February 2012 Disney World Crowd Calendar

February 23 Update: Magic Kingdom hours extended to 10pm on Sunday February 26th. Magic Kingdom close extended to 10pm on Monday February 27th with 10pm – 1am evening Extra Magic Hours. Magic Kingdom close extended to 9pm on Tuesday February 28th. Hollywood Studios close extended to 8pm on Sunday February 26th and evening Extra Magic Hours move to 8pm – 11pm. Fantasmic added at 8:30pm on Sunday February 26th in addition to 7pm show. Main Street Electrical Parade added on February 29th at 10pm and 12am.

February 10 Update: Disney added Main Street Electrical Parade on February 12th at 9pm.

February 4 Update: Main Street Electrical Parade added to February 11th at 9pm. This doesn’t affect the recommendations as Magic Kingdom was already recommended. However, you may want to brave at least the evening crowds if your vacation is wrapping up and this is your only opportunity to see the Electrical Parade.

January 18 Update: Crowd Calendar updated with the changes listed here.

January 10 Update: Updated the Crowd Calendar and analysis for the last week in February. The Extra Magic Hours schedule changed and Magic Kingdom is open for 24 hours from 6am on February 29th through 6am on March 1st. I’m still expecting a major update to the February operating schedule on or around January 20th. I’ll be updating the rest of the week moving into March shortly.

December 14 Update: I updated the operating hours with the changes listed here and updated the language where applicable. Main Street Electrical Parade is no longer scheduled any day from January 20th through February 10th.

September 28 Update: Crowd Calendar updated with extended operating hours at Animal Kingdom on select dates throughout the month. The recommendations were not affected. See this post: http://www.easywdw.com/news/changes-to-february-2012-disney-world-operating-schedule/ for specific changes.

September 8 Update: Crowd Calendar updated with more Fantasmic dates between February 13th and 29th.

July 25 Update: February Crowd Calendar updated and daily analysis completed.

This is the Free February 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 last line lists the Fantasmic show times at the Hollywood Studios.

Click the Calendar Thumbnail Below and The Image Will Expand to Fit the Screen. You May Also Click Here and the Calendar Will Open in a New Window. If it is blurry, click it again and it will expand to its full size or see the PDF file below.

The Calendar is also available in an easy to view and print PDF file, Here

Wednesday February 1

Animal Kingdom: 9am – 5pm (Not Recommended)

Morning Extra Magic Hour: 8am – 9am

Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade: 3:45pm

Epcot: 9am – 9pm (Recommended)

IllumiNations: 9pm

Hollywood Studios: 9am – 7pm (Not Recommended)

Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade: 3pm

Fantasmic: none

Magic Kingdom: 9am – 8pm (Most Recommended)

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade: 3pm, Main Street Electrical Parade: none, Wishes Fireworks: 8pm

It’s the busiest day of the week at Animal Kingdom. The morning Extra Magic Hour will attract the bulk of the Disney resort crowd and there’s no evening Extra Magic Hours or special evening entertainment going on at the other Parks, which will cause a lot of off-site guests to visit as well. Most people prefer to visit the other Parks when they’re either open longer or have special evening entertainment like Fantasmic or Main Street Electrical Parade. Although neither are available at all this week, we can still expect more people to be ready to visit Animal Kingdom than other recommended days. With both yesterday and tomorrow recommended, there’s no reason to visit today.

It’s an above-average day at Epcot. Yesterday’s morning Extra Magic Hour will have been moderately attended by Disney resort guests and they won’t be looking to return today. However, we don’t have a lot going on at the other Parks, which means a pretty good amount of off-site visitors will be headed to Epcot. I’m looking toward tomorrow as having lower crowds and shorter waits, thanks to a more popular morning Extra Magic Hour attracting people to Magic Kingdom. However, today won’t be terrible by any means. Plan to arrive as early as possible and either follow a touring plan or head straight to Soarin’, followed by Test Track, Sum of All Thrills, and Mission Space. You’ll be in good shape if you’ve moved to the World Showcase by 1pm, starting with the boat rides in Mexico and Norway.

Hollywood Studios is not expressly recommended. We don’t have Fantasmic scheduled any day this week and it’s also later in the week, which means most people on a weeklong vacation will have already had an opportunity to visit Magic Kingdom and Epcot and they’ll be looking to ride Toy Story Mania, Star Tours, Tower of Terror, and Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster today. With no evening Extra Magic Hours scheduled anywhere, no particularly long hours of operation anywhere, and no Main Street Electrical Parade at Magic Kingdom, a lot of people will default to Hollywood Studios because they prefer to visit the other Parks when they have something specific to attract them. With the low overall crowd level, you can have a lot of success at the Studios if you arrive prior to Park opening and take care of Toy Story Mania, Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, and Star Tours first thing in the morning. Get through these attractions early and you have little to worry about for the rest of the day, even when the overall crowd level is higher. Still, it’s tougher to schedule Magic Kingdom, so I would head in that direction in most scenarios and plan to visit the Studios on another recommended day.

Magic Kingdom is our best Park to visit today for the exact same reasons it was recommended yesterday. The 8pm close and lack of Main Street Electrical Parade will cause a lot of people to look elsewhere. Many Disney resort guests will wait for tomorrow’s morning Extra Magic Hour and even more people will be looking forward to Saturday’s extended operating hours. Take advantage by arriving prior to Park opening and head straight for Fantasyland (Peter Pan’s Flight, Winnie the Pooh), the headlining Mountain rides (Space Mountain, Splash Mountain), or other time sensitive attractions (Astro Orbiter, Tomorrowland Indy Speedway). You may also want to prioritize the two most popular Meet and Greets – Rapunzel and Tinker Bell. Rapunzel, in particular, sees waits that often exceed 45 minutes in the afternoon. You may want to head straight there and then use FASTPASS at Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh throughout the day. With the low overall crowd level and high recommendation, you’ll be able to accomplish a ton of attractions in a short amount of time if you make efficient use of the morning and use FASTPASS at the major attractions throughout the day.

Thursday February 2

Animal Kingdom: 9am – 5pm (Highly Recommended)

Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade: 3:45pm

Epcot: 9am – 9pm (Most Recommended)

IllumiNations: 9pm

Hollywood Studios: 9am – 7pm (Recommended)

Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade: 3pm

Fantasmic: none

Magic Kingdom: 9am – 8pm (Not Recommended)

Morning Extra Magic Hour: 8am – 9am

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade: 3pm, Main Street Electrical Parade: none, Wishes Fireworks: 8pm

Animal Kingdom and Epcot are our best choices. We’re coming off a popular day at Animal Kingdom yesterday, thanks to the morning Extra Magic Hour that will draw the majority of Disney resort crowds and the fact that not a whole lot was going on at the other Parks. Today, we’re helped by the morning Extra Magic Hour at Magic Kingdom and the low overall crowd level. Unfortunately, we don’t have Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios to attract people there, which is why Animal Kingdom isn’t recommended more. Still, with the low overall crowd level we should be in good shape, despite the fact that it’s later in the week and evening Extra Magic Hours aren’t scheduled. As always, you’ll find the most success if you arrive prior to Park opening and head straight to Kilimanjaro Safaris and Expedition Everest. If you’re not riding the thrill rides (Expedition Everest, Dinosaur, Primeval Whirl), you’ll want to attend the first showing of Festival of the Lion King and/or Finding Nemo because those shows will be popular in the afternoon. Collect FASTPASSes for attractions you either want to ride again or couldn’t make it to in the morning and you should be able to do just about everything the Animal Kingdom has to offer, despite the relatively short day. If you’re interested in the character Meet and Greets in Camp Minnie-Mickey, plan to head over about five minutes before the characters are scheduled to appear. You’ll normally find Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Chip, Dale, Goofy, Pocahontas and possibly supporting characters like Meeko, Brer Bear, Miss Bunny, Thumper, Pluto, and others. Because the exit to Festival of the Lion King is nearby in Camp Minnie-Mickey, the area gets flooded with just under 1,000 people once per hour. If you can’t visit early in the morning, head over about ten minutes before a Lion King show is scheduled to begin. After completing your itinerary, you may want to Park Hop to Epcot for dinner and IllumiNations or Magic Kingdom for Wishes and some (relatively) late night rides. Without Park Hopper, consider transferring to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner at one of its excellent restaurants. There’s also a public observatory where you can gaze out at the Animal Kingdom Lodge’s private savannas and enjoy the same view many guests are paying a premium to have right outside their balconies. A trip to Downtown Disney or the BoardWalk for dinner and shopping also makes a lot of sense.

Epcot is the most recommended Park. Tomorrow’s evening Extra Magic Hours will draw the majority of Disney resort guests and they won’t be attending today as well. We also have morning Extra Magic Hour pulling people towards Magic Kingdom. Arrive prior to Park opening and head straight to Soarin’, Test Track, Sum of All Thrills, and Mission: Space or follow a more compartmentalized two-day touring plan if you prefer. If you’re interested in meeting Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Pluto at the Character Spot, you may also want to head there first thing in the morning before Soarin’ and the other attractions. Because of its limited capacity and lack of FASTPASS, standby waits are a constant 20-50+ minutes throughout much of the day. If you can’t make it before 9:30am, plan to visit after 7pm when waits are shorter. To stay well ahead of the crowds, move up to World Showcase beginning at 11am, beginning with the water rides in Mexico and Norway. These are the only two lines you’ll find in the World Showcase (other than the cash registers). Return to Future World after 5pm when most people will have moved on to World Showcase if you have more you’d like to accomplish. Check your Times Guide to see which attractions remain open after 7pm. Normally, it’s only Character Spot, Soarin’, Test Track, Mission: Space, and Spaceship Earth. It’s also a great day to stay for dinner and IllumiNations.

It’s not the worst day of the week to visit Hollywood Studios, but it isn’t the best day either. The only major draw is morning Extra Magic Hour at Magic Kingdom. We don’t have Fantasmic scheduled any day this week, which means Monday and Saturday will be popular with Disney resort guests for Extra Magic Hours, but it’s later in the week and many people will have already visited Epcot and Magic Kingdom and will be looking toward the Studios before returning to Epcot tomorrow and Magic Kingdom Saturday. With the low overall crowd level, you can still have plenty of success if you arrive prior to Park opening and head straight for Toy Story Mania, Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, and Star Tours. Crowds also disperse after the 3pm Parade and the 5:30pm to 7pm timeframe is also an excellent time to tour. Return to the major attractions after 6pm if you couldn’t get to them earlier in the standby line, with FASTPASS, or would like to experience them one more time. It’s also a great time to do Voyage of the Little Mermaid or Great Movie Ride. Finally, keep an eye on your Times Guide if you’re planning to eat dinner in the Studios because several of the major and minor quick service locations may stop serving around 5:30pm.

Magic Kingdom is going to be busy because of the morning Extra Magic Hour that will attract a lot of Disney resort guests. Although we no longer have Main Street Electrical Parade scheduled any day this week, we can still expect the Extra Magic Hour to attract enough Disney resort guests to make it the second or third busiest day of the week there. The morning Extra Magic Hours is a viable time to tour, but only if you actually arrive by 7:45am to take full advantage of it by visiting the Fantasyland attractions and headliners that are open. If you don’t arrive until later, you’ll find yourself in a Park that is getting progressively busier as more and more Disney resort guests arrive. By the time 1pm rolls around, the Park will be more crowded than during a recommended day and lines will be long enough that it will likely erase any benefit from the morning Extra Magic Hour.

Friday February 3

Animal Kingdom: 9am – 5pm (Not Recommended)

Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade: 3:45pm

Epcot: 9am – 9pm (Not Recommended)

Evening Extra Magic Hours: 9pm – 12am

IllumiNations: 9pm

Hollywood Studios: 9am – 7pm (Highly Recommended)

Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade: 3pm

Fantasmic: none

Magic Kingdom: 9am – 9pm (Most Recommended)

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade: 3pm, Main Street Electrical Parade: none, Wishes Fireworks: 8pm

Animal Kingdom isn’t expressly recommended today, though it won’t be a terrible day to visit overall. While we don’t have anything specific attracting off-site or on-site guests, we need to be somewhat concerned about the number of people who will have visited the other Parks previously and will naturally save Animal Kingdom for later in the week. We don’t have Fantasmic or Main Street Electrical Parade to take crowds away from the Animal Kingdom. Epcot will draw the majority of the Disney resort guests, but more people than recommended days will be headed toward the Animal Kingdom. Thus, it isn’t expressly recommended. Despite the recommendation (or lack thereof), you can still have a ton of success if you arrive prior to Park opening and head straight for Kilimanjaro Safaris and Expedition Everest. Get these two attractions done early and you have little to worry about for the rest of the day. To have the most success, see the first show of Finding Nemo the Musical and/or Festival of the Lion King as they can get busy in the afternoon. The 4pm to 5pm timeframe is also excellent because so many people leave after the 3:45pm Parade. Return to DINOSAUR, Expedition Everest, or potentially Kilimanjaro Safaris after 4:15pm if you arrive late or couldn’t get to them earlier in the day.

We’ll want to avoid Epcot. Its evening Extra Magic Hours will lure the majority of Disney resort guests, which will lengthen waits times at the attractions for the entire afternoon and evening. Epcot is almost always at its busiest and lines are the longest when it has evening Extra Magic Hours. This is due to the fact that many Disney resort guests head to whichever Park has Extra Magic Hours, even if they don’t plan to take advantage of them. Without Park Hopper, Disney resort guests must stay in the Park with Extra Magic Hours for the entire day. The increased crowds lead to longer lines, heavier congestion in common areas, and an overall less pleasant touring experience. I would urge you to visit a different Park. If you want to head to Epcot today, despite my strong objections, your best chance to ride the headlining rides is from 9am-11am. Most Disney resort guests will sleep in and arrive around lunch in anticipation of staying until 10-11pm. The morning will be a decent time to tour Epcot, but you’ll probably want to Park Hop elsewhere after lunch or you’ll be stuck in significantly larger-than-usual crowds. You might also consider an afternoon break from 2pm-6pm when crowds will be at their largest. You could then return in the early evening for dinner and Extra Magic Hours. Alternatively, you could also Park Hop over in the evening for Extra Magic Hours, provided you’re aware of how busy it will be. The last hour of Extra Magic Hours is always the least crowded, so plan to stay until 12am and head back to Soarin’, Test Track, and Mission Space from 11pm-12am. Skip Illuminations if you’ll be here on another night because it will be more crowded than usual. Overall, there’s no reason to visit Epcot today because crowds will be higher than any other day during the week and waits at Soarin’ and Test Track will be just as long as they were during the day until 11pm or later.

Hollywood Studios comes recommended, but it has similar problems as Animal Kingdom. The good news is that we have the moderately popular morning Extra Magic Hour scheduled tomorrow and nothing specific drawing people to the Studios, other than the fact that it’s later in the week. With no Fantasmic shows scheduled this week, we don’t have our usual crowd magnet. This “helps” even out crowds over the course of the week. On the positive side, having no Fantasmic shows scheduled is better than having Fantasmic scheduled every night like we’ve had most nights over the past eight months, at least from a crowd perspective. Few people Park Hop over to the Studios in the afternoon or evening because the restaurants aren’t anything to write home about and there’s nothing to wait around for in terms of evening entertainment. Because a lot of people either overlook or skip the major stage shows, you’ll see a ton of people headed to the exit soon after the 3pm Parade. The 5:30pm to 7pm timeframe is an excellent time to tour, but the morning is always better. If you don’t arrive early, use FASTPASS whenever possible and stay through to 7pm, even if the afternoon crowds seem relatively heavy. Remember, Disney will allow you to ride an attraction as long as you’re in line for it by the “official” closing time. That means you can get in line for Toy Story Mania right at 6:50pm and ride, even if the Studios “officially” closes at 7pm and the posted wait time is 40 minutes. Disney has a tendency to inflate posted wait times at the end of the night to dissuade people from entering the line. Chances are the actual waits will be significantly lower than posted after 6:30pm. Random characters should also appear in the Animation Building in 30 minute sets between 4:50pm and 6:50pm. While it’s impossible to verify who will be in attendance, it’s usually a collection of common and rarer characters. Head over if you have interest because lines are usually short because it’s unadvertised. Finally, Disney runs bus transportation for at least 90 minutes after Park closure to shuttle back everyone who has late dining reservations. They’ll get you back to your Disney resort, even if you exit Toy Story Mania at 7:30pm. Overall, this is a recommended day if you’re not headed to Magic Kingdom, but this past Tuesday would have been better.

