Is there really no slow season anymore?

[danikoski]

Went in early November 2013 and we were surprised by the crowds.
Went in mid-January 2015, avoiding MLK day, and crowds were okay, except there were a lot of large tour groups of kids. Luckily, their tour guides carried flags, so we just avoided where they went. It made DHS feel crowded.
Went in early February this year, and didn't run into a lot of tour groups, some, and crowd levels were low to moderate, except on our Epcot day. That day LWTL had 40 minute wait... luckily, we had ridden mostly everything we wanted and headed out of the park for the afternoon when it got that busy.
Planning to hopefully go back in mid-February 2019, but might have to do early June due to my stepson being school aged.

 

[amylevan]

Or was it smart and we just haven't realized it yet? With four Avatar movie sequels planned, Disney should be able to entice more people to visit. According to Avatar's Facebook post the movies will be released December 18, 2020, December 17, 2021, December 20, 2024 and December 19, 2025.

Could Disney have purposely made only two Pandora attractions with the intention of building more in the future based on the success of the films? After all, why give us all the attractions at once? Spread them out and make us come back.

But is anyone actually anticipating those movies? Everyone I know is waiting with bated breath for the next Star Wars or Avengers movie. The Harry Potter movies (and books!) had crowds lining outside when they opened. I didn't even like the first Avatar movie, and no one I know could care that there are more sequels planned.

I've been multiple times in late Jan/ early Feb, avoiding holidays, and found crowds then to be moderate, but not really low.

We have visited the last week of Jan and/or the first week of Feb in 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016 and would easily call the crowds low. But for comparison's sake, in 2010 we also had a visit during Jersey Week, and 2008 was Jersey week - both which we put in the moderate crowded category.

 

[mombrontrent]

We’ve taken several trips late April/early May and found the crowds very manageable. We went this past January 14-21st and also very manageable. We also got lucky with the weather in January and it was in the 80’s every day of our trip. Our water park day was practically a ghost town, everything was a walk on yet it was hit and sunny! Our next trip is Halloween week 2018, thinking we might finally be hitting a high crowd time but it’s worth it to us to experience Fort Wilderness for the Halloween festivities!

 

[danikoski]

And to add, we used to go to WDW every year from mid-1980s to early 1990s in early February. Crowds have definitely changed since then because there were times the parks really felt empty... doesn't happen so much anymore.

 

[ThistleMae]

I think it depends of which day and which park. You may hit it just right and have hardly any crowd at HS but MK may be packed. I guess the best perspective to have is...it's always crowded....go with the flow no matter what...and no worries!

 

[Pmlocke]

There are indeed slow times, just not the slow times like ten, fifteen years ago. I can remember walking up to the Crystal Palace and getting in with no reservation. Never having to wait more than 10 minutes for any of the rides, walking down the middle of Main Street with your eyes closed and not walking into anyone. Now the waits a little longer (20-30 minutes) and you should get a dining reservation. Oh yes, keep your eyes open on Main Street.

 

[LSUfan4444]

The fact is less people are entering the turnstiles at WDW now than they were a couple of years ago so overall, the crowds are smaller. BUT, Disney has done a good job of adding events, specials and entertainment throughout the year to help balance the crowds.

 

[wdw4rfam]

My opinion is there IS slow times, but they are constantly changing. Used to be September, early December, Etc. But last year summer was slow. Its ever changing. I just try and pick when I think it will be good and go in with a good plan.

 

[CinderDuffy]

Or was it smart and we just haven't realized it yet? With four Avatar movie sequels planned, Disney should be able to entice more people to visit. According to Avatar's Facebook post the movies will be released December 18, 2020, December 17, 2021, December 20, 2024 and December 19, 2025.

Could Disney have purposely made only two Pandora attractions with the intention of building more in the future based on the success of the films? After all, why give us all the attractions at once? Spread them out and make us come back.

No. People just don't care that much about Avatar. If it couldn't get the rabid fan community with one movie, it won't get it with five. Hardly anybody is going to watch Avatar 2 and plan a trip to have an immersive Pandora experience because they loved it so much. They will for Star Wars.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

I was probably in that FP line when you walked by. We waited about 30ish minutes or so...

Crazy day, wasn't it? At that point it ceases to be a Fast Pass. I'm not interested in waiting 30 minutes for anything other than whatever the newest thing is. We had just waited in a similarly long FP return line for Buzz so was not in the mood for a ridiculous FP queue at Space.

The good news is that DHS and Epcot were a joy. We collected instant FPs for TSMM and RnRC -twice

 

[MusicalAstronaut]

You're right in that it's all relative. There are always crowds, but they're not always NYE levels. But, everyone's definition of crowded is different. Some people think a 60 minute wait for SM is crazy, some think a 30 minute wait is crazy, and some think a 120 minute wait is reasonable. I was there Columbus Day weekend and thought it was just fine, and some people said they thought it was so insane that they're never going back (lol). I think you aren't ever going to find a week where there's just no one there and there are no waits for anything. I think part of this is because schools are having more breaks during the school year. It used to be that October & November were slow because kids were in school, but now that's a common school break. My brother's school is out for like a week every other month or more, and the summer break is getting much shorter. I think that if you plan for crowds, book your fastpasses, and go in knowing it's not going to be empty, you'll have fun no matter the time of year. My strategy is to leave the parks in the middle of the day and be there for opening & closing.

