What's the absolute best month to go???

[Uncleromulus]

Been to WDW 26 times, in months of April,May, Sept. ,Oct. NOV and December.
BY far Sept. has been the best in terms of good weather and crowd size. (provided it's at least the week after Labor Day!)

 

[ead79]

My hands down favorite time of year to visit WDW is early December. You avoid crowds, and you're in value season for resort rates. Plus, you can see all the wonderful special events that WDW has for the holidays, such as Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, the Candlelight Processional, the Osborne Lights, and the decorations at all the resorts. To me, Disney is even more magical at this time of year. Plus, the weather is generally quite nice.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Early December, for what ead just said.

 

[dianemb]

sEPTEMBER IS STILL HURRICAN SEASON. WE WERE THERE IN 99 WHEN THE PARKS CLOSED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN IT'S HISTORY FOR HUGO. oCTOBER IS A GOOD MONTH FOR WEATHER BUT COULD BE BUSY DEPENDING ON LOCAL SCHOOL TRIPS TO EPCOT. WE RAN INTO THAT ONE YEAR. IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE ANYTHING THERE. WE'RE GOING FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS YEAR IN DECEMBER. I HOPE IT TURNS OUT OK.

 

[Goofmeister]

I don't buy all the talk about early December. We went last year and it was more crowded than when we went in October (which by the way is reqular season). And the weather was warm in the afternoon, cool in the mornings and cold at night.

I think what people have been saying must be true if Thanksgiving is earlier in November. Wait a least a full week after Turkeyday, and you may be OK.

Bring your family, and that includes infants and toddlers.

 

[swilphil]

Originally posted by mitros
I stick with my original comments. All of the young children, from infants to about 3 years old that we have seen did a lot of screaming and carrying on. Sorry, it's just the way we have seen it.

And I stand by my comments. I have a hard time believing that EVERY time you saw a child under the age of 3, they were crying. I say if someone is bothered by the normal behavior of babies and toddlers, those people should stay away from Disney World. There are plenty of other vacation spots that don't attract families with young children.

 

[WhispyPixie]

November is a great month!!! It is our favorite..just dont do MK on turkey day!

 

[mitros]

We will continue to go to WDW on a regular basis. I am simply stating what I see. I also DID NOT say I was bothered by these children, just commenting on it.

 

[Mr D]

In 2001 I went for the first two weeks of December, crowds were moderate, only rained one evening, temps were average 75 during the day occasional higher temps. Weatherwise it was great but since I am from Alaska anything OVER 80 gets too warm for me to handle so this next visit will be in jan 2004 where supposedly the temps are more to what I can handle like 50-70 and even if its really really cold like in the 30's thats shirt weather for me, I routinely work outside (like today) in below freezing weather with just a layer of thermals on. But mostly why I changed from early dec to jan was that it would be even more less crowded, I think that and the cooler temps made my decision.

The only way I would possibly be there in summer was if I was acclimated to those extreme heats of summer, or if the only parks I went to were the water parks.

 

[Efastpitch]

Any month with an "R" in it! All other month's are to crowded or to hot.

 

[DiznEeyore]

Originally posted by Efastpitch
Any month with an "R" in it! All other month's are to crowded or to hot.

Hey, I like that!

 

[ktyler1320]

Thanks everyone for all of the replies, I'm still trying to decide. I would like to go sometime between January and May, but I'm worried that in may it will be getting pretty hot. I am from Louisiana, so my weather is similar, and I hate the heat....LOL. I would really like March or April because of the weather, but I'm afraid it will be too crowded. I need to just choose a date and stick with it!

Thanks again everyone.

Kim

 

[jcemom]

Originally posted by mitros
I stick with my original comments. All of the young children, from infants to about 3 years old that we have seen did a lot of screaming and carrying on. Sorry, it's just the way we have seen it.