Magic Kingdom is the best Park to visit. Yesterday’s Extra Magic Hour will have been popular with Disney resort guests and tomorrow’s longer operating hours will be attractive to off-site guests and those who plan to return to the Magic Kingdom for a second time before leaving on Sunday. Today, we don’t have Extra Magic Hours, the Main Street Electrical Parade, long hours of operation, or special events, which means most people will choose to visit another day. The 9pm close is later than several other days this week, but it isn’t a concern in the grand scheme of things, particularly with tomorrow’s 15 hours day. To have the most success, arrive prior to 9am and head straight for the headlining Mountain rides or Fantasyland attractions, beginning with Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh. You should have no trouble getting a lot of attractions done throughout the morning and the Park won’t be particularly busy for the rest of the day. Still, plan to use FASTPASS and focus on the less popular attractions from 1pm to 5pm when crowds will be at their highest level.

Saturday February 4

Animal Kingdom: 9am – 6pm (Recommended)

Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade: 3:45pm

Epcot: 9am – 9pm (Most Recommended)

IllumiNations: 9pm

Hollywood Studios: 9am – 7pm (Not Recommended)

Morning Extra Magic Hour: 8am – 9am

Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade: 3pm

Fantasmic: none

Magic Kingdom: 9am – 12am (Not Recommended)

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade: 3pm, Main Street Electrical Parade: none, Wishes Fireworks: 8pm

Animal Kingdom comes recommended. We don’t have Extra Magic Hours, special events, or longer hours of operation to attract Disney vacationers of any sort. While the 6pm close is later than several other days this week, it isn’t a major concern overall, especially with the 12am close at Magic Kingdom. Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios will see the brunt of the crowds. 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. If you’re interested in the character meet and greets in Camp Minnie-Mickey, plan to head over about five minutes before they characters are scheduled to appear. Because each character has their own line, you can spend a lot of time waiting in the afternoon when lines are much longer. 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 Hour 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 Test Track, Sum of All Thrills, and Mission: Space. If you’re interested in meeting Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Pluto at the Character Spot, you’ll also want to fit that into the early morning – possibly even heading there before Soarin’ due to its limited capacity and guaranteed long lines in the late morning and afternoon. To stay ahead of the crowds for as long as possible, move up through the World Showcase beginning at 11am with the water rides in Norway and Mexico. Return to Future World to ride anything you skipped earlier in the day and to re-ride Test Track and Soarin’ with FASTPASSes collected in the morning after 5pm, when most people will have moved on to World Showcase. Keep in mind that only Soain’, Test Track, Mission: Space, Spaceship Earth, and Character Spot continue operating after 7pm. Many of the other Future World attractions close. If you arrive later, plan to collect FASTPASSes for Soarin’ and then Test Track (in that order) as soon as possible. Mission Space and Maelstrom are much easier to FASTPASS in the afternoon if necessary and standby waits are also much shorter. 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 will be busy today thanks to morning Extra Magic Hour attracting Disney resort guests. Saturdays at the Studios aren’t super popular because morning Extra Magic Hours aren’t as popular as evening Extra Magic Hours and a lot of people will be looking toward Magic Kingdom for the extended hours regardless of what’s going on elsewhere. However, the lack of Fantasmic all this week means crowds will be more evenly dispersed and a decent number of Disney resort guests will save the Studios for today because they think the Extra Magic Hour schedule is Disney’s way of telling them where they ought to be. If you’re eligible for morning Extra Magic Hour, this is one where you’ll want to do your best to arrive prior to 8am if you do go. You’ll be in great shape for the rest of the day if you can get Toy Story Mania, Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, and Star Tours out of the way in the early morning. As always, focus on Toy Story Mania because it will have the longest lines in the afternoon and FASTPASSes will likely be gone before noon. However, the Park will be busier than recommended days from 11am through close. You can still have success if you arrive for the morning Extra Magic Hour, but you’ll want to visit during a recommended day if you’re not Extra Magic Hours eligible or won’t be arriving until 9am or later.

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. All of this makes me hesitant about recommending the Magic Kingdom, despite a lack of Extra Magic Hours. Tomorrow will actually be less crowded, even with evening Extra Magic Hours. Both yesterday and next Tuesday 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 Wishes or visit the less popular attractions from 2pm – 6pm. With no Main Street Electrical Parade scheduled at any point this week, we don’t have that to attract crowds as we normally would. Nonetheless, we can expect today to be busier than other recommended days. 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. The late night is also a viable time to tour, but it will make it more difficult to arrive at a recommended Park tomorrow morning when crowds will be even lower and FASTPASSes will be plentiful. Still, you can have a lot of success touring from 10pm to 12am as more and more families leave. Stay through close if you have more you’d like to accomplish and don’t have any plans to arrive at a theme park by 9am. Save Fantasyland for the end of the night because lines will only get shorter at Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan’s Flight, and others.

Sunday February 5

Animal Kingdom: 9am – 6pm (Recommended)

Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade: 3:45pm

Epcot: 9am – 9pm (Recommended)

IllumiNations: 9pm

Hollywood Studios: 9am – 7pm (Most Recommended)

Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade: 3pm

Fantasmic: none

Magic Kingdom: 9am – 10pm (Tentatively Recommended)

Evening Extra Magic Hours: 10pm – 1am

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade: 3pm, Main Street Electrical Parade: none, Wishes Fireworks: 8pm

Animal Kingdom is recommended again. We have evening Extra Magic Hours at Magic Kingdom luring a lot of Disney resort guests. Disney resort guests are more likely to visit Animal Kingdom tomorrow or Wednesday for morning Extra Magic Hour. Despite “only” having nine 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 4:45pm – 6pm will have shorter waits than the afternoon. You also have a nice opportunity to Park Hop after the Park closes. You could head to Epcot for dinner and IllumiNations or Magic Kingdom for evening Extra Magic Hours. 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, Test Track, 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’, Test Track, 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’ or Test Track, 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 sandwiched in between yesterday’s moderately popular morning Extra Magic Hour and tomorrow’s extremely popular evening Extra Magic Hours. With no Fantasmic in sight and short hours of operation, few people will be headed to the Studios. Take advantage by arriving prior to Park opening and heading straight for Toy Story Mania, Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, and Star Tours. Make Toy Story Mania your priority because it will have the longest afternoon waits and FASTPASSes will still likely run out by noon, even with the recommendation. If you can’t arrive early, crowds do thin out after the 3:45pm Parade. Few people Park Hop over to the Studios in the afternoon or evening when no nighttime entertainment is scheduled. The restaurants aren’t particularly outstanding and the 7pm close is unattractive when considering transit times. If you couldn’t get to the major attractions in the morning or with FASTPASS, visit them after 6pm. Wait times are often inflated after 6pm and that 20 minute posted wait at Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster may very well be just five or ten. Random characters should also appear in the Animation Building between 4:50pm and 6:50pm. While it’s impossible to know who will appear, it’s usually a mixture of common and rarer characters. If you have interest in the characters, it’s worth checking out. Character should switch off appearing at 4:50pm, 5:20pm, 5:50pm, and 6:20pm. Expect two sets of characters to appear. One set will begin meeting at 4:50pm and 5:50pm and the other set at 5:20pm and 6:20pm. Because it isn’t advertised, wait times are usually short. It’s also an excellent time to meet the characters that normally appear in the Animation Building – Sorcerer Mickey, Winnie the Pooh, and characters from The Incredibles. The biggest problem you’ll likely run into is trying to schedule the various stage shows that run on a set schedule.

Magic Kingdom is also rated “green” today, but only under certain conditions. The morning will be an excellent time to tour, especially with the low overall crowd level and evening Extra Magic Hours. Most Disney resort guests who will be headed to the Magic Kingdom will sleep in and arrive around 11am, in anticipation of staying until around 10:30pm. If you arrive prior to 9am, you can have a lot of success visiting the Fantasyland attractions and headlining Mountain rides. It will also be a great opportunity to collect FASTPASSes for later in the day. However, the Park will be busy from 1pm to 9pm as the bulk of Disney resort guests arrive en masse. I usually recommend Magic Kingdom’s evening Extra Magic Hours when they start later because so many families leave around 11pm. When Extra Magic Hours start at 12am, crowds only thin out more and more as it gets later in the evening. Tonight, many families will be able to stay until at least 10:30pm, keeping crowds heavier than recommended days. However, you can still enjoy some of the less popular attractions until 11pm and then return to Fantasyland or the headlining Mountain rides in the final two hours. Overall, this coming Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday will all be less crowded, but today will be less crowded than yesterday or tomorrow, which is why we have the green rating. You’ll be in much better shape if you wait for a more recommended day unless you plan to take full advantage of the morning and visit the less popular attractions in the afternoon when crowds are heavier.

Monday February 6

Animal Kingdom: 9am – 5pm (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 – 7pm (Not Recommended)

Evening Extra Magic Hours: 7pm – 10pm

Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade: 3pm

Fantasmic: none

Magic Kingdom: 9am – 9pm (Not Recommended)

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade: 3pm, Main Street Electrical Parade: none, Wishes Fireworks: 8pm

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 or Thursday if you’re not going to arrive until 9am or later.

Hollywood Studios will be busy due to the evening Extra Magic Hours that are popular with Disney resort guests. The morning will be an okay time to tour, but crowds will increase around 11am as more and more Disney resort guests arrive. I’m looking towards tomorrow, Thursday, and Friday as better days to visit. Because of that, there’s really no reason to head in that 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, at least until after 9:00pm when people begin to give up and exit. 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, but with two recommended days coming up, there’s really no reason to press your luck.

Magic Kingdom is not recommended, though it won’t be as crowded as when it had a rare Main Street Electrical Parade scheduled. Now that the Electrical Parade isn’t scheduled until February 11th, Magic Kingdom will only be slightly more crowded than recommended days later in the week. It’s still a Monday, which means it’s the first full day for many vacationers on a traditional weeklong vacation. Many of these people ignore the Extra Magic Hours schedule or whatever is going on elsewhere and head to Magic Kingdom. 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 5pm or so to rest up for Wishes and some late night rides.

Tuesday February 7

Animal Kingdom: 9am – 5pm (Highly Recommended)

Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade: 3:45pm

Epcot: 9am – 9pm (Not Recommended)

Morning Extra Magic Hour: 8am – 9am

IllumiNations: 9pm

Hollywood Studios: 9am – 7pm (Most Recommended)

Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade: 3pm

Fantasmic: none

Magic Kingdom: 9am – 9pm (Recommended)

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade: 3pm, Main Street Electrical Parade: none, Wishes Fireworks: 8pm

Animal Kingdom is recommended today, though not as highly as it would be if it was hosting evening Extra Magic Hours tomorrow. We don’t have evening Extra Magic Hours or special evening entertainment scheduled at any of the Parks today, which means a moderate number of people will take the opportunity to visit the Animal Kingdom instead. Luckily, Epcot will be a bigger draw, especially for Disney resort guests and off-site visitors that naturally visit Epcot after the Magic Kingdom yesterday. Both today and Thursday are “evenly recommended,” meaning either day will have similar crowds and wait times. On Thursday, we have morning Extra Magic Hour at Magic Kingdom attracting a decent number of people, but that trades off with the fact that it’s later in the week. Overall, today and Thursday are your best days this week, so pick whichever fits in your itinerary better. To have the most success, arrive prior to Park opening and take care of Kilimanjaro Safaris and Expedition Everest first thing in the morning. Collect FASTPASSes throughout the day and plan to see the first or last Festival of the Lion King and Finding Nemo the Musical and you’re in excellent shape.

Epcot is not recommended. We have the morning Extra Magic Hour attracting the majority of Disney resort guests and a lot of off-site visitors who will naturally visit Epcot after the Magic Kingdom yesterday. Plus there’s no Main Street Electrical Parade at Magic Kingdom or Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios, making Epcot’s 9am – 9pm day with IllumiNations extra-attractive. Today will be the second busiest day of the week at Epcot and numerous other days will be substantially less busy. Skip it unless you can’t get there any other day or are certain you’ll arrive prior to 8am for the morning Extra Magic Hour and plan to either Park Hop elsewhere or take a break in the afternoon.

Hollywood Studios is the most recommended Park. We’re coming off a very popular evening Extra Magic Hours last night, we don’t have Fantasmic or longer hours of operation to attract anyone, and it’s early enough in the week that most people will be interested in visiting Epcot or Magic Kingdom. The only problem is that we don’t have Fantasmic, our usual crowd magnet, scheduled any night this week. This will somewhat standardize crowds at the Studios on days that don’t “feature” Extra Magic Hours, though we can expect fewer people today than other days this week because it is earlier in the week. Luckily, having Fantasmic scheduled on zero nights during the week is a lot better than having it scheduled every night because it does mean crowds will diminish after the 3pm Parade. Because the Studios’ restaurants aren’t anything to write home about and it closes at 7pm, very few people Park Hop in the afternoon or evening and a lot of people seem to finish up their limited itineraries in the afternoon and head home. Return to the headliners after 5:30pm if you couldn’t get to them earlier in the day either in the standby line or with FASTPASS and save Toy Story Mania for the very end of the night. Remember, Disney will allow you to ride an attraction as long as you’re in line for it by the “official” closing time. That means you can get in line for Toy Story Mania right at 6:50pm and ride, even if the Studios “officially” closes at 7pm and the posted wait time is 40 minutes. Disney has a tendency to inflate posted wait times at the end of the night to dissuade people from entering the line. Chances are the actual waits will be significantly lower than posted after 6:30pm. Seemingly random characters should also appear in the Animation Building between 4:50pm and 6:50pm. Head in that direction if you’re interested in seeing who’s available. Lines are usually short because the meet and greets are unadvertised. It’s also a great time to meet the advertised characters – Winnie the Pooh, Sorcerer Mickey, and The Incredibles. Finally, Disney runs bus transportation for at least 90 minutes after Park closure to shuttle back everyone who has late dining reservations. They’ll get you back to your Disney resort, even if you exit Toy Story Mania at 7:30pm. Overall, this is the best day of the week to visit the Studios with two excellent periods of time to tour.

Magic Kingdom is recommended, but tomorrow will be less crowded. Wednesdays are historically the least crowded day of the week at the Magic Kingdom due to the natural progression of weeklong vacationers that visit Magic Kingdom early and late on their trip. You can still have a lot of success if you visit today, especially with the low overall crowd level. To have the most success, arrive prior to Park opening and head to Fantasyland or the headlining Mountain rides. You may have other time sensitive attractions on your itinerary like Astro Orbiter or Tomorrowland Indy Speedway as well. While these aren’t “the most popular” or “headlining” attractions, they are still morning priorities because they have guaranteed uncomfortable waits from 10am onward. Or you may be interested in heading directly to one of the two characters with the longest afternoon waits – either Rapunzel or Tinker Bell. Rapunzel in particular sees wait times that are 40+ minutes for much of the afternoon. Use FASTPASS throughout the day and you should have no trouble experiencing most of what the Magic Kingdom has to offer in just one day.

Wednesday February 8

Animal Kingdom: 9am – 5pm (Not Recommended)

Morning Extra Magic Hour: 8am – 9am

Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade: 3:45pm

Epcot: 9am – 9pm (Recommended)

IllumiNations: 9pm

Hollywood Studios: 9am – 7pm (Not Recommended)

Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade: 3pm

Fantasmic: none

Magic Kingdom: 9am – 9pm (Most Recommended)

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade: 3pm, Main Street Electrical Parade: none, Wishes Fireworks: 8pm

It’s the busiest day of the week at Animal Kingdom. The morning Extra Magic Hour will attract the bulk of the Disney resort crowd and there’s no evening Extra Magic Hours or special evening entertainment going on at the other Parks, which will cause a lot of off-site guests to visit as well. Most people prefer to visit the other Parks when they’re either open longer or have special evening entertainment like Fantasmic or Main Street Electrical Parade. When none of that is available, they’ll default to the Animal Kingdom. With both yesterday and tomorrow recommended, there’s no reason to visit today.

It’s an above-average day at Epcot. Yesterday’s morning Extra Magic Hour will have been moderately attended by Disney resort guests and they won’t be looking to return today. However, we don’t have a lot going on at the other Parks, which means a pretty good amount of off-site visitors will be headed to Epcot. I’m looking toward tomorrow as having lower crowds and shorter waits, thanks to morning Extra Magic Hour attracting people to Magic Kingdom. However, today won’t be terrible by any means. Plan to arrive as early as possible and either follow a touring plan or head straight to Soarin’, followed by Test Track, Sum of All Thrills, and Mission Space. You’ll be in good shape if you’ve moved to the World Showcase by 1pm, starting with the boat rides in Mexico and Norway.

