Now or Normal? Disney World in 2021 v. 2022
When to visit Walt Disney World is a common question, but lately that question has shifted from top weeks to best years for a WDW vacation. Now, it’s whether to go in Summer 2021 or this fall for the start of Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary, or wait until 2022 when things are back to normal? (Updated June 8, 2021.)
Ironically, we first started covering this question ~5 years ago when Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge was announced and Disney’s Hollywood Studios became a veritable construction zone. That, Toy Story Land, and other expansion finished, but a similarly large-scale project began at EPCOT, thus extending the question.
Then last year happened. The closure and subsequent reopening of Walt Disney World with divisive health safety protocol. A dramatically reduced slate of shows, nighttime spectaculars, other entertainment, reduced restaurant lineup, scaled back menus, and suspensions of FastPass+ and the Disney Dining Plan–offerings many Walt Disney World fans have come to love. In so doing, the question about waiting to visit Walt Disney World shifted from a construction-centered one to a ‘temporary abnormal’ focused one…
First, I’ll share personal “philosophy.” I’m vehemently opposed to postponing anything for something theoretically better down the road. Don’t let the romanticized notion of the perfect be the enemy of the good. Never do tomorrow what you can do today. And so on. For many of you, waiting is not much of an option anyway, as kids grow up quickly, and taking them to Walt Disney World sooner rather than later is the best course of action.
I’ve shared this sentiment in previous incarnations of these should you wait or visit now? posts. However, it should ring particularly true now after our collective experiences of the last year. Walt Disney World fans who were waiting for the “perfect” time last year after Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure would still be waiting in 2021…and possibly beyond.
There’s always something new on the horizon, or a reason/excuse to postpone a vacation. That was true in prior years, and is doubly true right now as potential Walt Disney World guests debate whether to wait for a mix of new stuff to open, things to return, and health safety rules to be relaxed.
This is not to say you should settle for a compromised Walt Disney World experience, especially one that is the normal price. (In fact, it’s much more expensive to visit Walt Disney World in Summer 2021 than it was pre-closure.) Nevertheless, I personally would not wait indefinitely on the “perfect vacation” because that’s an illusion that will always be out of reach. There’s a healthy middle ground. Maybe that entails visiting Walt Disney World this summer, holding off until fall, or maybe it means taking a year break and visiting again in 2022. That’s what we’re here to help you decide.
Enough waxing poetic, let’s get down to the brass tacks of identifying the best & worst times to visit. For those who are delaying trips right now, there are broadly two categories of reasons why: additions and omissions. Things that exist right now that you do not want, and things absent that you do want.
Let’s start with the unwanted additions. Due to face masks now being optional in outdoor common areas and Walt Disney World relaxing physical distancing, the “unwanted additions” at this point are pretty much just indoor face mask rules and the need to make Disney Park Pass reservations.
Depending upon your perspective, both of these things can be a huge hassle. Both also might be positives. If you have kids, indoor masks might provide comfort and reassurance. If you’re concerned about overwhelming crowds and already have your Disney Park Pass reservations, you probably also don’t mind that system too much. It might actually be advantageous to you.
Face mask rules are the most talked-about and contentious aspect of the health protocol, but the bigger impact on the guest experience is the cuts. There’s virtually no atmospheric entertainment in the parks, with World Showcase in particular feeling uninhabited and lifeless.
Shows like Finding Nemo the Musical and Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular are on hiatus. All nighttime spectaculars and parades have been suspended. Halloween and Christmas Parties, Candlelight Processional, and more were cancelled last holiday season and might be this year. And so on. Festival of the Lion King has now returned, and nighttime spectaculars are rumored to be returning in July 2021. Our expectation is that other entertainment will also return next month.
It’s actually disappointing that Walt Disney World hasn’t announced more returning for Summer 2021. “Revenge Travel” at Walt Disney World started to play out several months ago with spring break. Things haven’t slowed down since, and June 2021 has been really busy thus far.
