WORST time to go??

[JessNewt]

Hello all!

I've spent some time researching the best times of year to hit the world. The biggest player for that rating seems to be the crowds, which I totally get.

But for those of you who have gone during the "worst" time, like the days between Christmas and New Years, was it actually that bad? I mean, Bad enough to make you never want to go during that time of year again??

 

[hakepb]

I'd say Easter is the time I least want to travel.

I've done July 4th and Christmas Day, because I'm a sucker for the cool, special fireworks that kinda make the crowds worthwhile. Easter seems like all of the crowds and premium rates with none of the (extra) fireworks or decor so it doesn't appeal to me.

...although Disney knows how to operate a capacity park. Tons of extra CM's, higher ride capacity, extra park hours, a few more dining locations... Reports from current crowd level 5-6 days almost sound more miserable than peak 9+ days

 

[Yoshi]

I have been there between Christmas and New Years multiple times (it used to be either that week, summer or not go at all) and yes it is really that bad. Besides running into the issues of parks reaching capacity and hotels being more expensive just walking around the parks is uncomfortable especially in narrow walkway areas like the old section of Fantasyland and other than early in the morning and late at night, standby wait times are horrible. It is nice to be able to see the Christmas parade without going to the Christmas party but I would much rather go during a less crowded time.

 

[Neesy228]

I LOVE Christmas, and I especially love the holiday decor at the Parks. That being said, not even a personal escort by Walt himself would be enough to get me anywhere near Main Street on Christmas Day or the days following. I find nothing fun about wall to wall people and insanely long lines for rides and food.

I'll go in early December for less money and a lot less aggravation.

 

[kerplop]

Fourth of July week. One because the place is packed to the gills. Two because it's hotter than blazes in July and no thank you. I'd rather go at Christmas if I had to!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We went between Christmas and New Year's this year (Dec. 25 - 30) and would definitely do it again, but would adjust our touring plans. We stayed at BWV, so it was very relaxing to be able to walk to DHS and EP. Honestly, if we went again, we wouldn't visit MK or DS (we've been multiple times, so skipping these areas isn't a big deal to us). DHS was absolutely fine, even with Osborne Lights (which, of course, are now gone). For EP, I would do WS during the day and FW at night to avoid the Candlelight Processional crowds in the evening. In AK, we did the Wild Africa Trek to completely avoid the crowds (we also went early and got a lot done before the tour). If there is a tour you've ever thought about doing, this is the time to do it. It's automatic crowd control. The weather was also amazing when we went, so we went to the pool quite a bit and my DS8 enjoyed the new format at the Sandcastle Club on two evenings. MK, honestly, was WAY too crowded (we went on Dec. 29). We had FP+ for some of the big rides, which was nice. But walking around was not fun. And DS on the evening of Dec. 28 was a disaster - way too many people. You could barely get into the shops. So, yes, we would do it again, but would not do any "commando" park days. We would take it slow, pick a few must-do's and enjoy things that aren't necessarily park-centric.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Our worst week was the week after Easter one year, but I have never been the week after Christmas. I would still go to Orlando because the weather is amazing but I think I would stay offsite and just hang out at the pool and maybe go to SeaWorld and the beach. The Disney (and Universal) parks were way too crowded for me after 11 am.

 

[Disneylover99]

I love the week between Christmas and New Years. I would never recommend it for a first timer, but if you have a good plan and remember to eat counter service meals at off hours, it can be very enjoyable.

 

[Ensusieasm]

The heat of summer is terrible! No one is having fun. Don't go in the hot months, and don't go during peak holiday crowds either.

 

[McKelly]

I"ve gone the week between Xmas and New Years and I didn't think it was that bad. Of course, we didn't go to MK on either holiday, we went to AK. I went this past Thanksgiving and that felt busier to me. The absolute worst time for me.....the summer heat. And of course where does my DD want to go for HS Graduation next year......WDW.

 

[mshanson3121]

Hello all!

I've spent some time researching the best times of year to hit the world. The biggest player for that rating seems to be the crowds, which I totally get.

But for those of you who have gone during the "worst" time, like the days between Christmas and New Years, was it actually that bad? I mean, Bad enough to make you never want to go during that time of year again??

Haha, people either love or hate the "busy" times: Christmas and summer. There are some that will tell you it's awful and they'd never do it again. There will be some that will tell you it was great and they'll definitely go again.

We went this summer - June 24-July 5. 4th of July weekend is the second busiest time next to Christmas, so yeah, it was busy. Crowd levels were 8-9 every day we were in the park (we did not go 4th of July). It was busy and crowded, yes. From July 1st on you could definitely see a difference. But, it was also very manageable with rope drop and Fast Pass.

The other factor for many people on saying "summer" is the worst, is the heat and humidity. Meh. It's not as bad as people make it out to be - and this is coming from a Canadian girl. Now, granted, we're used to humidity, so if you're from a typically very dry place, I can see it taking some getting used to. But again, it's very manageable - rope drop, afternoon breaks in the pool, go back for the evening. The worst park for the heat for us was Epcot in the World Showcase. It's big concrete oven with very little shade where you have to walk - next trip, the WS will be reserved for evenings only. Evenings in the parks were beautiful. Still warm/hot, yes, but once the sun starts getting lower in the sky/setting, it's much nicer. In fact, we loved the evenings we spent in the parks, they were beautiful!