Dragging this thread up from the depths because I find I must comment here. We just took our DD at age 16 months earlier this month. She absolutely LOVED it! She just adored the characters--all except Cinderella, oddly enough. (I think because Cinderella actually talked to her, she was a bit wary...lol But she did sit on Cindy's lap for a couple of pictures anyway!) She really seemed to like the character meals and watching the characters circulate around the room kept her entertained while the rest of us enjoyed our meals. She was tickled pink over feeding the birds on Tom Sawyer Island, possibly the best $1.25 (25 cents a handful for bird food) we spent the entire trip...lol She played on the playground in Toontown. She made it quite clear that she wanted to ride TriCeraTop Spin repeatedly, and we did. She rode everything that didn't have a height restriction, and never complained. (The only thing she "almost complained" about was the popping corks/air in the face at Philharmagic.) We shopped in Downtown Disney and she had a ball modeling her Cinderella dress for everyone (which we then just HAD to buy, of course). She even enjoyed Cirque du Soliel, though she did get squirmy around the last 15 minutes or so. We were there for 10 days and the only time she cried was when we were waiting in line to check in for Donald's breakfast and she wanted to ride TriCeraTop Spin yet again!

To the OP, if your child will be 16 months in May, I say "Go For It!" Of the three kids (I also have boys 10 and 9), DD was the best behaved by far and she seemed to have the most fun! DD and I are going back next year (she'll be almost three). Just be sure to take the time to see things through her eyes, it is priceless! Enjoy!

 

[mitros]

As long as your dragging it up again, I feel the need to drag up my comments again. Since my last posting in November, we have been to WDW 15 additional days from December through February 14th. And I'm afraid I have to stick to my original comments. Most of the younger children we saw were not very happy. However, in the defense of these little ones, it was more then likely not their fault, but the fault of the parents, would insisted on dragging these poor kids around when they were dead tired and cranky. We heard some of the parents making comments like: "I paid all this money for this trip, and your going to enjoy it!" A good parent will be aware of the needs of the little ones and not insist on hauling them around when they should be napping. If the parents are worried about how much they spent on the vacation, and are going to make the kids and everyone around them suffer, then maybe those parents should wait until the kids are a little older. Again, it's just MHO, and it is what we have observed during our trips.

 

[jcemom]

Originally posted by mitros
However, in the defense of these little ones, it was more then likely not their fault, but the fault of the parents, would insisted on dragging these poor kids around when they were dead tired and cranky. We heard some of the parents making comments like: "I paid all this money for this trip, and your going to enjoy it!" A good parent will be aware of the needs of the little ones and not insist on hauling them around when they should be napping.

You're probably right about that! Maybe that's the difference in our experience and yours. We let the kids dictate how much time we spent in the parks. I definitely had planned on spending more time in the parks than we did--we always left when the kids got tired or just wanted some down time. Even though we did less than I thought we were going to, I definitely feel like we got our money's worth. We enjoyed everything that we did, and didn't come home exhausted.

So, I guess we're both right! To anyone considering taking a little one to Disney, be flexible and follow the cues of your child! Unless you want one of those screaming, crying, miserable kids mitros has encountered! lol

 

[tink2]

I know this isn't the original question, but I must respond to the above comments. I've taken 2 babies at 6 months old and then later as toddlers. The first baby was very easy going and the second was not. Both children were much easier to deal with at WDW as infants than later as toddlers- both were 2 1/2 the next time they went. As infants, they both slept in their strollers, ate whenever they needed to, and weren't afraid of the characters. We were in the parks from opening until after the night shows and they did great! Now, it did help that my parents were along also and helped out in the parks a lot. But, don't be afraid to take an infant- just be prepared to take breaks on a bench for a bottle or to sprint to the bathroom or babystation for a clean diaper and have a great time!!!
We are trying the first of December this year- hope it is as great as most people say!

 

[daisyduck007]

My sister and I went in Mid October - it rained a little here and there but it was pretty refreshing. There were NO lines anywhere in any parks. We got through the magic kingdom in less than half a day. Epcot was empty. Same with MGM. Animal Kingdom was a little busier. When we went to Universal we got through Islands of Adventure in less than half a day too. The fastpass booths were all closed at both Disney and Universal because they weren't needed at all. I dont know if this is how it always is in October, but that seemed like the time to go. I am going next month, hopefully it wont be so bad