June 2024 at Disney World: Crowd Calendar & Info
Our guide to June 2024 at Walt Disney World includes a free crowd calendar, when to visit & avoid, weather, new attraction openings & closures, and summer events. Plus info & tips for vacation season at Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios.
June is the first month of summer vacation and storm season at Walt Disney World. It’s not exactly our favorite month of the year for visiting, but for those who are limited to traveling during the times school is out of session, early June isn’t that bad. It’s certainly better than the entire month of July, and August until late in the month. Let’s cover both the good and the bad here.
Typically, Walt Disney World parks stay open later during the height of summer than May or August through September. However, that was not the case last year and may not be true in June 2024. On the plus side, every park except Magic Kingdom did open about an hour earlier than normal.
The opening times at Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom make it easier to beat crowds at those parks than it has been in a long time. There’s a huge advantage to early risers, and savvy strategy or advanced-level know-how with Genie+ and Lightning Lanes can be a gamechanger.
To that end, we (once again) recommend checking out Genie+ v. Savvy Strategy at Walt Disney World, which is the result of extensive ‘testing’ to determine the best and worst ways to beat the crowds. You can also do pretty well in the evenings at Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. Frankly, that strategy is far more useful than our June 2024 crowd calendar for Walt Disney World.
June Weather at Disney World
The biggest downside to June from our perspective isn’t the crowds–it’s the rain and the heat. June receives the highest amount of average monthly rainfall (8+ inches) out of any month of the year. As such, you may want to consult our Visiting Walt Disney World During Storm Season article to navigate the afternoon showers (or worse) without them putting too much of a damper on your trip.
You’ll want to pack a cheap 10-pack of ponchos so you aren’t one of the guests who line up to purchase Disney’s overpriced ponchos when the rain hits. (While the cheap, disposable ponchos are good, given how much it’ll rain in June, this rainsuit is a better option, and one I recommend. I have it, and find myself less concerned about the rain because I stay dry regardless.)
The good news is that despite the rain, June does not fall within the heart of hurricane season at Walt Disney World. Summer heat is a bigger concern during June, with average temperatures ranging from 70 degrees to 90 degrees. In terms of the comfort level, on average, 35% is comfortable (65-75 degrees), 56% is warm (75-85 degrees), and 23% of the month is hot (85-100 degrees).
The most unpleasant times of the day are going to be around noon until 5 p.m., so booking a Walt Disney World hotel with a nice pool (it’s the perfect time for Yacht and Beach Club!) and planning daily midday breaks with park time primarily in the mornings and evenings can be a sound strategy. If you don’t want to spend your entire day hiding in the air conditioning, read our Strategies for Beating Summer Heat & Humidity at Walt Disney World.
Setting aside the weather, June at Walt Disney World has some upside. That’s sort of like saying, “setting aside their man-eating tendencies, sharks make great pets.” Pretty big things to just set aside. But, let’s try to be somewhat optimistic…
June Special Events at WDW
As for special events, there’s normally not much for the summer season. There are no runDisney events due to the heat, little happens at the ESPN Wide World of Sports for the same reason, and there are no major holidays in June that are celebrated in the parks. All in all, it’s a pretty slow month on the seasonal front.
Throughout June, you can enjoy the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival; this annual event will run for the entire month, ending in early July. Flower & Garden Festival features marketplace food booths, gardening entertainment, and beautiful ambiance to Epcot. While it’s not for everyone, it’s one of my favorite events of the year at Walt Disney World…and I don’t even enjoy gardening.
June REFURBISHMENTS & NEW ATTRACTIONS
In terms of other attractions, check the Walt Disney World Refurbishment Schedule. Just a heads up: that might be a bit deceptive in terms of actual construction work. There’s going to be a lot of ongoing construction throughout Walt Disney World that is not reflected there.
The only major closure currently scheduled for the month of June 2024 is Splash Mountain. That’s being reimagined into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland. The new attraction will bring guests into the world of “The Princess and the Frog” after the events of the movie. According to Disney, the reimagined ride will open at Magic Kingdom in Florida and Disneyland in California in late 2024. Although it being done early is a possibility, the odds of it opening in June 2024 are pretty slim.
