When To Visit Disney World

Posted on Jan 1, 2013 in Disney Tips & Tricks, Top Posts | 37 comments


People often ask, “when is the best time to visit Disney World?” Some days and times of year are better to plan your trip to Walt Disney World. The least crowded times of the year are typically after Labor Day until the week before Thanksgiving, early December, the entire month of January and early February, and late April. That said, nowadays especially in 2013 now that New Fantasyland is open, there really is no “slow season” at Walt Disney World.

Choosing which days to visit Walt Disney World is just one aspect of planning a trip. To make sure you tackle everything, make sure you read our 10 Step Guide to Planning a Walt Disney World Trip, which covers all of the essentials.

As for avoiding crowds, we highly recommend that you subscribe to TouringPlans.com and use their comprehensive and park-by-park crowd calendar to plan the best times to visit (especially if you can only visit when your kids are on vacation), which has years of crowd data. Its professional statisticians can put together a far more accurate guide to avoid crowds than I can based solely on my anecdotal observations. That said, here are my general observations concerning crowds.

Crowds

Since Walt Disney World is typically a family vacation destination, crowds typically go hand-in-hand with the school schedules discussed below. In addition to these school-vacation times to avoid if you’re seeking lower crowds, the following is generally true:

Busiest

  • Easter Week
  • Mid-March through mid-April (Spring Break)
  • June through August (Summer Vacation)
  • Christmas week through January 2nd
  • Marathon weekend

Moderately Busy

  • Mid-May (“early” Summer Vacation)
  • The week before Christmas week

Least Busy

  • mid-to-late January
  • Early February
  • Late April
  • Shortly before Labor Day until the week before Thanksgiving
  • Early December

Many specific dates within the “Busiest” and “Least Busy” ranges actually fall within the moderately busy range, but, as I mentioned above, creating a calendar of specific crowd conditions is well beyond my expertise. Check out the TouringPlans.com Crowd Calendar for incredible specificity. 2013 is already shaping up to be a busy year, and even January 2013 has been busy thus far. We don’t expect this spike to hold up, but New Fantasyland will likely be crowded all year long in the Magic Kingdom, and the up-and-down nature of Test Track 2.0, which is down with alarming frequency, can wreck havoc on Epcot’s other attractions.

Obviously, crowds should not be the only consideration on when you visit Walt Disney World. School schedules, weather, special events, and even park hours may all come into play.

School Schedules

If school schedules are something around which you must plan, chances are you’re going to go during one of the busier (or at least not one of the least busy) times of the year, as that’s the paramount consideration for many other families planning trips, too. It may seem like a convenient time to visit during one of the ‘holidays’ your kids have off from school, but it’s important to consider whether other schools have these same times off, as well. Of the traditional school holidays, only Labor Day weekend is a good time to visit.

Because most schools have the week before Christmas until the shortly after New Year’s off, this is an especially crowded time to visit. Likewise, the same goes for President’s Day weekend, Easter week, Memorial Day weekend, the entirety of the Summer, and Thanksgiving week. Although schools do vary their Spring Break schedules, don’t expect the parks to be any less busy because of staggered Spring Breaks. Mid-March until mid-April are also incredibly busy times for the parks because of Spring Breaks. This isn’t to say you shouldn’t visit during these times, as some people don’t have many other options, but if you do go, at least bring your patience with you, or at least a good plan for touring the parks!

Weather

If weather is an important consideration, we highly recommend heading down during the months of September, October, early November, late February, March, or April. That is, assuming you want more temperate weather, rather than extreme heat and humidity or more cold weather. If you like your clothes drenched in sweat from high temperatures, May until late-August are the perfect times for you to visit!

While early December and January are great times to visit to avoid crowds, our experience has been that these are the worst two months in terms of weather. Not only does it get extremely cold (well, relatively speaking–it is Florida after all), but there are substantial swings in temperature. You might find yourself wanting to wear shorts in the morning but by late afternoon it is jeans and sweatshirt weather. As the night rolls on, you might even find yourself wanting to put on a parka. If you travel during these times of year, expect to bring more luggage and make more stops at your room to change clothing (or at least plan on renting a locker to store additional layers of clothing each day). You may be lucky and find relatively consistent temperate weather during these times of year, but it’s best to prepare for the worst so that you don’t have to purchase a bunch of $50 sweatshirts from the Emporium on Main Street. Those $50 sweatshirts can add up quickly!

