When Should We Go During Late 2017/2018?

[RemainSeatedPlease]

I am in the very early stages of planning a WDW trip (so excited!!). I have been one time with my family when I was a teenager (in 2002) and my husband has never been. However, I have been to Disneyland many times during pretty much every time of the year. We have no kids and our jobs are flexible enough that we can take off pretty much any time of the year we want to. We are planning to spend 4 days at WDW and 2 days at Universal Studios.

So, give me your advice! When should we plan our trip? We don't expect to be ready to go until after summer 2017. Based on my very preliminary research we are considering late September/early October 2017 or late February/early March 2018, but we are open to all suggestions!

Here are our priorities:

1. Weather. My husband can handle any weather but I am not quite so durable. We don't mind rain, and in fact usually choose to go to Disneyland during rainy times since the crowds lessen on those days. I don't expect rain has as much of an impact at WDW because it is mostly travelers rather than a lot of locals, right? The problem for me will be heat and humidity. I was at Disneyland in August last year during a particularly humid time and I (literally) almost passed out. I was on the floor of a hat kiosk being handed ice waters. I've already vowed never to go to Disneyland in the summer again, because I just can't take heat and crowds combined. If there's a similar time to avoid at WDW, let me know!

2. Crowds. I have grown weary of the Disneyland crowds in the past year or so, and am hoping my trip to WDW won't be quite so crazy. I know that it is going to be crowded all year long, but if there's a good time to go to lessen that inconvenience, we're all for it. I do remember the paths being much wider at WDW, which certainly helped it at least feel less crowded.

3. Price. I admit it, my husband and I are cheapskates. My husband is worse than I am; I am more willing to spend a little bit extra if it means a better overall experience, and I may be able to sway him, but we definitely won't be staying at any deluxe resorts. What are the cheapest times to go in terms of ticket and hotel prices? We plan to stay on-site. I am already checking out the various hotels and can tell that will be a whole research project unto itself.

4. Decorations. This isn't a top priority, but we would like to AVOID seasonal decorations if possible. We have spent a lot of time at Disneyland during the holiday season and I have also spent a lot of time there during Halloween. This will probably be our only WDW trip, or at least the only one for at least a decade or two, so my husband would really like to see it in its "natural state," as he put it.

5. Refurbishments. Obviously we would prefer not to go when refurbishments are happening on our favorite attractions. I know the schedule doesn't come out until at least 180 days before it happens, but you guys may have some insight about what's ahead for the parks' foreseeable future. If it helps to know, we are most interested in Animal Kingdom and Epcot. My husband is a wildlife enthusiast and big into dinosaurs, so he is most looking forward to Animal Kingdom. We don't care so much about rides that are repeats from Disneyland. We also aren't into big thrill rides, so we would not be upset to miss major coasters.

So, taking all of this into account, and knowing that you could go any time of year you wanted, when would you choose?

 

[Accident]

1. easter to halloween is when the humidity tends to be noticeable. there can be days or weeks earlier or later but I would say if your trying to completely avoid humidity then easter to halloween is the time to not come. Keep in mind florida can see snow, while not as common as elsewhere in the country there are years where it's freezing cold in dec, jan or feb (feb generally being the lowest temps). be ready for layers or warm clothing but you can also see 70s and 80s so be ready for beach also and it can change every day.

2. There is no such thing as low crowds at WDW. It's either large crowds or stoopid large crowds. your also looking to come after pandora the world of avatar is going to open (2017) and toy story land will open in 2018... they will bring in crowds. disney does a lot of things in WDW to bring in the crowds and will go large disconts when that isn't working. It's really been crowded all the time.. you best bet would be mid jan until mid may but avoid holidays, rundisney and espn competitions that are going on. those will be more people and in my opinion your only chance of possible having a moderate or lower crowd. it'll also be amazing weather. I also like the first week of december (the week after thanksgiving week to be more specific) but this year is the first year that they offered discounts for this week so I'm not sure this is a safe bet anymore.

3. spring is the lowest cost for the tiered ticket system which doesn't really apply to multiday tickets. rooms and such are price yielded so they will keep going up if the place is busier. If your AP holders for disneyland it's much less money to upgrade to dual park than it is for a WDW fan to visit disneyland. I would recommend a good travel agent that can help watch for discounts that can be applied to get the best rate. I woudl recommend dreams unlimited travel just because they have a direct connection to this forum they will also help you with the annoyances of getting some reservations and things that you don't go through at disneyland with all the extra preplanning you must do for WDW.

