2/24/13 Update: Hollywood Studios hours extended to 9am – 8:30pm on Saturday March 2nd. Second Fantasmic added at 8:30pm.
1/26/13 Update: Crowd Calendar updated with the changes listed here.
11/11/12 Update: Animal Kingdom hours extended to 7pm every day from March 2 – 23.
9/26 Update: Recommendations for March 1st changed with Hollywood Studios switching its evening Extra Magic Hours with Epcot.
9/6/12 Update: Added daily analysis for March 17 – 31.
8/29/12 Update: Added daily analysis for March 1 – 16 and updated crowd calendar image.
This is the Free March 2013 Disney World Crowd Calendar that shows the Recommended Parks to Visit, Overall Crowd Level Estimation, Cost, Historic High/Low Temperature, Historic Chance of Precipitation, Extra Magic Hours Schedule, Fantasmic Show Times, Holidays, and Special Events.
Make sure you first read my month-by-month overview of visiting Disney World, located here. The overview will give you an idea of what to expect in terms of cost, crowds, weather, and special events on a broader scale. Once you figure out when you would like to visit, you can move on to this more detailed look.
Here’s a quick explanation of how to read the calendar and what the numbers mean. It may seem like it’s a little long, but you’ll only need to read the explanation once.
- The first line in each box is the date.
- The second line shows the cost to book a room at a Disney-owned resort. $ = Value Season, $$ = Regular Season, $$$ = Summer Season, $$$$ = Peak Season, and $$$$$ = Holiday Season. Occasionally there will be a + or – after the $$$ to show that the cost is slightly higher or lower than usual, but not by enough to raise it another $ notch.
- The third line is the average high and low temperature and the chance of precipitation. All data is based on the last 15 years. I wouldn’t read too much into the precipitation percentages for each day because just one or two additional days of rain in the last 15 years can raise the percentage substantially. I included it so you can look at the precipitation trends throughout the month(s) and take it into consideration when deciding when to book your vacation. For a broader overview of the month, read the month-by-month overview I linked to above.
- The fourth line is an estimation of the overall crowd level. A “5″ refers to average crowds. Numbers above 5 refer to a larger than average overall crowd level and numbers below 5 refer to lower than average overall crowds. A day with an overall crowd level of “1″ means that the crowds are expected to be the absolute lowest of the year and a “10″ means crowds are expected to be at their largest of the year. In other words, the overall crowd level estimation will give you an idea of how many people are in the entire Disney World complex, including the four major theme parks, water parks, Downtown Disney, golf courses, resorts, etc. Individual theme parks can have smaller or larger crowds than the overall estimation, which is where the theme park recommendations come in.
- The fifth line shows the theme parks I recommend visiting in green and the theme parks I recommend avoiding in red. There is also a | sign that splits up the recommended and not recommended Parks for the color blind or those printing in black and white (the Parks to the left of the | sign are recommended). I use the usual abbreviations for the Parks; AK is the Animal Kingdom, EP is Epcot, HS is Hollywood Studios, and MK is the Magic Kingdom. In addition to the colors, the Park on the far left is the most recommended Park to visit that day. The Park second to the left is the second most recommended and so on. For example, if the line reads AK EP | HS MK then the Animal Kingdom is the most recommended and Epcot is the second most recommended. On the other side of the | sign, Hollywood Studios is not recommended and the Magic Kingdom is expressly not recommended even more. If possible, I would strongly recommend you visit the Park that is most recommended each day. Please read below the calendar for an overview of how I’ve selected the recommended Parks and also a day-by-day explanation.
- The sixth line lists which Parks have Extra Magic Hours and at what time they start. Morning Extra Magic Hour lasts one hour and usually starts at 8am. Evening Extra Magic Hours last three hours from the start time. For example, if you see AK:8am EP:9pm, that means the Animal Kingdom has a morning Extra Magic Hour from 8am-9am and Epcot has evening Extra Magic Hours from 9pm-12am.
- The seventh line lists the Fantasmic show times at the Hollywood Studios.
- The eighth line lists the start time of Main Street Electrical Parade (MSEP:) and Wishes Fireworks at Magic Kingdom(W:). For example, if you see, MSEP: 9pm & 11pm W: 10pm, it would mean that Main Street Electrical Parade begins at 9pm and 11pm and Wishes begins at 10pm.
The Calendar is also available in an easy to view and print PDF file, Here.
Click the image to enlarge it.