Park Hours

In talking to others, we’ve found that this is the one area that people consider the least when planning their trips, which we think is at least a small mistake. It’s important to note up front that, typically, less busy times of year have shorter park hours and busier times of year have longer park hours. It thus stands to reason that you can basically get the same amount done in a shorter day during a less busy time of year than you could during a busier time of year. However, this isn’t always true. If you work the FastPass system well and/or use a Touring Plan, you have a good chance of getting more done during a busier time of year than during a slow time of year.

This is especially true if you get to the park early and stay late. Sometimes during especially busy times of year, the Magic Kingdom will open at 8 am and will close at 3 am (with Extra Magic Hours). While we’ve taken advantage of these hours without taking a break during the day, we realize some of you are mere mortals. A great strategy to employ during days with operating hours such as these is to get to the park shortly before opening, stay until around 11 am, go back to your resort to nap or relax, and return around dinner time to stay until park close. Regardless of the time of year, the parks will always be fairly slow during the first couple operational hours, and will always be fairly deserted late at night. Ride as much as you can early in the day and use FastPass more as the day wears on.

Similarly, park hours should be taken into account based upon your sleep habits. If you’re a late-to-rise night owl, the Fall and late Winter/early Spring months may be a bad idea, as these entail many early closing times. If you’re not going to get to the parks until noon anyway, your day might be only 7 hours or so. Conversely, if you rise early and generally call it a day by 5 or 7 pm or so, those 3 am closings aren’t going to do you any good. Make sure you check Disney’s park hours calendar when planning your trip. It’s important to note that this calendar is often inaccurate far in advance (Disney posts hours conservatively, then extends them as bookings increase).

Special Events

This is a big one for us, as we’ve been to Walt Disney World so many times that it’s nice to visit during different times of year to keep things varied. Even if it’s your first visit to Walt Disney World, if you have particular interests, you might want to consider planning your trip around these special events. The schedules for these varies from year to year, as does the price (if any), so please consult the respective page for each event when doing your planning and budgeting.

Halloween and Christmas events in the Magic Kingdom are separately ticketed, meaning you can’t use your standard park tickets for them. Unlike regular park tickets, you also can’t purchase these tickets at a discount from Undercover Tourist. Despite this, both events are a ton of fun and well worth experiencing. Christmas at Walt Disney World is actually our favorite time to visit!

Winter

Spring

Summer

Fall

Hopefully this is a valuable primer to help you plan when to visit Walt Disney World!

Your Thoughts…

Visiting Walt Disney World at the right time to avoid crowds is probably one of the most important aspects of trip planning. What time of year do you generally visit? Do you visit at times when you know crowds will be light, or do you visit when school is out of session? Share your thoughts in the comments!

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37 Responses to “When To Visit Disney World”

  1. Joy says:
    August 24, 2011 at 12:46 pm

    Hi Tom,

    Myself and my fiance are currently planning our Disneymoon (very excited!) for next August. We use the Fastpass system a lot when we visit DisneyWorld, but we’ve never heard of the fact that you can return after the later time. Just to check, if the Fastpass was for 4.00-5.00, we could return anytime after 5pm? Sorry if this is a silly question!

    Thanks,

    Joy

    Reply
    • Tom Bricker says:
      August 24, 2011 at 12:51 pm

      Hi Joy,

      As of the date of this post, that is the correct. It’s an unofficial policy, but we have *never* had an issue returning well beyond the window. We usually save FastPasses for the afternoon when crowds are the worst, and try to ride as many attractions via the standby line earlier in the day. The only things that are enforced are the day (can’t use it the next day–although this wasn’t always the case!), and the early return time.

      Hope that helps.

      -Tom

      Reply
      • Joy Gooding says:
        August 24, 2011 at 3:42 pm

        Thank you that’s brilliant. We’ll definately be making use of this information next August!

        Joy

      • sueJ says:
        March 22, 2012 at 3:13 pm

        I think this has now changed and you will find they stick to the time stated with perhaps a 5/10 minute leaway unless you have a really good excuse as to why you were late. Too many people were ignoring the time block.

