2/23/12 Update: Daily analysis completed through the end of the month.
2/21/12 Update: Crowd Calendar image updated and added daily analysis for September 1st to 25th. The last week should be added tomorrow.
This is the Free September 2012 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.
Saturday September 1
Animal Kingdom: 9am – 6pm (Recommended)
Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade: 3:45pm
Epcot: 9am – 9pm (Most Recommended)
IllumiNations: 9pm
Hollywood Studios: 9am – 9pm (Not Recommended)
Morning Extra Magic Hour: 8am – 9am
Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade: 3pm
Fantasmic: 8:30pm
Magic Kingdom: 9am – 10pm (Not Recommended)
Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade: 3pm, Main Street Electrical Parade: 9pm, Wishes Fireworks: 10pm
Animal Kingdom comes recommended. We don’t have Extra Magic Hours or special events to attract Disney vacationers of any sort. Magic Kingdom will be attracting significant crowds with its long hours of operation and both nighttime spectaculars and Hollywood Studios will be popular with the morning Extra Magic Hour and Fantasmic. We also had two morning Extra Magic Hours earlier in the week and another on Monday to appeal to the sizable Disney resort contingent. To take full advantage of the low crowd level, arrive prior to Park opening and head straight to Kilimanjaro Safaris and Expedition Everest. Get those two attractions out of the way early and the only real concerns are getting to Festival of the Lion King and Finding Nemo the Musical. You would be in the best shape if you could get to the first or last show of the day as well as over to DinoLand USA before 10:30am when lines begin to build at DINOSAUR and Primeval Whirl. You may also want to prioritize the Character Greeting Trails at Camp Minnie-Mickey. Here, you’ll find Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Donald dressed up in their safari finest along with Chip, Dale, Pocahontas, and possibly other characters as well. Use FASTPASS throughout the day and you should have no trouble experiencing just about everything Animal Kingdom has to offer in just one day. Finally, keep in mind that crowds disperse shortly after the 3:45pm Parade and it’s usually a great time to return to the major attractions from 4:30pm through close.
Epcot is our best Park to visit. Last night’s evening Extra Magic Hours will have been wildly popular with Disney resort guests and they will be nowhere near Epcot today, especially in the morning. Take full advantage by arriving prior to Park opening and head straight to Soarin’, followed by Sum of All Thrills, and Mission: Space. If you’re interested in meeting Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, and Donald in their classic outfits, you may want to head straight to the Character Spot instead of Soarin’. Unlike Soarin’, which offers FASTPASS and has a much higher capacity, Character Spot does not offer FASTPASS and its capacity is basically one person per character at a time. Wait times for the Character Spot are often 40+ minutes from 10am through 7pm. Plan to head over after 7pm if you can’t get there in the early morning. It’s also an excellent day to stay for IllumiNations and enjoy the World Showcase in the afternoon. See the Touring Plans section if you’d like more touring tips.
Hollywood Studios is not recommended, thanks to the morning Extra Magic Hour that will attract Disney resort guests and the likelihood that Disney will extend the operating hours and add a second Fantasmic. At the moment, the Studios closes at the same time every night and offers one Fantasmic. As we get closer to September, it’s likely that Disney will extend the operating hours today and Monday, while keeping most other days the same. This will make the Studios even more popular with off-site guests, which will only add to the crowds. You can have success from 8am – 10am if you are Extra Magic Hours eligible, but the afternoon and evening are going to be busier than just about any day this week. Avoid it unless you can’t visit any other day or plan to arrive by 7:45am to take advantage of low crowds in the morning.
