284 responses

  1. Marina
    May 16, 2024

    Hi Dave,
    We are just got our military salute tickets and will be going the week of July 15th. We arrive the 16th, and were thinking of doing Animal Kingdom Wed, Magic Kingdom Thur, Hollywood Studios Fri and rest Saturday as we will then be checking into the Animal Kingdom Resort until the 23rd. Sun is a thought to go Universal studios and Monday we’d end with Epcot. Does this sound like a reasonable idea? I was trying to use the crowd calendars and got a bit confused. Thank you.

    Reply

    • Dave
      May 23, 2024

      Hi Marina.

      Picking the best days for each park matters much less than it used to. This is because Early Entry is every park every day, rather than one morning per week per park as it was in the old days.

      The exception is during the party season, but that does not apply to your dates.

      So your itinerary looks fine!

      Reply

  2. Kevin
    February 19, 2024

    Hey Dave, family is going May 5 – 14, and would love your thoughts and which parks for those dates! Reading HOURS here on the website, I surmise, it might be as follows:
    5/5 MK
    5/6 HS – Avoid MK
    5/7 HS or MK – Avoid AK
    5/8 Epcot or HS – Avoid AK
    5/9 AK or Epcot (Pretty slow overall day)
    5/10 AK or MK – Avoid Epcot
    5/11 AK – Avoid Epcot
    5/12 MK – Avoid HS
    5/13 HS or Epcot – Avoid MK
    5/14 MK or HS – Avoid AK

    Would love to hear your thoughts!

    Reply

    • Dave
      February 22, 2024

      Hi Kevin!

      It’s a little hard for me to respond specifically, as I’m not sure what hours you are looking at, but a couple of observations:

      If your goal is to avoid crowds, then the trick is to figure out what attracts or is convenient for “average people,” and then do the opposite.

      So weekends are busiest at all the parks, and after that Monday and Friday, because they are the most convenient days for all types of visitors. Tues, Weds and Thurs tend to be the lightest days.

      However, compared to the other parks, Hollywood Studios is busy every day. This suggests seeing it on weekends. You won’t see much higher crowds there on a weekend vs a weekday, and by going there on a weekend you avoid going to another park on a weekend when you could visit it on a lower crowd day instead.

      In the past, morning Extra Magic Hours were also a big draw. Offered in the old days most commonly at each park just once a week, the EMH park would see high visitation on its EMH day, and lower the day after. However, under the new Early Entry program (https://yourfirstvisit.net/2021/08/28/disney-worlds-early-theme-park-entry-program/ ) each park opens early every single day, so we no longer see an ebb and flow in daily crowds based on this.

      Finally, people are drawn to days at a park when it has longer hours, and avoid parks on days they have shorter hours. Because they avoid parks on shorter hour days, it usually pays off to visit parks on days when they have shorter hours unless the closed is wildly early (e.g. 4p).

      Reply

  3. Kelly Widener
    April 11, 2023

    First visit!

    Reply

  4. Kelly Widener
    April 9, 2023

    Hi Dave, we are finalizing our itinerary so we can make dinner reservations and would love your thoughts. We are arriving 6/15(thursday) and departing 6/21 (wednesday) staying at a deluxe resort with 3 kids between 8-11.

    Reply

    • Dave
      April 10, 2023

      Kelly, first visit or a returning visit?

      Reply

  5. Ricardo
    November 20, 2022

    I know the weeks can change at the drop of a dime on Disney’s end and so finding an itinerary for June 17-24 is tough. Looking at your crystal ball what’s your best guess of what that week might look like? Also, do you have an itinerary sample that can be downloaded and changed on our end?

    Reply

  6. Jill
    August 3, 2022

    Hi Dave – My husband and I are planning our first ever Disney trip 3/9/23-3/16/23. Our kids will be 3, 5, 6, 8. I would love assistance planning our days, well, because I am overwhelmed and have no idea.

    3/9 would be a travel afternoon get settled.
    3/10-3/15 Park days
    3/16 travel home

    Thanks in advance. I’m terrified this is a bad idea without extra adult help.

    Think an off duty cast member wants to assist with kids on rides so less waiting to get each kid to ride, child swapping, etc?

    Reply

    • Dave
      August 7, 2022

      Hi Jill, I can certainly help with planning your days, once the dates get closer.

      Not sure what you mean by “Think an off duty cast member wants to assist with kids on rides so less waiting to get each kid to ride, child swapping, etc?” Where you think of basically hiring a helper?

      Reply

  7. Danielle
    July 11, 2022

    Do you still recommend doing the half day Epcot afternoon on a Saturday during Food and Wine? Thanks.

    Reply

    • Dave
      July 14, 2022

      Danielle, while weekends can be quite crowded during Food & Wine, ride waits are not much affected by it, so yes.

      Reply

  8. Joseph Sysling
    May 24, 2022

    My wife and daughter are planning a trip Dec. 1 2022
    Day 1 arrive
    Day 2 MK
    Day 3 Rest
    Day 4 EPCOT
    Day 5 Hollywood Studios
    Day 6 travel home

    What would be the best Itinerary for their adventure while at the park?

    Reply

    • Dave
      May 26, 2022

      Hi Joseph, I don’t right now have any one day itineraries, but let me know how old your daughter is, and I’ll help

      Reply

  9. James
    April 12, 2022

    Hi Dave, when do you expect mid-July 2022 information to be available? (park hours, emh / late hours for deluxe hotel?)

    I know F&W festival starts July 14th, and we’ll be arriving on July 15th, so I’m trying to plan around that.

    Reply

    • Dave
      April 13, 2022

      Hi James, its been about 60-70 days lately, so early to mid-May.

      Reply

  10. Lori
    January 9, 2021

    Hello Dave!
    I would love your opinion on which order to visit/avoid parks March 9-18 2021
    Thank you!
    Lori

    Reply

    • Dave
      January 11, 2021

      Hi Lori! It’s too early for me to have much guidance, but if I had to decide today, all parks except Hollywood Studios are bad over weekends and better on weekdays. HS is about the same every day. That suggest seeing it on the weekend, saving the other parks for weekdays.

      Reply

  11. Ashley
    March 2, 2020

    Hi Dave, I know it’s not quite March 6th yet, but would love to hear your initial thoughts on what parks to see on which days for our trip (9/4-9/12) as I’m working to finalize a plan for dining before our ADR date

    Reply

    • Dave
      March 3, 2020

      Hi Ashley!! The official calendar is out through 9/9:

      9/4 avoid Epcot; avoid MK unless you are EMH eligible and committed to arriving at least 30 minutes before they begin
      9/5 No great choices
      9/6 avoid HS and MK
      9/7 avoid AK
      9/8 avoid Epcot
      9/9 avoid MK

      After 9/9, a tad more provisional but 90% likely to be right:

      9/10 avoid Epcot
      9/11 avoid Epcot; avoid MK unless you are EMH eligible and committed to arriving at least 30 minutes before they begin
      9/12 No great choices

      Reply

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