      • Tom Bricker says:
        January 6, 2013 at 4:45 pm

        sueJ is correct. The policy changed as of 2012.

  2. John B says:
    August 28, 2011 at 9:26 am

    Tom, as usual, you are totally right. I usually go during the low season, as my schedule is flexible and I have a AP (plus, hotels are cheaper!). I’m on the list of people that will sacrifice park hours for fewer crowds. As you alluded to, you can get more done in less time, so longer hours are unnecessary. Also, TouringPlans crowd calendar is a life saver.

    Amazingly, one of my most relaxing WDW vacations was this past April. I went during “spring break” because my AP was about to expire and they were offering 35% of Mods, so I made a quick 3 night trip. Since it was so packed I basically gave up trying to tour commando style and just enjoyed the atmosphere. Despite the throngs of unwashed humanity, it was relaxing because I wasn’t trying to cross everything off my list. I was just happy to be there!

    Reply
  3. Paul says:
    January 17, 2012 at 5:38 pm

    Hopefully not too silly of a question, the wife and I just booked a week stay from April 13-20, is that considered “late” April? We’re hoping the rush month will begin to taper off at that time. Thanks, and awesome blog!

    Paul

    Reply
    • Tom Bricker says:
      January 17, 2012 at 6:38 pm

      Things should begin to taper off after April 14th this year. Based upon how things are going this year, I’d expect it to be moderately busy when you’re there.

      Reply
  4. Sarah says:
    February 25, 2012 at 11:26 am

    I just discovered this blog and wanted to add something that has proved beneficial to us and that I haven’t seen mentioned elsewhere. If you are going with kids who are old enough for fireworks but not old enough to stay up too late, early park closing in the off-season can be a blessing. My kids can never make an 11 pm firework show, but they can handle the 8 pm show, or the – can you believe it – 6:30 or 7:00 showing of Fantasmic. They can see that one and still get to bed by 8:30. Otherwise, staying late for a firework show pretty much kills the entire next day for the little ones (very cranky from lack of sleep), which often isn’t worth it. When you can catch a 7:00 showing of the Main Street Electrical Parade in MK followed by Wishes fireworks at 8:00, it is great! Since early closing often goes hand-in-hand with early parade/fireworks, it is something to consider.

    Reply
    • Becky says:
      August 1, 2012 at 8:47 pm

      Thanks for the tip, Sarah! We’re planning to take our son for the first time and were a little bummed he wouldn’t get to see the Electrical Parade. Sounds like that might be a possibility now.

      Reply
  5. theresa hagen says:
    May 25, 2012 at 9:48 am

    We are visiting orlando August 15 to 23. what is the weather and crowd levels like???

    Reply
  6. Casey says:
    July 9, 2012 at 6:50 pm

    My family and I have been to Disney many times but only ever in the summer. For the first time ever we are considering a trip around the second week of December…aiming to arrive the 8th or 9th and stay for a week. It is our hope that this will mean MUCH smaller crowds than our traditional August visits. However, I am really concerned about the weather. Call me crazy but I don’t know is Disney will seem like our beloved Disney, if it is cold. For some reason sweating our socks off seems to have become part of the tradition…while I don’t need or want it to be blistering, how cold do you think it will be? Will water rides be out of the question? Will it really be jacket-apropriate temperatures as the sun starts to set? I know the temperature drops drastically but in recent years how cold is a Floridian December? All I can find onnline are averages and record highs…but the whole USA seems hotter the past few years. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!

    Reply
    • Tracy says:
      January 6, 2013 at 3:08 pm

      Hi Casey!! My family of four always visits WDW in the colder months although that is not always an accurate description. In 2010 and 2011, we went two weeks before Christmas. In 2010, it was COLD the entire week, I mean heavy coat cold. In 2011, I forgot to pack short-sleeved shirts and only took heavy sweatshirts. Boy was that a mistake!! It was in the mid 80′s the whole trip. This has happened in January as well. In 2009, they had a record cold snap the week we were there. I recall feeling so sorry for the little kids who were walking around in their princess dresses and flip flops. :( So, since we drive anyway, I’ve learned to pack everything but the kitchen sink!! It’s a lot, but it seems to be the best thing to do so we are not caught off-guard by those crazy temperature swings. ;) For the most part, a hoodie is sufficient, but you can’t count on that. The crowds are so much better this time of year. As far as water rides, Splash Mountain is always down in January for it’s yearly maintenance. Usually one water park is still open in the winter. Hope this was of some help to you.