Saturdays are naturally the busiest day of the week at the Magic Kingdom. We have longer hours of operation, visiting locals, and a lot of vacationers who will be visiting the Magic Kingdom for a second time before returning home tomorrow. On top of that, Main Street Electrical Parade is only scheduled on three nights this week. Because the Parade is so popular, a lot of people will visit on a day that they can see it, like today. All of this makes me hesitant about recommending the Magic Kingdom, despite a lack of Extra Magic Hours. Yesterday and next Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday will be much better days to tour, but you can have a moderate amount of success today if you arrive prior to 9am and head straight for the headlining or Fantasyland attractions. The afternoon will be busier than any other day this week and you’ll either want to take a break and return for the Electrical Parade and Wishes or visit the less popular attractions from 2pm – 6pm. While it is possible to have a decent day here if you arrive early and tour efficiently, there are much less crowded days to visit during the week.
Sunday September 2
Animal Kingdom: 9am – 7pm (Highly Recommended)
Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade: 3:45pm
Epcot: 9am – 9pm (Recommended)
IllumiNations: 9pm
Hollywood Studios: 9am – 9pm (Most Recommended)
Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade: 3pm
Fantasmic: 8:30pm
Magic Kingdom: 9am – 10pm (Not Recommended)
Evening Extra Magic Hours: 10pm – 1am
Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade: 3pm, Main Street Electrical Parade: 9pm, Wishes Fireworks: 10pm
Animal Kingdom is recommended. We have evening Extra Magic Hours and both nighttime spectaculars at Magic Kingdom luring a ton of on-site and off-site visitors alike. Disney resort guests are more likely to visit Animal Kingdom tomorrow or Wednesday for morning Extra Magic Hour. Despite “only” having ten hours at the Animal Kingdom during the day, you should be able to do just about everything the Park has to offer if you arrive close to Park opening. Focus on riding Kilimanjaro Safaris and Expedition Everest as early as possible or FASTPASS them later in the day (or both). After getting those out of the way, move on to DinoLand USA or one of the more popular shows – either Finding Nemo the Musical or Festival of the Lion King and you’ll be set for the rest of the day. Camp Minnie-Mickey may also be a morning priority if you’d like to visit the characters. Keep in mind that crowds disperse shortly after the 3:45pm Parade and 5:45pm – 7pm will have shorter waits than the afternoon. You also have a great opportunity to Park Hop after the Park closes. You could head to Epcot for dinner and IllumiNations, Magic Kingdom for evening Extra Magic Hours, or Hollywood Studios for Fantasmic. Without Park Hopper, consider transferring to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner and a look around the resort or take a trip out to Downtown Disney or the BoardWalk for dinner and shopping.
Epcot is recommended as well. It’s a particularly excellent day to see IllumiNations and have dinner in the World Showcase because Magic Kingdom will be attracting most of the nighttime crowd. Despite the recommendation, you will still have the most success if you arrive prior to opening and head straight to Soarin, Sum of All Thrills, and Mission: Space or follow one of the touring plans. It’s more important to arrive early and take care of the headliners first thing than it is to pick the “right” day. You’ll run into lines at the headliners in Future World if you don’t arrive until 10:30am with everyone else. To stay ahead of the crowds for the longest amount of time, move up through the World Showcase beginning at 11am with the water rides in Norway and Mexico. Return to Future World after 5pm to see anything you missed, but make sure you check your Times Guide because a lot of attractions close at 7pm. Most nights, only Soarin’, Mission Space, Spaceship Earth, and Character Spot continue operating after 7pm. The 5pm to 7pm timeframe is an excellent opportunity to do Living with the Land, Journey into Imagination with Figment, Captain EO, Ellen’s Energy Adventure, Circle of Life, Sum of All Thrills, anything in Innoventions, and anything else other than the major headliners. If you’re interested in re-riding Soarin’, collect FASTPASSes earlier in the day because standby wait times will most likely continue to be 30+ minutes from 5pm – 8pm. See the two-day Epcot touring plans if you’re looking for a more compartmentalized approach.