Magic Kingdom is our best Park to visit today for the exact same reasons it was recommended yesterday. The 9pm close and lack of Main Street Electrical Parade will cause a lot of people to look elsewhere. Many Disney resort guests will wait for tomorrow’s morning Extra Magic Hour and even more people will be looking forward to Saturday’s extended operating hours and Electrical Parade. Take advantage by arriving prior to Park opening and head straight for Fantasyland (Peter Pan’s Flight, Winnie the Pooh), the headlining Mountain rides (Space Mountain, Splash Mountain), or other time sensitive attractions (Astro Orbiter, Tomorrowland Indy Speedway). You may also want to prioritize the two most popular Meet and Greets – Rapunzel and Tinker Bell. Rapunzel, in particular, sees waits that often exceed 45 minutes in the afternoon. You may want to head straight there and then use FASTPASS at Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh throughout the day. With the low overall crowd level and high recommendation, you’ll be able to accomplish a ton of attractions in a short amount of time if you make efficient use of the morning and use FASTPASS at the major attractions throughout the day.

Thursday February 9

Animal Kingdom: 9am – 5pm (Highly Recommended)

Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade: 3:45pm

Epcot: 9am – 9pm (Most Recommended)

IllumiNations: 9pm

Hollywood Studios: 9am – 7pm (Recommended)

Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade: 3pm

Fantasmic: none

Magic Kingdom: 9am – 9pm (Not Recommended)

Morning Extra Magic Hour: 8am – 9am

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade: 3pm, Main Street Electrical Parade: none, Wishes Fireworks: 8pm

Magic Kingdom is going to be busy because of the morning Extra Magic Hour that will attract a lot of Disney resort guests. Although we no longer have Main Street Electrical Parade scheduled until Saturday, we can still expect the Extra Magic Hour to attract enough Disney resort guests to make it the second or third busiest day of the week there. The morning Extra Magic Hours is a viable time to tour, but only if you actually arrive by 7:45am to take full advantage of it by visiting the Fantasyland attractions and headliners that are open. If you don’t arrive until later, you’ll find yourself in a Park that is getting progressively busier as more and more Disney resort guests arrive. By the time 1pm rolls around, the Park will be more crowded than during a recommended day and lines will be long enough that it will likely erase any benefit from the morning Extra Magic Hour.

Friday February 10

Animal Kingdom: 9am – 5pm (Recommended)

Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade: 3:45pm

Epcot: 9am – 9pm (Not Recommended)

Evening Extra Magic Hours: 9pm – 12am

IllumiNations: 9pm

Hollywood Studios: 9am – 7pm (Highly Recommended)

Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade: 3pm

Fantasmic: none

Magic Kingdom: 9am – 11pm (Most Recommended)

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade: 3pm, Main Street Electrical Parade: none, Wishes Fireworks: 8pm

Animal Kingdom is recommended now that we have much longer hours tomorrow. It’s still not the best day of the week to visit (Tuesday or Thursday would have been better), but you can still have success if you arrive prior to Park opening and take care of Kilimanjaro Safaris and Expedition Everest first thing. Collect FASTPASSes for both throughout the day and you should have no trouble experiencing either a second or third time throughout the day if you so choose. Other than those two attractions, Primeval Whirl and DINOSAUR are the other two “biggies.” They can see appreciable wait times of 15-30 minutes, so try to ride before 10:30am when wait times begin to build. Unless it’s 80+ degrees in the afternoon, Kali River Rapids shouldn’t see waits of more than 20 minutes at any point during the day. The Character Trail Meet and Greets in Camp Minnie-Mickey should also be a priority if you’re interested in meeting Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Chip, Dale, Pocahontas, and possibly a host of other supporting characters. Each character has a separate line and waits can really add up after 11am. Because the Character Trails are near the exit to Festival of the Lion King, about 1,000 people exit from the show each hour. If you don’t arrive before 10am, plan to visit about ten minutes before a Lion King show starts. That gives you about 40 minutes without having to worry about lines getting substantially longer. Usually, Mickey sees the longest lines. Finding Nemo the Musical and Festival of the Lion King are also popular. Try to see the first or the last show of the day to minimize waits and find the best seats. Overall, you can have a lot of success, but you’ll want to take a look at a “more recommended” day if you don’t plan to arrive until 10:30am or later. With the relatively late close tomorrow, you could do well from 6pm to 8pm if you’re not a morning person, but the afternoon is going to be busier.

Hollywood Studios comes recommended, but it has similar problems as Animal Kingdom. The good news is that we have the moderately popular morning Extra Magic Hour /longer hours of operation scheduled tomorrow and nothing specific drawing people to the Studios, other than the fact that it’s later in the week. With no Fantasmic shows scheduled this week, we don’t have our usual crowd magnet. This “helps” even out crowds over the course of the week. On the positive side, having no Fantasmic shows scheduled is better than having Fantasmic scheduled every night like we’ve had most nights over the past eight months, at least from a crowd perspective. Few people Park Hop over to the Studios in the afternoon or evening because the restaurants aren’t anything to write home about and there’s nothing to wait around for in terms of evening entertainment. Because a lot of people either overlook or skip the major stage shows, you’ll see a ton of people headed to the exit soon after the 3pm Parade. The 5:30pm to 7pm timeframe is an excellent time to tour, but the morning is always better. If you don’t arrive early, use FASTPASS whenever possible and stay through to 7pm, even if the afternoon crowds seem relatively heavy. Remember, Disney will allow you to ride an attraction as long as you’re in line for it by the “official” closing time. That means you can get in line for Toy Story Mania right at 6:50pm and ride, even if the Studios “officially” closes at 7pm and the posted wait time is 40 minutes. Disney has a tendency to inflate posted wait times at the end of the night to dissuade people from entering the line. Chances are the actual waits will be significantly lower than posted after 6:30pm. Random characters should also appear in the Animation Building in 30 minute sets between 4:50pm and 6:50pm. While it’s impossible to verify who will be in attendance, it’s usually a collection of common and rarer characters. Head over if you have interest because lines are usually short because it’s unadvertised. Finally, Disney runs bus transportation for at least 90 minutes after Park closure to shuttle back everyone who has late dining reservations. They’ll get you back to your Disney resort, even if you exit Toy Story Mania at 7:30pm. Overall, this is a recommended day if you’re not headed to Magic Kingdom, but this past Tuesday would have been better.

Magic Kingdom is the best Park to visit. Yesterday’s Extra Magic Hour will have been popular with Disney resort guests and tomorrow’s longer operating hours and Electrical Parade will be attractive to off-site guests and those who plan to return to the Magic Kingdom for a second time before leaving on Sunday. Today, we don’t have Extra Magic Hours, the Main Street Electrical Parade, long hours of operation, or special events, which means most people will choose to visit another day. While the 11pm close is later than most days earlier in the week, we have a 1am close tomorrow and then 11pm closes both of the next two nights. This past Wednesday was the best day of the week to visit, but today is better than yesterday or either of the next three days. To have the most success, arrive prior to 9am and head straight for the headlining Mountain rides or Fantasyland attractions, beginning with Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh. You should have no trouble getting a lot of attractions done throughout the morning and the Park won’t be particularly busy for the rest of the day. Still, plan to use FASTPASS and focus on the less popular attractions from 1pm to 5pm when crowds will be at their highest level.

Saturday February 11

Animal Kingdom: 9am – 8pm (Recommended)

Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade: 3:45pm

Epcot: 9am – 9pm (Most Recommended)

IllumiNations: 9pm

Hollywood Studios: 9am – 8pm (Not Recommended)

Morning Extra Magic Hour: 8am – 9am

Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade: 3pm

Fantasmic: none

Magic Kingdom: 9am – 1am (Not Recommended)

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade: 3pm, Main Street Electrical Parade: 9pm, Wishes Fireworks: 8pm

Animal Kingdom comes recommended, but we do need to be wary of the longer hours. Luckily, we don’t have Extra Magic Hours or special events to attract Disney vacationers of any sort. While the 8pm close is later than other days over the past week, looking ahead we have a 6pm, 7pm, or 8pm close every day for the foreseeable future. Along with Magic Kingdom’s extended hours, the 8pm close won’t be particularly attractive, especially with two morning Extra Magic Hours over the last week and another on Monday to attract the sizable Disney resort guests contingent. Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios will see the brunt of the crowds. To take full advantage of the relatively 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. 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 6:30pm through close. Overall, the afternoon is going to be busier than yesterday, but 9am – 11am and 6pm to 8pm will be excellent times to tour. If you can tour efficiently during one or both of these times, you can have a tremendous amount of success. In the afternoon, plan to visit the high capacity attractions like It’s Tough To Be A Bug, Flights of Wonder, Pangani Forest Exploration Trail, Maharajah Jungle Trek, DINOSAUR, the Discovery Island Trails, and use FASTPASS whenever possible.

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 Test Track, Sum of All Thrills, and Mission: Space. If you’re interested in meeting Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Pluto at the Character Spot, you’ll also want to fit that into the early morning – possibly even heading there before Soarin’ due to its limited capacity and guaranteed long lines in the late morning and afternoon. To stay ahead of the crowds for as long as possible, move up through the World Showcase beginning at 11am with the water rides in Norway and Mexico. Return to Future World to ride anything you skipped earlier in the day and to re-ride Test Track and Soarin’ with FASTPASSes collected in the morning after 5pm, when most people will have moved on to World Showcase. Keep in mind that only Soain’, Test Track, Mission: Space, Spaceship Earth, and Character Spot continue operating after 7pm. Many of the other Future World attractions close. If you arrive later, plan to collect FASTPASSes for Soarin’ and then Test Track (in that order) as soon as possible. Mission Space and Maelstrom are much easier to FASTPASS in the afternoon if necessary and standby waits are also much shorter. 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 will be busy today thanks to morning Extra Magic Hour attracting Disney resort guests and the slightly later close than any other day over the past week. Saturdays at the Studios aren’t super popular because morning Extra Magic Hours aren’t as popular as evening Extra Magic Hours and a lot of people will be looking toward Magic Kingdom for the extended hours and Electrical Parade regardless of what’s going on elsewhere. However, the lack of Fantasmic this past week means crowds will be more evenly dispersed and a decent number of Disney resort guests will save the Studios for today because they think the Extra Magic Hour schedule is Disney’s way of telling them where they ought to be. Luckily, we do have Fantasmic scheduled this coming week, which means some visitors who will still be in Orlando will hold off on the Studios until Monday or Tuesday. If you’re eligible for morning Extra Magic Hour, this is one where you’ll want to do your best to arrive prior to 8am if you do go. You’ll be in great shape for the rest of the day if you can get Toy Story Mania, Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, and Star Tours out of the way in the early morning. As always, focus on Toy Story Mania because it will have the longest lines in the afternoon and FASTPASSes will likely be gone before noon. However, the Park will be busier than recommended days from 11am through close. You can still have success if you arrive for the morning Extra Magic Hour, but you’ll want to visit during a recommended day if you’re not Extra Magic Hours eligible or won’t be arriving until 9am or later.

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. All of this makes me hesitant about recommending the Magic Kingdom, despite a lack of Extra Magic Hours and Main Street Electrical Parade. Tomorrow will actually be less crowded, even with evening Extra Magic Hours. Both yesterday and next Tuesday 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 Wishes and some late night attractions or visit the less popular attractions from 2pm – 6pm. The late night is also a viable time to tour, but it will make it more difficult to arrive at a recommended Park tomorrow morning when crowds will be even lower and FASTPASSes will be more plentiful. If you have no intention of arriving in time to make Park opening anyway, you can have a lot of success at Magic Kingdom between 10pm and 1am. Most families will be long gone from the Park and waits times will only get lower as it approaches 1am. Still, save Fantasyland for the very end of the night to find the shortest waits. Usually, wait times at Peter Pan’s Flight and Winnie the Pooh are down to 10 minutes or less after 12am, after hitting 60 or more minutes each in the afternoon. While it is possible to have a decent day here if you arrive early and tour efficiently or take advantage of the late night hours, there are much less crowded days to visit during the week.

Sunday February 12

Animal Kingdom: 9am – 8pm (Highly Recommended)

Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade: 3:45pm

Epcot: 9am – 9pm (Recommended)

IllumiNations: 9pm

Hollywood Studios: 9am – 8pm (Most Recommended)

Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade: 3pm

Fantasmic: none

Magic Kingdom: 9am – 11pm (Tentatively Recommended in Morning and Late Evening)

Evening Extra Magic Hours: 11pm – 2am

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade: 3pm, Main Street Electrical Parade: 9pm, Wishes Fireworks: 8pm

Animal Kingdom is recommended again. We have evening Extra Magic Hours and Main Street Electrical Parade at Magic Kingdom luring a lot of Disney resort guests. Disney resort guests are more likely to visit Animal Kingdom tomorrow or Wednesday for morning Extra Magic Hour. With the 8pm close, there are two excellent times to tour. 9am to 11am is always preferable because crowds are guaranteed to be low and FASTPASSes are more plentiful. The 6pm – 8pm timeframe is also excellent. Most of the people that arrived between 9am and noon will have completed what they wanted to do and will head elsewhere, lowering wait times at all attractions as it gets later in the evening. 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. If you arrive later in the afternoon, focus on getting FASTPASSes for Kilimanjaro Safaris or riding in the standby line if the wait is tolerable. It will most likely close at 6pm because it doesn’t operate in the dark. Unless the temperature is 80+ degrees, Kali River Rapids most likely won’t see wait times longer than 20 minutes. Expedition Everest would be your other FASTPASS priority. It’s a lot of fun to ride in the dark. Plan to do so if you’ll be in the Animal Kingdom after 7pm. You also have a nice opportunity to Park Hop after the Park closes. You could head to Epcot for dinner and IllumiNations or Magic Kingdom for evening Extra Magic Hours. 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.

Hollywood Studios is the most recommended Park. We’re sandwiched in between yesterday’s moderately popular morning Extra Magic Hour and tomorrow’s extremely popular evening Extra Magic Hours. We also have the first Fantasmic in more than a month scheduled tomorrow night. With Fantasmic scheduled every night next week, few people will have their eyes on Hollywood Studios. Take advantage by arriving prior to Park opening and heading straight for Toy Story Mania, Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, and Star Tours. Make Toy Story Mania your priority because it will have the longest afternoon waits and FASTPASSes will still likely run out by noon, even with the recommendation. If you can’t arrive early, crowds do thin out after the 3:45pm Parade. Few people Park Hop over to the Studios in the afternoon or evening when no nighttime entertainment is scheduled. The restaurants aren’t particularly outstanding and the 8pm close is unattractive when considering transit times. If you couldn’t get to the major attractions in the morning or with FASTPASS, visit them after 6:30pm. Wait times are often inflated after 7pm and that 20 minute posted wait at Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster may very well be just five or ten. Random characters should also appear in the Animation Building between 4:50pm and 6:50pm. While it’s impossible to know who will appear, it’s usually a mixture of common and rarer characters. If you have interest in the characters, it’s worth checking out. Character should switch off appearing at 4:50pm, 5:20pm, 5:50pm, and 6:20pm. Expect two sets of characters to appear. One set will begin meeting at 4:50pm and 5:50pm and the other set at 5:20pm and 6:20pm. Because it isn’t advertised, wait times are usually short. It’s also an excellent time to meet the characters that normally appear in the Animation Building – Sorcerer Mickey, Winnie the Pooh, and characters from The Incredibles. The biggest problem you’ll likely run into is trying to schedule the various stage shows that run on a set schedule.

Magic Kingdom is also rated “green” today, but only under certain conditions. The morning will be an excellent time to tour, especially with the average overall crowd level and evening Extra Magic Hours. Most Disney resort guests who will be headed to the Magic Kingdom will sleep in and arrive around 11am, in anticipation of staying until around 10pm. If you arrive prior to 9am, you can have a lot of success visiting the Fantasyland attractions and headlining Mountain rides. It will also be a great opportunity to collect FASTPASSes for later in the day. However, the Park will be busy from 1pm to 10pm as the bulk of Disney resort guests arrive en masse. Expect a lot of people to leave shortly after the 9pm Electrical Parade. If you’re planning to see the Electrical Parade, the least crowded spots are located along the Parade Route in Liberty Square and Frontierland. With the 8pm Wishes, you may want to find a location on Main Street suitable for seeing both Wishes and the Parade around 7pm. On the other hand, you could set up shop for Wishes in the street around 7:40pm and then after the show concludes, head straight over to Frontierland to find spots for the Parade. If you are staying for Extra Magic Hours, I 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 1am 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 Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh for the very end of the night. Stay through 2am because crowds will only get smaller and wait times shorter Overall, this coming Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday will all be less crowded, but today will be less crowded than yesterday or tomorrow, which is why we have the green rating. You’ll be in much better shape if you wait for a more recommended day unless you plan to take full advantage of the morning and visit the less popular attractions in the afternoon when crowds are heavier.

