likely there will be as many families with little ones in the park at those hours, since moms and dads will eventually give up as the kids get crankier and crankier lol. So, on some level, this is still nice.

I don't think the changing of the hours for this day is just 7DMT related, though, as when I checked two hours ago they had not changed the closing time for the rest of the week, only Sunday. I do think it's interesting that they only changed the hours for this one day.

Our plan that day is to use our first three FastPasses from 3:30-6:00 (maybe moving them up as I go if I can), and then we have dinner at BoG at 7:20. We'll have plenty of time after that to enjoy the environment and find less popular things to do while the crowd thins a little.

Either way, nothing I can do but prepare to enjoy my trip regardless.