I am finishing up the language for the March 2011 Disney World Crowd Calendar.  Click here for the .PDF preview of the crowd calendar itself.

As usual, the crowd calendar is based off the hours available at the Disney World Travel Agent website.  You can see the calendar here.  Currently, it shows the Animal Kingdom as having morning Extra Magic Hour on both Monday and Wednesday with no evening Extra Magic Hours scheduled any day during March.  This seems odd and Wednesday’s morning Extra Magic Hour is likely to change to evening Extra Magic Hours.  Regardless, I don’t recommend visiting the Animal Kingdom during any day with Extra Magic Hours for the reasons outlined in, “Are Disney World Extra Magic Hours Worth It? A Strategic Guide.”  In other words, Animal Kingdom will remain “not recommended” on Wednesdays.  I tried to confirm Animal Kingdom’s evening Extra Magic Hours with Disney directly and they said the hours didn’t show up in their system and they didn’t know when or where Extra Magic Hours would be scheduled in March.

The hours at Hollywood Studios on Sunday March 13th are also unusual, with a 7pm close and 8pm Fantasmic show.  Fantasmic is scheduled at 8:30pm for most of the month with the usual 8:30pm close.  I would imagine the hours will change to the usual schedule in the next update.

On Sundays, all Parks are “green” for recommended, but I would highly recommend going to Magic Kingdom.  Hollywood Studios is only recommended when it has a Fantasmic scheduled if you can Park Hop over in the evening and use the Fantasmic Dinner Package.  If you have to spend the whole day at the Studios when it has Fantasmic scheduled at night, you’re going to run into the largest crowds of the week.  If you don’t have Park Hopper and want to see Fantasmic, there’s no way around spending the entire day at Hollywood Studios.  You will need to decide if seeing Fantasmic is worth dealing with much larger crowds than during a day when Fantasmic isn’t shown.

I’m going through the ride reviews making minor “behind the scenes” changes so they are better indexed in the search engines.  If you’ve already read them, not much information has been added or removed.  If you haven’t, I have included a review of just about every ride and attraction at all four of the major theme parks.  They are available to your right in the “ride reviews” category.

Good morning, the February 2011 Crowd Calendar is just about finished.  I’m just going over the language and double checking information.  Here’s a preview of the PDF version.  The daily analysis will be up later this afternoon along with the calendar in its proper location.

After that I’ll be doing an article on why I usually recommend avoiding Extra Magic Hours.  I also have an article on the various places to find Disney Park Hours and why you can’t necessarily trust any of them.  The March 2011 Crowd Calendar will also follow.

There has been an influx of visits in the last couple of days due to interest at the disboards and other various websites.  I would like to welcome you and quickly explain the purpose of this website and several of its less obvious functions.  First of all, easyWDW.com is just over five months old and very much in its infancy.  There is a lot of content I have planned in the coming days, weeks, months etc. and I would invite you to return and check for updates in the future.  Unfortunately, I am a good 10-15 years behind the more established websites and can only do so much myself.  Ideally, the goal is to become an online guide book of sorts where you can come to answer the majority of your questions about where to stay, what to eat, what attractions to see, what theme parks to visit and so on.  Rather than only have a few words on a subject, I try to create original content with multiple points of view.  Some of my favorites include “A How-to Walkthrough to Drinking Around the World at Epcot’s World Showcase” and the “Disney World Calendar of Crowds, Cost, Weather and Events.”  The “Is It Worth It?” section also has a variety of articles including information about the Candlelight Processional, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, the No Expiration Ticket Option, and other topics.  I have many more planned in the future.

One of the more helpful features of this website is the Crowd Calendars and Best Parks to Visit category to your right.  You’ll find detailed information on a day by day basis of the resort room cost, historical high and low temperature as well as the chance of precipitation, crowd level estimation, best theme parks to visit, which theme parks to avoid, extra magic hours schedule, Fantasmic times, ride closures, and special events.  In addition, be sure to click the “Continue Reading” button below the picture of the calendar to read a description of why the Parks are recommended the way they are and under what circumstances you should act differently.  Visiting the recommended Parks will help you avoid the crowds and have a more pleasant touring experience.

Feel free to have a look around and check back for updates.  Thanks and enjoy.

FAQ:

I already have 300 Disney websites bookmarked.  My husband/wife/mother-in-law/dog already makes fun of me.  I just can’t bookmark easyWDW I’m sorry!!!