      Reply
      • Tom Bricker says:
        January 6, 2013 at 4:36 pm

        We traveled during the same general times of year as you and we had similar experiences. In 2010, I packed no coat nor any sweatshirts (it was warm in 2008 at Christmas!) and had to buy warmer clothes. In 2011, I over-compensated and packed clothes that were too warm. This year I packed perfectly, though!!! :)

  7. Megan Dyan says:
    January 13, 2013 at 3:45 pm

    Tom, do you know – or could you point me to any resources – that would estimate the “best” race time to attend – and by best, I mean least crowded?? We’d like to do a RunDisney race, and aren’t particular about which one, and as we have a family and would also be vacationing at that time, we’d like to plan on going during the slowest crowd time. Appreciate your help and LOVE your blog!

    Reply
  8. Fernando says:
    January 29, 2013 at 8:05 pm

    I just booked a week in Walt Disney World with my family to stay from May 11-18, you know how are the crowds in that time???. Thanks in advance

    Reply
    • Kristen says:
      April 7, 2013 at 11:48 pm

      I have gone the past 3 years right about that time (we would leave the day after my last college class ended) and stay about 15 days. Towards the end, it would get very crowded but the first week has been fine, “normal” lines not super long or short. Touring Plans lists the crowd level that week last year as 5/6 out of 10. And the week after becomes 9/10. For your week, I’d say peak wait times for the Etickets would be 30-45mins (excluding the outliers like TSM, TT 2.0, Soarin, etc.)

      Reply
    • Amy says:
      April 10, 2013 at 12:38 pm

      Go to touringplans.com they will tell you exactly what the crowds will be like and what parks to go to (green) what parks to avoid (red) and the middle ground (yellow). Also included is Universal Studios and Island of Adventure. It is GREAT.

      Reply
      • Tom Bricker says:
        April 10, 2013 at 12:41 pm

        Yep, as stated in the post, we highly recommend TouringPlans.com. For any specific dates you may be considering, we defer to them.

  9. Lori says:
    February 1, 2013 at 10:01 pm

    I have been going to Disney now for we’ll over 30 years. I have noticed lately that there really are no slow times. So I asked and the answer I got from a cast member has me less than thrilled with the state of Disney. We are here now and just found out a week ago that a national dance competition was being held here. No where on Disney’s website is this mentioned. It is already somewhat crowded with the people here from South America. But now add in kids from 100+ high schools and you can see where I am going with this. I asked a cast member today and she told me that Disney has decided to spread out events in order to fill their typically low periods. So what once was considered low crowds by the web sites that track this data, is now moderate to heavy. Perfect example was today. Touring plans had magic kingdom at 3.2. It was more like a 7 to 8 with some rides showing 1 to 1.5 hours. The only day this week that was bearable was Wednesday. Today and yesterday all I saw were mobs of matching jackets everywhere. Point of my story….do some digging to find out who is here at Disney. Subscribe to as many of the sites that give information on Disney and read the newsletters. Disney apparently won’t post any of these events so you need to do it yourself if you really want to find that perfect week.

    Reply
  10. Chris says:
    February 9, 2013 at 4:01 pm

    We’re looking at Feb 17 – 24 for some last minute travel but REALLY don’t do well with huge crowds. How will this time be do you suspect?

    Reply
  11. Wendy says:
    February 21, 2013 at 12:44 pm

    I my family and I are off to Disney on 5.7.13 – 14.7.13, what will the crowds be like then??? oh please tell me not too bad!!!!!!! My daughter is turning 21 on 6.7.13 and this is where she want to be and oh boy I dont like huge crowds.

