When Is It More Crowded? Summer Or Christmas?

[somethingblue]

We have the following times available to go on vacation to Disney World...

The second week in June (we could arrive the 6th) through the whole summer

or

The week of Christmas (we could arrive on the 19th and would most likely not be staying through Christmas day).

When do you guys think would be the least crowded? We were thinking the second week in June looks like the best option...thoughts?!

 

[Robo]

When do you guys think would be the least crowded? We were thinking the second week in June looks like the best option...thoughts?!

It can vary.

Either could be higher or lower in any given week (of the summer)
and for any given year, either time's guest-level could change.

Both time-frames will be busy.

 

[cbg1027]

According to the crowd calendar, Christmas is the busiest time of the year, at a 10 out of 10. Summer is slightly less busy, with 8's and 9's thrown in among some 10's.

It's probably not enough of a difference to really affect your trip. Either time it will seem super-crowded. So I think what you need to ask yourself is would you rather deal with those crowds when it's 90-100 degrees or 60-70 degrees during the day?

 

[42trvl]

I believe the week before Christmas would be much worse. The second week of June is still kind of early for kids to be done with school. We went last year, the third week of June and it was not too bad until toward the end of the week and then I heard from friends who stayed longer that it got much more noticeably crowded by the end of June. From the week before Christmas to New Year's I only hear bad things about crowds.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Christmas.

But that's not the only factor to consider. I'd also carefully consider the other factors also: weather, decor, park hours.

 

[Mystry62]

The week before and after Christmas are definitely the busiest. We have been in the parks the week before Christmas for 2 years in a row and there were days where it was literally shoulder to shoulder in the parks. (The worst was DHS on a Fantasmic evening with EMH). But the upside is that you get to see the Christmas decorations and it isn't so blazingly hot & muggy outside. Plus, you have less of a chance of rain every day.

Summer is also pretty crowded, but I've found that the crowds do vary quite a bit depending on the days. Many Florida schools won't let out until at least June 10, so if you can go before then, it might be slightly less crowded.

I think if I had to choose between the two times of year, I would go for Christmas, even knowing what I know about the crowd level. Whichever time of year you choose, the key is to make dining reservations early, have a good tour plan and, most importantly, expect that it will be busy.

Hope that helps,
~Hannah~

 

[stashbin]

Christmas is brutal. We have gone during the summer and hands down..Christmas is far more crowded than summer.
When we went at Christmas, we didn't get to ride hardly anything. Plus, it was so crowded that walking down main street was miserable. I am talking shoulder to shoulder, pushing, dirty looks, ugly comments...the whole nine. And if you have a stroller...NIGHTMARE.
The lights are pretty, but not worth it for me.

 

[DOOM1001]

I would rather go the week before Christmas than early June,for me the weather,Christmas decor and events and even with the probability of bigger crowds outweigh early June where it won't be quite as crowded but with 90 degrees plus temperatures and rain all the time I just don't enjoy the time as much.If you're not a regular visitor like I am you should be able to do the rides with less waits in the summer than close to Christmas,so that should be something to consider.Also things like will you stay for the same amount of days on both dates or will you be able to stay longer for summer.I remember a thread asking that same question,something like 5 days in Christmas or 10 days in summer,not surprisingly many people chose the 10 days in summer,more time to relax,do the waterparks and so on.I myself will stick with Christmas.

 

[somethingblue]

Thank you everyone for your responses!!

I discussed this with my mother today and she has decided that she would rather go during Spring Break...so it seems we will be going the third week of March. We went the second week of the month last year and it wasn't too bad...I'm thinking it will be busier this year, though.

If anyone has thoughts on March, let me know!

 

[bart0205]

According to the crowd calendar, Christmas is the busiest time of the year, at a 10 out of 10. Summer is slightly less busy, with 8's and 9's thrown in among some 10's.

It's probably not enough of a difference to really affect your trip. Either time it will seem super-crowded. So I think what you need to ask yourself is would you rather deal with those crowds when it's 90-100 degrees or 60-70 degrees during the day?

What's a crowd calendar?

 

[RMulieri]

Christmas is busier in my experience