Optimum crowd control

[Rebecca Weidner]

This is my first post! We are planning a trip to Disneyworld in 2007. What time of year is the slowest in regard to crowds?
I am hoping to go in the fall. We last went in March 2005 and it was CRAZY! We are traveling with our two children. They will be 4 and 1 next fall.

 

[RedSox1974]

Crowd Calendar:

http://www.touringplans.com/tp2/UG2_index.php?PageID=14


from http://mousesavers.com/

The best times to go to Walt Disney World are:

First three weeks of December.
The weather is usually cool but pleasant, the Christmas decorations are up, special events are running, and the parks are usually pretty uncrowded.


Early January through mid-February.
It's cool (sometimes even a bit cold) at this time of year. This is probably the least busy time of year, and hotel prices are lowest. However, usually some rides will be closed for refurbishment at this time of year.


Entire month of May.
The weather is warm in May, but usually not unbearably so. Crowds are low and hotel prices are moderate.


Late August and entire month of September (even Labor Day weekend).
It will be extremely hot. Plan on taking afternoons off and visiting water parks. Crowds and hotel prices are low. Off-site hotels usually have their rock-bottom deals during this period.
During special events that interest you. Bear in mind that events held on major holidays usually attract significant crowds, however.


The worst times to visit Walt Disney World are:

December 26-31. This is the most crowded and most expensive time of year.


Mid-February through mid-April (or later, depending on the date of Easter), especially holiday weekends including President's Day and Easter. Expect huge crowds, high resort prices and expensive airfares, but usually very nice weather.

Midsummer (June through early August). Expect it to be very busy and extremely hot. To maximize your experience, plan on hitting the parks first thing in the morning. After lunch, take an afternoon break, then return to the park in the late afternoon/early evening. 11:00 am to 4:00 pm is the hottest part of the day and ironically the most crowded, too.


Other holidays. Among the other busy time periods are Thanksgiving week and any national holiday with a 3-day weekend (except Labor Day weekend).
During special events. Some don't create a lot of crowds, but some do.
Some less-known events that may affect crowds, park hours and/or traffic at Walt Disney World:

 

[Karalynn]

Welcome to the Dis!!!

We have went twice in late September and it was great, but it was also 10 years ago! We just went this year, last week of January into the first week of February. I really didn't want to go at this time, but dh talked me into it since work is slow for him at that time of year and it made sense to go then. Anyway..... it ended up being awesome!!! Crowds were minimal, but remember you are in Disney after all! The mornings were a bit cool, lite sweatshirt or xtra shirt but by afternoon it was warm. We pretty much swam everyday mostly because the kids wanted to, it wasn't really hot enough for me, but since the pool was heated it was fine. I have read that that time of year is pretty unpredictable. Some people have reported needing winter coats and mittens! Luckily we didn't need them, but I would consider going again at that time, even if it was cool. My dd and I don't do well in the hot humid weather. (We get grumpy!)

 

[seven dwarfs]

I think it just depends on the year. We have done May and it was not good. It was hot and people everywhere. We love the first two weeks of Dec. But, every year it becomes more and more people. In fact last year was not fun for us at all. I think the word has gotten out that this is agood time to go. So this year we are going in sept. Oh yeah, last oct we went at the end of the month and it was great. The food and wine (EPCOT) at night was crazy but the one morning at MGM it seemed as if it was just us in the park! Good luck in what ever you deside.

 

[lnh'smom]

I know everyone has their own opinions. We LOVE May. That is the only month we will go. Yes, it is plenty warm, but we don't think it was unbearable and we have never waited more 10 minutes for a ride. This is my vote for best time to go.

 

[mommiepoppins]

sept was great!!!!

 

[eeyoregon]

Our best experience with crowds has been the end of April (twice now). As long as it's after Easter weekend!

The end of October was quite crowded the year we went and very hot/humid. Early November wasn't too bad. The end of February was good too but cooler weather = might be too chilly to swim? We are from Oregon so we dove right in