On the plus side, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, Space 220 Restaurant, Creations Shop, Club Cool, Connections Cafe, and more all have now debuted.
When it comes to Cosmic Rewind, experiencing the new ride is a bit complicated. Be sure to check out our How to Ride Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind & Virtual Queue Speed Strategy to improve your chances of success for joining the free virtual queue.
Another alternative for Cosmic Rewind is buying line-skipping access via the Individual Lightning Lanes. Those posts explain the free and paid options, their pros & cons, and everything else you need to know. Suffice to say, do not just show up to EPCOT expecting to join the standby line–as there isn’t one.
Then there’s the biggest addition to Magic Kingdom: TRON Lightcycle Run. This is the newest major attraction at Walt Disney World, having officially opened last April. It’ll be over a year old by June 2024, but still very much having that new ride smell (and popularity!). This works very similarly to Cosmic Rewind; see our Virtual Queue Strategy Guide for TRON Lightcycle Run for details, tips & tricks for success, and more.
Bouncing back to EPCOT, there’s a bunch of other new stuff there. This includes World Celebration, Moana’s Journey of Water, and Luminous: Symphony of Us, all of which will be roughly 6 months old as of June 2024. That’s still pretty new in the grand scheme of things at Walt Disney World! For an overview of what else is on the horizon, see What’s New & Next at Walt Disney World in 2024 & 2025.
June 2024 DISNEY WORLD CROWD CALENDAR
There’s no color-coded crowd calendar for June 2024 because you cannot put much stock in them anymore. Crowd calendars are less and less reliable due to how Walt Disney World manipulates attendance patterns, staffing, closures, and ride capacity. This has been increasingly true for the last several years.
Additionally, the Disney Park Pass reservation calendar now in use normalizes attendance trends throughout the course of a week. In reviewing wait time data from the past several months, we can find no discernible trends for individual dates. To be sure, some weeks are busier than others–the weeks of Easter and Orange County’s spring break are busier than random weeks in May–but there’s no way to explain discrepancies in crowds within each sets of those weeks. Suffice to say, it better serves readers to offer an explanation of what to expect in terms of crowd trends in Summer 2024 at Walt Disney World.
In the last several normal years (2016-2019), summer crowds had trended downward at Walt Disney World (see “Summer Isn’t Peak Season at Walt Disney World” for more on that). That happened once again last year, and we’d expect it again in Summer 2024.
Pent-up demand has been fizzling out and Americans are no longer “making up for lost time” when it comes to travel. International demand has also slowed down, so that won’t make June 2024 atypically busy. It’s unlikely it’ll be as slow as several years ago, but also unlikely to be as bad as 2021-2022. Somewhere in between is the most likely scenario.
What to know for crowd calendar purposes is that attendance builds over the course of the summer as vacation season kicks into high gear, peaking around mid-July, and slowly subsiding from there. This means that early June 2024 and mid-August 2024 are the best times to go from a crowd calendar perspective during what’s traditionally considered summer vacation season.
However, almost all dates in summer are going to be above average on the crowd calendar, with spikes around Independence Day, weekends, and other events that draw crowds to Orlando. In other words, pretty much all dates are close to the same on the crowd calendar. Weekdays in early June will be the best option, whereas weekends in late June will be your worst picks, but not by a huge amount–the former might be a 7/10 on a numerical crowd calendar whereas the latter might be an 8/10.
We’ll have more granular crowd calendar predictions once June 2024 draws nearer. For now, what we can say is that crowds peaked last year on June 25 and the year before that on June 13. There’s been very little consistency with crowds for the last 5 summers–2018 was the last normal one.
Previously, the peak of summer is typically around Independence Day. Usually, crowds increase until then and decrease after that. There’s also often a ‘last hurrah’ at the end of July, as families scramble to take summer vacations before schools go back into session. That actually is something that’s continued to occur in the last few years. Beyond that, we shall see what June and July 2024 hold!
June Pricing & Discounts
Discount offers for Walt Disney World vacation packages are typically meager throughout the entire summer. Due to school being out of session, Walt Disney World has something of a captive audience during the summer months as many families can only visit then.
