November 2023 at Disney World: Crowd Calendar & Info
Our guide to November 2023 at Walt Disney World features a free crowd calendar, tips for when to visit & avoid, weather, new attraction openings & closures, Thanksgiving & Christmas info, and more. We also cover what’s happening at Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios.
In general, the first half of November will be a continuation of what’s described in our Guide to October 2023 at Walt Disney World. Crowds will remain elevated across the board as Halloween transitions to Christmas. However, attendance won’t be as high as Thanksgiving or Christmas.
Nevertheless, November is a good month to visit Walt Disney World due to mild weather, moderate crowds much of the month, and the start of the holiday season! There’s a ton going on at Walt Disney World in November, with festivals at Epcot, Christmas offerings in the other three parks, Disney Springs, resort hotels, and more.
We’re big fans of Walt Disney World in November. It used to be when we took our annual Christmas trip to WDW, and this is reflected in its ranking on our 2023 Best & Worst Months to Visit Walt Disney World. November isn’t just one of the best months to visit–it has our favorite week of the year, too!
With that said, one thing we do want to note up front is that although we love November, it has gotten increasingly busy in the last several years. It’s a subjectively great time to visit, but there are few–if any–truly “low” crowd level days. However, it’s still possible to beat the crowds by utilizing Genie+ and Lightning Lanes, Early Entry, Extended Evening Hours, and other savvy strategy. We cover the best & worst approach for each park in Best Time-Saving Strategies for Walt Disney World.
Beyond that, we recommend utilizing our 1-Day Disney Park Itineraries & Touring Plans to make the most of your Christmas-time experience at Walt Disney World. These will help you avoid the crowds, but more importantly, save you time waiting in line (since crowds and wait times are not the same). Truth be told, using sound strategy almost always beats choosing the “best” days to visit!
Let’s take a look at what else is going on at Walt Disney World in November, and how you can make the most of your November visit…
November Weather at Disney World
Weather at Walt Disney World in November is unpredictable. On paper, if you just go by historical averages, November is a great month to visit. In reality, the weather you experience likely won’t be a historical average, and packing can be tricky because you might experience weather in the high 80s or you might experience a cold front with frosty mornings.
Because of the potential for cold weather, one water park always closes for the season before November. We recommend packing for a wide range of weather conditions and paying close attention to the extended forecast before your trip. Read our Ultimate Disney Packing Guide & Checklist for clever things to bring year-round, and our Packing for Winter at Walt Disney World for specific cold-weather recommendations.
I still “fondly” remember our late-November/early-December trip a few years ago when I packed all shorts and polos and we unexpectedly had lows in the 30s and highs in the 50s. Purchasing new outfits from The Emporium is neither fun nor cheap! More likely than not, you’ll have pleasant weather, but let that serve as a cautionary tale.
With that out of the way, let’s cover what’s happening at Walt Disney World in November 2023…
November Events at Disney World
Walt Disney World has a lot of special events, but none compare to the Christmas season. November and December are the best two months of the year from an entertainment, atmosphere, and special offerings perspective. See our Ultimate Guide to Christmas at Walt Disney World.
For timing info, see When Do Christmas Decorations Go Up at Walt Disney World? That covers when decorations typically go up around each of the parks, resorts, and Disney Springs. Note that this starts before the official start of the holiday season, which begins on November 10, 2023.
The bigger deal this year is the return of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (MVMCP). This hard ticket event has a ton of dates in November. This also begins before the official start of the holiday season, with the first MVMCP likely to occur on November 6, 2023.
Magic Kingdom opens and closes earlier on Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party days. As discussed below, this causes roller coaster crowd conditions in the park that might seem counterintuitive. One of the best things you can do when planning is working around those events, as that’ll save you more time than anything else.
Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival runs through mid-November, so you’re in luck if you’re visiting during the first few weeks of the month. Just keep in mind that the cost of grazing around kiosks adds up quickly. Read our Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival Guide for booth menus & reviews, plus what we recommend eating (and what we recommend skipping).
