Least crowded

[Euphemy]

I know it may be hard to predict and I am also a member of the touring plans site. I was wondering from the experience of the people on the boards of when the crowds are at the lowest? We went in the 2nd week of May last year and according to the TP site, the crowd levels were expected to be around 3's. It was so crowded, we were unable to view the parades and rarely had a seat on the shuttle buses. We would like to visit at the least crowded time as possible and don't mind wearing a coat if needed. Any input would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[MrRomance]

I know it may be hard to predict and I am also a member of the touring plans site. I was wondering from the experience of the people on the boards of when the crowds are at the lowest? We went in the 2nd week of May last year and according to the TP site, the crowd levels were expected to be around 3's. It was so crowded, we were unable to view the parades and rarely had a seat on the shuttle buses. We would like to visit at the least crowded time as possible and don't mind wearing a coat if needed. Any input would be appreciated. Thank you.

End of Jan - Early Feb (before President's Day), Early September are typically low periods.

 

[rznhal]

We were there this year August 29-September 3. The crowds were extremely low. I did notice, however, that check in for us (it was a Monday) was WAY less crowded than the day we checked out (a Saturday), so i think weekdays are generally lower too.

Good luck!!!

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

I agree completely with the previous 2 posters

late Jan - early Feb and very early Sept (not Labor Day weekend!)

also avoid weekends if possible. We run 10 day trips starting mid - week like Tuesday/ Wednesday so we have several days before a weekend and only one weekend. That to me is the best plan overall!

 

[4butlers]

We were just there Nov. 11-17 and didn't think it was extremely crowded. Very manageable and the weather was beautiful!!!

 

[StarToursfan]

What about the middle of feb.?
Family n I are thinking about going then...any thoughts?

 

[kerplop]

Judging from pictures I've seen, the week after Labor Day seemed to be deader than a doornail.

 

[PixieDustFanatic]

We were just there Nov. 11-17 and didn't think it was extremely crowded. Very manageable and the weather was beautiful!!!

What were you smoking? Can I have some? We were there Nov. 13 - 19th and it was much more crowded than expected. Nov. 12th was considered a 10 out of 10...and that party on Tuesday, the 15th, was god awful!

 

[fupresti]

I have learned in my years of browsing this site that everyone has their own opinion on what is "crowded" and what is not. Depends on a number of factors including your patience level to be honest. We enjoyed a very calm and restful week in March that some on this boards described as "overcrowded" and "ridiculous".

 

[mattsdragon]

Ya know, it's all hit or miss. It could be an uncrowded time, but if you go to the wrong park on the wrong day, you could be looking at a horrible day regardless of the time of year you go.

 

[Euphemy]

Thank you all for the responses. We are looking now at going in the end of January.

 

[JimS4210]

End of Jan - Early Feb (before President's Day), Early September are typically low periods.

Yea!!! We're making our first January trip in 63 days... we'll be there Jan. 29-Feb. 4. Hoping for low crowds. We were there in mid October and found it busier than previous trips at that time!

Jim

 

[4butlers]

What were you smoking? Can I have some? We were there Nov. 13 - 19th and it was much more crowded than expected. Nov. 12th was considered a 10 out of 10...and that party on Tuesday, the 15th, was god awful!

Apparently what I was smoking was much better than what you were smoking - or we were just at the right park on the right day. We had very short wait times and many times just walked on rides.

 

[jcemom]

I have been in mid-January, late January, early February, mid February, early June, early September, mid September, late September, early October, mid October, and early December.

Of those times, the least crowded has been late January, early February, and early September. The most crowded was June, of course, and then early December.

It's comparatively crowded over MLK weekend in January; it gets more crowded towards the end of the week before President's Day in February; and we felt it was crowded when we arrived at the tail end of Columbus Day week in October (it was dead from Sunday on, but Friday and Saturday were pretty crowded, IMO). Late September into early October is crowded when compared to early September into mid September (but still, overall, a pretty nice time to visit crowd-wise). Also, you have to keep an eye on Mardi Gras (there was a pretty noticeable influx of LA residents when our trip coincided with a February Mardi Gras date).