Monday February 13

Animal Kingdom: 9am – 6pm (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 – 8pm (Not Recommended)

Evening Extra Magic Hours: 8pm – 11pm

Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade: 3pm

Fantasmic: 7pm and 8:30pm

Magic Kingdom: 9am – 11pm (Not Recommended)

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade: 3pm, Main Street Electrical Parade: 7pm, Wishes Fireworks: 8pm

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.

Hollywood Studios will be busy due to the evening Extra Magic Hours that are popular with Disney resort guests and the first Fantasmic scheduled since the beginning of January. The morning will be an okay time to tour, but crowds will increase around 11am as more and more Disney resort guests arrive. I’m looking towards Thursday and Friday in particular as better days to visit. Because of that, there’s really no reason to head in that 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, at least until after 10:00pm when people begin to give up and exit. On top of that, 9,000+ people, many of them Disney resort guests, will be exiting Fantasmic around 7:30pm and again at 9pm and the exit is located right next to Tower of Terror and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. 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, but with two recommended days coming up, there’s really no reason to press your luck.

Magic Kingdom is not recommended for a variety of reasons. First, we have only the third Main Street Electrical Parade since January 20th scheduled at 7pm and the Parade isn’t scheduled again until Thursday. The Main Street Electrical Parade is only scheduled on five nights this week and it’s extremely popular. Anyone who wants to see the Parade will need to be at the Magic Kingdom last night, tonight, Thursday night, Friday night, or Saturday night. Because most people don’t opt for the Park Hopper upgrade, they will need to spend their entire day at the Magic Kingdom in order to see the Main Street Electrical Parade at night, which is why the Magic Kingdom is so much busier when the nighttime Parade is scheduled. Second, a lot of people travel over the weekend and naturally head to the Magic Kingdom on Monday for their first full day. Finally, Friday would be a better day to see the Main Street Electrical Parade because the evening crowd level will be lower. 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. That may be Astro Orbiter, Tomorrowland Indy Speedway, Rapunzel, Tinker Bell, or something else. You may want to take an afternoon break from 1pm to 5pm or so to rest up for the nighttime spectaculars. The best viewing locations for Main Street Electrical Parade are located along the Parade route in Frontierland and Liberty Square because they offer a view that is just as good as Main Street, but don’t require the excessive waits. Still, with the limited availability of the Parade this week, you’ll likely want to find spots about 20 minutes before the Parade begins. Note that crowds will be increasing dramatically at the end of the week. While Magic Kingdom is expressly not recommended today, it likely won’t be much more crowded than this Friday, just because so many people will be in Disney World this weekend and into next week.

Tuesday February 14

Animal Kingdom: 9am – 6pm (Most Recommended)

Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade: 3:45pm

Epcot: 9am – 9pm (Not Recommended)

Morning Extra Magic Hour: 8am – 9am

IllumiNations: 9pm

Hollywood Studios: 9am – 7pm (Not Recommended)

Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade: 3pm

Fantasmic: 7pm

Magic Kingdom: 9am – 9pm (Highly Recommended)

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade: 3pm, Main Street Electrical Parade: none, Wishes Fireworks: 8pm

Animal Kingdom is the most recommended Park for a number of reasons. We don’t have special events, Extra Magic Hours, or anything specific drawing people toward it. Yesterday’s and tomorrow’s morning Extra Magic Hours will be more popular with Disney resort guests. We also have Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios attracting a lot of off-site and on-site visitors alike and it’s early enough in the week that many people on weeklong vacations will be saving Animal Kingdom for later in the week. Overall, today and Saturday are the best days of the week to visit. To have the most success, arrive prior to Park opening and head straight for Kilimanjaro Safaris and Expedition Everest. Once you get through these two attractions, you have little to worry about other than trying to get to the scheduled shows. Finding Nemo and Festival of the Lion King do get busy during the afternoon shows, so try to see the first or last show of the day. You’ll also want to get to DinoLand USA before 10:30am to ride Primeval Whirl and DINOSAUR because those two attractions are popular. Still, they aren’t necessarily your top morning priorities and you can easily FASTPASS them throughout the day if need arises. If you’re interesting the Character Trails at Camp Minnie-Mickey, also plan to head over there about five minutes before the characters are scheduled to appear. Each character has a separate line and wait times add up quickly in the afternoon. Ordinarily, you’ll find Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Chip, Dale, Pocahontas and possibly other characters like Pluto, Brer Bear, Miss Bunny, Meeko, Thumper, and others. If you can’t visit the characters early in the morning, plan to head over about ten minutes before a Festival of the Lion King show is scheduled to begin. Lion King lets about 1,000 people out once per hour and the exit is right near the lines for the characters. Despite “only” being open nine hours, you can still see most of what the Animal Kingdom has to offer in one day, provided you arrive early in the morning, tour efficiently, collect FASTPASSes, and keep an eye on the time in order to see the scheduled stage shows. Finally, crowds disperse shortly after the 3:45pm Parade. Plan to return to any favorites from 4:45pm through close when waits will be shorter than the afternoon.

Epcot is not recommended. We have the morning Extra Magic Hour attracting the majority of Disney resort guests and a lot of off-site visitors who will naturally visit Epcot after the Magic Kingdom yesterday. While Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios helps, it shouldn’t pull enough people away to make a discernable difference in wait times. Magic Kingdom won’t be particularly popular with short hours and the lack of Main Street Electrical Parade. Skip it unless you can’t get there any other day or are certain you’ll arrive prior to 8am for the morning Extra Magic Hour and plan to either Park Hop elsewhere or take a break in the afternoon.

Hollywood Studios is not recommended. Other than yesterday, this is the first Fantasmic since the first week in January. On top of that, a lot of people will be visiting Magic Kingdom on Monday for Main Street Electrical Parade and then Hollywood Studios today for Fantasmic, especially without evening Extra Magic Hours or Main Street Electrical Parade scheduled. The addition of Fantasmic to every night this week other than Sunday and the fact that we’re coming off a popular evening Extra Magic Hours/Fantasmic combo at the Studios does help. However, we can’t overlook the sizable off-site contingent and lack of nighttime activities at the other Parks. You can still have success if you arrive prior to Park opening and take care of Toy Story Mania, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, and Star Tours. Do this most any day and you have little to worry about for the rest of the day. The only other complication is getting to the Studios’ many shows that run on a set schedule and the lengthy high capacity attractions like Great Movie Ride. For Fantasmic, I always recommend the Fantasmic Dining Package, which guarantees everyone on the reservation a seat in the reserved section of the Fantasmic theater. While it still requires you to arrive at least 30 minutes early, it’s better than the 60+ minutes you’re looking at without the Package. On the Disney Dining Plan, you can book the Fantasmic Dining Package for one table service credit at Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano or Hollywood & Vine and for two table service credits at Hollywood Brown Derby, which is the same cost as it would be otherwise. It also includes the appetizer, which is a nice bonus. Overall, it’s not a great day to visit the Studios and see Fantasmic, but arriving early and touring efficiently is more important than picking the “right day.”

Wednesday February 15

Animal Kingdom: 9am – 6pm (Not Recommended)

Morning Extra Magic Hour: 8am – 9am

Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade: 3:45pm

Epcot: 9am – 9pm (Highly Recommended)

IllumiNations: 9pm

Hollywood Studios: 9am – 7pm (Not Recommended)

Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade: 3pm

Fantasmic: 7pm

Magic Kingdom: 9am – 9pm (Most Recommended)

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade: 3pm, Main Street Electrical Parade: none, Wishes Fireworks: 8pm

It’s the busiest day of the week at Animal Kingdom. The morning Extra Magic Hour will attract the bulk of the Disney resort crowd and there’s no evening Extra Magic Hours or special evening entertainment going on at the other Parks, which will cause a lot of off-site guests to visit as well. Most people prefer to visit the other Parks when they’re either open longer or have special evening entertainment like Main Street Electrical Parade. When none of that is available, they’ll default to the Animal Kingdom. Although Fantasmic will help pull people away, it won’t be enough to make Animal Kingdom significantly less crowded. With both yesterday and tomorrow recommended, there’s no reason to visit today.

It’s an above-average day at Epcot. Yesterday’s morning Extra Magic Hour will have been moderately attended by Disney resort guests and they won’t be looking to return today. However, we don’t have a lot going on at the other Parks, which means a pretty good amount of off-site visitors will be headed to Epcot. I’m looking toward tomorrow as having lower crowds and shorter waits, thanks to morning Extra Magic Hour and Main Street Electrical Parade attracting people to Magic Kingdom. However, today won’t be terrible by any means. Plan to arrive as early as possible and either follow a touring plan or head straight to Soarin’, followed by Test Track, Sum of All Thrills, and Mission Space. You’ll be in good shape if you’ve moved to the World Showcase by 1pm, starting with the boat rides in Mexico and Norway.

Hollywood Studios is not expressly recommended. We don’t have evening Extra Magic Hours or Main Street Electrical Parade to help pull people away from the Studios. It’s also later in the week, which means a lot of casual vacationers on a weeklong trip will be looking at the Studios after spending Monday at Magic Kingdom and Tuesday at Epcot. While Animal Kingdom will draw enough Disney resort guests to make it busier than any other day this week, it won’t do a lot to lower the crowd level at the other Parks, especially when Epcot and Magic Kingdom don’t have anything drawing people toward them. With the low overall crowd level it won’t be a terrible day to visit the Studios, especially if you can’t fit it in on a “more recommended” day. As always, you’ll have the most success if you arrive prior to Park opening and head straight for Toy Story Mania, followed by Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, and Star Tours. Get these attractions out of the way in the morning and you’re in good shape to enjoy the Studios’ high capacity shows and secondary attractions later in the morning. You’ll want to strongly consider taking a sizable afternoon break before returning in the evening to re-ride the major attractions with FASTPASSes collected earlier in the day, have dinner, and enjoy Fantasmic.

Magic Kingdom is our best Park to visit today for the exact same reasons it was recommended yesterday. The 9pm close and lack of Main Street Electrical Parade will cause a lot of people to look elsewhere. Many Disney resort guests will wait for tomorrow’s morning Extra Magic Hour and Main Street Electrical Parade combo and even more people will be looking forward to Friday’s and Saturday’s extended operating hours, which will continue through the coming week. Take advantage by arriving prior to Park opening and head straight for Fantasyland (Peter Pan’s Flight, Winnie the Pooh), the headlining Mountain rides (Space Mountain, Splash Mountain), or other time sensitive attractions (Astro Orbiter, Tomorrowland Indy Speedway). You may also want to prioritize one of the two most popular characters – Rapunzel or Tinker Bell. With the low overall crowd level and high recommendation you’ll be able to accomplish a ton of attractions in a short amount of time if you make efficient use of the morning and use FASTPASS at the major attractions throughout the day. Keep in mind that the overall crowd level is going up this weekend, so you’ll want to take advantage of the low crowds now if you are planning to stay for a few more days.

Thursday February 16

Animal Kingdom: 9am – 6pm (Recommended)

Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade: 3:45pm

Epcot: 9am – 9pm (Most Recommended)

IllumiNations: 9pm

Hollywood Studios: 9am – 7pm (Recommended)

Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade: 3pm

Fantasmic: 7pm

Magic Kingdom: 9am – 11pm (Not Recommended)

Morning Extra Magic Hour: 8am – 9am

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade: 3pm, Main Street Electrical Parade: 7pm, Wishes Fireworks: 8pm

We’re coming off a popular day at Animal Kingdom yesterday, thanks to the morning Extra Magic Hour that will draw the majority of Disney resort crowds and the fact that not a whole lot was going on at the other Parks. Today, we have Main Street Electrical Parade attracting crowds toward the Magic Kingdom and Fantasmic continuing to draw people to Hollywood Studios. As always, you’ll find the most success if you arrive prior to Park opening and head straight to Kilimanjaro Safaris and Expedition Everest. If you’re not riding the thrill rides (Expedition Everest, Dinosaur, Primeval Whirl), you’ll want to attend the first showing of Festival of the Lion King and/or Finding Nemo because those shows will be popular in the afternoon. Collect FASTPASSes for attractions you either want to ride again or couldn’t make it to in the morning and you should be able to do just about everything the Animal Kingdom has to offer, despite the relatively short day. After completing your itinerary, you may want to Park Hop to Magic Kingdom for the Main Street Electrical Parade, Hollywood Studios for Fantasmic, or Epcot for dinner and IllumiNations. Without Park Hopper, consider transferring to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner at one of its excellent restaurants. There’s also a public observatory where you can gaze out at the Animal Kingdom Lodge’s private savannas and enjoy the same view many guests are paying a premium to have right outside their balconies. A trip to Downtown Disney or the BoardWalk for dinner and shopping also makes a lot of sense.

Epcot is the most recommended Park. Tomorrow’s evening Extra Magic Hours will draw the majority of Disney resort guests and they won’t be attending today as well. We also have morning Extra Magic Hour and Main Street Electrical Parade pulling people towards Magic Kingdom. Arrive prior to Park opening and head straight to Soarin’, Test Track, Sum of All Thrills, and Mission: Space or follow a more compartmentalized two-day touring plan if you prefer. If you’re interested in meeting Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Pluto at the Character Spot, you may also want to head there first thing in the morning before Soarin’ and the other attractions. Because of its limited capacity and lack of FASTPASS, standby waits are a constant 20-50+ minutes throughout much of the day. If you can’t make it before 9:30am, plan to visit after 7pm when waits are shorter. To stay well ahead of the crowds, move up to World Showcase beginning at 11am, beginning with the water rides in Mexico and Norway. These are the only two lines you’ll find in the World Showcase (other than the cash registers). Return to Future World after 5pm when most people will have moved on to World Showcase if you have more you’d like to accomplish. Check your Times Guide to see which attractions remain open after 7pm. Normally, it’s only Character Spot, Soarin’, Test Track, Mission: Space, and Spaceship Earth. It’s also a great day to stay for dinner and IllumiNations.

Hollywood Studios is highly recommended now that Fantasmic has been added to every day this week (other than this past Sunday). This makes Fantasmic’s effect on crowds similar to IllumiNations at Epcot in that it’s available every night. This makes each specific show less enticing. People are more likely to visit the Studios when it has Extra Magic Hours or will default to it when they aren’t attracted to other Parks for one reason or another. While Hollywood Studios won’t be far and away less crowded than other days this week, it’s better than either of the last two days because Magic Kingdom will be so popular and pull so many people away. However, tomorrow will be even better because we’ll have Epcot’s evening Extra Magic Hours pulling even more people away along with Magic Kingdom’s extended hours and both nighttime spectaculars. Despite the recommendation, you’ll still have the most success if you arrive prior to Park opening and head straight for Toy Story Mania, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, and Star Tours first thing in the morning. After you get through those attractions, it’s just a matter of hitting the various stage shows that run on a set schedule, getting to the character meet and greets, and visiting the other high capacity attractions. For Fantasmic, I always recommend the Fantasmic Dining Package, which guarantees everyone on the reservation a seat in the reserved section of the Fantasmic theater. While it still requires you to arrive at least 30 minutes early, it’s better than the 60+ minutes you’re looking at without the Package. On the Disney Dining Plan, you can book the Fantasmic Dining Package for one table service credit at Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano or Hollywood & Vine and for two table service credits at Hollywood Brown Derby, which is the same cost as it would be otherwise. It also includes the appetizer, which is a nice bonus. Overall, it’s a great day to visit the Studios and see Fantasmic, but arriving early and touring efficiently is more important than picking the “right day.”

Magic Kingdom is going to be busy because of the morning Extra Magic Hour that will attract a lot of Disney resort guests, the longer operating hours than most days earlier in the week, and the Main Street Electrical Parade, which will attract a lot of off-site guests as well. The Main Street Electrical Parade is extremely popular and it hasn’t been scheduled since Monday. If you would like to see the Parade, your best bet is always an evening Park Hop after spending the majority of your day at a recommended Park. This way, you spend most of your day in a Park with low crowds and short lines and you’ll still be able to enjoy Magic Kingdom’s nighttime spectaculars. For Parade viewing, the least crowded areas are located along the Parade route in Frontierland and Liberty Square and the most crowded spots are along Main Street. Depending on crowds, you may still want scope out a spot about 30 minutes early. Today and Friday are preferable to either Monday or Saturday for Parade viewing because nighttime crowds will be slightly lower. Luckily, we do have Main Street Electrical Parade scheduled every day for the next ten days or so. However, that comes with elevated crowds for President’s Day Weekend, so it’s not all good news. Overall, the last two days would have much lower crowds and tomorrow is a better day to see the Parade. The morning Extra Magic Hours is a viable time to tour, but only if you actually arrive by 7:45am to take full advantage of it by visiting the Fantasyland attractions and headliners that are open. If you don’t arrive until later, you’ll find yourself in a Park that is getting progressively busier as more and more Disney resort guests arrive. By the time 1pm rolls around, the Park will be more crowded than during a recommended day and lines will be long enough that it will likely erase any benefit from the morning Extra Magic Hour.