Although Thanksgiving occurs in November, Christmas is the star of the show. Be sure to consult our Tips for Thanksgiving at Walt Disney World post for dining recommendations and more you should know if you’re visiting for that holiday.
Almost as soon as Food & Wine ends, the park transitions over to the Epcot International Festival of the Holidays, which runs through December 31. This features seasonal foods and other entertainment. It’s like a scaled back version of Food & Wine, with a seasonal twist.
In addition to this, there are a few events on the ESPN Wide World of Sports November Calendar, but these are the types of youth events that only really are a draw for parents with kids participating in them. In other words, if you don’t already know about these events, they probably won’t be a draw for you.
November 2023 REFURBISHMENTS & NEW ATTRACTIONS
In terms of attractions, consult our Walt Disney World Refurbishment Schedule to see what’s planned for November. That might be a bit deceptive, as there’s a lot of ongoing construction throughout Walt Disney World, and will be for the next several years.
The construction project that will have the most noticeable impact on the guest experience is the massive reimagining at the front of Epcot. This is starting to look better, but the front of the park is still a sea of construction walls with a giant dirt pit in the middle. On the plus side, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, Space 220 Restaurant, Creations Shop, Club Cool, Connections Cafe, and Harmonious all already having debuted in the last year.
Walt Disney World’s blockbuster addition last year was Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. It’s unclear whether it’ll have its Cosmic Rewind Holiday Remix overlay again for Christmas 2023. That wasn’t very good, and we won’t be disappointed if it was a one and done.
Experiencing the new ride is a bit complicated, so 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. (This will hopefully be retired long before November 2023, but nothing is official yet!)
Another alternative is buying line-skipping access via the Individual Lightning Lanes. Those posts explain each option, 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 next big addition to Walt Disney World: TRON Lightcycle Run. Walt Disney World has already revealed that this will debut in Spring 2023, which means it’ll be several months old by November 2023. Our expectation at this point is that the ride will open in March 2023, and if so, it might even drop its virtual queue by the holiday season.
Beyond that, there are several attractions that have not yet opened and likely won’t until later in Fall 2023. This includes Moana’s Journey of Water at Epcot, which is likely to open in the second half of the year according to Disney. (Judging by the current pace of work and the fact that it’s a water walk-through, it debuting in late summer is possible.) Other smaller scale additions are likely later in 2023. We expect all of these to be open by Thanksgiving at the latest.
November 2023 Crowd Calendar for Disney World
There’s no color-coded November crowd calendar for Walt Disney World at the top of this section because it wouldn’t tell the full story of attendance trends–and individual days are almost impossible to predict right now. If you spend the ~5 minutes reading this section from beginning to end, you’ll be far better prepared to avoid November crowds!
Unfortunately, crowd calendars are less reliable due to how Walt Disney World manipulates Park Pass reservations, staffing, closures, and ride capacity. Since Disney doesn’t release official attendance numbers, crowd calendars use school schedules, airport traffic statistics, hotel pricing & occupancy, etc., as proxies for crowds. This approach worked and made crowd calendars reliable for years.
With all of that in mind, here are our crowd calendar predictions for the best and worst weeks at Walt Disney World in November 2023…
November 2023 will be a month of peaks and valleys on the Walt Disney World crowd calendar. The first week begins with a bang, thanks to two factors: Halloween and Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend. Consequently, the end of October into the beginning of November will be pretty busy. Our expectation is crowd levels in 7/10 to 8/10 territory for the week.
It won’t get any better the second week. If anything, it’ll be even worse due to Jersey Week and the Veterans Day holiday weekend.
Normally, Jersey Week would occur the first week of November, so moving that to the second week will exacerbate crowds. Even though it’s only one state, families from those school districts descend upon Walt Disney World in large enough numbers to impact crowds in a meaningful way.