Hollywood Studios is the most recommended Park. We’re in between yesterday’s morning Extra Magic Hour and tomorrow’s evening Extra Magic Hours, both of which will be more popular with Disney resort guests. We also have evening Extra Magic Hours, Main Street Electrical Parade, and Wishes at Magic Kingdom to draw people in that direction. Finally, Sunday is a popular travel day and few people arriving will head out to the Studios for Fantasmic this evening. Those that arrived yesterday are also unlikely to begin their first full day at Hollywood Studios. Thus, today is less crowded than the days immediately around it. Because the overall crowd level is higher now than later in the week, we will be seeing lower crowds on Thursday. However, the Studios remains your best choice today. In order to find the shortest waits, you’ll need to arrive prior to Park opening and head straight to Toy Story Mania to ride and/or collect FASTPASSes. Because of its popularity and extremely limited capacity, Toy Story Mania almost always has afternoon waits of 60 or more minutes and FASTPASSes that are routinely gone before 12pm, even when crowds are relatively low and the Studios is recommended. It’s always your top priority. The second attraction with the longest peak wait is Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, which should be ridden immediately after Toy Story Mania in the morning or with FASTPASS collected later in the morning. FASTPASSes often run out by late afternoon and wait times aren’t usually far behind Toy Story Mania. Other priorities are Tower of Terror and Star Tours, though FASTPASSes are more plentiful at both attractions and standby waits are usually lower. After you get through these four headliners, it’s just a matter of arriving in time to see the various stage shows that run on a set schedule and getting over to the Studios’ high capacity attractions. You may also have characters to visit before lines get longer. For Fantasmic, you’ll want to arrive about 60 minutes early to guarantee good seats together. If that sounds like it’s about 30 minutes too long, consider the Fantasmic Dining Package that guarantees everyone on the reservation a seat in the reserved section of the Fantasmic theater. It will still require you to arrive at least 20 minutes early, or you run the risk of Disney opening the reserved section up to the general population, but it saves the stress of having to decide when it’s time to line up and decreases the overall wait. The Fantasmic Dining Package makes the most sense on the Disney Dining Plan because it costs the same one table service credit at Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano or Hollywood & Vine and two table service credits at Hollywood Brown Derby that you would pay otherwise. Plus, it includes the appetizer, which you normally wouldn’t receive on the Disney Dining Plan. While it’s officially a recommended day, arriving prior to Park opening and hitting the headliners first thing is more important than which day you pick. Arrive at 11am, no matter the recommendation or the overall crowd level, and you’ll be looking at long lines at Toy Story Mania and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.
Magic Kingdom isn’t recommended due to the evening Extra Magic Hours that are popular with Disney resort guests and the fact that both nighttime spectaculars are offered. Main Street Electrical Parade is only scheduled three times this week and it’s incredibly popular. Because so many people want to see it, they naturally visit when it’s available. We also have a Monday holiday tomorrow and a higher overall crowd level than later in the week. This will make Magic Kingdom significantly busier than this coming Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, or Saturday. With that said, you can have success in the early morning, like you can any other day this week, by arriving prior to Park opening and heading straight for Fantasyland, the headlining Mountain rides, or whatever else you deem most important on your itinerary. That may include popular characters or attractions that have limited capacities and high afternoon wait times like Astro Orbiter and Tomorrowland Indy Speedway. You’ll most likely want to take an afternoon break from 1pm to 6pm or so when crowds and temperatures peak. Return in the evening for dinner, some nighttime attractions, and the evening entertainment. For Main Street Electrical Parade, the least crowded viewing locations are located along the Parade route in Frontierland and Liberty Square. Here, you’ll find a view that is just as good as Main Street and requires a significantly shorter wait to get front row spots. If you are staying for Extra Magic Hours, I would recommend beginning in Adventureland because most people will head to Tomorrowland and Fantasyland first. Next, move up through Frontierland and Liberty Square on your way to Tomorrowland. Save Fantasyland for last because most families will be long gone from the Park by 12am and Fantasyland will be low on crowds. It’s not uncommon for Peter Pan’s Flight to have a 60 minute wait in the afternoon and a ten minute or less wait at the end of evening Extra Magic Hours. Save Dumbo, Peter Pan, and Winnie the Pooh for the very end of the night. Stay through 1am because crowds will only get lower as it gets later in the evening.
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