And that’s all with attendance capped and more Park Pass reservations not being released. Things would’ve been even busier if Disney reopened more and scaled up capacity faster. Florida has seen a huge surge in flights, hotel occupancy, rental car bookings, and more. For its part, Walt Disney world has done well–but isn’t as big of a winner as other destinations.
Back when the parks reopened last summer, we questioned Is Walt Disney World Still “Magical” Right Now? Ultimately, our answer was “it depends” based on individual expectations, how badly you “need” to unwind with a vacation, and other personal circumstances.
Much of that assessment remains accurate. In particular, how badly you might need an escape from the real world after enduring a tough year. This is the case for many Americans right now, which explains why travel is booming in Summer 2021. For many people, a vacation is long overdue, and no further analysis is necessary. A summer vacation to Walt Disney World it is!
With that said, we’d be remiss if we didn’t point out that a lot of the upsides discussed in that “Is Walt Disney World Still ‘Magical’ Right Now?” article no longer exist. The biggest one is crowds. While last summer was a veritable ghost town after Walt Disney World reopened, the opposite is now true. It’s very busy–and there’s still no FastPass.
Another is discounts. Or rather, lack thereof. There were some attractive deals last year after the parks reopened. This year, discounts are scarce, and prices are high. (With that said, it’s worth noting that the cost of travel has spiked nationwide due to the pent-up demand.)
Additionally, dining remains difficult. The restaurant lineup and menus have scaled back since last summer, but the difference now is that reservations are incredibly difficult to score. Mobile Order for counter service restaurants can also take longer than normal, and there are fewer places to sit.
Similar smaller-scale problems exist throughout Walt Disney World. These are related to reduced capacity/efficiency and staffing shortages. You’ll notice this at hotel pools and transportation, among other things.
By most reasonable and objective measures, Summer 2021 is a bad time to visit Walt Disney World. It’s a time of transition, with many of the downsides of visiting over the course of the last year but none of the upsides, or totally normal operations.
Basically, visiting Walt Disney World in Summer 2021 entails accepting a compromised guest experience while paying higher prices. There isn’t a ton of upside beyond getting to visit right now rather than having to further delay. Again, that is more than enough for many Americans who put their lives on hold and postponed travel for over a year.
At this point, the earliest many of these cuts and compromises will be restored or eliminated is October 1, 2021. Walt Disney World already announced that Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure won’t open until that date. Other additions previously announced as “opening in time for Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary” but now are delayed indefinitely–likely until Summer 2022 at the earliest. It’s probable that Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure and Harmonious are the only big new additions of 2021.
Timelines for that plus what has debuted recently are covered in What’s New & What’s Next at Walt Disney World in 2021 & 2022. Some of this is nothing new–our separate Should You Skip EPCOT? post discusses visiting that park during this state of transition, which was always going to run through the 50th Anniversary. Now it’s just likely to continue into 2023 instead of 2022. Nevertheless, construction certainly still factors into the decision of whether to wait or not.
Rather than posing a question in the post title and not answering it, here are five very specific times when you should visit: late September 2021, mid-October 2021, early December 2021, early March 2022, and/or late September 2022. Obviously, these are not the only times we’d recommend visiting (to the contrary, we ourselves will make countless visits between those times), but those windows make a lot of sense and each will likely offer more than the visit before them.
Let’s briefly discuss the pros and cons of each timeframe…
Our latest update to this post adds late September to the list of recommended times to visit. Walt Disney World has announced the World’s Most Magical Celebration, which will start on October 1, 2021 and last for 18 months. That announcement, plus increased normalcy in the United States means one thing: higher crowd levels this fall and beyond.
Late September 2021 is our hedge against this–and a recommendation for gamblers. Pent-up demand will hopefully exhaust itself over the summer, burning out to some degree by mid-August. That plus fans postponing Walt Disney World trips until the 50th Anniversary starts plus September reliably being the off-season means lower crowds relative to the spring, summer, or later in the fall are likely.
