3/27/13 Update: Crowd Calendar updated with the changes listed in this post. Disney canceled evening Extra Magic Hours at Magic Kingdom on Fridays throughout the month, which swapped some of the recommendations on Fridays and Saturdays.
This is the Free July 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.
Monday July 1
Animal Kingdom: 9am – 8pm (Not Recommended)
Morning Extra Magic Hour: 8am – 9am
Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade: 3:45pm
Epcot: 9am – 9pm (Most Recommended)
Illuminations: 9pm
Hollywood Studios: 9am – 10pm (Not Recommended)
Evening Extra Magic Hours: 10pm – 12am
Fantasmic: 9pm and 10:30pm
Magic Kingdom: 9am – 11pm (Not Recommended)
Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade: 3pm, Main Street Electrical Parade: 9pm and 11pm, Wishes Fireworks: 10pm
Animal Kingdom will be moderately more popular than recommended days due to the morning Extra Magic Hour that will attract a decent number of Disney resort guests. Mondays at the Animal Kingdom aren’t wildly popular because of the fact that morning Extra Magic Hours aren’t as popular as evening Extra Magic Hours and because it’s early in the week and many people who travel over the weekend will be heading to the Magic Kingdom regardless of the Extra Magic Hours schedule. While the morning Extra Magic Hour is an excellent time to tour, it’s difficult to get out to the Animal Kingdom by 7:45am to take full advantage of it. If you’re staying at a Monorail Deluxe Resort, you’re looking at a 20+ minute drive to the Animal Kingdom, plus time for the bus to arrive – not to mention getting multiple people up and ready early in the morning with just one shower and limited space. At 6:30am. Or earlier. If you’re absolutely certain that you’ll arrive by 7:45am, then you can have a lot of success because the crowd level won’t be that high, but it will be busier in the afternoon than other recommended days this week due to a higher number of Disney resort guests than usual. You’re much better served holding off until Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday if you’re not going to arrive until 9am or later.
Epcot is the only expressly recommended Park. We don’t have Extra Magic Hours, special evening entertainment, or anything else that will draw people toward Epcot specifically. Disney resort guests will be more likely to visit tomorrow or Friday for Extra Magic Hours and off-site visitors will be headed to the Magic Kingdom because they naturally prefer to visit it on their first full day of a weeklong vacation. To have the most success, arrive prior to Park opening and head to Test Track, Sum of All Thrills, Mission: Space, and Soarin’ or follow one of the compartmentalized two-day touring plans. To stay ahead of the crowds for as long as possible, move up to the World Showcase beginning at 11am with the water rides in Mexico and Norway. If you have more to accomplish in Future World, return after 5pm to visit any non-headlining attractions. If you’d like to ride Soarin’ or Test Track again in the afternoon or evening, plan to rely on FASTPASS. Check your Times Guide to see which Future World attractions remain open past 7pm. Journey into Imagination with Figment, Captain EO, Ellen’s Energy Adventure, Living with the Land, Circle of Life, and both Innoventions buildings ordinarily close at 7pm. Finally, it’s also an excellent day to stay for dinner and IllumiNations.
Hollywood Studios will be busy due to the evening Extra Magic Hours that are popular with Disney resort guests and the addition of Fantasmic. The morning will be an okay time to tour, but crowds will increase around 11am as more and more Disney resort guests arrive. Tomorrow, Wednesday, or Friday would be significantly less crowded overall. Unfortunately, I’m not too fond of evening Extra Magic Hours at Hollywood Studios. There are only a few attractions open 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 the evening Extra Magic Hours only being two hours in 2013. In addition, 9,000+ people will exit Fantasmic at 9:30pm and again at 11pm, right as evening Extra Magic Hours gets underway. The Fantasmic Theater is located right on Sunset Boulevard, across from the entrances to Tower of Terror and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. While not everyone seeing Fantasmic will be a Disney resort guest, many of them will be, and a ton will be headed to Tower of Tower and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster because they truly believe it’s the best time to get in line. Unfortunately, they’ll find themselves lined up with a few thousand of their new best friends. 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. While you could theoretically have success if you arrive prior to Park opening and head straight for the headliners, the same will be true later in the week and you won’t have to deal with the significantly heavier afternoon and evening crowds. Avoid it unless you’re planning to visit from 9am – 1pm or can’t visit any other day.
It’s going to be a busy day at Magic Kingdom even without Extra Magic Hours to lure Disney resort guests. First, a lot of people are arriving for a weeklong vacation. They travel over the weekend and naturally head to the Magic Kingdom on Monday for their first full day. In past years, Disney had scheduled a second morning Extra Magic Hour on Tuesdays to help pull Disney resort guests away from Monday. Since they didn’t do that this year, we can expect today to be busier than tomorrow or Friday. Note that with the July 4th holiday, that today would be less crowded than the 3rd of 4th. If you are headed to Magic Kingdom despite the warning, you can still have a successful and fun day if you arrive prior to Park opening and head straight to Fantasyland, the headlining Mountain rides, or whatever you feel is most important on your itinerary. You may want to take an afternoon break from 1pm to 6pm or so to rest up for the nighttime spectaculars. Still, you’re much better off waiting until Tuesday or Friday to visit because Magic Kingdom will be less crowded.
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