Best time for Disney

[Loritlc3]

We want to go againin a year or two. Was wondering on people's opinions on the best time to go. Economically, weather, crowds, events,etc.. We went July 4th weekend last time and it was hot and crowded but still wonderful!
Is there anytime when the weather is not nice enough to swim?

 

[Fall1]

Our favorite is beginning of May and middle to end of October. We also love November.

The weather is usually good for all and the crowds are light enough for us.

 

[Loritlc3]

Okay now I am thinking May, October or November 2011. Anybody else can give me any more information on these 3 months regarding weather and prices?

 

[Loritlc3]

Anyone? Someone else posted and got info about the fall months. What is it like in May?

 

[dmbfan]

Well we went the end of March last year and it was super hot...not to humid but hot. This is our first time going in Feb, so I hope it is not cool and wet...but they do say Oct-Nov is the best time for weather and crowds to go...I know will be the time we go for our next trip.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

We want to go againin a year or two. Was wondering on people's opinions on the best time to go. Economically, weather, crowds, events,etc.. We went July 4th weekend last time and it was hot and crowded but still wonderful!
Is there anytime when the weather is not nice enough to swim?

Best time to go economically, crowd-wise and for events would have to be September. Every year since 2005 Disney has offered the Free Dining Promo (saves us about $1,200.00), the first week of September some of the lowest crowds of the entire year, it's value season and Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is going on. The only downside of going in September is the heat, but if you survived July, you will survive September.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

Anyone? Someone else posted and got info about the fall months. What is it like in May?

May, October and November are not value season, they are priced as regular season and the crowds are medium-ish, but the weather is nice in all three of those months.

 

[katied]

I've been mid May and late May. Mid May was great. Lower crowds, nice weather. Late May we had some days at the end (really June 1 and 2) where it got really hot, and it did get more crowded.

October - I've been a couple times in Oct (normally mid-month). One year, it was actually chilly. It was warmer that Dec. We could not swim, but when I was back 2 months later, we were in the water. Maybe a fluke? The second time I was there in late October and it was great. We could be in the water, crowds were light. Overall, we had a great time.

Nov. - only been once this month, mid-month. It was very nice weather wise, and we had a great time. I just would prefer to wait a bit longer and get the Christmas decorations.

My favorite time to go is early December. Weather is hit-or-miss. Most years, we get at least a couple swimming days in and I love the Christmas decorations.

I've been once in Sept. and hated it weather-wise. Just way too hot. But then again, I prefer the cooler months.

 

[tinkerbellmamma]

We used to go in January and it was cold in the morning and we would be peeling off the layers as the day went on. The crowds were non-existent too!.

This year we are going the first week of December, I loved seeing it decorated for Christmas and hopefully we will have a day or two by the pool weather permitting.

 

[DisneyFamily123]

Last week of October --
Not crowded, perfect warm weather during the day and night. Daytime around 85 but not quite that hot usually, great for swimming. Not crowded..minimal wait times for rides (5-15 minutes) but you still need ADRs for most restaurants. Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party was incredible fun! Downside is it was every other night so MK closed at 7pm if you don't have a party ticket. But, it's worth to go more than once. And you can also get a great view of the wild MNSSHP fireworks from the monorail resorts.

Thanksgiving week --
Much more crowded, especially as the holiday approached. Still enjoyable but some very long waits for popular rides that don't have fast passes, and they seem to shorten the rides (carousel and tea cups) to speed up the loading of people on the rides. I consider anything more than 15 minutes to be a long wait. Some were 30+ minutes. Lots of Christmas decorations out already, including the Osbourne lights and many Christmas trees (saw them at AK park and some resorts). But got cooler at night, jacket weather. Too cool for swimming but many people were at night anyway since the pools are heated.

December --
Planning our next trip for early December to get all the Christmas events and activities. But it's clear that the week of Christmas and New Years is extremely crowded.

 

[djp0630]

We went in Sept and it was hot and humid. But the crowds were good and we got free dining. We are going in May this year so I'll let you know how it is. We are going in early May and hope for low crowds. It's during the Flower & Garden Festival so I'm looking forward to that!

 

[katied]

We used to go in January and it was cold in the morning and we would be peeling off the layers as the day went on. The crowds were non-existent too!.

This year we are going the first week of December, I loved seeing it decorated for Christmas and hopefully we will have a day or two by the pool weather permitting.

It's good to hear about Jan. We're trying our first Jan trip next year (just booked it yesterday). Did you go early or late Jan?

 

[Megjw1022]

We have gone in late September-early October the past two years. The weather was pretty warm during the day, especially at AK but it wasn't nearly as bad as the summer months. A few evenings my daughters wore jackets. The crowds were not bad at all, we were able to walk on to most everything (often multiple times), use fast pass, or wait a short time (5-20 minutes). The only thing we had a problem with was TSM at HS... we went in the afternoon and the fast passes were gone with wait times of 75min. The Halloween party was awesome, trick-or-treating in MK can't be beat! This year we're going to try to make it for the Christmas season or we'd definitely go back for those same dates!