Picking a time to go to Disney World is very crucial. People often ask me, "when is your favorite time to go"? In some months the park can either be more or less crowded. To find out for 2017 what the crowd levels are like reference the crowd calendar below. In general, the least crowded times are after Labor Day until the week before Thanksgiving, early December, portions of January and February, late April, and September. But do not be fooled! There really is no slow time at Disney World nowadays. I pulled some information from one of my favorite blogs disneytouristblog.com to sum up crowd levels for you very easily. I got a lot of my information from there and I would totally give them a look. Busiest MLK Day weekend Super Bowl weekend Presidents’ Day weekend The two weeks abutting Easter Mid-March through early to mid-April (Spring Break) Early to mid-October Thanksgiving week Christmas week through Marathon weekend (the first or second weekend in January) Moderately Busy Late April Late-May (“early” Summer Vacation) Mid-August through Labor Day Late October through Thanksgiving week The week before Christmas week Any runDisney event weekend June through mid-August (Summer Vacation) Least Busy Mid-January through early March (minus holiday weekends) Labor Day until early October Early to mid-December The parks are starting to add lots of promotions and things to draw people in throughout the year. Examples would be: Epcot and all of their festivals, free dining plan, and sometimes even discounts at resorts. Summer of 2017, this summer, will likely be very busy because Pandora-World of Avatar is opening. Summer is most likely going to be the busiest time of the year. Obviously because kids are off school then. Personally my favorite time to go to the parks is early October and end of February early March. I find crowds to be completely doable around that time. That is to say though, crowds shouldn't be your only consideration when planning a trip. Seasonal events occur like Food and Wine Festival at Epcot, Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot, Halloween and Christmas parties at Magic Kingdom, and even some runDisney marathons. In the last few years Disney has been really aggressive with promotions and scheduled events during the year. So there really is no way to get around the crowds. There is a difference though between a 45 minute wait and an hour and a half wait. School SchedulesIf your family is working around school schedules more than likely you'll be going during a busier time. The busiest school breaks are Christmas, New Year's, Easter weekend, Memorial Day weekend, Summer, and Thanksgiving week. Wow! You didn't hear spring break in there? I actually attended Disney World this spring break and although I will say it's definitely not the lowest I've seen... it's definitely not the highest either. Accounting for spring break and choirs/bands being in the parks the waits were pretty low for my family. But that's also because we really know how to work the fast pass system, keep an eye out for that article soon. In the list above I would rate the crowd levels around 8 to 9 out of 10. This spring break I would probably rate the crowd levels a 6 out of 10. Of course this is only for the year 2017, and it'll be interesting to see if that changes next year with Avatar opening. If you are going to have to go during a school break then I would just make sure to bring patience and a touring plan to ensure that the trip is smooth and less stressful. EventsOne thing I will say about going to Disney World is that it's really hard to get bored. Obviously it's a theme park but going so many times means I have ridden the same rides over and over again. Which is fine! But it's also really nice when there's special events going on that spice my trip up. If you're only going to Disney World once or you don't go that often think about adding a special ticketed event or attending one of Epcots's festivals. Mickey's Very Merry Christmas party and Not So Scary Halloween party are separate ticketed events. This means that you have to pay for a ticket separate to your traditional Magic Kingdom standard admission. These parties do have a limited number of people to attend so, ride lines are usually shorter. But, there are also other things going on which might make riding rides, seeing the parade, fireworks, and characters hard. Both parties at the Magic Kingdom have their own show and their own parade. Not only this, but each event has special characters that only appear this time of year and a special food options. For instance, only at the Halloween party can you get a picture with all seven dwarves at once. Jack and Sally from Nightmare before Christmas are also in attendance, as well as some of the traditional characters in Halloween gear. The Halloween party also includes trick-or-treat for little ones and everybody can dress up in costume. You'll also get your fix of Disney villains at this party. At the Christmas party all of the characters including the princesses have special holiday gowns. Including, special holiday events going on around the park and a beautiful parade where it snows! Epcot has now added a lot of festivals to their park to draw in crowds. This includes Holidays Around the World at Epcot, Flower and Garden Festival, Food and Wine festival, in their newest addition Epcot International Festival of the Arts. Holidays Around the World is during the Christmas season. Since Epcot has the world showcase in each country you will celebrate a unique holiday and the traditions of it. Epcot Flower and Garden Festival, which I just recently attended, is all about topiaries, butterflies, and gardening. Here you'll find topiaries shaped like Disney characters, butterfly houses, and lots of life performers. Food and Wine Festival takes you around the world showcase as you try different wine and food from each country. And Epcot International Festival of the Arts showcases art from around the world and even has some Broadway performers. Of course the best part of each event is that it is not separately ticketed and there are tons of different foods and drinks to try. So, if your family is planning a vacation it might be wise to look and see what's going on to determine if it's something you want to do. WeatherTemperature is one of those things that my family really really thinks about before deciding to go anywhere. If you are family that does not like hot weather I would recommend going spring or fall. The day is usually pretty warm and then at night it drops to really cold so, make sure you have a jacket. I would say a typical spring and fall day in Orlando has a high of 76 and a low of 55. Needless to say, you're probably not going to be melting throughout the day. This spring break I was wearing sweatshirts at night and was regularly in the Jacuzzi. Of course if you like hot weather and want to spend a lot of time in the pool, then a good time to go would be late August.
It's also important to note that early fall is hurricane season so, rain will be a factor. If you're planning to go during this time you will definitely want to bring a poncho, but don't let the rain scare you! Walt Disney World is so much fun when it's raining too! I will say though from past experience it's important to also bring any type of cover for your stroller. Most stroller parking is outside, and if you want to ride then it suddenly rains out of nowhere you will want it to be dry for the kids sanity and yours. It would be important to buy ponchos before you go to Disney World, because trust me... during this season they sell them for an arm and a leg. 😅 While early December and January are really good times to visit for a crowd levels it tends to be the coldest times obviously. There are substantial swings in temperature and it gets quite cold. You would most likely want to be in shorts and a T-shirt during the day, but pants and a sweatshirt at night. You might even find yourself putting on it some type of coat. So, if you're planning on traveling during this time of year make sure that you are prepared for more luggage. Well, that's all I have to say about that! Thank you so much for reading! I hope that this helps you a little bit on deciding when to travel to Walt Disney World. If you have further questions please feel free to go to the connect tab and email me and I'll be happy to answer. Have a magical day!
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AuthorHi my name is Molly Carl! I have great passion and love for Disney and love showing others its magic. When I'm not thinking about Disney I'm performing on stage creating an entirely different type of magic! In addition to Disney I love coffee, tea, plants, musicals, and art! Wonderland Wishes is not affiliated with the Walt Disney company or any other Disney blogger/influencer. All photos not under the photo gallery tab are not mine. Credit goes to original owners.
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