Typically, the entire week of Veterans Day sees a slight spike in crowds, as enough people take the whole week off to impact attendance. With this holiday being observed on a Friday in 2023, it’ll be a long weekend for many people, resulting in even larger crowds than normal that weekend. Throw Jersey Week into the mix, and we’re expect crowds in the 8/10 to 9/10 range that week and 10/10 over the weekend.
The following week (November 12 to 18, 2023) is one of the aforementioned valleys. This will mark a return of moderate crowds, probably the best since early October before fall break. If crowds are your primary concern, this is the sweet spot during the entire Christmas season. Expect crowds in the 6/10 to 7/10 range.
This should be a great time to visit Walt Disney World in 2023. However, we fear attendance could be worse, especially if reservation availability (or lack thereof) pushes people from the popular Thanksgiving week to this earlier range. Last year, crowd levels were 7/10 this particular week, and we’re expecting November 12-18, 2023 to be about on par with that–probably slightly lower.
From that valley, crowd calendars peak the following week thanks to Thanksgiving on November 23, 2023. This is one of the worst weeks of the year and definitely the worst week of November 2023 on the Walt Disney World crowd calendar.
If at all possible, avoid this holiday–it’ll be a week of 10/10 crowds. We expect Thanksgiving week to be one of the 4 busiest weeks of 2023. Hardly a bold prediction, as that has been the case for the last several years. (It was 10/10 and the fifth-busiest week last year.)
The following week (beginning November 26, 2023) marks a return to more moderate crowds, and this is also our very favorite week of the year to visit Walt Disney World. We base this on a mix of crowds and seasonal offerings, as this is the best mix of Christmas and crowds.
This is not off-season, but it should be good. Whether it’s higher or lower than the previous valley really depends on the year. For both of the last two years, it’s been in the 4/10 range. However, we do not necessarily expect a repeat of that–4/10 is low by historical standards, and 5/10 or 6/10 is more on par with what’s normal for this week.
There are also roller coaster crowds throughout each day in November 2023. Epcot will be significantly more busy on weekends, especially when Florida colleges like UCF have away football games. Epcot’s attendance will be lightest on weekdays before 4 pm, with heavier crowds after work as locals turn out to graze at the festival booths.
Disney Springs, resorts, restaurants, and bars at Walt Disney World all are busier during the Christmas season. This is due to a mix of holiday dinners and locals wanting to enjoy the free Christmas decorations and entertainment. Be sure to make ADRs for any fine dining outside the parks, and be aware that you’ll encounter heavier crowds in Disney Springs.
On Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party nights, Magic Kingdom closes to regular ticket holders at 6 pm. Consequently, the park is less busy during the day time hours on dates when MVMCP is held, and more busy on non-party days. This might seem counter-intuitive, but it’s because the party is separately-ticketed.
Last year, Magic Kingdom crowd levels were 8/10 to 10/10 most non-party days in October and November, whereas crowd levels were 3/10 to 4/10 on party days. That amounts to an average wait time differential of about 15-20 minutes per ride, which adds up over the course of the day to the point that you can accomplish more in the party-shortened days when Magic Kingdom closes at 6 pm.
Once again, we strongly recommend doing Magic Kingdom during the days shortened by MVMCP, and then hop to another park by ~4 pm. Even with 4/10 or 5/10 crowd levels, you’ll still come out ahead by avoiding Saturdays, Mondays, and other non-party days. (So long as you’re fine skipping fireworks or evening in Magic Kingdom–but you can always Park Hop over on a different evening!)
Although Magic Kingdom closes earlier to regular guests on MNSSHP days, it also opens earlier. This is a huge advantage, as covered in Photo Report & Strategy: Magic Kingdom Early Entry at 7:30 am on Party Days. We’ve also covered the upside to the full day at Magic Kingdom on the shortened days in our new My “Party Day” at Magic Kingdom WITHOUT Genie+. Those are specific to the Halloween Party, but the exact same idea applies with Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.
