Help us decide when to visit - November or December?

pixleyyy

DIS Veteran
Joined
Feb 6, 2006
Things have changed since we were last at WDW, even though it was just a few years ago. This trip is just our DD16, DH and myself. We are taking her out of school for a week or so, as we don't have fall breaks and school is fine with it. Because of this, we're really flexible on dates.

We'd love to have free dining, but know it's not likely. Other than that, low crowds are a consideration. We also live in Oregon, so can't fly anywhere near Thanksgiving, as the flights double in price. I did a little research today and it seems like that means no flying between November 16-29 (unless there's a great reason to pay more for flights).

Any suggestion on the best time to visit? We're not restricted to calendar weeks either. Life is flexible. LOL
 
very late nov/early Dec for low crowd levels. Weather has been very comfortable when I've gone during these times as well.
 
November! When we went in November, we arrived Black Friday and stayed until the following Tuesday, and it was great. All the holiday decorations were up, the weather was lovely, and crowds weren't bad at all.
 
If you want to enjoy all of the holiday decorations and festivities, then I would recommend after Black Friday to enjoy Holidays Around the World in Epcot.
 


We have gone the week before Thanksgiving week, and it's always been very nice! The weekends are crowded. This past year, the first weekend was the end of F&W, Veterans Day and Dapper Day; the last weekend is when the Thanksgiving crowds start arriving. But the weekdays are amazing! ~~Oh shoot! I just re-read your post about airfares.

The 4th-11th may be a good week - though it is Jersey Week and the 10th is Veterans Day holiday, so that weekend may see a few crowds.

After looking at a couple of crowd calendars and given your flight "restrictions," I agree with PPs that the week after Thanksgiving/first week in December will be your best bet.
 
FWIW.

We made two trips last year. One was in Feb-March and the other was the week after Thanksgiving.

Several different friends of ours that had been to WDW had recommended we go the week after Thanksgiving. They said the crowds would be very low. What we actually found was that, compared to our trip in Feb-March, Epcot was way more crowded, MK about the same, and DHS about the same or a little more crowded. Disney had a free dining promotion going on, and my wife overheard several people say the only reason they went to Epcot was to see the Candlelight Processional. IMHO, Disney knows which weeks are slow, and is working to fill them. The week after Thanksgiving may be less crowded than other times of the year, but it was more crowded than it had been in years past.

However, showing up at RD and a good FP strategy meant that we got to see and do everything we wanted, and then some!
 

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