Friday February 17

Animal Kingdom: 9am – 6pm (Recommended)

Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade: 3:45pm

Epcot: 9am – 9pm (Not Recommended)

Evening Extra Magic Hours: 9pm – 12am

IllumiNations: 9pm

Hollywood Studios: 9am – 7pm (Most Recommended)

Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade: 3pm

Fantasmic: 7pm

Magic Kingdom: 9am – 1am (Tentatively Recommended)

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade: 3pm, Main Street Electrical Parade: 9pm and 11pm, Wishes Fireworks: 10pm

Animal Kingdom is recommended again today. We have an incredibly popular evening Extra Magic Hours at Epcot and longer hours of operation and Main Street Electrical Parade at Magic Kingdom. While we are usually somewhat concerned about the natural progression of weeklong visitors that will hold off on Animal Kingdom until later in the week, we have a slightly altered crowd progression due to President’s Day. Overall, this will be a great day at Animal Kingdom, though this past Tuesday would have been the best day this week to visit, primarily because of the lower overall crowd level. Now that the overall crowd level is higher, it’s even more important than usual to arrive prior to Park opening and head straight for Kilimanjaro Safaris and Expedition Everest. Once you complete these two attractions, move on to DinoLand USA or one the major stage shows. As long as you get through DinoLand USA by 11am, you should be fine. Collect FASTPASSes for the headlining attractions you would like to revisit in the afternoon and evening because peak wait times will be long, despite the recommendation. If you’re interested in the Character Trails in Camp Minnie-Mickey, plan to head over about five minutes before the characters are scheduled to appear. Because each character has its own individual line, wait times can quickly add up in the afternoon. If you can’t arrive early, visit about ten minutes before a Lion King show is scheduled to start. Lion King lets about 1,000 people out near the Greeting Trails once per hour and lines are always much longer after the show. Finally, crowds do dissipate after the 3:45pm Parade and it’s usually a good time to return to the major attractions from 4:55pm to 6pm. Hang around through close if you didn’t arrive early or would like to have one more ride with a relatively short standby wait. Still, the morning is always the best time to tour because FASTPASSes are plentiful and waits are guaranteed to be short.

Hollywood Studios is the most recommended Park and your best opportunity to see Fantasmic this week. With Fantasmic scheduled most nights this week, there will be less demand for any specific show. People won’t flock to the Studios simply because Fantasmic is offered, but will be more likely to default to it when less is going on elsewhere. Magic Kingdom will be popular today with the longer hours of operation and evening entertainment and Epcot’s evening Extra Magic Hour will attract a ton of Disney resort guests. To have the most success, you’ll still want to arrive prior to Park opening and head straight for Toy Story Mania, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, and Star Tours. Because Toy Story Mania has such a limited capacity, wait times are almost always 60+ minutes in the afternoon and FASTPASSes are often gone by 1pm, even when the overall crowd level is low and Hollywood Studios is recommended. You’ll want to make it your top priority. Your second priority is Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, which also sees long afternoon waits and FASTPASSes that run out in the late afternoon. Tower of Terror and Star Tours should be easier to ride, but also remain priorities. If you can get these attractions done in the early morning, you’ll be in great shape for the rest of the day. The only other problem most people run into is trying to schedule all of the stage shows that run on a set schedule. For Fantasmic, consider the Fantasmic Dining Package that guarantees everyone on the reservation a seat in the reserved section of the theater. You’ll still need to arrive at least 30 minutes early, but it’s better than the 60+ minutes early you’ll need to arrive without the package. It makes the most sense on the Disney Dining Plan because it only costs one table service credit (except at Hollywood Brown Derby, which still costs two credits as it would otherwise) and includes the appetizer. As far as general seating is concerned, the best seats are about half way up in the center sections, but be prepared to arrive an hour early for those seats. Sit any closer and you run the risk of getting wet and it’s more difficult to see what’s happening on the water.

Magic Kingdom comes tentatively recommended. Crowds are only going to get heavier over the next few days, but tonight’s longer hours of operation and the addition of Main Street Electrical Parade will make today attractive to people that arrived earlier in the week. Luckily, yesterday’s morning Extra Magic Hour/Main Street Electrical Parade combo will have been popular with Disney resort guests and we have similar long hours and Main Street Electrical Parade scheduled every night for the foreseeable future. Although we’ll have even more people arriving today and this weekend, Magic Kingdom is still going to be considerably busier than this past Tuesday or Wednesday. However, it’s a better day to visit than yesterday or any of the next three days, so we do have it classified as recommended. You’ll want to take advantage of that if you’re just arriving. Like any other day, you’ll have the most success if you arrive prior to Park opening and head straight to Fantasyland, the headlining Mountain rides (Space Mountain, Splash Mountain), or other attractions that are time sensitive (Tomorrowland Indy Speedway, Astro Orbiter). Collect FASTPASSes throughout the day and you can have a ton of success. You may also want to prioritize the most popular characters. Rapunzel, Tinker Bell, and Ariel (in that order) ordinarily see the longest waits. Consider heading straight for Rapunzel after rope drop if you’re interested in meeting her because wait times will hit 45+ minutes in the afternoon. Consider taking an afternoon break from 1pm to 6pm or so when crowds are heavier to rest up for the evening entertainment. Return in the evening to ride some major headliners with FASTPASSes collected earlier in the day, enjoy some high capacity attractions, have dinner, and watch the nighttime spectaculars. 10pm to 1am will also be an excellent time to tour because more and more people will leave. Save Tomorrowland and then Fantasyland for the end of the night. Overall it’s a recommended day and the best day of the week to catch Main Street Electrical Parade. For the Parade, I recommend scouting out a spot along the Parade route in Frontierland or Liberty Square for the 11pm Parade. These locations offer a view that is just as good as Main Street and don’t require the excessive waits. The second Parade is also substantially less crowded than the first, particularly when it’s scheduled this late at night.

Saturday February 18

Animal Kingdom: 8am – 8pm (Most Recommended)

Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade: 3:45pm

Epcot: 9am – 9pm (Recommended)

IllumiNations: 9pm

Hollywood Studios: 9am – 10pm (Not Recommended)

Morning Extra Magic Hour: 8am – 9am

Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade: 3pm

Fantasmic: 7pm and 8:30pm

Magic Kingdom: 8am – 1am (Not Recommended)

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade: 3pm, Main Street Electrical Parade: 9pm and 11pm, Wishes Fireworks: 10pm

Animal Kingdom is our best Park to visit. We don’t have Extra Magic Hours, special events, or anything specific to draw people towards it. We also have a lot of people arriving for a President’s Day Weekend vacation and they won’t be ready to visit Animal Kingdom until early next week, most likely Monday or Wednesday. With the 8am open, you can have a tremendour morning if you arrive prior to Park opening and head straight for Kilimanjaro Safaris and Expedition Everest. You should have no trouble riding Expedition Everest multiple times in the morning if you so choose. Once you get through these two attractions, you have little to worry about other than trying to get to the scheduled shows. Finding Nemo and Festival of the Lion King do get busy during the afternoon shows, so try to see the first or last show of the day. You’ll also want to get to DinoLand USA before 10:30am to ride Primeval Whirl and DINOSAUR because those two attractions are popular. Still, they aren’t necessarily your top morning priorities and you can easily FASTPASS them throughout the day if need arises. You should have no trouble seeing most of what the Animal Kingdom has to offer in one day, provided you arrive early in the morning, tour efficiently, collect FASTPASSes, and keep an eye on the time in order to see the scheduled stage shows. Finally, crowds disperse shortly after the 3:45pm Parade. Plan to return to any favorites from 6:30pm through close when waits will be shorter than the afternoon. If you’re not planning to arrive early, you can also have success staying through close. Keep an eye on time for the last Safari because it will most likely be 6pm due to darkness.

Epcot is recommended now that Fantasmic is scheduled at Hollywood Studios. We’re coming off a very popular evening Extra Magic Hours last night and those Disney resort guests will not be looking to return today, especially in the morning. Tomorrow would be slightly better because of the popularity of evening Extra Magic Hours at Magic Kingdom, but today also works if it fits into your itinerary better. We don’t want to visit Animal Kingdom every day, after all. If you do visit, be sure to take care of Soarin’, Test Track, Sum of All Thrills, and Mission Space early in the morning. FASTPASS Soarin’ and then Test Track if you’d like to experience them again in the afternoon when wait times are long. If you notice crowds becoming uncomfortably large in Future World by 11am, move on to the World Showcase beginning with the water rides in Mexico and Norway. It’s a great day to stay for IllumiNations because Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom will be attracting most of the nighttime crowd.

Hollywood Studios is not recommended now that Fantasmic is scheduled. We had it tentatively recommended when Fantasmic wasn’t scheduled because Fantasmic was such a crowd magnet when it was only offered on a limited number of nights. While the addition of Fantasmic to every night this week makes each show less appealing, it also makes today’s morning Extra Magic Hour more attractive to Disney resort guests because they’ll also have the opportunity to see Fantasmic and enjoy the longer operating hours than other days during the week. Because most Disney resort guests will be arriving later in the morning, you can still have success if you are Extra Magic Hours eligible, arrive by 7:45am, and head straight to Toy Story Mania, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, and Star Tours. However, you’re in trouble if you arrive at 10am with everyone else. Make full use of the morning and you don’t necessarily need to change your plans, but it’s going to be busier than recommended days in the afternoon and you’ll likely want to take a sizeable afternoon break from 1pm to 5pm or so to rest up for Fantasmic, after arriving early in the morning. Overall, I would plan to visit yesterday or tomorrow if you can swing it.

Magic Kingdom is not recommended. While we do have additional availability of Main Street Electrical Parade over the next week and similarly long operating hours each day, we’ll also have a lot of people arriving for a short or moderate length President’s Day vacation that are interested in visiting Magic Kingdom first. Coupled with the number of people on a previous weeklong vacation that will be looking to visit Magic Kingdom before leaving tomorrow, today is going to be busier than yesterday. However, each of the next two days will be similarly crowded. If you couldn’t visit yesterday and can’t wait until Tuesday or Wednesday of next week, then today would be better than tomorrow or Monday. You can have success if you arrive prior to Park opening and take care of Fantasyland, the headlining Mountain rides, or other time sensitive attractions first, but you’re in trouble if you don’t arrive until 10am or later with everyone else. With the above average overall crowd level, it’s going to be busy from 11am through 11pm. If you are planning to arrive later, try to stay through 1am because crowds and wait times will only get lower as it gets later into the evening.

Sunday February 19

Animal Kingdom: 8am – 8pm (Recommended)

Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade: 3:45pm

Epcot: 9am – 9pm (Highly Recommended)

IllumiNations: 9pm

Hollywood Studios: 9am – 10pm (Most Recommended)

Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade: 3pm

Fantasmic: 7pm and 8:30pm

Magic Kingdom: 8am – 12am (Not Recommended)

Evening Extra Magic Hours: 12am – 3am

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade: 3pm, Main Street Electrical Parade: 9pm and 11pm, Wishes Fireworks: 10pm

Animal Kingdom is recommended again today. You also have a decent opportunity to Park Hop after the Park closes. You could head to Epcot for dinner and IllumiNations, Magic Kingdom for evening Extra Magic Hours and Main Street Electrical Parade, 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. You should have no trouble doing just about everything the Park has to offer if you arrive close to Park opening, use FASTPASS, and tour efficiently. Focus on riding Kilimanjaro Safaris and Expedition Everest as early as possible or FASTPASS them later in the day (or both). You should be able to ride Everest repeatedly with short waits before 9:30am when crowds are extremely low. 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. To be in the best shape, make it over to DinoLand USA before 10:30am when crowds begin to build at Primeval Whirl and DINOSAUR. With the 8am open, you should be able to get a lot done before the Character Trails open in Camp Minnie-Mickey. If possible, head over to the characters about five minutes before they are scheduled to appear. Each character has its own line, so waits can add up quickly in the afternoon when crowds are much heavier. Finally, keep in mind crowds disperse after the 3:45pm Parade. Waits should only decrease from 6:30pm to close. Return to Expedition Everest, DINOSAUR, Primeval Whirl, or whatever you would like to experience after 6pm, especially if you don’t arrive early. Check the last departure time for Kilimanjaro Safaris because it will most likely be earlier than the rest of the Park closes. It doesn’t operate after dark. Check the Animal Kingdom touring plans section for additional advice.

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, Test Track, 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’, Test Track, 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’ or Test Track, collect FASTPASSes earlier in the day because standby wait times will most likely continue to be 45+ 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 because Magic Kingdom will be a big draw for on-site and off-site visitors alike. We also have the popular evening Extra Magic Hours/Fantasmic combo that will be popular with Disney resort guests tomorrow and a morning Extra Magic Hour yesterday that will also be more popular. However, the addition of Fantasmic to every night this week helps standardize crowds and the Studios won’t be far and away less busy than other days this week because it still features Fantasmic and has longer operating hours. Ultimately, touring efficiently is more important than picking the right day, but today is your best opportunity this week to find lower crowds and shorter waits. If you do visit the Studios today (or any day), you’ll want to arrive prior to Park opening and head straight to Toy Story Mania, followed by Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, and Star Tours. You’ll be in good shape if you can get these attractions out of the way early in the morning or with FASTPASS in the early afternoon. Other than those four headliners, it’s really just a matter of arriving in time to see the shows that run on a set schedule and getting over to the Studios’ high capacity attractions like Backlot Tour and Great Movie Ride. You’ll be in quite a bit of trouble if you don’t show up until 10am, especially if your intention is to ride the headliners. The easiest way to see Fantasmic is to book the Fantasmic Dining Package, which guarantees everyone on the reservation a seat in the reserved section of the Theater. While it will still require you to arrive at least 30 minutes prior to the start of the show, it will still be considerably less than the 60+ minute wait you can expect without the Package. If you’re not interested in the Package or it’s not available, plan to see the 8:30pm show. The second show is always less crowded, though it’s early enough in the evening that it will still be popular. Plan to arrive at least 30 minutes early to get decent seats together. Overall, it’s a recommended day at the Studios, but it’s still imperative that you arrive early and head straight to Toy Story Mania. Toy Story Mania will see wait times of 60+ minutes in the afternoon and FASTPASS return times will already be into the afternoon by 10am. There’s simply no way around this. Tour efficiently in the morning and you can beat the crowds.

Magic Kingdom is going to be very busy today and tomorrow. Sometimes, I mark Magic Kingdom “green” for “tentatively recommended in the morning and late evening” when it’s hosting evening Extra Magic Hours on Sundays. However, the high overall crowd level and Monday holiday complicate things quite a bit. While the morning will be an excellent time to tour through 11:30am or so and the late evening will also see lower crowds, it’s still going to be significantly busier than Tuesday or Wednesday. This past Friday was also highly recommended. When we have a Monday holiday, the Sunday before is often the busiest day of the week at Magic Kingdom when it’s hosting evening Extra Magic Hours and Main Street Electrical Parade. While you can have a lot of success from 9am – 12pm and 12am – 3am, the afternoon is going to be very crowded. If you do visit, plan to hit the major attractions hard early in the morning and consider taking a break or visiting the least popular attractions in the afternoon. A sizable break to rest up for Main Street Electrical Parade, Wishes, and evening Extra Magic Hours would also make a lot of sense. For evening Extra Magic Hours, I recommend beginning in Adventureland and Frontierland before moving up to Liberty Square and over to Tomorrowland. Most people start in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland and crowds will thin out considerably in both areas by 1:30am. Save Peter Pan’s Flight and Winnie the Pooh for the very end of the night. Finally, for Main Street Electrical Parade, scout out spots along the Parade route in Frontierland or Liberty Square for the 11pm Parade. These areas are significantly less crowded than Main Street and require a shorter wait.