Let me suggest that you create a new folder in your bookmarks titled something like “liverwurst recipes” or “mole removal pictures” and put all of your Disney websites in that folder.  You could title easyWDW “liverwurst sandwich on pumpernickel” and be good to go for the foreseeable future.

You seem like a nice guy.  But can I trust you?  Where does all of this information come from!

That depends.  Do you have a history of trust issues?  I will always be there for you.  I promise.  All of the information on easyWDW is created from scratch based on the experiences of myself and others.  I always try to offer multiple perspectives and don’t drastically change reviews based on one bad experience.  There is a comments box on almost all posts.  Please share your own experiences with others if you would like.  Every opinion will help people decide what’s best for them.  The whole purpose of this website is to help people  make informed decisions about what is most likely to work for them.  Very little about Disney World is “set in stone.”  There is no true “best resort” for everyone and no “best restaurant” for all tastes, budgets, likes, and dislikes.  I will always try to present factual information that will help you decide what is right for you and your group.

Where are the ads?  Don’t you want me to purchase a vacation from a travel agency that is quasi-owned by you?  Don’t you have some affiliate links you would like to trick me into clicking?

No, not at this time.  EasyWDW.com is completely ad-free.  There is no cost for any of the information, nowhere to input any personal information, and no button that automatically charges your credit card every time you click into a category.  I would like to have an email newsletter at some point in the future.  At that time, you may opt to add your email address.  I am completely independent from the Walt Disney Company and have no relationship with any advertisers, travel agencies, or any other companies.  I don’t push the Candlelight Processional because I get paid every time someone purchases a package.  I recommend it because I think it may improve your vacation experience.

I am so happy I found this site.  Are there more like it?

Absolutely.  There is a wealth of information to enjoy beyond the standard MouseSavers, Allears, WDWinfo fare.  Check out the Disney Bloggers Collection at http://disneybloggers.blogspot.com.  It’s a list of more than 200 independently run blogs that cover a wide range of fascinating topics.  It updates itself automatically whenever a new post hits the internet so you can always keep up to date with the latest news.  Also check out http://www.dismarks.com.  It’s sort of like a Digg.com for Disney related stories.  You can vote on your favorite stories, submit articles you find interesting, and quickly find the most helpful information.

This doesn’t make any sense to me.  Can you help?

Of course.  If you see something that doesn’t make sense or would like to know more about a subject, please post a comment directly on the post or send me an email at the address located in the “about me” section above.  One of the problems with writing about Disney World is that people have vastly different levels of knowledge.  There are many people that can rattle off the entire menu at Le Cellier by heart and others who have no idea if Splash Mountain is a ride or a brand of portable misting fan.  I always try to offer background to a subject in a way that will keep it interesting for people who “know it all” while at the same time providing a basic structure for those who are just starting out on their Disney learning expedition.  I am not always successful and it’s okay if something doesn’t make sense to you.  Please make me aware of any problems and I would be happy to correct them.

August 6th Update: Disney has extended hours at the Magic Kingdom from 10pm to 11pm on August 11th and 12th and added an 11pm Main Street Electrical Parade on August 8th, 9th, 11th, 12th, and 14th.  I always recommend viewing the second Parade because it will be less crowded than the first.  Also consider heading to one of the headlining or Fantasyland rides during the first parade because a lot of people will be away from the rides and waiting on Main Street.  Consider a Parade viewing spot in Frontierland or Liberty Square.  Both lands are much less popular than Main Street and you’ll be able to get a better view of the Parade with a shorter wait.

July 21 Update: I Made some significant changes to the August 2010 Crowd Calendar because Disney released new hours and added a second Fantasmic show and evening parade at the Magic Kingdom on a lot of dates.  The recommended Parks haven’t changed, but I also updated the explanations to be more clear.  The revised calendar is available here.

I have updated the look of the site a bit.  Hopefully this iteration will be easier to read/navigate.  Everything appears like it’s in its proper place.  I’ll be changing the main page in the coming week to show site updates etc. rather than the 1 million page scroll-a-thon it currently is.  I’m not particularly savvy technology-wise unfortunately.  I would love to make this site non-Wordpress based, but don’t really know where to start.  If you or someone you know designs website you are welcome to refer them to me at the email address located in the “about me” page above.

I am currently working on the December 2010 crowd calendar, which should hopefully be completed by Wednesday.  I’m not sure how long it will take to get through December 20-30, but hopefully I can make it through at a decent pace.

Take care, Josh