Is MK really more crowded on Mondays than Sundays?

[Kait_]

Hello
I'm planning a 14-day trip with park hopper tickets. Only our 2nd time to Disney World. I still want to plan which parks which days so I can book meals and just have a good plan framework.

I was looking for data on which parks are the worse on which days. Like, do the days when there is Extended Evening Hours make those parks more crowded? Do locals fill the place up on the weekends? Do queues really get much lower at normal meal times, so I should plan for later meals? That kinda thing. I have heard people guess at all these things, but I was hoping there was some data on it.

I came across this data
MK 2023: queue-times.com/parks/6/stats/2023
MK 2024: queue-times.com/parks/6/stats/2024
Epcot: queue-times.com/parks/5/stats/2023

If the data at this site is to be believed, then Sundays are actually the lowest crowd level days at MK. And Mondays are the worst days at either MK or Epcot. At least for 2023. If I look at MK (so far) 2024 it actually shows the middle of the week being the most crowded. Which really seems counter intuitive!

So. My question. Can queue-times be trusted? Is there a better source for Disney crowd statistics out there?

Thanks for much for any help! Me, my small children, and the rest of our party thank you!
--Kait

 

[Robber Baron]

Every time we have asked cast members what the busiest day at MK is, the answer is always Monday. The most common reason is that most travel on weekends and hit MK park first on Monday.

I have told anyone who will listen that the best time to go to MK is rope drop on Sunday.

 

[FallsChurchDad]

Hello
I'm planning a 14-day trip with park hopper tickets. Only our 2nd time to Disney World. I still want to plan which parks which days so I can book meals and just have a good plan framework.

I was looking for data on which parks are the worse on which days. Like, do the days when there is Extended Evening Hours make those parks more crowded? Do locals fill the place up on the weekends? Do queues really get much lower at normal meal times, so I should plan for later meals?

With a 14-day trip and park hopper, you should have tons of time for everything. Depending on how many park days you're planning, I would either mostly avoid rope drop or plan on alternating park days with rest/resort/slower days.

On your specific questions:

• Data and anecdotes seem to say EEH makes no difference to overall crowds at a given park. But it might alter your strategy a bit -- e.g., I assume it would make the line move more slowly if you get there for Frozen at 8:59 pm when Epcot has EEH.
• Do locals fill the place on the weekends? Yes, but as you pointed out, crowd data from the last year suggest wait times are lower on Sunday and even Saturday compared to Monday and Friday at MK and HS. Not sure if that will be the case for the rest of 2024, but you can check wait times in the app on the weekends, and it definitely seems true even during the past month. LL availability also seems a bit better on the weekends, so it's not just Disney inflating posted wait times on certain days or something. All that said, posted wait times aren't everything -- I wouldn't go to Epcot on a Saturday night, even if you see a 15-min wait for Soarin'.
• Queues may move a bit faster during typical mealtimes, but we found parades and fireworks to have a much bigger effect. We prefer to eat earlier at WDW (say, 10:55 am and 4 pm), because it's easier to find pickup mobile orders and find seating when it's less crowded. When we try to eat later, we get hungry and then need food/rest at the worst times, arriving just slightly on the late side when places are packed.

 

[Kerr84]

Sundays are the best at MK!

 

[CoasterGT24]

Other analyses of the data reach the same conclusions: https://talk.thrill-data.com/blogs/entry/44-best-worst-days-to-visit-disney-world-in-2024/

 

[Kait_]

Thanks soooo much for the replies! Even though we have tons of time, I still want to make a plan (mostly for making ADRs). I had planned on avoiding the parks on Sat and doing a half AK day on Sun (even though we have a 14-day ticket, it was a UK/Euro promotion). Now I'm going to shift that around to make Sunday a MK day

Plans are looking good! Thanks again! Woo hoo!

 

[scrappinginontario]

When are you visiting?

 

[DebbieB]

Many people travel on Sunday.

 

[Kait_]

When are you visiting?