Monday February 20

Animal Kingdom: 8am – 8pm (Not Recommended)

Morning Extra Magic Hour: 7am – 8am

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 – 1am

Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade: 3pm

Fantasmic: 7pm and 8:30pm

Magic Kingdom: 8am – 1am (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 extremely difficult to get out there by 6:45am 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 5:30am. Or earlier. If you’re absolutely certain that you’ll arrive by 6:45am, 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 for the Main Street Electrical Parade. Although Epcot is our best Park to visit, it will still be crowded with the high overall crowd level, the holiday, and the number of people that will be finishing up a short President’s Day Weekend vacation. o have the most success, arrive prior to Park opening and head to Soarin’, Test Track, Sum of All Thrills, and Mission: Space or follow one of the compartmentalized two-day touring plans. You may also want to visit the Character Spot first thing if it’s of interest because waits will be long all day and it doesn’t offer FASTPASS. 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, collect FASTPASSes for it in the morning or early afternoon. Check your Times Guide to see which Future World attractions remain open past 7pm – it’s usually only Soarin’, Test Track, Mission: Space, Spaceship Earth, and Character Spot. 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 Fantasmic that will keep crowds heavy all day. The morning will be an okay time to tour, but crowds will increase around 11am as more and more Disney resort guests arrive. I’m looking towards tomorrow and Friday as the best days to visit in the future. Yesterday was also highly recommended. 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, at least until after 11pm when people begin to give up and exit. 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. 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 10pm and you’re in trouble if you don’t arrive until 10:30am or later.

Magic Kingdom will be busy again today. It’s a national holiday, we’ll have a decent number of people arriving for a weeklong vacation on Sunday and they’ll naturally visit the Most Magical Place on Earth on their first full day, and we have long operating hours, Main Street Electrical Parade, and Wishes like other days during the week. I’m looking towards tomorrow and Wednesday as being significantly less crowded.

Tuesday February 21

Animal Kingdom: 8am – 8pm (Most Recommended)

Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade: 3:45pm

Epcot: 9am – 9pm (Not Recommended)

Morning Extra Magic Hour: 8am – 9am

IllumiNations: 9pm

Hollywood Studios: 9am – 9pm (Recommended)

Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade: 3pm

Fantasmic: 7pm and 8:30pm

Magic Kingdom: 8am – 1am (Highly Recommended)

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade: 3pm, Main Street Electrical Parade: 9pm and 11pm, Wishes Fireworks: 10pm

Animal Kingdom is the most recommended Park for a number of reasons. We don’t have special events, Extra Magic Hours, or anything specific drawing people toward it. Yesterday’s and tomorrow’s morning Extra Magic Hours will be more popular with Disney resort guests. We also have Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios attracting a lot of off-site and on-site visitors alike and it’s early enough in the week that many people on weeklong vacations will be saving Animal Kingdom for later in the week. Overall, today and Saturday are the best days of the week to visit. To have the most success, arrive prior to Park opening and head straight for Kilimanjaro Safaris and Expedition Everest. You’ll have no trouble riding both with very low waits before 9am. Once you get through these two attractions, you have little to worry about other than trying to get to the scheduled shows. Finding Nemo and Festival of the Lion King do get busy during the afternoon shows, so try to see the first or last show of the day. You’ll also want to get to DinoLand USA before 10:30am to ride Primeval Whirl and DINOSAUR because those two attractions are popular. Still, they aren’t necessarily your top morning priorities and you can easily FASTPASS them throughout the day if need arises. You should have no trouble experiencing most everything Animal Kingdom has to offer in one day, provided you arrive early in the morning, tour efficiently, collect FASTPASSes, and keep an eye on the time in order to see the scheduled stage shows. Finally, crowds disperse shortly after the 3:45pm Parade. Plan to return to any favorites from 6:00pm through close when waits will be shorter than the afternoon, but be sure to check the departure time of the last Kilimanjaro Safari. It’s often around 6pm due to darkness.

Epcot is not recommended. We have the morning Extra Magic Hour attracting the majority of Disney resort guests and a lot of off-site visitors who will naturally visit Epcot after the Magic Kingdom yesterday. While Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios helps, it shouldn’t pull enough people away to make a discernable difference in wait times. Skip it unless you can’t get there any other day or are certain you’ll arrive prior to 8am for the morning Extra Magic Hour and plan to either Park Hop elsewhere or take a break in the afternoon.

Hollywood Studios is recommended. Yesterday’s evening Extra Magic Hours/Fantasmic combo will be a bigger draw and the addition of Fantasmic to every day this week spreads crowds out more evenly. Because of that, your touring plan is more important than which day you decide to visit the Studios. Arrive prior to Park opening, head directly to Toy Story Mania, and then visit Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, and Star Tours. You may need to FASTPASS Star Tours if crowds build before you get over there. That’s okay because FASTPASSes are plentiful and return times are generally only 40 to 60 minutes away. Do this, and you’ll be in great shape for the rest of the day. Don’t arrive until 10am and you’ll end up with a 60+ minute wait at Toy Story Mania with FASTPASS return times in the early evening. The other headliners will also be busy from 10:30am through close. After getting through the headliners, focus on the Studios’ stage shows and high capacity attractions like Backlot Tour and Great Movie Ride. You may want to take a break in the afternoon from 1pm to 5pm or so when crowds get heavier. Return for dinner, some rides with FASTPASSes collected earlier in the day, and Fantasmic. Finally, consider the Fantasmic Dining Package that guarantees everyone on the reservation a seat in the reserved section of the Hollywood Hills Theater if you’re interested in the 7pm show. It will still require you to arrive 30 minutes early (or you run the risk of Disney opening the reserved section to the general population), but it’s better than the 60 minute wait that may be required to get decent seats without it. It makes the most sense if you’re also on the Disney Dining Plan because it costs the same one-table-service credit at Hollywood and Vine or Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano and two-table-service credits that you would use otherwise. It also includes the appetizer, which is a nice bonus. If you’re not interested in the Package or it’s no longer available, plan to see the 8:30pm show. While it’s still early enough to be popular with families, you won’t need to worry about two large sections reserved for Dining Package users. Plan to arrive at least 30 minutes early for the 8:30pm show to secure decent seats. Overall, it’s a recommended day because it would be better than yesterday or tomorrow, but what you do is more important than arriving on the “right” day.

Magic Kingdom is highly recommended, though tomorrow will be less crowded. Wednesdays are historically the least crowded day of the week at the Magic Kingdom due to the natural progression of weeklong vacationers that visit Magic Kingdom early and late on their trip. You can still have a lot of success if you visit today, especially with morning Extra Magic Hour at Epcot drawing Disney resort guests away and Fantasmic’s popularity with both on- and off-site visitors. However, some of the smartest vacationers know that it’s a good idea to skip Magic Kingdom on national holidays and they’ll be visiting today instead. That won’t be as much of an issue tomorrow. To have the most success, arrive prior to Park opening and head to Fantasyland or the headlining Mountain rides. You may have other time sensitive attractions on your itinerary like Astro Orbiter or Tomorrowland Indy Speedway as well. While these aren’t “the most popular” or “headlining” attractions, they are still morning priorities because they have guaranteed uncomfortable waits from 10am onward. Also consider prioritizing the most popular characters – Rapunzel, Tinker Bell, and Ariel. Rapunzel in particular sees 60+ minute waits in the afternoon. Use FASTPASS throughout the day and you should be able to accomplish a ton. Because Wishes and Main Street Electrical Parade are scheduled a little later in the evening, I recommend a lengthy afternoon break from 1pm to 5pm or so when crowds are heavier. This is the least stressful way to enjoy the Magic Kingdom. Return in the evening to ride some attractions with FASTPASSes collected earlier in the day, have dinner, see some high capacity attractions, and enjoy the evening entertainment. For Main Street Electrical Parade, scout out a spot along the Parade route in Frontierland or Liberty Square for the 11pm Parade. These areas offer a view that is just as good as Main Street, but they don’t require the excessive waits. The later Electrical Parade is also much less popular than the first, particularly when it’s scheduled this late. Still, you may want to arrive about 20 minutes early to secure front row spots. If you aren’t planning to arrive early, the late night hours are also less busy. Stay through until 1am because waits will only decrease as it gets later in the evening. Peter Pan’s Flight, Winnie the Pooh, and the Mountain rides will see considerably shorter waits after 11pm.

Wednesday February 22

Animal Kingdom: 8am – 8pm (Not Recommended)

Morning Extra Magic Hour: 7am – 8am

Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade: 3:45pm

Epcot: 9am – 9pm (Recommended)

IllumiNations: 9pm

Hollywood Studios: 9am – 9pm (Not Recommended)

Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade: 3pm

Fantasmic: 7pm and 8:30pm

Magic Kingdom: 8am – 1am (Most Recommended)

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade: 3pm, Main Street Electrical Parade: 9pm and 11pm, Wishes Fireworks: 10pm

It’s the busiest day of the week at Animal Kingdom. The morning Extra Magic Hour will attract the bulk of the Disney resort crowd and there’s no evening Extra Magic Hours or special evening entertainment going on at the other Parks, which will cause a lot of off-site guests to visit as well. While Hollywood Studios will continue being popular with Fantasmic and Magic Kingdom will still be crowded with the high overall crowd level, these facts won’t make Animal Kingdom much less crowded. With both yesterday and tomorrow recommended, there’s no reason to visit today.

It’s an above-average day at Epcot. Yesterday’s morning Extra Magic Hour will have been well attended by Disney resort guests and they won’t be looking to return today. Disney resort guests are more likely to head to Animal Kingdom today and the addition of Fantasmic means a decent number of off-site guests will be headed to Hollywood Studios as well. In most scenarios, I recommend heading to Magic Kingdom today to take advantage of the lower crowd level there and holding off on Epcot until tomorrow. However, Epcot works fine today too, provided you follow my broken-record advice – arrive prior to Park opening and head straight to Soarin’, followed by Test Track, Sum of All Thrills, and Mission: Space. You may also want to take a more compartmentalized two-day approach, which gives you the benefit of enjoying the lowest possible crowds in both Future World and World Showcase each day. Collect FASTPASSes throughout the day for Soarin’, Test Track, and Mission Space (in that order) if you’d like to ride any of them a second time. If you’re planning just one day in Epcot, try to move up through the World Showcase right at 11am, beginning with the boat rides in Mexico and Norway. These are the only two attractions in World Showcase that will see wait times. Luckily, FASTPASSes for Maelstrom are plentiful and you’ll be able to grab FASTPASSes with a return time of just 40 minutes in the future in case the posted wait time is 20+ minutes or you’d like to ride two or three times in the late afternoon or evening. Return to Future World after 5pm to visit any attractions that you skipped in the morning. Keep in mind that most Future World attractions close at 7pm. Usually only Soarin’, Test Track, Mission Space, and Spaceship Earth continue operating from 7pm – 9pm. Overall, it’s a good day to visit Epcot and a fine day to stay for dinner and IllumiNations, provided you tour efficiently in the morning.

Hollywood Studios is not recommended due to the addition of Fantasmic every night this week. A lot of casual vacationers on a weeklong vacation will arrive on Sunday and naturally visit Magic Kingdom and Epcot on their first two full days. By Wednesday and Thursday, they’ll be ready to try Animal Kingdom or Hollywood Studios. While Animal Kingdom will draw a decent number of Disney resort guests, the morning Extra Magic Hour won’t do much to lure the sizeable off-site contingent. With no special evening entertainment elsewhere and no extended operating hours, many off-site guests will default to Hollywood Studios. Because of that, I can’t recommend it. Keep in mind that the Studios won’t be far and away busier than recommended days because we don’t have anything specific attracting people towards it. You can still have success if you tour efficiently in the morning, take an afternoon break, and return in the evening for dinner, Fantasmic, and some late night rides. However, you will find heavier crowds and longer waits than recommended days – it just won’t be the night and day difference that we saw when Fantasmic was scheduled less often.

Magic Kingdom is our best Park to visit today for the exact same reasons it was recommended yesterday. With the 8am open, you have a tremendous opportunity to take advantage of low crowds from 8am – 10am. Head straight to Fantasyland and you should have no trouble experiencing all of the rides (other than Mickey’s PhilharMagic, which should be saved for later) in 40 or 50 minutes. By the time 1pm rolls around, the standby wait at Peter Pan’s Flight and Winnie the Pooh will be 50+ minutes. In other words, you’ll be able to experience Peter Pan’s Flight, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Mad Tea Party, Prince Regal Carousel, and it’s a small world in less time than it would take to wait for Peter Pan’s Flight in the afternoon. You may also want to prioritize other attractions like Space Mountain, Tomorrowland Speedway, Astro Orbiter, or whatever else you’d like to visit first. The three most popular characters in Magic Kingdom are Rapunzel, Tinker Bell, and Ariel/Prince Eric. To experience Tinker Bell or Ariel with the shortest waits, plan to get in line 10 or 15 minutes before they are scheduled to appear. Unfortunately, Rapunzel is the most difficult to meet with a short wait. She ordinarily begins appearing at 9:15am and people will head straight over at 8am, causing the actual wait to be 90ish minutes first thing in the morning. From then on, the wait is usually 45+ minutes for the rest of the day. If you want to meet Rapunzel, I recommend heading over around 5pm. She should continue appearing through 7:15pm, even if the signage states otherwise. You can ask the attendant earlier in the day to verify her last meet. Otherwise, consider taking an afternoon break from 1pm to 6pm or so to rest up for the evening entertainment when crowds are heaviest. Return in the evening for some rides with FASTPASSes collected earlier in the day, dinner, some high capacity attractions, and the nighttime entertainment. For Main Street Electrical Parade, the least crowded viewing locations are in Liberty Square and Frontierland. The 11pm Parade will also be significantly less crowded than the 9pm Parade because it’s too late for most families to attend. Finally, the late night is also a great time to tour. Stay through 1am if you’re not planning to arrive early today or tomorrow because wait times will only decrease as it gets later and later. Return to Fantasyland after 11:45pm to find much lower crowds than the afternoon.

Thursday February 23

Animal Kingdom: 9am – 8pm (Highly Recommended)

Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade: 3:45pm

Epcot: 9am – 9pm (Most Recommended)

IllumiNations: 9pm

Hollywood Studios: 9am – 9pm (Not Recommended)

Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade: 3pm

Fantasmic: 7pm and 8:30pm

Magic Kingdom: 8am – 12am (Not Recommended)

Morning Extra Magic Hour: 7am – 8am

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade: 3pm, Main Street Electrical Parade: 9pm and 11pm, Wishes Fireworks: 10pm

Animal Kingdom and Epcot are our best choices. We’re coming off a popular day at Animal Kingdom yesterday, thanks to the morning Extra Magic Hour that will draw a lot of Disney resort guests and the fact that not a whole lot was going on at the other Parks. Today, we have morning Extra Magic Hour attracting crowds toward the Magic Kingdom and Fantasmic attracting people toward Hollywood Studios. As always, you’ll find the most success if you arrive prior to Park opening and head straight to Kilimanjaro Safaris and Expedition Everest. If you’re not riding the thrill rides (Expedition Everest, Dinosaur, Primeval Whirl), you’ll want to attend the first showing of Festival of the Lion King and/or Finding Nemo because those shows will be popular in the afternoon. Collect FASTPASSes for attractions you either want to ride again or couldn’t make it to in the morning and you should be able to do just about everything the Animal Kingdom has to offer, despite the relatively short day. After completing your itinerary, you may want to Park Hop to Magic Kingdom for the Main Street Electrical Parade, Hollywood Studios for Fantasmic, or Epcot for dinner and IllumiNations. Keep in mind that crowds disperse shortly after the 3:45pm Parade. Stay through close if there’s more that you want to accomplish because wait times will only decrease from 6pm onward. Without Park Hopper, consider transferring to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner at one of its excellent restaurants. There’s also a public observatory where you can gaze out at the Animal Kingdom Lodge’s private savannas and enjoy the same view many guests are paying a premium to have right outside their balconies. A trip to Downtown Disney or the BoardWalk for dinner and shopping also makes a lot of sense.

Epcot is the most recommended Park. Tomorrow’s evening Extra Magic Hours will draw the majority of Disney resort guests and they won’t be attending today as well. We also have morning Extra Magic Hour and Main Street Electrical Parade pulling people towards Magic Kingdom and Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios continuing to draw crowds. Plan to arrive prior to Park opening and head straight to Soarin’, Test Track, Sum of All Thrills, and Mission: Space or follow a more compartmentalized two-day touring plan if you prefer. If you arrive later, plan to FASTPASS Soarin’ and then Test Track as soon as possible. Those rides will have 60+ minute waits for most of the day after 10:30am due to their popularity and relatively low capacities. Move on to the World Showcase beginning around 11am if crowds begin to build in Future World, beginning with the water rides in Mexico and Norway. Return to Future World after 5pm if you have more to accomplish and to ride/re-ride the headliners with FASTPASS. It’s also a great day to stay for dinner and IllumiNations.