    Reply
  12. Anthony says:
    March 3, 2013 at 7:37 am

    My two cents. We are long time wow guests and I recommend the following. Go when you want, make all the plans you want but remain flexible. We have always had our most enjoyable time when we relax and stroll through the park at whatever pace we are in the mood for that day. Even when the kids were young. I always recommend staying on disney property regardless of offsite deals. Take a break during the day back at room, this is a must with little kids. We never get anything other than the park hopper. If you are going for a week or more spend a day just touring the grounds on the many modes of free transportation. The hotels are themed and pleasant to tour and sample different foods. Did I mention its all free to tour the grounds and see the events going on around the parks and still feel the disney magic. I have always been under the mindset the family vacations are supposed to be relaxing and enjoyable not stressful. Yes we tried to hit it all the first time we went to wdw, nowadays we stop and smell the roses and everyone enjoys the trip with or without hitting every ride. WDW does not appear to be going away, pick up where you left off on the next trip. In short look at the graphs, read the comments and the many books, download the apps and make mental notes, but go when your ready, go, relax and make lemonade with whatever Walt throughs your way.

    Reply
    • Tom Bricker says:
      March 4, 2013 at 5:45 pm

      I like the idea of relaxing and taking it easy if that’s how you want to approach the trip, but it doesn’t make sense to me to put so much effort into planning, but then to only do it half-heartedly. Doing the level of planning you’re suggesting without picking the best/least crowded days to visit doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.

      Reply
  13. Saimaeve says:
    April 3, 2013 at 1:36 pm

    We’re planning for the last week of April the first bit of May. Our school district here does not observe a Spring Break recess so I’m simply taking my daughter out of class for a few days. (Horrible, I know! But she’s fine academically and can get away with it)

    I’m hoping the Flower and Garden festival doesn’t drive up the crowds too much that week but I’ve heard it doesn’t)

    I imagine there will be a lot of crowds, but hopefully it’s a bit quieter than say the week of July 4th.

    Reply
    • Tom Bricker says:
      April 10, 2013 at 5:56 pm

      Flower & Garden Festival doesn’t have much of an impact on crowds.

      Reply
      • Beth says:
        May 5, 2013 at 5:56 pm

        We just came back we were there from April 29-may3rd and despite the unusual amount of rain we had it was a GREAT time to go no lines at the MK (again I don’t know if it was because of the weather)we accomplished everything we planned and more,and the rain didn’t really matter much.the temp was about 80 average just a wonderful time to go.have fun!

  14. Alicia says:
    April 9, 2013 at 1:20 am

    HI there,

    We are first timers and are planning on going October 6-11. Anyone know what the crowds are like? And when would be a good time to actually book to get the lowest rates? Thanks=)

    Reply
  15. Lisa says:
    April 10, 2013 at 5:31 pm

    Hi,
    I am really enjoying your blog, as well as your pictures! We are planning our first trip to Disney as a surprise for our five kids. My question concerns when we are going. We plan to arrive Thanksgiving Day and stay til the following Tuesday. I’ve read the Unofficial Guide and I have subscribed to touringplans.com. we are also using a travel agent to book everything….I just can’t get a real good idea of how busy the first few days of our trip will be. Are we crazy to go at that time for our first trip?
    Thanks,
    Lisa
    P.S. we are staying at POR..I was thrilled to read your opinion & review on the moderate resorts! Thanks so much for all the tips you give!

    Reply
    • Tom Bricker says:
      April 10, 2013 at 5:53 pm

      The first couple of days will be pretty busy, but the busiest part of Thanksgiving week will have already passed. We’ve done that weekend before and it hasn’t been too bad. If you’re used to light September crowds, it will be a bit of a change, but otherwise nothing to worry about.

      Reply
  16. Sara says:
    April 12, 2013 at 2:06 pm

    Hey Tom,

    We will be going on our honeymoon the week before Marathon weekend, are he crows already big then or is it just the weekend itself?

    Thanks for your help!

    Reply
  17. Brenda says:
    April 17, 2013 at 9:09 am

    So much great info !
    I have so many questions as I have not been to Disney for 14 years. We will be going with our kids who will be 9 & 5 by November when we are planning on going. We hope to go and be back well before Thanksgiving. Will anything be decorated for Christmas and any holiday events be going on? What are the best tips to use to have a great trip with little ones? How exactly does fast pass work and do you recommend the meal plans ? Thanks in advance! Any info is greatly appreciated:)

    Reply

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