4. Flower and Garden is in the spring (mid march - mid may last year) will be epcots best look. I would consider it seasonal decorations but disneyworld food and somethign is different from how disneyland does it so i could be a nice plus for a possibly one and only east coast park visit.

5. jan/feb are usually the coldest temps and not uncommon to see some water based rides to be down for refurb (and to protect the ride from freezing). They've been refurbing everything lately so it really depends on where they are when you finally get here.


so what would I do? I'd plan a one and only trip to WDW for 2021 to enjoy everything under construction and whatever isn't started yet for the 50th anniversary.. they've been teasing there is more coming they aren't ready to announce yet so it should be a spectacular year to visit.

 

[RemainSeatedPlease]

so what would I do? I'd plan a one and only trip to WDW for 2021 to enjoy everything under construction and whatever isn't started yet for the 50th anniversary.. they've been teasing there is more coming they aren't ready to announce yet so it should be a spectacular year to visit.

So are you saying there is a lot of construction going on in the next couple of years? Are you referring specifically to Avatar and Toy Story lands, or is there other major construction I'm not aware of? That's honestly why I'm avoiding Disneyland for a couple of years. There's so much construction going on for Star Wars land and with the Rivers of America.


I've done some reading about the dining plan and discovered that they sometimes offer it for free with packages in the fall. Should I maybe try to plan our trip for a time when the free dining may be likely?

 

[Selket]

We were there the first weekend in October and we're going back (myself and 14 year old son) the 2nd weekend of December. I go to WDW a lot but I don't live near there. A few things:

1) The weather was nice for October - not too hot but warm. However it was rainy. When it rains a lot the outdoor rides shut down. Of course you have the chance of hurricanes - Hurricane Matthew affected the area the next weekend after we left so thank goodness our trip hadn't been then. You're going to get Halloween decorations in Sept/Oct.

2) Free dining - sometimes offered in the Fall - our October trip was free dining and the Dec. one coming up is too! You have to book in advance but if you can snag that - it should save you a good amount of money and you can enjoy the restaurants. We do like to eat and have sit down dinners once a day so that's a great deal for us.

My guess is late Feb. would be the lowest crowds and the weather is hit and miss but at least no hurricanes and no decorations that I can think of.

 

[Accident]

So are you saying there is a lot of construction going on in the next couple of years? Are you referring specifically to Avatar and Toy Story lands, or is there other major construction I'm not aware of? That's honestly why I'm avoiding Disneyland for a couple of years. There's so much construction going on for Star Wars land and with the Rivers of America.

also star wars land as well. in my opinion, not much is gone but it's a little in your face at hollywood studios but it'll be less in your face in 2018 after pandora is completely done and opened and toy story should be opened or almost done and opened. many that say HS isn't worth it, weren't going to HS before it started. there is a lot of long shows that after a few times, it's on your we can skip that attraction list. For a family that has never been, lots of new things to discover with very little disneyland overlap.

I've done some reading about the dining plan and discovered that they sometimes offer it for free with packages in the fall. Should I maybe try to plan our trip for a time when the free dining may be likely?

Again it's a do the math. While they do generally offer free dining yearly, it's was very very limited this year in both how many and what resorts / rooms you could book. I've never found it a savings vs other discount options when you add up the total cost of your trip when it's said and done. Different families vary and some go to town with it and it works out well for them.. I wish I had a better answer, but it's so hard to get it, plan your trip on not finding it.

 

[natfrac]

I am on the West Coast and also frequent Disneyland. If you go during an off season to WDW, you will at least have room to walk. Our favorite time to go is the end of January after MLK day. Yes there will be refurbishments, but the trade off is decent weather and lower crowds. We rent DVC points to save money on a room. On-site rooms are more expensive over the weekend, so that may be something to consider when planning your trip.

 

[RemainSeatedPlease]

I wish I had a better answer, but it's so hard to get it, plan your trip on not finding it.

This is actually really helpful, I had no idea it was so limited. There's so many other things to think about, so I won't worry about factoring this into our decisions.

I still haven't decided when I want to go, but I'm leaning towards sometime between the end of January and middle of March in 2018 because there won't be Halloween decorations up and because it sounds like the weather will be more comfortable.

Regardless, I'm excited!