 

[mikeyg1479]

You are never going to see an "empty park" with Disney, but there definitely are slower times. The "slowest times" are probably January (right after the "Holidays" end) or early septemer (right after kids go back to school).

But you should see fairly reasonable crowds in Febrary/March/April, even May, Plus October/November(except Thanksgiving week)/Dec(except for the weeks just prior to Xmas through New Years)- all of these months can be more reasonable in general- OUTSIDE of weeks that contain holidays -

Of course, this is excepting certain weeks where there is some holiday that week that gives your kids off from school, and you are thinking "lets plan a trip because less school days missed!" count on that being a busy week in the parks because a few million other people have the same idea. So avoid Presidents Day/Columbus day, spring break, so on and so forth.

Obviously, anytime during summer when kids are off school- that's peak time- if you don't like crowds- don't visit then.

Advice- I visited the week after Thanksgiving last year (late Nov/early Dec)- it was delightful. Parks are in full Christmas mode, crowds are light (for Disney), with planning- everything (ride and reservation wise)was do-able and manageable. Temperatures are still beautiful, but not stinking hot, and its just past hurricane season. Bonus!

 

[oceanmarina]

And late July. Seriously. I was stunned at how low the late July crowds were in 2016.

I thought July was always packed with the International tour groups?

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

This is so true. WDW attendance peaked about 3 years ago boosted by Frozen mania, I think. It's been a pretty steep dive since the even with the opening of Pandora. On the other hand, Universal has experienced rapid growth during the same time frame.

Very troubling for Disney.

 

[j4disneyworld]

No. People just don't care that much about Avatar. If it couldn't get the rabid fan community with one movie, it won't get it with five. Hardly anybody is going to watch Avatar 2 and plan a trip to have an immersive Pandora experience because they loved it so much. They will for Star Wars.

I totally agree with you. I'm just hoping the movies will be a success for Disney's sake.

 

[Shanti]

I thought July was always packed with the International tour groups?

There are groups, but that's not enough people to make a park crowded. I never saw more than a couple of groups at any one park. Even if a large group has 100 people in it, that's a drop in the bucket compared to the thousands who visit a park in any one day.

From what I've read, groups are more annoying at the value resorts, where they tend to stay en masse. We stay deluxe in summer, though (resorts are cheaper in summer), & we never saw a group at any deluxe resort.

 

[Shanti]

Obviously, anytime during summer when kids are off school- that's peak time- if you don't like crowds- don't visit then.

Crowds were light when we visited in late July 2016. Crowds were only moderate when we visited in early July 2015. Summer is no longer peak season at WDW.

 

[KimBean]

My opinion is there IS slow times, but they are constantly changing. Used to be September, early December, Etc. But last year summer was slow. Its ever changing. I just try and pick when I think it will be good and go in with a good plan.

I agree. Life has changed. People are more in control of their schedules. 10 years ago I could go to the grocery store in the middle of the day on a Tuesday and be 1 of 3 people there. Now it is jam packed and mainly men. Life has changed. People are multi tasking their work and home life. I feel like we are seeing this same change at WDW. There isn't a dead time to go to the store, but Friday nights and Saturday mornings aren't as terrible as they used to be. No real dead times at Disney. But summer is no longer wall to wall people.

 

[anniemae]

I agree. Life has changed. People are more in control of their schedules. 10 years ago I could go to the grocery store in the middle of the day on a Tuesday and be 1 of 3 people there. Now it is jam packed and mainly men. Life has changed. People are multi tasking their work and home life. I feel like we are seeing this same change at WDW. There isn't a dead time to go to the store, but Friday nights and Saturday mornings aren't as terrible as they used to be. No real dead times at Disney. But summer is no longer wall to wall people.

This is so true. More people out and about in general. I think lots of folks can work remotely. I also find things more crowded during week days, and there is just more traffic in the middle of the day as well. I think people are vacationing more too. More emphasis on family life.

 

[JennyDrake]

I see a lot of people say that WDW doesn't have a slow season anymore. Do you really think that's true? I realize things have changed in the parks over the last few years, but I just went during Labor Day week and thought the crowds were fantastic. I would definitely consider that week to be on the slower side. Sure, there were a lot of people, but the wait times for rides were great and the parks and buses were easy to navigate. Certainly better than last October for me. I guess it's all relative.

ABSOLUTELY I agree! From 1993-2000 we would go the week after New Years and over the half the rides would literally be walk on. NO lines over 15 minutes anywhere.

Since 2005 I have gone 3x/year - late April/early May, mid August and early December. The crowds for August have remained the same or even lessened a bit. December used to be almost vacant (except for MVMCP!). I can remember COUNTING the number of people at Osborne Lights and there being less than 150! Late April is a nightmare with the Cheer Whatever it is and school end of year trips--early May is still very manageable, but without FP you'd still be waiting close to an hour or more for headliners.

Hotel rooms were easy to acquire and AP discounts were deep. Until 3 years ago I had NEVER paid more than $84 for a room at a value--3 years ago I paid $132 for standard room at Music.

In the past, rope drop was a food idea but not a necessity - I don't go NEAR the MK now after 11:30 am.....