Disney only offers discounts in order to fill hotel rooms and entice more guests to visit. They don’t really need any extra incentive for the summer, as that’s when people are most inclined to travel to Florida, even in the face of the weather we mentioned above. With that said, you can check out the available options in Current Walt Disney World Discounts.
Another thing to keep in mind is that June is peak season for most pricing purposes. One-day park tickets are most expensive during this month, as the entire month is “peak” season (read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post for multi-day ticket recommendations to avoid having to deal with seasonal pricing). Hotels aren’t quite as bad, as it’s the “Summer” pricing season for them, which is about average, and not nearly as bad as peak holiday rates.
Overall, the month of June at Walt Disney World is certainly not a favorite for us. If after reading this, you have an uneasy “what have I gotten myself into?!” feeling, don’t. If you go into the trip prepared for what you’re likely to encounter in terms of heat & humidity, have a positive attitude, and with a good strategy that enables you to roll with the punches, you’ll still have a great trip.
We visit Walt Disney World every single month of the year, and I cannot say we’ve ever had a bad experience. Sure, we’d rather go in November than June, but if our choices were June or nothing (or July or August), we’d choose June. The weather isn’t as bad and crowds are more manageable than they used to be during the summer. It’s all about mind over matter, adapting to the circumstances, and planning ahead. Part of what these month-by-month guides are about is not just assisting you choose a month, but also being (over)prepared for that month. To that end, hopefully we are being helpful rather than scary!
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 take on June 2024 at Walt Disney World? If you’ve visited in June, do you have any tips to add? Anything to pack or way to prepare to help the trip go smoother? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Thanks for insights.
So if Universal is going back to normal, no inside masks required either, when will Disney get on board with it. Parades, meet and greet, character dining, fireworks, FAST PASSES.
Thanks, Tom, for the June update. I’m heading back June 6 for a conference at the Swan… my first conference since February 2020! It’s hard to believe. The conference will actually be open for those who want to attend onsite or virtual for those still not wanting to travel. There’s a repeat conference in November with no virtual option. June is not my favorite time to attend WDW, but I’m still really looking forward to the trip. Thanks!
Spent the last week in WDW. Although we usually go twice a year for past 30years we haven’t been since 2/24/2020, so really wanted to get back post vaccinations. Here’s what my experience felt like. First of all let me say it was great to be back after spending last year plus in my house! We were happy to get there day after DISNEY changed mask policy for outside and has begun to shorten social distance to 3 feet! But we are vaccinated and came from Texas so we were used to this. Saw lots of people with kids wearing N95 masks outside as well as inside and I know I wouldn’t be able to do that. I felt the crowds were reasonable at this point but if you need a 6 foot comfort zone this is not the time for a visit. Also felt parks and restaurants and hotels were well staffed but cast members still wearing masks and some with face shields…God bless the cast members…I thanked everyone I saw and they seem to appreciate that….morale is decreased … they need positive comments! Waits for rides were reasonable ranging 30-70 minutes and all but Jungle Cruise went slightly less than posted. Lines are now snaking around the parks outside to allow maskfree time in line with cast members advising when masks are required usually before going inside but sometimes before that…let’s just say I appreciated the outside line time but can see this becoming an issue as attendance limits and temperature/humidity /rain increase. Rope drop, frog toggs and sunscreen are essential tools for success. Also if you are older and can’t walk as well like we are WOULD NOT DRIVE TO PARKS UNTIL TRAMS START RUNNING AGAIN. We drove one day and walked over 1/2 mile which added an extra mile to our aging feet that day at AK.
We had a great time but if you are going for a first visit or once in a lifetime visit I would wait until the parks have their entertainment, parades, character meet and greets, fireworks, and shows back. And even though I know WDW CAST IS DOING A FABULOUS JOB, can’t wait to see them fully staffed and less stressed and smiling without masks!