Then there’s also the likelihood that everything isn’t going to just magically appear overnight, ready to debut on October 1, 2021. Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure will probably have a soft opening period. Shows will need to return. So will entertainment. Same goes for dining options. That’s all gradual, not instantaneous.
Walt Disney World will need ways to absorb the crowds driven by the celebration, and that means things will come online and return in the weeks leading up to the official start. The “what” and “when” of it will be a gamble, but it’s one we’ll happily take with mid to late September 2021 given the potential upside. My view is that September 19-25, 2021 is the sweet spot–anytime after that you’re going to start getting more of the 50th Anniversary crowds, which are going to be very high through at least the end of 2021.
Next comes mid-October 2021, or more specifically the third full week of the month. Three weeks after the start of Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary and one week after the Columbus Day holiday. This is basically the second hedge option for people who aren’t nearly as big of gamblers and don’t mind crowds as much. (Again, crowds will be bad from October through December 2021. There’s no way around that.)
The upsides of this are missing the initial surge of guests for the celebration plus a reasonable degree of normalcy and offerings restored to the pre-closure Walt Disney World experience. The downsides are that there’s still uncertainty around the degree to which normalcy will return by then, and several high-profile attractions previously slated to debut by the start of the 50th Anniversary won’t yet be open.
Early December 2021 is the next recommendation. This is the first full week (or two) of the month, which is always a good time to visit (especially this year as Pop Warner moves to Universal Orlando).
Essentially, pros & cons are the same as mid-October 2021. It’s simply plus Christmas. We have a hard time imagining that much else will change between October and December. Walt Disney World will likely push for as much normalcy as possible ahead of October 1, leaving most remaining changes until 2022.
Next, early March 2022.
Now we’re starting to get into territory where the “optimum normalcy demanded” guests should be more comfortable. It’s possible much more will be restored–think the Disney Dining Plan, FastPass, etc–before 2022, and we think that’s likely the case. However, some things probably won’t be back until early 2022. Those include meet & greets, buffets, full character dining, and more. Early March 2022 should offer a decent buffer for all of that, plus it offers nicer weather and lower crowds ahead of spring break and Easter.
Finally, mid-September 2022.
Same idea here with operational normalcy–but also new attractions and entertainment. Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary will last at least 18 months, meaning the celebration will occur into 2023. As such, next summer or fall are around the halfway point when Disney might roll out new offerings to give the celebration a second wind. Expect TRON Lightcycle Power Run and/or Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind to open by then.
One thing to note is that it’s literally impossible to predict how 2021 crowds will compare to 2022 crowds. There are too many unknowns, from attendance caps and physical distancing to pent-up demand or a delayed recession. No one can tell you with any degree of certainty how May 2021 will compare to September 2022 in terms of wait times and congestion. It’s an apples to orangutans comparison.
However, what’s more realistic is picking best weeks within specific months–even more remote ones. This is because we know some variables that impact crowds–like holidays, school schedules, and seasonality–are likely to remain true even as larger trends change. All of that is already built into the recommendations above. Beyond generalizations like those, don’t bother with trying to “time crowds” in the next 2 years at Walt Disney World. It’s a fool’s errand.
Ultimately, which one of those timeframes is right for you is largely circumstantial. If you’re a first-timer, we’re hard pressed to recommend 2021 at all. If you’re a Walt Disney World regular who needs an escape for the sake of your own sanity, visiting before even mid-October 2021 might make a lot of sense. It all comes down to what you value and expect from your Walt Disney World vacation. Obviously, that won’t be the same for everyone.