Hollywood Studios is not recommended. While the morning Extra Magic Hour will help draw Disney resort guests toward Magic Kingdom, it won’t be as big of a draw as when Magic Kingdom offers Main Street Electrical Parade and Wishes less often. With Main Street Electrical Parade, Wishes, and similarly long hours every day this week, Magic Kingdom will only be marginally more crowded today. We also don’t have the more popular evening Extra Magic Hours scheduled anywhere. I’m looking towards tomorrow as being less crowded, thanks to the more popular evening Extra Magic Hours at Epcot and the fact that the morning Extra Magic Hour on Saturday will be more attractive to Disney resort guests. Like yesterday, there’s nothing specific drawing people towards Hollywood Studios, which means it won’t be far and away busier than non-recommended days during the week. However, you will find higher crowds and longer waits in the afternoon. Most people will want to take advantage of the lower crowds at Epcot and hold off on Hollywood Studios until tomorrow.

The morning Extra Magic Hour at Magic Kingdom will lure a decent number of Disney resort guests, making the Park busier than yesterday or tomorrow from 11am onward. The fact that we have Main Street Electrical Parade scheduled every night this week certainly “helps” distribute crowds more evenly, even though the Disney resort crowd will predictably visit when Extra Magic Hours are scheduled. Nonetheless, today won’t be far and away busier than other days this week and you can have success provided you take advantage of the morning Extra Magic Hour by arriving no later than 6:40am and heading straight to Fantasyland or other open attractions. Much like yesterday, you’ll have a tremendous opportunity to get a lot done between 7am and 10am. Move on to the headlining Mountain rides when they open and you’ll be in excellent shape. However, you will find that crowds are heavier than recommended days in the afternoon. You’ll probably want to take a break from 1pm to 6pm or so and return in the evening to ride some major attractions with FASTPASS, have dinner, see some high capacity attractions, and enjoy the evening spectaculars. Keep in mind that you would be much better off visiting on a recommended day if you aren’t Extra Magic Hours eligible or won’t arrive until 9:30am or later because the afternoon will be busier.

Friday February 24

Animal Kingdom: 9am – 8pm (Not Recommended)

Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade: 3:45pm

Epcot: 9am – 9pm (Not Recommended)

Evening Extra Magic Hours: 9pm – 12am

IllumiNations: 9pm

Hollywood Studios: 9am – 7pm (Most Recommended)

Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade: 3pm

Fantasmic: 7pm

Magic Kingdom: 8am – 1am (Recommended)

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade: 3pm, Main Street Electrical Parade: 9pm and 11pm, Wishes Fireworks: 10pm

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. 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. Tuesday was the best day of the week to visit and yesterday was also recommended. 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, but the afternoon will be busier than recommended days. 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.

Hollywood Studios is the most recommended Park. Although Disney added Fantasmic, it’s still one of the two best days of the week to visit. We’re coming off a popular Fantasmic last night and tomorrow’s morning Extra Magic Hour, Fantasmic, and longer hours of operation will also be more popular. We also have Fantasmic and evening Extra Magic Hours scheduled Sunday. That means we’re looking at fewer people in the Park, crowds that grow slower, increased FASTPASS availability, less congestion in common areas, and shorter waits at rides, shows, and restaurants. To have the most success, you’ll still want to arrive prior to Park opening and head straight for Toy Story Mania, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, and Star Tours. Because Toy Story Mania has such a limited capacity, wait times are almost always 60+ minutes in the afternoon and FASTPASSes are often gone by 1pm, even when the overall crowd level is low and Hollywood Studios is recommended. You’ll want to make it your top priority. Your second priority is Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, which also sees long afternoon waits and FASTPASSes that run out in the late afternoon. Tower of Terror and Star Tours should be easier to ride, but also remain priorities. If you can get these attractions done in the early morning, you’ll be in great shape for the rest of the day. The only other problem most people run into is trying to schedule all of the stage shows that run on a set schedule. You may also want to prioritize characters that will have longer afternoon waits. Phineas & Ferb tend to have the longest lines in Hollywood Studios. They typically begin appearing at 9:30am, which means you’ll have time to collect FASTPASSes and ride Toy Story Mania before heading over to visit Phineas & Ferb, which are located near Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano and across from the exit to Muppet Vission 3D. Check the week’s Times Guide to verify appearance times. Two other popular characters appear in the Animation Building in the Animation Courtyard. Sorcerer Mickey in particular has long afternoon waits and The Incredibles characters also tend to have decent lines. Since both characters meet indoors and their lines aren’t usually over 20 minutes long, you should be able to find them with decent waits later in the day if you have other morning priorities. Finally, you’ll find some characters in the morning near Mickey’s Sorcerer’s Hat that won’t appear later in the afternoon. Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck, Chip, Dale, Friends of Winnie the Pooh, Goofy, and Pluto are all common, but no specific character is guaranteed to appear. For Fantasmic, consider the Fantasmic Dining Package that guarantees everyone on the reservation a seat in the reserved section of the theater. You’ll still need to arrive at least 30 minutes early, but it’s better than the 60+ minutes early you’ll need to arrive without the package. It makes the most sense on the Disney Dining Plan because it only costs one table service credit (except at Hollywood Brown Derby, which still costs two credits as it would otherwise) and includes the appetizer. As far as general seating is concerned, the best seats are about half way up in the center sections, but be prepared to arrive an hour early for those seats. Sit any closer and you run the risk of getting wet and it’s more difficult to see what’s happening on the water. Overall, it’s a great day to visit the Studios, but arriving early and touring efficiently is more important than picking “the right day.”

Magic Kingdom is recommended as well, though this past Tuesday and Wednesday would have been better. This coming Sunday is also highly recommended and the best day to visit overall since February 15^th, due mostly to the lower overall crowd level. If possible, I would visit Magic Kingdom on a recommended day earlier in the week and head to Hollywood Studios today. However, today will be less busy than yesterday or tomorrow and is thus recommended. Beginning tomorrow, we’re back to the non-peak schedule, which means fewer Main Street Electrical Parades during the week and shorter hours of operation at all four major theme parks. Today, we have Epcot 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. While the Princess Half Marathon this weekend does complicate things a little bit, the event is nowhere near as big as last month’s Walt Disney World Marathon, which is by far the biggest marathon event of the year. Overall, Magic Kingdom is recommended because it’s the third best day of the week there. 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. Consider taking a sizable afternoon break from 1pm to 5pm or so to rest up for 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 11pm Parade. These locations offer a view that is just as good as Main Street and don’t require the excessive waits. The 11pm Parade is also much less crowded because it’s so late at night.

Saturday February 25

Animal Kingdom: 9am – 8pm (Most Recommended)

Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade: 3:45pm

Epcot: 9am – 9pm (Not Recommended)

IllumiNations: 9pm

Hollywood Studios: 9am – 9pm (Not Recommended)

Morning Extra Magic Hour: 8am – 9am

Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade: 3pm

Fantasmic: 7pm and 8:30pm

Magic Kingdom: 8am – 1am (Not Recommended)

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade: 3pm, Main Street Electrical Parade: 9pm and 11pm, Wishes Fireworks: 10pm

Animal Kingdom is the only expressly recommended Park. Today is the beginning of the return to the non-peak operating schedule, which means shorter hours of operation at all four major theme parks and a limited number of Main Street Electrical Parades scheduled each week. Those arriving for a short Princess Marathon Weekend vacation are more likely to visit Magic Kingdom today or Monday, in anticipation of running their race tomorrow. To have the most success, arrive prior to Park opening and head straight to Expedition Everest and Kilimanjaro Safaris. If you’re not interested in riding the thrill rides (Expedition Everest, DINOSAUR, Primeval Whirl), head to the first Festival of the Lion King and/or Finding Nemo the Musical because they can get crowded in the afternoon. If you are headed to DinoLand USA, try to arrive by 10:30am. Crowds begin to pick up in that area around 11am. Finally, crowds do dissipate shortly after the 3:45pm Parade. Plan to return to the major attractions from 6:30pm through close if you couldn’t get to them earlier in the day or with FASTPASS or you would simply like to experience them again. It’s usually a great time to return to DINOSAUR, Primeval Whirl, and Expedition Everest. If you’re planning to ride Kilimanjaro Safaris in the evening, make sure to check your Times Guide for the departure time of the last vehicles. It is ordinarily well before 8pm because the attraction does not operate in the dark.

Epcot is normally recommended on Saturdays. However, there are a few mitigating factors contributing to its “not recommended” status. First, Epcot is hosting the Disney Royal Family 5K this morning. Although the race begins and ends outside Epcot and does not include theme park admission, we can still expect a sizable number of participants to stick around for Epcot’s opening. You may remember that I’m not as concerned about a similar race over Marathon Weekend in January. This is because February’s Princess races are more female-oriented, with fewer men participating than if it had a more innocuous theme and title. In recent years, Epcot is much less busy on the Saturday of the Family Run in January than it is during the Saturday Family Run in February and we can expect that trend to continue this coming year. More often than not, both partners in a relationship are runners and the men are going to want to participate in something, even if it’s a 5K Family race. With two recommended days coming up, I would recommend holding off until Sunday or Monday if you can (with Monday being best). This past Thursday was also highly recommended. If you are headed to Epcot today, keep in mind that more people than usual will be at rope drop and it may be difficult parking due to the race course. Plus, a lot of the people that are present will be in good shape, making it more difficult to inch past them on the way to Soarin’. Overall, you can still have success if you arrive early and visit Soarin’ and Test Track first thing in the morning, but it’s going to be more difficult than recommended days and crowds will be noticeably heavier, particularly until 3pm.

Hollywood Studios is not recommended now that Fantasmic has been added and it features operating hours longer than yesterday or tomorrow. The sizable Disney resort contingent numbers 75,000+ people during a popular marathon weekend like this one. Because Disney sells the Extra Magic Hour program so well in its marketing materials, many of these Disney resort guests follow the Extra Magic Hours schedule because they think it’s Disney telling them where they belong each day. The longer hours are also appealing to anyone that equates longer hours with being able to do more in the Parks. Of course, the exact opposite is what ends up happening because the additional people cause lines to be longer at attractions, quick services, restaurants, and stores. In addition, FASTPASSes will run out sooner, peak wait times will be higher, and shows are more likely to fill to capacity, in turn causing you to show up earlier and wait longer. While you can have success if you are Extra Magic Hours eligible and arrive by 7:40am, most people will want to visit another day. Avoid it unless you can’t visit any other day or are certain you’ll arrive by 7:40am and plan to hit Toy Story Midway Mania, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, and Star Tours first thing in the morning.

Magic Kingdom is not recommended. Although we have similarly long operating hours and evening entertainment as we’ve enjoyed over the last nine days, we’re headed back to the abbreviated entertainment schedule and non-peak operating hours. Beginning tomorrow, Main Street Electrical Parade will only be scheduled on a limited number of nights and the operating hours will be shortened. This makes today’s long hours and Main Street Electrical Parade more appealing to those who are just arriving for the Marathon and others arriving later this week. We have a big Marathon event tomorrow and a lot of those participants will only be in Disney World for a short time. Because of Magic Kingdom’s popularity, particularly with Disney World running aficionados, we can expect it to be significantly busier than recommended days. This coming Tuesday and Wednesday will be significantly less crowded and yesterday also would have been a better day to visit.

Sunday February 26

Animal Kingdom: 9am – 6pm (Highly Recommended)

Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade: 3:45pm

Epcot: 9am – 9pm (Tentatively Recommended)

IllumiNations: 9pm

Hollywood Studios: 9am – 8pm (Not Recommended)

Evening Extra Magic Hours: 8pm – 11pm

Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade: 3pm

Fantasmic: 7pm and 8:30pm

Magic Kingdom: 9am – 10pm (Most Recommended)

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade: 3pm, Main Street Electrical Parade: none, Wishes Fireworks: 8pm

Animal Kingdom is recommended again today. We don’t have anything drawing people towards it, tomorrow’s morning Extra Magic Hour will be more popular with Disney resort guests, and it’s far enough away from the Marathon that crowds and traffic shouldn’t be affected much. Still, if you’re coming from the Magic Kingdom or Epcot areas, you may run into minor traffic problems before 9am. It shouldn’t be much of a concern overall, especially if you are coming from off-site, an Animal Kingdom area resort, or a Downtown Disney area resort. The short hours also guarantee few Marathon runners and their families will be arriving later in the afternoon. You also have a decent opportunity to Park Hop after the Park closes. You could head to Epcot for dinner and IllumiNations, Magic Kingdom for a few late night attractions and Wishes, or Hollywood Studios for evening Extra Magic Hours and 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. Despite “only” having nine 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. To be in the best shape, make it over to DinoLand USA before 10:30am when crowds begin to build at Primeval Whirl and DINOSAUR. If you’re interested in the Camp Minnie-Mickey Character Trail Meet and Greets, you’ll want to try to arrive about five minutes before the characters are scheduled to appear. Because each character has a separate line, wait times accumulate fast in the afternoon. Each Lion King show also lets about 1,000 people out right near the characters. If you can’t visit early in the morning, plan to arrive about ten minutes before a Lion King show begins. That gives you about 40 minutes before a lot of people will descend on the area. Finally, keep in mind that crowds disperse after the 3:45pm Parade. Wait should only decrease from 4:45pm to close. Return to Expedition Everest, DINOSAUR, Kilimanjaro Safaris or whatever you would like to experience after 4:45pm or with FASTPASS during the day, especially if you don’t arrive until later in the morning or afternoon. Check the Animal Kingdom touring plans section for additional advice.

Epcot is tentatively recommended, though tomorrow or Wednesday would be better. We have the Princess Half Marathon this morning, which begins and ends at Epcot. Although the event begins at 5:45am, it won’t end completely until a little after 9am. Because the runners have the right of way and the race goes through World Showcase and Future World, driving to Epcot, parking, and moving around the Park in the early morning may be difficult. This will be mitigated somewhat if you ride Disney transportation or walk to Epcot from an Epcot area resort because the bus drivers will be well apprised of alternative routes and you won’t have to deal with any detours. By 10am, Epcot won’t look much different than any other day. We don’t need to be too concerned about runners sticking around to tour Epcot immediately after the race and their families won’t be much of an issue either. Still, you’ll want to visit tomorrow if you’re flexible because there won’t be any transportation or logistical problems in arriving at or touring Epcot.

Hollywood Studios will be busy due to the evening Extra Magic Hours that are popular with Disney resort guests and the Double Fantasmic/longer operating hours that are popular with everyone else. The morning will be an okay time to tour, but crowds will increase around 11am as more and more Disney resort guests arrive. I’m looking towards Monday, Thursday, or Friday as significantly better days to visit. Yesterday was also highly recommended. 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, at least until after 9:00pm when people begin to give up and exit. On top of that, 9,000+ people, many of them Disney resort guests, will be exiting Fantasmic around 7:30pm and again at 9pm. The exit is located right next to Tower of Terror and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. 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, but with three recommended days coming up, there’s really no reason to press your luck. Overall, this will be one of the two busiest days of the week at the Studios and it should be avoided unless you don’t care about the heavier crowds or can’t visit any other day. Tomorrow will be significantly less crowded.

Magic Kingdom is the most recommended Park. It’s the first day in about a week and a half without Main Street Electrical Parade and longer hours of operation. Tomorrow, we have both the incredibly popular evening Extra Magic Hours and Main Street Electrical Parade scheduled. Marathon runners and their families, along with a ton of people who arrived at Disney World over the weekend, will be looking toward Monday to visit. Overall, it’s the best day to visit since February 15^th, thanks mostly to the lower overall crowd level and lack of Main Street Electrical Parade. This coming Tuesday is also recommended, even with the morning Extra Magic Hour. Wednesday is a bit of a wild card depending on what you’d like to accomplish and what times you can tour. To make the most of today, arrive prior to Park opening and head straight to Fantasyland, the headlining Mountain rides, or whatever attractions you deem most important to your itinerary. That may include a mixture of attractions that includes Astro Orbiter or Tomorrowland Indy Speedway. You may also want to prioritize the Rapunzel or Tinker Bell Meet and Greets. These characters, in particular, will have the longest afternoon waits and don’t offer FASTPASS. Despite the recommendation, Magic Kingdom remains the most popular theme park in the world and the overall crowd level is still average. While it won’t be empty in the afternoon, crowds will still be much lower than any day over the last week and a half. Collect FASTPASSes efficiently for use in the afternoon when waits are longer, visit some of the less popular or high capacity attractions, or consider taking an afternoon break from 1pm to 5pm or so. Luckily, the cooler weather does make it easier to tour straight through for most of the day if you’re up for it.

Monday February 27

Animal Kingdom: 9am – 5pm (Not Recommended)

Morning Extra Magic Hour: 8am – 9am

Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade: 3:45pm

Epcot: 9am – 9pm (Highly Recommended)

IllumiNations: 9pm

Hollywood Studios: 9am – 7pm (Most Recommended)

Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade: 3pm

Fantasmic: 7pm

Magic Kingdom: 9am – 10pm (Not Recommended)

Evening Extra Magic Hours: 10pm – 1am

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade: 3pm, Main Street Electrical Parade: 7pm, Wishes Fireworks: 8pm

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, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday if you’re not going to arrive until 9am or later.

