When I was younger, MITF was a new invention, and no one at my rink did dance, so this pattern worked pretty well, even on crowded sessions. I was one of but two or three lefties total, and I was able to find openings and practice. Obviously, the person in their program had the right away in all circumstances.
I miss those days, honestly. Crowded freestyle sessions now are near impossible to skate on, because so many people are doing patterns (dance or MITF), and we have a lot of people who teach in lutz corners, and some skaters (newer) stand BETWEEN the hockey circles. This is where all the flip and toe loop jumps are practiced! Drives me insane. But other than the people standing around in the middle of the ice, it's no ones fault that it's hard to practice on crowded freestyles. It's just busy.