Friday March 1
Animal Kingdom: 9am – 6pm (Not Recommended)
Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade: 3:45pm
Epcot: 9am – 9pm (Recommended)
Illuminations: 9pm
Hollywood Studios: 9am – 8pm (Not Recommended)
Evening Extra Magic Hours: 8pm – 10pm
Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade: 3pm
Fantasmic: 7pm and 8:30pm
Magic Kingdom: 9am – 9pm (Most Recommended)
Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade: 3pm, Main Street Electrical Parade: 7pm and 9pm, Wishes Fireworks: 8pm
Animal Kingdom is not expressly recommended, though it will not be wildly more popular than other recommended days during the week. Nonetheless, crowds will be noticeably larger, particularly in the afternoon. The problem is that we have Fantasmic scheduled every night this week at Hollywood Studios and Main Street Electrical Parade at Magic Kingdom scheduled most nights. When that happens, each show becomes less attractive, and ultimately pulls away fewer people than they would if they were scheduled less often. In other words, Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios won’t be pulling more people than other days during the week because they feature similar operating hours and evening entertainment. It’s also later in the week. Most casual vacationers on a weeklong vacation will visit the other theme parks first and save Animal Kingdom for after they have experienced Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios. When nothing “special” is going on elsewhere, many casual vacationers will default to Animal Kingdom. While Epcot’s evening Extra Magic Hours certainly helps, it won’t do much to attract the sizable off-site contingent. All in all, you can have success if you arrive prior to Park opening and head straight for Kilimanjaro Safaris and Expedition Everest. Tour efficiently in the morning and you can “beat” the crowds, but the afternoon will be busier, which means fewer FASTPASSes will be available, stage shows will fill up faster, tables at quick service locations will be in shorter supply, and it will be more difficult to move about the Park with so many more people. Try to visit another day if possible or prepare to arrive early and hit the major attractions hard in the first two hours. Remember that crowds disperse after the 3:45pm Parade because there’s no nighttime entertainment to keep people around. Revisit the major attractions after 4:45pm to find shorter waits than the afternoon.
Epcot comes recommended now that evening Extra Magic Hours have moved to Monday. With the usual of operating schedule of 9am – 9pm, nothing specific is drawing crowds toward Epcot and the nighttime crowd will be next door at Hollywood Studios. However, with no Extra Magic Hours in sight and people enjoying visiting Epcot twice over the course of their weeklong vacation, Epcot won’t be void of crowds. It’s still more important to arrive prior to Park opening and take care of Test Track, Sum of All Thrills, Mission: Space, and Soarin’ first thing in the morning.
Hollywood Studios is no longer recommended now that it hosts evening Extra Magic Hours. The morning will be an okay time to tour, but crowds will increase around 11am as more and more Disney resort guests arrive. Because of that, there’s really no reason to head in the Studios’ direction today. Plus, there are only a few attractions open during evening Extra Magic Hours and the waits for Toy Story Mania, Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, and Star Tours will likely be just as long as they were during the day, especially with only two hours worth of Extra Magic Hours. Remember, the Hollywood Hills Theater where Fantasmic is shown is located right on Hollywood Boulevard, across from Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror. There are going to be 9,000+ people, most of them Disney resort guests, funneling out of the theater to these two attractions and Toy Story Mania at 7:30pm and again at 9pm, right as Extra Magic Hours gets underway. If you’re staying for evening Extra Magic Hours, your best bet is always to save these headlining attractions for the very end of the night and visit Toy Story Mania last. You can have a moderate amount of success if you arrive early and get out by 1pm or 2pm, but it’s going to be busy from 11am through 9pm and you’re in trouble if you don’t arrive until 10:30am or later.
Magic Kingdom is the most recommended Park. Today is the best day of the week to visit and also see the Electrical Parade, which isn’t scheduled on Wednesday. We have Hollywood Studios attracting a lot of Disney resort guests and it’s late enough in the week that many people on a weeklong vacation will have already visited Magic Kingdom and they’ll be looking elsewhere. Tomorrow will also attract off-site and on-site guests alike with the longer hours of operation. To have success, arrive prior to Park opening and head straight to Fantasyland, the headlining Mountain rides, or whatever other attractions you deem most important on your itinerary. Most families with kids will want to start with Enchanted Tales with Belle, Journey of the Little Mermaid, and Ariel’s Grotto. You may want to prioritize the ultra-low-capacity attractions like Astro Orbiter and Tomorrowland Indy Speedway or popular characters that don’t offer FASTPASS. Consider taking a sizable afternoon break from 1pm to 6pm or so to rest up for dinner, some late nighttime attractions, and the evening entertainment. For Main Street Electrical Parade, consider scouting out a viewing location along the Parade route in Frontierland or Liberty Square for the 9pm Parade. These locations offer a view that is just as good as Main Street and don’t require the excessive waits. The later Parade is also substantially less crowded than the first due to all the families that leave right after Wishes.
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