Tom Disney did do a promotion 4 day 6 day trip we went in sept avoiding a hurricane heading toward us in nc as far as the weather in our state of nc temperature can exceed 100 degrees work in construction I know what hot is tell the peopl from up north too stay home so we can have a good time this jully
We are going the first two weeks of June (yeyy!)… but I have a couple of concerns..
a) crowds vs park employees… College ones seem to be arriving mostly in July, and it seems that Disney is our recruiting but that will take time.. so I’m a bit worried on the experience at restaurants, transportation etc
b) crowds vs personal space, I kind of preferred the social distance rules at the queues
However happiness outweighs concerns, and we still have some hopes for fireworks (even if only testings) lol
Do you predict June 5-13, to be more popular with DVC bookings? Wondering if DVC RESORTS are fuller in June. Thanks for the great info on your blog!!
There will be a group of 5 kids under 8 and 7 adults just looking for a great deal for all the parks, sea world Epcot universal studios And would like 5 days passes Planing in June 12 there the 19 of June
We were just there June 8-14, 2018. Crowds were not bad at all. I felt it was much less busy than the last few falls. We were able to do all 3 big rides at Epcot (Soarin, Test Track and Frozen) with only one fast pass and two short waits. It was not too hot and we had a bit of rain but didn’t prevent us from doing anything because it was usually at dinner time. It was hot enough for us to use the pool at the end of the day. We’ve gone the last few years in the first half of June and find it a great time to go.
We just left Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom and we were there June 23 and 24. Both parks were packed with long wait times. Thank god for Fast Passes. Heat was in the 90’s with real feel at least 100. Rain every afternoon. We were totally prepared. At the parks at opening and done by 3pm. Used Touring Plans and worked like a charm at both, except at Magic Kingdom where Space Mountain closed twice and we just couldn’t get it to work into our plan. But still finished within and hour of our schedule…just no Space Mountain. Animal Kingdom, the plan worked too good. All in all, not sure I would do Disney in June again, but Universal was perfect. Low crowds, just the right amount of shade and AC.
We just got back from a June 10-20 trip to USO and WDW. (I swear I saw either your wife or her doppelgänger at the Mummy ride! I don’t think you were there, though, so probably just her look a like…) Honestly, I am undecided if we’d go back at this time again or not (although school and work would dictate a much, much shorter trip if we went during other seasons). The heat was tough, and we don’t really stop. We were in the parks 9 am to 9 pm most of our 7.5 park days. We did drink loads of water and we took longer meal breaks. The crowds were very heavy: TP predicted CL 6-7 mostly, but we saw mostly 8s, with a 9 at MK one of the days. I don’t think the parks were being run at full staff (only 1/2 of Space Mtn loading cells being used, at least during morning and evening hours). In addition, parks closed at 9 or 9:30 at 1/2 the parks, and only having three rides to ride at HS made those three wait times extremely long. It really “hurt” that they opened up the parks to local pass holders. We have done a few week-long trips in September and October in the past, and I have never noticed so many Floridians in the park. In multiple conversations, we met Florida residents who said they dropped everything to pop in for a week or a few days or an evening. We also observed way more teen groups (more like what we have seen at DLR in the past). Some might have been there for a dance competition, and some were clearly off-duty cast members, butsome were clearly locals. So if I am going to have huge crowds, I might prefer to have them during cooler months with longer hours. Weather, besides heat, was fine, though. No precipitation three days, a few sprinkles three days, one day of extended drizzle, and two days with 30-45 minutes of downpour/lightning.
June is usually when we take the family to DisneyWorld. Yes, it rains, but it is NEVER a washout. Anyone that knows FL weather patterns, I have rarely seen it rain for more than an hour or two at a time. Usually there is a small shower before noon and then a late afternoon drenching. Don’t get me wrong, some of these down pours are heavy, but still they last relatively short times… my biggest complaint weather wise has never been the rain or the heat… It is the humidity. Plan for damp heat. This means if it is 85 out, but humidity is in the 90’s, expect to feel like it is a whopping 98 degrees outside. Drink lots of water. Sit down in the shade from time to time… and if you are like me and the wife? Plan a nap in your day.
Thanks for the info Tom! I am taking my children, 2 & 4 for the first time at the beginning of June. I have been multiple times, usually in June. I already got ponchos. I have done a lot of planning so hopefully everything works out. I am super disappointed that the Frozen ride won’t be open by then. We are staying at Fort Wilderness Lodge so afternoon swimming breaks sound like a great plan!
