4/26/12 Update: Crowd Calendar analysis updated for November 15 – 30 and Crowd Calendar image updated with minor changes.
4/23/12 Update: Updated the Crowd Calendar image and added daily analysis for November 1 – 15. The rest of the month should follow in about two days. November is a tricky month with the Extra Magic Hours switch in the middle of the month, the random days at Hollywood Studios that don’t feature Fantasmic, the changing Mickey’s Party schedule, the busy Thanksgiving week in the middle, etc.
This is the Free November 2012 Disney World Crowd Calendar that shows the Recommended Parks to Visit, Overall Crowd Level Estimation, Cost, Historic High/Low Temperature, Historic Chance of Precipitation, Extra Magic Hours Schedule, Fantasmic Show Times, Holidays, and Special Events.
Make sure you first read my month-by-month overview of visiting Disney World, located here. The overview will give you an idea of what to expect in terms of cost, crowds, weather, and special events on a broader scale. Once you figure out when you would like to visit, you can move on to this more detailed look.
Here’s a quick explanation of how to read the calendar and what the numbers mean. It may seem like it’s a little long, but you’ll only need to read the explanation once.
- The first line in each box is the date.
- The second line shows the cost to book a room at a Disney-owned resort. $ = Value Season, $$ = Regular Season, $$$ = Summer Season, $$$$ = Peak Season, and $$$$$ = Holiday Season. Occasionally there will be a + or – after the $$$ to show that the cost is slightly higher or lower than usual, but not by enough to raise it another $ notch.
- The third line is the average high and low temperature and the chance of precipitation. All data is based on the last 15 years. I wouldn’t read too much into the precipitation percentages for each day because just one or two additional days of rain in the last 15 years can raise the percentage substantially. I included it so you can look at the precipitation trends throughout the month(s) and take it into consideration when deciding when to book your vacation. For a broader overview of the month, read the month-by-month overview I linked to above.
- The fourth line is an estimation of the overall crowd level. A “5″ refers to average crowds. Numbers above 5 refer to a larger than average overall crowd level and numbers below 5 refer to lower than average overall crowds. A day with an overall crowd level of “1″ means that the crowds are expected to be the absolute lowest of the year and a “10″ means crowds are expected to be at their largest of the year. In other words, the overall crowd level estimation will give you an idea of how many people are in the entire Disney World complex, including the four major theme parks, water parks, Downtown Disney, golf courses, resorts, etc. Individual theme parks can have smaller or larger crowds than the overall estimation, which is where the theme park recommendations come in.
- The fifth line shows the theme parks I recommend visiting in green and the theme parks I recommend avoiding in red. There is also a | sign that splits up the recommended and not recommended Parks for the color blind or those printing in black and white (the Parks to the left of the | sign are recommended). I use the usual abbreviations for the Parks; AK is the Animal Kingdom, EP is Epcot, HS is Hollywood Studios, and MK is the Magic Kingdom. In addition to the colors, the Park on the far left is the most recommended Park to visit that day. The Park second to the left is the second most recommended and so on. For example, if the line reads AK EP | HS MK then the Animal Kingdom is the most recommended and Epcot is the second most recommended. On the other side of the | sign, Hollywood Studios is not recommended and the Magic Kingdom is expressly not recommended even more. If possible, I would strongly recommend you visit the Park that is most recommended each day. Please read below the calendar for an overview of how I’ve selected the recommended Parks and also a day-by-day explanation.
- The sixth line lists which Parks have Extra Magic Hours and at what time they start. Morning Extra Magic Hour lasts one hour and usually starts at 8am. Evening Extra Magic Hours last three hours from the start time. For example, if you see AK:8am EP:9pm, that means the Animal Kingdom has a morning Extra Magic Hour from 8am-9am and Epcot has evening Extra Magic Hours from 9pm-12am.
- The seventh line lists the Fantasmic show times at the Hollywood Studios.
- The eighth line lists the start time of Main Street Electrical Parade (MSEP:) and Wishes Fireworks at Magic Kingdom(W:). For example, if you see, MSEP: 9pm & 11pm W: 10pm, it would mean that Main Street Electrical Parade begins at 9pm and 11pm and Wishes begins at 10pm.
The Calendar is also available in an easy to view and print PDF file, Here.
Click the image to enlarge it.