While there are a lot of near-term unknowns, there’s also upside to visiting near the start of Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary. Once we cut through all of the “temporary abnormal” and unknowns, there is cause for optimism: even with the EPCOT project ongoing, we’re towards the end of Walt Disney World’s largest-ever expansion cycle (that didn’t involve a brand-new theme park). For the last several years, many Walt Disney World vacation planners have been waiting, so it’s good to finally be in a position where most of the fruits of all this construction have already debuted or will soon.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
Do you agree or disagree with our recommendations for visiting Walt Disney World in late 2021 or 2022 years? Do you have a trip planned for mid-October 2021, early December 2021, early March 2022, and/or late September 2022? Are you looking forward to visiting once big additions, like TRON Lightcycle Run or Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind, are open? Will you go for Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary or wait until after that’s over in 2023? Any thoughts or predictions of your own to add? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
When you say the first two weeks of December are recommended – d’you mean weeks commencing the 29th November and 6th December, or 6th December and 13th December?
We are waiting until we can confidently get in to Rise of the Resistance. I do believe in the philosophy that kids are only small once and make those memories now. Our best family memories are at Disney World, honestly. But for this Star Wars-loving family, we can’t risk the potential disappointment of not seeing it.
Well-said! I feel that kids should always be considered first and compromised kids at the head of the line.
This May 7th for one week, my wife and I need a break from this current “reality” and are headed to WDW. Hoping it is somewhat less than Spring Break crowds and before summer “revenge” season kicks in. We are also considering another the first week of December 2022 with our grandchild (and his parents, too). It will be his first time and we want him to have an awesome time with all the entertainment and decorations (and no restrictions).
Headed to WDW soon. When people ask me why – I can now point to this intelligently written and well-thought-out post. Thanks again Tom. P.S. your photos are consistently awesome.
I still have my one week in early January I’m hanging on to, for now. Seems like I avoid the two things I hate during that time, namely, hot weather and everyone. I might grab that early March time if they haven’t relaxed cap limits yet. I don’t mind the mask thing, I don’t need everyone seeing my stupid mouth anyway, but I would like FastPass to be back in some form, hopefully, and I am going to need the bars open. Anyone who knows me, including people who read comments, know how much a bar means to me. In the meantime, I might check out the DLR reopening. In one week exactly, I become 95% unstoppable, so even though Disneyland will be the hottest ticket in town for several months, I may give my old stomping grounds a look-see.
Any thoughts on when boats will return to Disney Springs? Also resort restaurants.
Thanks. .
I’m with you! We currently have 7 families booked at WDW for the week of July 11. NONE of us will go if the mask mandate is still in place. We have until June 8 or 9 to cancel and get a full refund so if things don’t change by memorial day, we can’t wait to see what July 4 brings because it’ll be too late for our full refund. So basically memorial day is our cutoff and if nothing changes we’ll get a refund and head to the mountains of Tennessee!
Hi Tom,
Here I am again, still wavering on whether to keep July 2021, or just wait until 2022. I’m unclear on this statement in your post:
“It’s highly likely that things will be mostly back to normal by Independence Day, if not Memorial Day”.
As most of this post focused on changes that will likely begin in September, I’d love to know thoughts on what the normal might include earlier – Memorial Day or by July 4.
We are particular visitors, with high expectations of what we have come to expect in the past. As well, neither of us are able to wear masks in the heat.
Again, I appreciate and enjoy all of your informative posts!
Sorry, I’ll clarify that in the post, but I meant public life in the United States–not anything specific to Walt Disney World. The latter follows the former, but not necessarily immediately or completely.
Hope that makes more sense now! 🙂
We’ve planned a high school graduation trip for our daughter for two weeks beginning of Feb 2022. She’s grown up traveling to WDW and we have had this trip in the works for a couple years. So masks or no masks, fireworks or no fireworks, etc., we’ve decided to go and make the best of it. Hoping for a room deal, but highly doubt it. Disappointed with the price with so many things unavailable to enjoy, but we are really hoping for lower crowds so we can thoroughly enjoy the atmosphere, architecture, and lower wait lines. The only thing we really really hope is back is the Keys to the Kingdom tour. We’ve been waiting a long time to do this one for her on this trip. So, we will make the best of it and hope for some Disney magical fun and to stay healthy while there.
