Least busy time of the year for WDW?

[The Wise One]

My hubby and I are planning our next Disney trip. I have only been twice. The first time was from November 29th - December 6th and it was WONDERFUL. No crowds, no waiting in line it was awesome! This last trip was the week before Christmas and it was much more busy. Still not horrible but different from my first time. We're thinking of going in January or February (maybe Valentine's Day?) this time. Is this a good down time for WDW? When is the MOST down time of the year?

 

[Hootch]

use Touring Plans which is by the people that put out the Unofficial Guide books. It's a subscription based site that provides crowd calendars and has one of the best apps for WFW (and Disneyland). The full app is part of the subscription. They provide a free sample if you want to get a feel for it. There is also a free sample for the app.

http://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/crowd-calendar

Another site that provides a full, free view us easywdw. The site goes into a lot of detail about each month. The current data is for 2012. There is a note they will do 2013 when Disney releases seasonal pricing which should be next month.

http://www.easywdw.com/category/disneybest/besttime/

January and February are generally good months to go because crowds are smaller. There are exceptions generally for the week after New Year's Day, around MLK day and the week of President's Day.

Since crowds are low, park hours are shorter and more attractions are under rehab. Also the weather can be a problem. We went to Florida (not WDW) in January 2008. The first night it was in the mid 80s. Two days later the high was in the 40s.

I would suggest something like the week of the third or tenth of February. Crowds will likely pick up towards the end of the week of the tenth because of President's Day. You could also push out to the week of the 24th. Crowds may be up a little bit but will be low compared to the heavier times. You also have a better chance with the weather.

If you want to get a feel for park times, this site has park hours for this year which should be representative. February hours won't be out for another 70-80 days.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/hours.htm

 

[beccasmom]

Early February is pretty slow, IMHO. Weather, of course, is the wild card.

Early May is also nice as is early to mid November (we generally wait until after the Food & Wine Festival is over). Early December is also very nice, but very popular with the DVC folks, so early booking is recommended if you plan a stay at a DVC resort.

 

[skriegerjr]

My hubby and I are planning our next Disney trip. I have only been twice. The first time was from November 29th - December 6th and it was WONDERFUL. No crowds, no waiting in line it was awesome! This last trip was the week before Christmas and it was much more busy. Still not horrible but different from my first time. We're thinking of going in January or February (maybe Valentine's Day?) this time. Is this a good down time for WDW? When is the MOST down time of the year?

According to Passporter's crowd levels, January, after New Years is the lowest crowds of the year, followed by August/September. We have experienced VERY low crowds in November as well, with the upside of relatively mild weather !


Posted from DISboards.com App for Android

 

[callicourt]

I've been in both January and February, and both months were pleasantly uncrowded. Steer clear of President's Day weekend, as rates and waits typically go up!

 

[Svhadden]

We go the first week of Sept every year and the crowd levels are wonderfully low. We rarely have to wait longer than 20 min and if we do, we FP the ride. Yes, it's hot, but we live in SELouisiana, so we're used to the heat . I'll gladly deal with warmer temps if it means I can walk onto many of our favorites!