Do you find it rains a lot in June? Were going 19th-23rd and I really hope rain doesn’t ruin our trip!!!
Looking forward to the March installment, as we are considering a trip early in that month.
I’ve been in June and found the rain tolerable. I live on the west coast so rain is normal. The best plan is to plan ahead. Make sure you have a good clean place to stay, you reserve fast passes and places to eat and know when shows and parades are. Most of what we experienced were crowds mid day and in evening extra magic hours.
My best advice:
Tour early in the day-
rest mid day-
Go back late when possible.
This was done with a family of nine including small children. They loved everything from rockin’ roller coaster to the Enchanted Tiki Room. I mentioned to my family that the look you wear in Disney world is the most important look you’ll ever wear. A smile never goes out of style. It lasts a lifetime
We go in June (my husband, and my sister and her husband all teach). Honestly the crowds are heavy but manageable if you use Fast Passes and some planning. We got lucky last June – it was hot, but we were there for 6 days and didn’t see a drop of rain. A contrast to our previous trip when we were forced to buy ponchos at one of the countries in World Showcase to walk back through Epcot in a downpour! But, overall, early to mid June is pretty nice.
I live in Florida near the parks, and I’d like to offer a piece of advice for first time visitors from northern states: make sure you ( and particularly small children) drink lots of water. A frequent sight in summer is children dozing in their strollers at 2 PM: they are not sleepy from exertion, but dehydration. So, if your group is getting sleepy, drink a bottle of WATER ( not soda ), and you will conquer the parks.
We were there last June and had a great time. We adjusted our expectations before we left and it all worked out fine. The daily afternoon thunderstorms actually were nice in that the cooled things off for pleasant evenings at Epcot. We stayed at Yacht Club so walking over was easy. We are going again this year at the same time. Just plan for the crowds, heat, and rain and it all works out. The bonus this year is that we have fast passes for opening day of Soarin.
I’m curious why you said Frozen won’t open til July, late in the month, when Disney just weeks ago said June and currently advertises it as such on the official web page for the tide? Thanks!
Let’s just say intuition. The possibility of it being late July part was more my speculation, so I removed that.
Hopefully I’m wrong. There’s always the chance that things come together at the last minute and the project wraps up quickly. Given Disney’s track record with recent openings, though…
We are going again next June at the start of the month. Why? Well becuase it is the only time we can and we have a Disney Cruise on the back end of the trip. We did the same thing about 2 years ago and overall wasn’t too bad. Crowded yes. But overall we had a blast. The only thing that terffied me was any rain. As I had my camera and camera bag on me (you have talked me into soooo much gear), there was no way I wanted to get wet. We only wound up with about 3 hours of rain (where we left the park and went back to the hotel) out of our 5 days. Still looking forward to doing it again but will always be nervous.
In regards to park hours, do you not anticipate changes to a later Magic Kingdom closing? I think the originally published May 2016 hours had similar 10 pm closings when released 6 months earlier, and then were amended in mid-April. Thoughts?
It could go either way at this point. They already updated the hours to include the Animal Kingdom 11 p.m. closings, and I would’ve expected later closings for June then.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they take a wait-and-see approach to judge how/if the Animal Kingdom 11 p.m. closings draw guests away from the other parks at night. If they do, I’d expect Disney to leave the hours as-is. If they don’t, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the park hours extended for Magic Kingdom on a night-by-night (day-of) basis.
I suspect this is part of why Animal Kingdom’s actual hours haven’t been posted for much of July. Disney is still uncertain as to how the 11 p.m. closing experiment will work, and they don’t want to be stuck with 11 p.m. closings if it turns out that most guests are still leaving by 9 p.m. (or earlier), and the other 3 parks are just as busy at night.
Thanks for the reply and the blog. I didn’t realize preparing for a WDW vacation would result in becoming a “Manual” settings user with our DSLR (I’m sure the settings wheel was surprised by the move as well). Grateful for your insight into WDW and piquing my interest into taking better photos!
They finally did change the MK hours to 11:00pm close for most of June, with 12:00am starting June 20th.