Thursday November 1
Animal Kingdom: 9am – 5pm (Recommended)
Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade: 3:45pm
Epcot: 9am – 9pm (Highly Recommended)
Illuminations: 9pm
Hollywood Studios: 9am – 8pm (Most Recommended)
Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade: 3pm
Fantasmic: 7:30pm
Magic Kingdom: 9am – 9pm (Not Recommended)
Morning Extra Magic Hour: 8am – 9am
Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade: 3pm, Main Street Electrical Parade: 8pm, Wishes Fireworks: 9pm
Animal Kingdom is recommended. Disney resort guests are more likely to visit tomorrow for the morning Extra Magic Hour. Today, we have morning Extra Magic Hour/Main Street Electrical Parade/longer hours of operation attracting crowds toward the Magic Kingdom. 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. Also consider heading over to Camp Minnie-Mickey right before the characters appear in the morning to find the shortest lines. 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. After completing your itinerary, you may want to Park Hop to Magic Kingdom for Wishes and 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 4:15pm 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 highly recommended and far and away your best choice if you have other plans for Hollywood Studios. We’re going into another busy weekend, thanks to the guaranteed higher crowds for the International Food and Wine Festival. Fantasmic and Magic Kingdom’s morning Extra Magic Hour will also help pull people away today. Plus, yesterday’s evening Extra Magic Hours will have been wildly popular with Disney resort guests and they won’t be looking to return today, especially in the morning. All in all, today and Monday are your best days of the week at Epcot. Take full advantage by arriving as early in the morning as possible and head straight for the headlining attractions. See the touring plans section for more tips.
Hollywood Studios is our most recommended Park. While it’s later in the week, Magic Kingdom will be a much bigger draw with morning Extra Magic Hour and Main Street Electrical Parade drawing off-site and on-site visitors alike. Saturday’s morning Extra Magic Hour will be more popular with Disney resort guests, particularly with the likelihood that Disney will extend the close and add a second Fantasmic. We’re also coming off two days that will be busier due to the lack of evening entertainment at Magic Kingdom causing people to visit other theme parks. However, the Studios’ decent hours of operation and the addition of Fantasmic means it won’t be far and away less crowded than other recommended days earlier in the week. Touring efficiently is more important than “picking the right day” when Fantasmic is scheduled, like it is today. That means arriving prior to Park opening and taking care of Toy Story Mania, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, and Star Tours first thing in the morning or with FASTPASS throughout the day. FASTPASSes for Toy Story will likely be gone by noon, so make sure it’s your top priority. Standby waits ordinarily hit 60+ minutes due to its popularity and limited capacity. Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster also sees decent afternoon waits, likely in the 30-50 minute range, with FASTPASSes that run out in the late afternoon. Plan to head there second or collect FASTPASSes for it as soon after Toy Story Midway Mania as possible. You may also want to prioritize the Toy Story, Phineas and Ferb, or Sorcerer Mickey characters. In addition, characters appear at Mickey’s Sorcerer’s Hat in the early morning that won’t appear during any other part of the day. Usually, Minnie, Pluto, Chip, Dale, Donald, Daisy, Piglet, and Tigger appear, but no specific characters are guaranteed. Overall, you can do well at the Studios if you arrive early and tour efficiently, but afternoon crowds will be decent. Arrive at 10:30am with everyone else and you’re looking at long lines at Toy Story Mania and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. You can still enjoy the various shows, but it’s going to be more difficult to experience those two attractions. Thankfully, Tower of Terror and Star Tours see shorter waits and more FASTPASS availability. Still, Tower of Terror will hit 30 minutes in the afternoon and Star Tours should see 25 minute waits. Plan to use FASTPASS if you don’t get in line before 10:30am.
The morning Extra Magic Hour at Magic Kingdom will lure a lot of Disney resort guests and we also have the first Main Street Electrical Parade since Monday. Combined, this will make Magic Kingdom significantly busier than either of the last two days or tomorrow. You can have success provided you take advantage of the morning Extra Magic Hour by arriving no later than 7:40am and heading straight to Fantasyland or other open attractions. Move on to the headlining Mountain rides or character meet and greets 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 5pm 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 10am or later because it will be busier than recommended days from 11am onward. Tonight is your best opportunity this week to see Main Street Electrical Parade, but the Magic Kingdom will still be busy. If you are planning to see the Parade, I recommend scouting out a spot along the Parade route in Frontierland or Liberty Square. Both locations are significantly less crowded than Main Street and offer a view that is just as good. To enjoy the Electrical Parade with the least possible hassle, plan to visit a recommended Park in the morning, take an afternoon break, and then visit Magic Kingdom in the evening for dinner and the nighttime spectaculars.
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