Heading to WDW on Friday with my daughter who is an ICU nurse that desperately needs a break. We plan on doing our best to stay safe and keeping a positive attitude. Fun is what you make it! If nothing else, I will get some quality time with my girl!!
Love reading your blog daily. Thanks for all the great information!
We’ve already decided to head to MK May 18th! Tom what do you think we could expect as far as crowds go? Holding steady at the current spring break pace or perhaps a dip before summer kicks off? I’ve loved reading your blogs, especially through the bleak year we’ve been through. I absolutely can’t wait to be back at my happy place!
My primary issues:
When will Port Orleans and the rest of the hotels open?
Park reservations? Will wait til they are not required. Being on vacation means you can change your mind and park hopper not til 2 pm is a game changer for me. I often would go to one park to ride a particularly popular ride early and meet the rest of my party at another park.
Fast Pass?
Dining Plan?
Your personal “philosophy” stated in the fourth paragraph is the one I’ve tried to live my life by. After 69 years I can tell you it is the right path. Never waver from it and never give up. Optimism too is the only way to go. I’ve had the privilege to spend most of my life around some highly successful people. Not one of them is a negative type. Not only do you want to be positive but surround yourself with positive people as well.
Right now we’re toying with the idea of returning end of August 2021 or if my wife can get away from work, early March. Presently the most important factor is the return of Annual Passes.
Everyone here keeps forgetting something when it comes to the mask mandate and the vaccines – right now the vaccines are only approved for adults ages 16 and up. Disney will probably relax the mask mandate, but there’s no way it will completely go away until children can be vaccinated.
And before people flood in to tell me that kids are at low risk, y’all are conveniently forgetting the existence of disabled and chronically ill children. It’s one thing for certain groups of able-bodied people to scream that disabled and chronically ill adults need to be locked away and prevented from going to work, to the doctor, or the grocery store so able-bodied people won’t have their “rights” violated with mask mandates. But it’s a completely different thing to demand that Make-a-Wish kids, children who have survived cancer or undergone organ transplants, or kids with Type 1 diabetes or asthma, all be prevented from going to Disney World because a bunch of selfish adults don’t want to wear a mask indoors.
Like I said, Disney will probably relax the mandate. Maybe they’ll eliminate it for being outdoors, but require you to wear one indoors. Maybe they’ll designate certain days where masks must be worn so high risk children can be brought into the parks on those days. Who knows? But with no vaccine passport, masks are here to stay in some form until children can be vaccinated.
I am so glad you brought up medically vulnerable children!
All of us grown ups can do our part to make a very special vacation accessible to those kiddos and their families. Disney is a magical place indeed for kids with illness and disability and we can help keep it that way.
Right on…
Tom thanks for the updates. We already postponed last year’s Christmas to New Years trip to this year but I am only 50% confident we will be going. Biggest set back for us is face mask. Can’t stand wearing them. And then there is all the things that Disney has taken away that we enjoyed. Hard to spend that kind of money and not get the things we use to. I definitely will be keeping up with your updates to help me decide. Doubt any final decisions for us will come before October.
Any word on fast passes or a new version of what was the fastpass + system? That’s the deal-breaker for our family. We will not spend thousands of dollars to stand in line all day.
I’m so glad you added to this article, we booked our first trip as a family for the last week of September! (I haven’t been to WDW since I was a teen) My daughter will be 6, and we are hoping to see the Halloween stuff before the anniversary crowd gets there! Also, CBR was booked solid in October already lol. I have made a lot of my decisions so far based on your blog, so I just wanted to say thank you for this invaluable resource!
Great! I feel vindicated in the plans I just made – Aiming for early March 2022 if we can get into the Halcyon then, and if not then late Sept 2022. The bonus of early March would be getting to potentially be some of the first to ‘ride,’ the bonus of late Sept means I’d get to include MNSSHP…(did I get all those initials right?). It was so hot when I went in 2020 in the beginning of Sept, though…does the weather significantly change by the end?