Off or slower times to go; are they gone?

[Tattylou]

We were in Disneyland in April of 2015 at a low time and to me that felt like Disney World used to back in the 80s/90s. We literally walked on to Big Thunder like 3 times in a row and waited max 15 minutes for everything except headliners, which we easily got old school fast passes for. ...

 

[jk and ek]

i've never been to disney during a hot OR super crowded time. i just wont do it. there have been days that have been busy (in my opinion) but in the grand scheme of things i know i haven't truly seen Real Busy at disney (and i don't want to!!)

plus, i am a miserable, sloppy, melting mess in heat/humidity and the idea of being there when the temps are above 75 just seem like a nightmare to me.

having our kiddo's birthday in the first half of feb has been the perfect excuse for us to go....our next one is due in june...i feel bad we'll never do disney for their birthday! maybe a cruise though....

 

[k5thbeatle]

I don't think slower times are gone, but I do think they are becoming harder to predict. It's not the same as it used to be where certain times of year were guaranteed to be slow.

You kind of got to and answered the main question I was trying to ask. Not really what time or times of year are slow but more in general; are slow times a thing of the past. As many have pointed out there still are some slower times but not "slower" as in years past. "Slow" is relative. For example, what is a slow time now might have been been considered crowded in say 1998? As someone pointed out, I think Disney is trying to make it where the park is essentially busy 90% of the time now, i.e. trying to eliminate slow times.

 

[Nicoleclaw]

we went during Jersey week and while crowds were predicted to be anywhere between a 4 and 6, they were 9 and I think 10 if I remember correctly. It was on par with Xmas week and Easter which we have done both.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

Early May. I hear it is lovely and the weather is great. I would love to go during this time.

The week after Labor Day.

Jan is also very very slow.

We went first week in May this year and while it definitely was lovely I didn't think it was markedly different from March the previous year crowd wise. I don't know if it was because of reduced capacity for rides or what. I would say the crowds were moderate to sometimes light but there were still significant afternoon waits.

 

[Accident]

Last year I found it mostly empty (with some exceptions) from april - end of may. Once memorial day weekend hit though, it was summer and 3 times more people and then the hurricane in sept hit and it doubled if not tripled from summer crowds and hasn't really come down at all.

exceptions were the marathon weekend, and cheer/band/other competition weeks. I don't remember any other event standing out as making it busier in the spring.

 

[anniemae]

Last year I found it mostly empty (with some exceptions) from april - end of may. Once memorial day weekend hit though, it was summer and 3 times more people and then the hurricane in sept hit and it doubled if not tripled from summer crowds and hasn't really come down at all.

exceptions were the marathon weekend, and cheer/band/other competition weeks. I don't remember any other event standing out as making it busier.

Yeah, I had heard it was pretty empty end of April beginning of May. Some said July was even slow. Interesting about the hurricane and how it can throw everything off. Tons of people cancelled and re-booked. I wonder if that made the fall more crowded.

 

[Accident]

Yeah, I had heard it was pretty empty end of April beginning of May. Some said July was even slow. Interesting about the hurricane and how it can throw everything off. Tons of people cancelled and re-booked. I wonder if that made the fall more crowded.

July was ok but it wasn't april/may. I also didn't do too many days in july, I was avoiding the brutal sun this year had and was hitting it in the evenings only so i'm not the best source of truth for crowds in july.

 

[L_MD]

Just went week after Thanksgiving and only felt like it was "crowded" a few times, like a Friday evening at Epcot and MK on a Saturday. It really helps if you're a morning touring person, though, because there definitely is an influx of people around 10:30am. The exception to this was Universal which was dead, no waits on anything I wanted to ride.

I will say that my perception may be skewed, as it was just myself and I can dart in/out of crowds pretty easily. If it's you and someone else and 3 kids, yeah, week after Thanksgiving probably isn't an ideal time anymore. I'm happy to hear about early May, though, because part of me is thinking of planning a trip in that timeframe in 2018.