Beginning of August 2024. We have 15 days including 3 travel days.

Kids are 5 and 8. So I'm thinking 3 MK, 3 Epcot, 2 HS*, 1-2 AK. Then 1 at the water park (it was included in our tickets) and 1 day with no park planned. I'll use that rough schedule for booking lunches (we like a sit down character lunches to get a break in the day).

(* my girls aren't so into Toy Story, Star Wars, or thrill rides. But they love characters. Hence lots of EPCOT time and less HS time.)

Since Mondays look the worse, we'll use our 2 Mondays for AK and the water park. Even though thats EPCOT extended evenings. So maybe we'll leave the kiddos with Grandma and have an EPCOT date night once or twice (the 1st one we'll probably be too jet lagged, we're coming from Switzerland and are morning people anyway haha).

Specifically, I put the MK days on Sun, Thur, and Wed. EPCOT on Tue, Sun, Thur. HS on Wed and Tue. I'm not worried about AK. We're still more than 100 days out, so no meals are booked yet.

Anyone wants to poke holes in that plan -- I'd love the feedback! But of course I don't expect it

 

[scrappinginontario]

Did you purchase specialty tickets? Possibly from another country? I’m only asking as I’m not aware of any 2024 Disney tickets that include only one WP day and Disney also does not sell tickets greater than 10 days.

In 2025 Disney has announced resort guests will be permitted to visit a WP on their arrival day but that is not included in 2024.

Regular tickets sold by Disney that include the WP option include = number of specialty visits (including WPs) to the number of days of tickets purchased. Eg 4 day ticket includes 4 visits to a WP, mini golf and a few other locations.

 

[wabbott]

Crowds this past Sunday @ MK seemed quite moderate.

 

[nursejackie]

Possibly from another country?

OP posted earlier:

we're coming from Switzerland

 

[Simba's Mom]

Sundays are the best at MK!

Wow! Did I ever get taught some things. I've always thought, for some reason, that both Saturday and Sunday were bad MK, and Tuesday was a good one. And I learned some things at other parks from this discussion. Going to make some changes on my next trip.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Thanks soooo much for the replies! Even though we have tons of time, I still want to make a plan (mostly for making ADRs). I had planned on avoiding the parks on Sat and doing a half AK day on Sun (even though we have a 14-day ticket, it was a UK/Euro promotion). Now I'm going to shift that around to make Sunday a MK day

Plans are looking good! Thanks again! Woo hoo!

We always do Magic Kindgom on Tuesdays. We avoid Saturday and Monday. Sunday mornings are great, too.

 

[Kait_]

Wow! Did I ever get taught some things. I've always thought, for some reason, that both Saturday and Sunday were bad MK, and Tuesday was a good one. And I learned some things at other parks from this discussion. Going to make some changes on my next trip.

OP here -- this makes me happy to read and know my question helped others
I'm new to the forum and haven't had the chance to answer other's questions. So at least I'm helping this way, haha

 

[Kait_]

Did you purchase specialty tickets? Possibly from another country? I’m only asking as I’m not aware of any 2024 Disney tickets that include only one WP day and Disney also does not sell tickets greater than 10 days.

In 2025 Disney has announced resort guests will be permitted to visit a WP on their arrival day but that is not included in 2024.

Regular tickets sold by Disney that include the WP option include = number of specialty visits (including WPs) to the number of days of tickets purchased. Eg 4 day ticket includes 4 visits to a WP, mini golf and a few other locations.

Yes another country. I was looking for good ticket deals and when I came across the UK Disney site the prices were so cheap I was sure it was a scam at first I was dancing for days after finding 14 day park hopper, with memory maker, water park, and golf -- all for less than the 10-day one-park-per-day tickets I had been planning on getting.

There's a tip for anyone with access to a UK or EU credit card. Check out the UK Disney offers.
disneyholidays.co.uk/walt-disney-world/tickets
I refuse to look at their hotel prices b/c I've already booked through DVC resale and don't want to see lower prices now that it's too late