4th of July week crowds/Who's there now?

[magicmountainmama]

We've been planning a trip for June 14-21, 2019, leaving the day after our kids get out of school figuring that would be the lowest crowd levels for the summer.
However, looking at the actual crowd levels on TP for the last couple of weeks, it looks like this week may have lower crowds than the weeks leading up to July 4.
We've never been in the summer, but can no longer take our kids out of school. Anyone there now or have recent July 4th week experience who wants to chime in with an opinion?
Thanks!

 

[dbavis]

just got back last night. we've been at wdw for the 4th the last four years. the 3rd and the 4th are very busy, especially at MK and Epcot on the 4th. The other days around those days, especially if the holiday is mid-week like it was this year, are completely fine to me. we actually went to Animal Kingdom on the 4th, assuming that most would be hitting MK or Epcot, and it was really nice. Wait times in Toy Story land were even reasonable given that it had just opened.

 

[Dave006]

Yes, June can be quite busy and has been the last 2-3 year. And this year of course on June 29-30 opening of TSL, there was a bump in the late June crowds.

As soon as July 4th is over the crazy holiday crowds tend to drop for then next 2 weeks however with the dropping crowds are the increased daily heat / humidity / rain periods.

Dave

 

[epcotobsessed]

We were there June 29 until last night. MK on the 4th was nuts, but it was actually pretty empty until about 10:30am (opened at 8am). We went to AK on July 3 and it was very, very crowded. We went to Epcot several times throughout the week and it was never very busy. HS was nuts but we went on day two of TSL opening, so that was not surprising.

 

[Shaun176]

We've been planning a trip for June 14-21, 2019, leaving the day after our kids get out of school figuring that would be the lowest crowd levels for the summer.
However, looking at the actual crowd levels on TP for the last couple of weeks, it looks like this week may have lower crowds than the weeks leading up to July 4.
We've never been in the summer, but can no longer take our kids out of school. Anyone there now or have recent July 4th week experience who wants to chime in with an opinion?
Thanks!

Here now. I usually at Thanksgiving and it was close to the same for the 3rd, 4th, 5th, but hotter. Today, the crowds are lighter than any day Thanksgiving week. Still hot.

 

[LiamsDISMom]

We just did 29th-6th. 3rd was crazy busy in MK, but Epcot was not at all and HS not bad either that day. 4th we were in Epcot and it wasn't bad either. 5th was pretty busy at MK still. All the other days we were shocked at the lower than expected crowds and wait times. Including in MK. I would definitely go again at this time.

 

[Klayfish]

Yes, June can be quite busy and has been the last 2-3 year. And this year of course on June 29-30 opening of TSL, there was a bump in the late June crowds.

As soon as July 4th is over the crazy holiday crowds tend to drop for then next 2 weeks however with the dropping crowds are the increased daily heat / humidity / rain periods.

Dave

This is why I always say people should go whenever they want. I disagree with the above. We were just there from June 14th through the 30th, and we've been there four consecutive June/Julys. In our opinion it hasn't been busy at all the past several summers, in fact it's been very light crowds. This summer was definitely busier than last summer, but still not bad at all.

OP, ignore crowd calendars, they're useless. Generally speaking, summer isn't bad. 4th of July in MK is nuts, but beyond that, it's not all that bad.

 

[dbavis]

yeah, i agree with @Klayfish. i also thought it wasn't as hot this year as in years past. don't get me wrong, it was still hot, and rainier than usual, but there were several times where it was down right pleasant out.

 

[eyesforstriking]

Here now (7/2-7/8) and crowds seem to be what “normal summer” crowds are for us. The 3rd and 4th in MK was super packed for fireworks but we watched from fantasyland and it was really enjoyable and not crowded back there. I’ve been during both lighter crowds (beginning of January) and a lot heavier crowds (Christmas) and found this 4th of July to be enjoyable. It’s HOT though so you just have to be prepared.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Was there 6/30-7/7, just got back today. :-(

We also did the same week last year.

Pretty much concur with a lot of the above. Generally speaking, I ‘felt’ crowds this year were higher overall, but we certainly had moments where we enjoyed what I consider to be reasonable crowd levels (which is why we like July). Compared to our last trip (first week of April, Easter week), I’d take July all day long.

 

[SaintsManiac]

OP, we are in your same boat with school calendars. I'm not taking my kid out after this fall. We'll probably head down July 2 -July 10 next year. We don't worry about crowds, though. Anytime you have a good plan you don't have to worry about them. As busy as Thanksgiving was last year we hardly felt it and did everything we wanted to AND had plenty of time to stop and smell the roses.

 

[wgeo]

Just got back, it "felt" crowded and I certainly was able to get less additional FP than I had hoped, partly because of crowds and partly because my kids were very picky on which rides they wanted to ride again later. Still had a great time. Felt like the weather was trickier to work around than the crowds - as the storms that came through were short lived but quite crazy while they lasted. If it's rain I don't mind moving around the parks, but the lightning was pretty bad on some of these storms. I couldn't believe how many people chose to hold their spots at Epcot on the 4th - no way I'm standing around a body of water with that much lightning.

 

[StarShine3]

We are headed home now. Were in the world the 30th - July 6. We had a good time. Did the after dessert party on the 3rd. Was especially glad considering the weather on the 4th. I didn’t enjoy the wet evenings. If this was the only time that works I would do it agin, but if possible I will stick to October to early May (avoiding Christmas and Spring Break crowds).