Hi Kim,
Welcome back! The dilemma of determining crowds - my worry about this has decreased over the years.
Yes, certain parks are busier on certain days but unless we are visiting during a major holiday week, we have felt the crowds to be pretty consistent. When we visit in June or July, wait times for popular rides can be two hours and wait times for most attractions are at least 30 minutes. So we typically start our park days at Magic Kingdom, then visit the other three parks and end our week at Magic Kingdom again. Visiting Magic Kingdom twice is important for us because there are so many attractions we want to experience and two visits gives us six guaranteed Fast Pass+ selections. Although we usually arrive on Sunday, our first park day is on Monday so we have started our vacations on a Monday at Magic Kingdom and have survived!
Kim, I do check the
park hours for Extra Magic Hours because we do not like to visit during early morning Extra Magic Hours. Late night Extra Magic Hours give us extra time in the parks, but we never stay until park closing on those late nights because our girls need sleep! In the past, we have started our vacation at other parks, but there is nothing like seeing Cinderella Castle on the first day of our trip. And, quite honestly, the parks are always crowded to some degree. Just use your Fast Pass+ selections and
character meal reservations to maximize your time. In the past, we have checked crowd calendars from other online sources, but I do not find those necessary now. Having said that, there are days we will always avoid - Christmas Day in Magic Kingdom is one of those! The park often reaches capacity at some point.
Happy planning!
Magic, memories and Minnie Mouse hugs,
Donyell