All of the times I've been, other than June, haven't been very crowded at all. I think they'd all be considered uncrowded times to visit.

 

[flortlebap]

Its all about perception and planning. If you hit the parks at 10am on an EMH day and try and tour leisurely without a plan, or without correctly utilising FPs, anything over a 4 would be a nightmare. When done correctly, 8s are manageable and you can still avoid most of the crowds throughout the day we've done MK on a 10 before and it was busy, but we still barely queued the whole day!

 

[n2mm]

I agree, we have found the 3rd week of January to the end of January to be the lightest crowds. We go 4 trips a year: After MLK weekend, late April to mid-May, and the last 2 weeks of October and sometimes late August. Of all of them, January is consistently light crowds. May and October are generally both similar crowds, generally moderate to heavy on the weekends. August, we find the crowd level higher than our other times and too hot. We have officially removed August from our list of visits. We will now go 3 weeks in May. We will be in WDW in January too. Last year we went 2 1/2 weeks, but cut it back to 10 days. While the crowds were light, it was too cold to be there that long. We like our longer trips to be when it's warmer and we can get more pool time.

 

[CTDisneyfan816]

I choose the first or second week of December to go each year. While it isn't dead, the lines are much more manageable than other times of the year. Also with Thanksgiving and Christmas/NY that close, they won't close many rides this time of year for refurbishment as they will after the New Year.

 

[NikitaZee]

Apparently what I was smoking was much better than what you were smoking - or we were just at the right park on the right day. We had very short wait times and many times just walked on rides.

We were there Nov 12-20, and found it just like you said. Most days we had very short waits, Nov 13th at MK we walked right onto everything. Same at AK on the 15th, and Epcot on the 17th. We rode most rides more than once. The last two days we were there were considerably more crowded, with the Thanksgiving folks starting to arrive.

 

[kohlby]

End of Jan was super, super quiet when we went. The only issue is that there's often some rides doing refurb. It wasn't a big deal to us since no rides were closed that we wanted to do. (Splash Mountain was closed that Jan, but my kids hate getting splashed). We returned a week ago from a trip and though it was more crowded than the end of Jan, crowds were extremely managable. We never waited more than 10 minutes for anything. Some of that was being smart with fastpasses but even so, we didn't use that many fastpasses. The issue my family has with Sept is the heat. We would not be able to handle it. I live in the southeast but being out all day in Sept heat is too much for us. One day was 85 and very humid on our most recent trip and it made us realize how much energy the heat can zap from you - and made me realize that I'll never consider Oct now. (I knew not to consider Sept. Sept is still summer here in the southeast).

*We were in the parks from Nov 12-19th. We made rope drop everyday. The only crowded time was when my husband went back out at night to DHS when there was EMH. Otherwise, simply being their at rope drop and picking the more ideal parks worked well. (Though twice we had Epcot on non-recommended days and it was still very, very managable).

 

[nkereina]

What about the middle of feb.?
Family n I are thinking about going then...any thoughts?

Middle-End of February starts President's Week/Winter Recess/Spring Break season. It would be iffy to find low crowds from then until May-ish, IMO.

Statistically, lowest crowds are in January and September. Many people this year who went in September said crowds seemed higher than normal. We went last week of September and thought crowds were moderate however wait times were very short - 20 mins or less on most things except the usuals like TSM and Soarin. Our week did coincide with MK's 40th anniversary and the start of F&W so crowd levels grew as the week ended. The problem with September is it was extremely hot. It really made us exhausted and we never felt like eating, which was a problem because we were on DxDP. The problem with January is that park hours are short, lots of things under refurb, and it can be cold to the point where you need a winter jacket.