Epcot is highly recommended and you’ll want to head in that direction if you have other plans for Hollywood Studios. 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 Thursday or Friday for Extra Magic Hours and off-site visitors will be headed to the Magic Kingdom for the Main Street Electrical Parade along with many on-site visitors for evening Extra Magic Hours. Although Disney has moved the morning Extra Magic Hour to Thursday from tomorrow, we can still expect tomorrow to be busier than today. With no Electrical Parade tomorrow and shorter hours at Magic Kingdom, more people will be defaulting to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. To have the most success, arrive prior to Park opening and head to Soarin’, Test Track, Sum of All Thrills, and Mission: Space or follow one of the compartmentalized two-day touring plans. If you’re interested in the Character Spot to meet Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto, you may want to head there first thing. It doesn’t offer FASTPASS and afternoon lines are long due to its limited capacity. Plan to visit before 9:30am or save it for after 7:30pm. To take it a step further, continue up to the World Showcase beginning at 11am to stay in front of the incoming crowds for as long as possible. If you’ll be visiting Epcot over just one day, start with the water rides in Mexico and Norway. Although we do have a high recommendation and a lower overall crowd level than we’ve seen over the last ten days, the peak wait times at Soarin’ and Test Track will still be in the 50-60 minute range. You’ll still want to arrive prior to Park opening or plan to FASTPASS them as soon as possible.

Hollywood Studios is the most recommended Park. Previously, Hollywood Studios was scheduled to close at 6pm with no Fantasmic. Although Disney has extended the close to 7pm and scheduled Fantasmic at 7pm, it won’t have an effect great enough to make the Studios less recommended. We’re still coming off a more popular night last night with both evening Extra Magic Hours and Fantasmic featured. Fantasmic is also scheduled every night this week, making tonight’s show less attractive. People won’t visit because Fantasmic is or isn’t scheduled, but they’ll default to it when something isn’t attracting them elsewhere. With evening Extra Magic Hours and Main Street Electrical Parade scheduled at Magic Kingdom, few people will be eyeballing the Studios. Hollywood Studios is Disney World’s third or four most popular theme park and we’ll have a sizable number of people still in town for the Princess Marathon Weekend. Many of them will want to visit Magic Kingdom or Epcot rather than Hollywood Studios, which also contributes to its high ranking. Finally, it’s early in the week, which means a lot of people that arrived over the weekend for a traditional spring break/weeklong vacation won’t be interested in visiting the Studios this early on their trip. Overall, today is the best day of the week to visit the Studios and you’ll want to advantage of that depending on how you plan to fit Epcot into your itinerary. Despite the recommendation, it is still necessary to arrive prior to Park opening if you want to ride Toy Story Mania with a nominal standby wait. We’re still looking at peak waits in the 60 minute range in the afternoon, even with the recommendation and low overall crowd level. Because of its small capacity, it simply can’t handle the number of people that want to ride on any given day. Your other morning priorities are Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, and Star Tours. Once you get through those attractions you’ll have very little to worry about for the rest of the day. Keep an eye on the time because the biggest problem people generally run into at the Studios, other than riding the headliners, is timing the many scheduled shows. 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.

It’s going to be much busier at Magic Kingdom than the overall crowd level would indicate. We have both the incredibly popular evening Extra Magic Hours and Main Street Electrical Parade scheduled today. The Parade wasn’t scheduled yesterday and won’t be scheduled again until Wednesday. Obviously, anyone that wants to see it will need to be in the Magic Kingdom when it’s offered. Because most people don’t opt for the Park Hopper upgrade or don’t use it once they’ve purchased it, many people will need to be in the Magic Kingdom for most of the day in order to see it. Yesterday and tomorrow would be less crowded. While we do have the morning Extra Magic Hour on Tuesday, it won’t be the driving force that tonight’s Extra Magic Hours/Electrical Parade Combo will turn out to be. We’ll also have a considerable number of people fixated on Wednesday’s 24 hour day. Thursday would also be a better day to see the Main Street Electrical Parade because nighttime crowd levels would be lower and morning Extra Magic Hour is no longer scheduled. If you don’t care about the Main Street Electrical Parade, you’re much better off visiting yesterday or tomorrow. If you are headed to the Magic Kingdom, your best plan of attack is to arrive by 8:30am and head straight to Fantasyland (Peter Pan’s Flight, Winnie the Pooh), the headlining Mountain rides (Space Mountain, Splash Mountain), or other time sensitive attractions (Tomorrowland Indy Speedway, Astro Orbiter). You may also want to prioritize the two most popular characters – Rapunzel and/or Tinker Bell. Collect FASTPASSes for the major attractions you’d like to experience again later in the day or for rides that already have long lines. You’ll likely want to take a sizable afternoon break from 1pm to 5pm when crowds are at their heaviest. Return in the evening to ride some major attractions with FASTPASSes collected earlier in the day, have dinner, and enjoy the evening entertainment. If you are staying for Extra Magic Hours, I 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 45 minute wait in the afternoon and a ten minute or less wait at the end of evening Extra Magic Hours. Save Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh for the very end of the night. You’ll find lower crowds on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday (relatively speaking in Friday’s case because overall crowds are higher) of this coming week, but the morning and late night will both be good times to tour if you need an additional day at Magic Kingdom.

Tuesday February 28

Animal Kingdom: 9am – 5pm (Highly Recommended)

Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade: 3:45pm

Epcot: 9am – 9pm (Not Recommended)

IllumiNations: 9pm

Hollywood Studios: 9am – 7pm (Not Recommended)

Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade: 3pm

Fantasmic: 7pm

Magic Kingdom: 9am – 9pm (Most Recommended)

Morning Extra Magic Hour: 8am – 9am

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade: 3pm, Main Street Electrical Parade: none, Wishes Fireworks: 8pm

Animal Kingdom is highly recommended. If it weren’t for the difficulty in scheduling Magic Kingdom around the Extra Magic Hours/Electrical Parade/One More Disney Day complications, it would be the most recommended Park. We’re coming off a popular morning Extra Magic Hour yesterday and Epcot and Hollywood Studios will be bigger draws. Although we lost the morning Extra Magic Hour at Epcot, we can still expect it to be a bigger draw than Animal Kingdom with off-site guests and those who are on a short trip to “take advantage of” the One More Disney Day on Wednesday. Many of these Disney fans enjoy visiting Epcot and Magic Kingdom much more than the Studios or Animal Kingdom. To have the most success, arrive prior to Park opening and head straight for Kilimanjaro Safaris and Expedition Everest. Once you get through these two attractions, you have little to worry about other than trying to get to the scheduled shows. Finding Nemo and Festival of the Lion King do get busy during the afternoon shows, so try to see the first or last show of the day. You’ll also want to get to DinoLand USA before 10:30am to ride Primeval Whirl and DINOSAUR because those two attractions are popular. Still, they aren’t necessarily your top morning priorities and you can easily FASTPASS them throughout the day if need arises. Finally, consider visiting Camp Minnie-Mickey just before it opens if you’re interesting in character meet and greets. At the Character Greeting Trails, you’ll find Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto, along with several other characters. Pocahontas should appear for most of the day and other characters like Meeko, Thumper, Miss Bunny, Brer Bear, and others are also common. Despite “only” being open eight hours, you can still see most of what the Animal Kingdom has to offer in one day, provided you arrive early in the morning, tour efficiently, collect FASTPASSes, and keep an eye on the time in order to see the scheduled stage shows. Finally, crowds disperse shortly after the 3:45pm Parade. Plan to return to any favorites from 4:00pm through close when waits will be shorter than the afternoon.

Epcot is not recommended, even if it’s no longer scheduled for morning Extra Magic Hour. Most people on a traditional weeklong vacation will be interested in visiting Epcot twice over the course of six or seven days. Normally, Disney resort guests visit primarily on Tuesdays and Fridays for Extra Magic Hours. With the 24 hour day at Magic Kingdom tomorrow, Disney has moved the Extra Magic Hours schedule around to help accommodate the short amount of time before Magic Kingdom closes and then reopens on Thursday. That means Epcot offers morning Extra Magic Hour on Thursday and evening Extra Magic Hours on Friday. While we can expect each of these days to be more popular with Disney resort guests, many of them will prefer to visit once earlier in the week and once later in the week. It’s not common for casual vacationers (or really, anyone) to visit the same theme park over two consecutive days. We’ll also have several thousand people arriving for a short trip to “take advantage of” tomorrow’s 24 hour day at Magic Kingdom. Because most of Disney’s “hardcore fan base” likes to visit Magic Kingdom and Epcot in particular, we can expect a decent number of those types of people to be visiting Epcot as well. Finally, Magic Kingdom will not be a substantial draw with just the morning Extra Magic Hour. A lot of people will have visited last night for the evening Extra Magic Hours/Electrical Parade combo and a lot of people will be looking towards Wednesday for the whole 24-hour-thing. When Disney World’s most popular theme park isn’t attracting people, they have to go somewhere else – expect enough to go Epcot to make it busier than we’d like. While today won’t be slammed, yesterday and tomorrow would both be better days to visit. This coming Saturday is also recommended. If you do visit today, you can have success if you arrive prior to Park opening and take care of Soarin’, Test Track, Sum of All Thrills, and Mission: Space early in the morning. You can also have a perfectly pleasant day if you plan to spend time in World Showcase, but it’s going to be busier overall than recommended days.

Hollywood Studios is not expressly recommended. The lack of Main Street Electrical Parade at Magic Kingdom will be a big turn off for many and off-site visitors will be looking toward Fantasmic and Toy Story Mania after spending yesterday at Magic Kingdom. The morning Extra Magic Hour at Magic Kingdom also won’t do much to help lower crowds at the Studios, especially among off-site visitors. Yesterday would have been a much better day to visit and this coming Thursday, Friday, and Saturday are also recommended.

Magic Kingdom is the most recommended Park, despite the morning Extra Magic Hour. In the grand scheme of things, we’re sandwiched between a much more popular day yesterday and we’re running into a bit of a wild card tomorrow with Disney’s “One More Disney Day.” No matter what Disney ultimately decides to do tomorrow, today will be less crowded and you won’t have to be at the Park at 6am or 2am in order to take advantage of lower crowds. While the morning Extra Magic Hour would normally be a bit of a concern, due to the number of Disney resort guests that would follow the Extra Magic Hours schedule regardless of whether they plan to take advantage of it, it’s much less so with no Electrical Parade, short hours, and so much going on during other days around it. If you are Extra Magic Hours eligible, this is one that you’ll want to take advantage of. You’ll be able to accomplish a ton of attractions in a short period of time should you arrive by 7:45am and head straight for Fantasyland or whatever you have identified as most important on your itinerary. Once you’ve made it through Peter Pan’s Flight and Winnie the Pooh, you’ll be in a great position to head to other time sensitive attractions or characters. Overall, this past Sunday, today, and Friday are the best days of the week to visit Magic Kingdom.

Wednesday February 29

Animal Kingdom: 9am – 5pm (Highly Recommended)

Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade: 3:45pm

Epcot: 9am – 9pm (Most Recommended)

IllumiNations: 9pm

Hollywood Studios: 9am – 7pm (Not Recommended)

Morning Extra Magic Hour: 8am – 9am

Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade: 3pm

Fantasmic: 7pm

Magic Kingdom: 6am – 6am (24 straight hours – 6am on February 29th through 6am on March 1st) (It Depends)

Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade: 3pm, Main Street Electrical Parade: 10pm and 12am, Wishes Fireworks: 8pm

Animal Kingdom comes highly recommended with the low overall crowd level and the popular morning Extra Magic Hour/Fantasmic combo at Hollywood Studios. We also have a lot of people headed to Magic Kingdom for “One More Disney Day.” Overall, few people are going to have their eyes on a 9am – 5pm day at Animal Kingdom with so much going on elsewhere. It’s your best choice if you have other plans for Epcot. To have the most success, arrive prior to Park opening and head straight for Kilimanjaro Safaris and Expedition Everest. Once you get through these two attractions, you have little to worry about other than trying to get to the scheduled shows and potentially the Camp Minnie-Mickey characters. Finding Nemo and Festival of the Lion King do get busy during the afternoon, so try to see the first or last show of the day. You’ll also want to get to DinoLand USA before 10:30am to ride Primeval Whirl and DINOSAUR because those two attractions are popular. Still, they aren’t necessarily your top morning priorities and you can easily FASTPASS them throughout the day if need arises. Despite “only” being open eight hours, you can still see most of what the Animal Kingdom has to offer in one day, provided you arrive early in the morning, tour efficiently, collect FASTPASSes, and keep an eye on the time in order to see the scheduled stage shows. Finally, crowds disperse shortly after the 3:45pm Parade, especially with people being more likely to Park Hop over to Magic Kingdom. Stay through 5pm if there’s anything more you’d like to accomplish.

Epcot is the most recommended Park. We have a lot of people headed toward Magic Kingdom with the 24-hour-day. Anyone visiting specifically for the One More Disney Day promotion will be headed in that direction, whether they plan to stay for part or all of the 24 hours. Disney resort guests are also more likely to visit over one of the next two days for Extra Magic Hours. With nothing specific drawing crowds, it’s best day of the week to visit Epcot if you need a day there. To have the most success, arrive prior to Park opening and head to Soarin’, Test Track, Sum of All Thrills, and Mission: Space or follow one of the compartmentalized two-day touring plans. You may also want to visit the Character Spot first thing if it’s of interest because waits will be long all day and it doesn’t offer FASTPASS. 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, collect FASTPASSes for it in the morning or early afternoon. Check your Times Guide to see which Future World attractions remain open past 7pm – it’s usually only Soarin’, Test Track, Mission: Space, Spaceship Earth, and Character Spot. Finally, it’s also an excellent day to stay for dinner and IllumiNations. After visiting Epcot, you might consider Park Hopping over to Magic Kingdom to see what’s going on. It will only get less crowded over there as it gets later into the evening…and then earlier into the morning.

Hollywood Studios is not expressly recommended, though it’s not going to be overwhelmingly busy. If you are eligible for Extra Magic Hours and have the ability to arrive by 7:45am to take advantage of it, you can have an excellent morning. Hit Toy Story Mania to collect FASTPASSes and then head off to Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, and Star Tours. Once you get through those attractions, you’re golden for the rest of the day. However, it isn’t recommended if you’re not eligible or unable to arrive early enough in the morning to visit the headlining attractions before most of the Disney resort guests arrive. Should you arrive at 10am with everyone else, you’ll find a Park that is busier than recommended days during the week. While we can expect Magic Kingdom to be a substantial draw for most of the late morning, afternoon, and evening, it won’t be siphoning everyone. Plan to visit the Studios this past Monday or wait until Thursday, Friday, or Saturday if you can’t take advantage of the 8am – 10am timeframe.

This is most likely going to be an odd day at Magic Kingdom with the 6am to 6am operating hours, multiple Electrical Parades, and a lot more potentially happening. Regardless, we’re not going to be dealing with capacity crowds or anything that looks like July 4th, Christmas Day, or other super-busy days, but we can expect it to be busier than any other day this week from 2pm to 9pm. We’re going to have several thousand people (if not more) on hand specifically for the One More Disney Day promotion and a lot of other curious people in attendance to see what Disney has in store. The long hours will also attract a lot of people who previously had no idea what was going on. Locals are more likely to visit in the late afternoon and early evening as well. Since it’s a Wednesday and local schools are in session, locals won’t be a major concern outside of the convenient hours of 4pm – 10pm. Expect 6am – 10am on Wednesday and 11pm – 6am going into Thursday morning to be sparsely crowded with low crowds and short waits at most attractions. The problem is that you actually have to be at the Magic Kingdom during those very early or very late hours. With required maintenance and other “issues,” we can also expect attraction closures throughout the off-hours, complicating things a bit. It should be a lot of fun if it’s your thing, but it isn’t necessarily ideal for those looking for the easiest touring plan. I don’t recommend visiting in the afternoon if you’re intent on visiting the attractions with minimal waits. Yesterday would have been much better for that. On the other hand, a 24-hour day at Magic Kingdom is extremely rare and most likely won’t be seen in the near future (years). Little is currently known about what exactly will transpire on this “Additional Disney Day.” Watch the site for updates as the date draws nearer and plans are finalized.

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02 February 2012 Crowd Calendar

February 2012 Disney World Crowd Calendar

The Calendar is also available in an easy to view and print PDF file, Here

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