This should all underscore why we don’t really care for traditional color-coded or numerical Walt Disney World crowd calendars. None of the above trends could be adequately conveyed by a simple graphic, and it’d be easy to become frustrated if we simply had an November 2023 crowd calendar vacillating between 7/10 and 10/10 days.
Instead, we’ve explained the how and why of November crowd flow so that you can plan accordingly. While you’ll still encounter congestion and long waits, by zigging when others zag, you should have a pretty pleasant visit in November. This strategic park hopping advice is more practical than a numerical crowd calendar.
November Discounts & Pricing
Discounts of up to 25% off rooms at Walt Disney World for APs were released for most nights through December 25 last year. There was also the Christmas Deal for Disney+ Subscribers. Those are simply the promos available last year as examples–nothing has been released yet for November and December 2023.
For everything else, see All Current Walt Disney World Discounts. You can also save with last-minute deals on DVC point rentals or Priceline Express Deals. (Just be mindful of the flexible cancellation policies on both of those options–they’re not nearly as flexible.)
If you’re booking a room-only discount, you can decide for yourself which hotel might be best by reading our Walt Disney World Hotel Reviews. If you’re looking to save money on airfare, visit ITA Software to search for the best prices.
November is one of the best months of the year to visit Walt Disney World if you’re comparing it to every month of the year, especially those two sweet spots of low crowds. The downside is that some Christmas offerings don’t kick off until around Thanksgiving, which makes that week right after Thanksgiving (straddling both November and December) the very best time to visit. It has all of the upsides of a November visit in terms of crowds, discounts, weather, and it has a better slate of Christmas entertainment.
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 like Walt Disney World in November? Planning a November 2023 trip to see WDW during the holiday season? Which month is your favorite for Walt Disney World vacations? Do you prefer December or November? Agree or disagree with our assessment of November at WDW? Any questions? 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!
Tom,
I’m going the 14-18 with my s/o to celebrate our one year anniversary. I’ve been obsessively stalking this page and disneyparksblog for info on restaurant reopenings. Have you heard anything about Crystal Palace or is it still radio silence on that?
Even with Veterans Day landing in the middle of the week, you still think people will be taking off for it? One thing I did notice in the Park Reservation system for that week is that either people cancelled or more availability was put out. It used to be all yellow that week and now it’s back to green. Have you seen anything about that or noticed it?
I was wondering if anyone cane give me feedback on “Jersey Week.” My family and I are considering this time of year to visit but I’m concerned about the crowds.
Does Disney celebrate the Mouse’s birthday on November the 18th? (I only know this as it is the same as mine and has in the past got a couple of brownie points in the parks).
It’s just that in 2028 (I know a very long way off) it will be Mickey’s 100th Birthday and I was wondering if WDW would be doing anything or is it too close to Xmas and Thanksgiving.
Tom, how expensive is the airfare if you want to start your trip in that sweetspot of the Sunday after Thanksgiving? Usually flights are horrible around Thanksgiving, so any advice would be appreciated!
I’m planning our first trip to Disney and I happened to pick the “sweet spot week” more or less. I already booked thru Disney(our roomand park passes) can I call and try to get perks or discounts? Can I change or adjust my vacation plans?(
Seriously? Tom can’t know the airfare to Orlando from everywhere in the country, including wherever you are coming from. Your question is better suited for Google, Kayak, or Booking.com. Before asking someone to take time out of their day to help you, consider helping yourself first.
Hello, We are booked for WDW Nov18-22….when we made our fast passes bright and early exactly 60 days out, all the “big” rides were full already. I was just there in July (a much busier time) and had no problem getting Mine Train, Flight of Passage, etc… Is something going on that week? Why so busy?
Tom, my wife and I are trying to book something for the week of November 10th and have had no luck finding anything on property. We’ve called and chatted and are told everything is booked solid. Does this mean its actually going to be busy or are the hotels blocked out or something?
