Uffizi and Accademia Gallery, when first open or afternoon?

We went to the Accademia on Sunday. We didn't make reservations. It opens at 815am. We were there at 820 and there was no line and was not too crowded. We were at the Uffizi in the afternoon (3-5pm) on Friday. It was packed. Part of the issue was that there were a dozen or so school groups there. You will also always find a crowds in the rooms with the 'big' paintings.
Both museumes have limits on how many people can be inside at once. It keeps the crowds down a little.

We went to Accademia first thing then Uffizi later on in the same day (with reservations). We were there in late October and both were crowded so I'm not sure there is a better way to do it.

Possibly doing the Accademia very late in the day may be a good option. Since the main thing is David, an hour here is plenty. Even if the Uffizi empties out an hour before closing, you wouldn't have time to appreciate all that's there.

Thanks for the replies. We decided to visit both at 8:30 in the morning, maybe we will miss some of the lines. I have tried calling the reservation number 011-39-055-294-833 but there is no answer (calling between 3pm - 5pm Italy time). Does anyone know if there is a second phone number?
Thanks,
Mike

If you already know your days, why not ask your hotel or B&B to make the reservation for you? Most places in Florence seem to offer this (free) service and you can eliminate any worry about lines, etc. I agree with another poster re 1 hour in the Accademia as that really could be enough (the same would not be true, I think, for the Uffizi). A favorite of mine was the close by Convent of St. Mark with Fra Angelico's amazing frescoes (just behind the Acc' as I recall).

Mike, we were unable to get advance reservations at the Uffizi when we were there in May 2006 so we went early, around 8 AM or a bit before. There was a short line (about 10 people) and we were able to get in within 15 minutes of opening. By the time we came out the line was down to the Arno and around the corner. There shouldn't be a problem getting reservations at the Accademia. As Denny said, check with your hotel; perhaps they will make the call for you.

I had reservations to both the Uffizi and Academia last week. I was able to get right in to the Uffizi at 8:15 and the line without reservation was not long. It was nice to be in the gallery with one or two other people.

I went to the Academia at 2p.m. and was able to get in right away. There was a long line of people waiting in the rain because they didn't have reservation. The highlight here is the David and even though it was crowded, it was not too bad.

I would go to the Uffizi in the morning because if you want to read the descriptions of the paintings, it is better to do it when there isn't a herd in front of you.

We just went to both of these and neither were crowded. But that might be because we were there in mid-late March (a perfect time to tour; no crowds anywhere, but nice weather). There were only 4 of us looking at David!!! Although there were school groups at many museums/sights (we were told that March is field trip month for Italian schools), the Uffizi was not very crowded either. We went at 8:30-9am. each day.