Favorite time of year to visit?

[Jmla32]

My husband won a 4 night Disney trip thru our local radio station. We own DVC and currently have Sorcerer APs that expire July 2025. The trip expires 11/23/25. The tickets can not be extended. We also have kids (12, 9, and 7) so would prefer to plan around school. We currently have plans to go this October (no party), a weekend in Feb (for Festival of Arts), and then 2 weeks in June. We have previously visited the parks March-July.

We are trying to decide the best time to redeem the trip. We could do the week after Christmas during black out dates or wait until after the APs expire and go sometime Aug-Nov 2025. Which is better MNSSHP or MVMCP? Another option was to use the resort/airfare portion for spring break (Easter week) and then plan another trip ourselves for the fall to use the tickets (we'd probably postpone the Feb trip and use the points for the fall). Thoughts on the best time to go?

 

[RickNJane]

our favorite time was always the weeks between thanksgiving and Christmas. Second best time is first last week in September first week in October.

You cannot beat the decorations in all the resorts around Christmas. When our kids were school age, we did not hesitate to pull them out for a week or so.

We really love MVMCP and just did that December 2023. Had a real blast and our DGKs (Dear Grand Kids) absolutely loved it. It was well worth the cost for us.

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

That’s so fun, congrats!

I also have to travel around our school schedule - our usual trips are always the week between Christmas and NYE, and late August. Last year we added Spring Break to the rotation - the first part of the trip was the week before Easter (heavenly); the second part was during Easter week (pretty awful). In fact I honestly felt that the crowds were worse during Easter than Christmas.

If you don’t mind the heat, my vote is late summer. Crowds are low and the whole vibe seems much more laid back especially since you’re regulars And if you can swing the last week of August, you may be able to catch a few days of Food & Wine and MNSSHP.

 

[beccasmom]

We (well, me!) prefer cooler weather after many years of summer trips due to school and sports schedules. It doesn’t always work out that way though. My preferences would be May (but it was pretty warm there this year!), early November, and early December. Our upcoming trip is in late January. The Christmas decorations are indeed wonderful. Spring break time is okay, but of course very crowded.

 

[DVCPAT]

I think Disney is putting up Christmas decorations early. Christmas atmosphere is great.
I would look into upgrading the park passes to annual passes and pay the difference. Can’t hurt to ask .. it might have to be done in person on day 1 at guest relations.

 

[zackiedawg]

In the 80s and 90s my favorite time was always mid-January to mid-February. The parks were dead, the weather was cool - rides had wait times of 0 - 10 minutes. Every restaurant was available (in the days before ADRs and fast passes). In the 2000s and 1010s, that started to fade - after 9-11 the parks started becoming very popular and there ceased being any truly 'dead' times...I still prefer the cooler weather of those months, but the crowd levels are pretty similar now to other times.

I'd say early December is great for all the Christmas theming and displays, while still slightly lower crowds than the mad rush in the week or two closer to Christmas. And early September is great because of Epcot Food & Wine, with lighter crowds and cheap DVC points.

As far as 'quiet' park times, my last two June trips, especially the one this year, were some of the lowest crowds I had seen in about a decade - the extreme Florida heat did seem to keep the visitors lower - so I enjoyed that. The heat and humidity are terrible, but I live in Florida and I'm getting that same weather at home - so I don't mind it because I'd rather be sweating at Disney than sweating at home.