Any advice? We’d love to be on property at a Disney hotel but are now expanding our search to Disney Springs area. We typically stay in moderates.
Hi Tim,
A British travel agent, Thomas Cook, has gone bust. I have a holiday booked with them for November. Basically, they didn’t cancel everyone’s Disney holiday when the closed down, so everyone’s holiday is still booked in…. even though no one is able to rebook them. So the hotels are currently booked up with “Ghost” bookings.
Hope you manage to book something
Hope we still manage to go â€â™€ï¸
Hello, We are booked for WDW Nov18-22….when we made our fast passes bright and early exactly 60 days out, all the “big” rides were full already. I was just there in July (a much busier time) and had no problem getting Mine Train, Flight of Passage, etc… Is something going on that week? Why so busy?
I am still confused by this, even if there are many ghost bookings why is WDW ‘full’ based on hotel availability? Is this a common thing? I surely wouldn’t think so for these weeks that are supposed to be considered slow.
We ended up booking a Disney Springs hotel but still would love for something to open up at a Disney hotel.
My theory is Disney has blocked off many rooms to force these weeks to be ‘slow’ so they can prepare for Christmas holidays… not sure if that makes sense but its a guess.
I have been to Disney several times and mid November has always been a great time to go. We booked a trip this year planning for the same crowd level, but it is one of the busiest times! Star wars looks to be opening much earlier, but you would expect Sept and Oct to be just as busy. Anybody know what is going on?
I love this blog! I was wondering about Mickey’s 90th Birthday Party, did I read somewhere that November 16-18, there will be some sort of celebration at the Magic Kingdom? Do you know if there will be any perks to attending this beyond a few more entertainment events?
I have been a subscriber for a while now and love the blog! We find it very helpful for our trips. While we have been taking family vacations to Disney for the last 10 years, this is our first experience with the Very Merry Christmas Party. I was trying to download your latest e-book for the Christmas time and was sent to the subscribing page over and over. How can I get the ebook?
Blizzard beach DOES NOT close in November for “potential cold weather” lol it’s closed for refurbishment and alternates with typhoon lagoon. Neither is closed during the “winter”.
Disney can call it a refurbishment if they’d like, but the reality is that demand decreases significantly with temperatures, and the water parks do alternating closures in step with that lack of demand.
Some refurbishment projects are conducted during that time, but typically nothing that couldn’t be accomplished in a couple of weeks.
Has anyone else noticed that the November Park Hours are for 2017? I’m trying to find out if they are correct.
We’ve been going to Disney now for about 20 years and although we absolutely love going at Christmas it is sometimes difficult for everyone in the family to take time from work. We have found a pretty clever way though to do it all. We go Saturday before thanksgiving and stay through the following Saturday. This allows us to have thanksgiving at Epcot or magic kingdom and then that Friday and Saturday enjoying both Epcot and magic kingdom after they’ve been transformed ito christmastime…and yes since we do 6 days we always do magic kingdom and Epcot twice since they’re our favorite. We are also able to go to the candlelight processional on one of these nights. We did this trio in 2016 and it was perfect.
How were the crowds during that time ? We plan on doing the weekend before thanksgiving through the week of thanksgiving this year. Im reading that the crowds are terrible but i dont want to pull my kids out of school.
What does the airfare look like for flying in the weekend after Thanksgiving? I know if varies by departure location, but I’m trying to get a feel for prices.
Just left Walt Disney World Tis morning. Five days, staying at beach club resort. The lines for everything at all four theme parks were like nothing we have ever seen. Food, photos, rides…..absolutely crazy. I do not believe there is such a thing as quiet time any more. And I STRONLGY recommend you learn how to use fast pass app long before you get to Florida. We had no idea, so missed out on all the popular rides, due to fast pass number limits. And can I add the staff at Disney are incredibly helpful.
Hi Cathie, Could you tell me if the Castle’s Dream Lights were lit while you were there? Thank you
My favorite time of the year is November. Especially the early part of the month because of the perfect weather (both day and night).
I also have a question… we’re heading to Disney Thanksgiving week and I noticed that EPCOT is going to have holiday food kiosks around World Showcase. Does anyone know if the Dining Plan will be accepted? Are they small plate offerings? etc? …Thanks!
We were there the week after thanksgiving last year and spent a day at Typhoon Lagoon on Dec 1 or 2, I think. Typhoon Lagoon was open and the weather was beautiful, sunny and warm! Very low crowd.
We’re arriving the day after Thanksgiving. Usually, it would be the first week in December, but an early Thanksgiving means going home December 2nd, which, ironically, is the same day Pop Warner cheerleaders are scheduled to arrive. This works for us. While the cheerleaders are mostly well behaved, there are millions of them. They’re everywhere.
Weather wise, like Tom, we’ve hit every gambit. You should pack long pants, shorts, sweatshirts and fleeces (or winter jackets). We’ve worn shorts in the daytime, and scarves and mittens at night. We carry a backpack filled with warmer clothing into the theme parks, and IMPORTANT (to us at least), do not leave the backpack in a locker. It never fails, we are always across the park from the locker when it gets cold, and no one wants to go back to get it.
If you like to walk theme parks unencumbered and super light, (unless you’re the unlucky backpack person), I recommend the Running Buddy. It’s so light and comfortable, you won’t even know you have it on.
I highly recommend visiting Disney the week after Thanksgiving. You can’t beat the festivities and decorations, and of course the lower crowds (despite word getting out, it’s still the least crowded time of year to visit) . We did the Christmas party only once. Would like to do it again, but the price has become prohibitive. However, there is still plenty to enjoy at holiday time, and much of it not costing a fortune.
Heading to Disney next week and just rechecked the park hours(I last looked at them a month or two ago). The MK hours have been extended on most days- especially on Saturday the 12th, 4 extra hours! Is this extension normal? Or is this an indicator of higher crowds than what is usually expected during this time of year?
When it comes to Disney there’s no such thing as low crowds anymore (especially because of the free dining promos). We went the end of January a couple years ago and, throughout the day there was a 45-90 minute wait at Space Mtn, and a 90-120 minute wait for Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train. Though we did manage to get in line for the Mine Train 5 minutes prior to park closing (timeboard stated 30 min but really only took about 20). As long as your are in line prior to park closure then you are allowed to ride.
Later that year we decided to head to disney again, this time during thanksgiving week and we expected it to be a madhouse. I was quite surprised the first part of the week just seemed like a normal non-holiday week, but then Fri and Sat after thanksgiving were horrible. We’re heading to disney again in a couple of weeks (nov 16-24), we’ll see about the crowds this time around. …when i need to get away from jerky people, i go onto the Carousel of Progress. it’s nice and for the most part the guests are quiet, since most everyone else is there for the same reason and happy to see a Walt original. Have a great time next week! Lots of fun Christmas stuff starting the 9th -excited about that.
How was Thanksgiving week this year? We are looking at going there the Saturday before Thanksgiving-Saturday after Thanksgiving.
We’re planning on going nov 17-24 … can you tell me how the crowd was last year?!
We will be there at a great time then. We will be there for a week starting a few days after Thanksgiving into December. We are very excited. This will be our first visit this Time of year and my son’s first visit to Disney . Also, we booked eatly so we are taking advantage of the free dining plan for the first time. It’s sounds like an extra magical time of year. Also, staying at The Animal Kingdom Lodge is going to be amazing !!
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe Blizzard Beach is actually the one that is closing effective today, while Typhoon Lagoon remains open this month.
That’s what I’m seeing on Disney’s website. I hope it is open. We got the PH+ tickets on the off chance we’d have a warm day during our trip to go to TL.
Yes it is Blizzard Beach that is closed, not Typhoon thank goodness. We are jetting off from the UK tomorrow for our first Disney holiday in 17 years, not sure I’ll get much sleep tonight =O