Plus, the other perk with "busy" seasons is you get more for your money, due to extended park hours.

 

[mshanson3121]

The heat of summer is terrible! No one is having fun. Don't go in the hot months, and don't go during peak holiday crowds either.

Quite the opposite. Many people have fun in summer You just weren't one of them.

 

[ArwenMarie]

We go every year at the end of August and we have always had a great time. The lower crowds that week help too, but the weather is seriously horrendous LOL. But if you get out early in the morning and get a lot done and then are ok with watching the daily storms from your hotel (which are actually kind of cool), it's fine.

But I do think the parks themselves are much more enjoyable in the cooler, calmer weather.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Haha, people either love or hate the "busy" times: Christmas and summer. There are some that will tell you it's awful and they'd never do it again. There will be some that will tell you it was great and they'll definitely go again.

We went this summer - June 24-July 5. 4th of July weekend is the second busiest time next to Christmas, so yeah, it was busy. Crowd levels were 8-9 every day we were in the park (we did not go 4th of July). It was busy and crowded, yes. From July 1st on you could definitely see a difference. But, it was also very manageable with rope drop and Fast Pass.

The other factor for many people on saying "summer" is the worst, is the heat and humidity. Meh. It's not as bad as people make it out to be - and this is coming from a Canadian girl. Now, granted, we're used to humidity, so if you're from a typically very dry place, I can see it taking some getting used to. But again, it's very manageable - rope drop, afternoon breaks in the pool, go back for the evening. The worst park for the heat for us was Epcot in the World Showcase. It's big concrete oven with very little shade where you have to walk - next trip, the WS will be reserved for evenings only. Evenings in the parks were beautiful. Still warm/hot, yes, but once the sun starts getting lower in the sky/setting, it's much nicer. In fact, we loved the evenings we spent in the parks, they were beautiful!

Plus, the other perk with "busy" seasons is you get more for your money, due to extended park hours.

We come from high humidity & I agree Orlando in Summer is just fine for us. When it gets hot & humid here, there is NO breeze. And that is definitely not the case in Orlando. I've been at Universal on a 102 degree day and never broke a sweat. I've been at Silver Dollar City on a 105 degree day & we all thought we were going to die!

 

[Tony Amore]

I went to the WDW parks on the last week of this past January. It was ridiculous. Unbeknownst to me, they were having some kind of cheerleading or dance competition at ESPN WWOS and the parks were packed. Unless I'm wrong, I don't think there is a "non-busy" season at Disney anymore. Seems like it's year-round busy to me.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

I am a school counselor so I have to travel during peak times, and we always have enjoyable trips. We have done June and Thanksgiving week, both of which are busy. I like that the hours are extended in the parks during busy times. I like that there are no parties shutting the MK down early half the week. I love late nights in that parks and as a previous poster said, once the sun goes down in the summer it's very nice and you can stay late. WDW also has excellent pools and water parks so we take advantage of those in the summer. We know the parks pretty well and have our touring strategy down, I think the most we have ever waited for anything was 30 minutes and even that is rare.

Pick a time that works for your family, do you research and go have fun!

 

[tstidm1]

I would do Summer again, but it wasn't July 4th Peak. It was just after July 4th. The longer hours are a ton of fun. The one week I wouldn't do all year is the week between Christmas and New Years. They know how to do capacity at the parks, but the crowds turn me off from the peak of peak.

 

[Shanti]

Hello all!

I've spent some time researching the best times of year to hit the world. The biggest player for that rating seems to be the crowds, which I totally get.

But for those of you who have gone during the "worst" time, like the days between Christmas and New Years, was it actually that bad? I mean, Bad enough to make you never want to go during that time of year again??

The freezing weather we endured during our recent January trip was enough to make me vow never to return mid-winter. Winter weather is totally unpredictable at WDW (whereas you can set your watch by the summer thunderstorms, and plan around them), which requires heavy packing "just in case" and is just plain miserable if you pull the short end of the stick, like we did. The miserable weather bothered us more than heavy crowds would have.

 

[kj2mom]

Definitely a personal preference. We were there July 3-10, 2015 and loved it. Sure, it was hot and crowded but we expected that and prepared as best we could for that. RD was an amazing time to get as much done as possible then once the crowds hit we had a nice cool, refreshing ADR then our three FP selections and at the end of the day we were always amazed at how much we had done with so little waiting. We seriously joked that the longest wait of our week was for the traffic light at the exit of our resort (it was that route at one of the exits to Disney Springs).

I totally agree with the idea of picking a time that works for your family, preparing for the crowds/weather at that time and then go and have a fantastic time!!

I have also been for NYE (prechildren) and that was also a fantastic experience.

 

[Accident]

every time of year there is something that would be annoying to a trip..

We pick our dates based on what we want to do while there. We've been exploring times of years and seasonal events we've never done lately. There might be weather, it might be hot or cold, there might be rain.... End of summer into sept is when it's miserable hot though and we tend to avoid that when we can.

I forget exactly when but I want to say march into april is when south america has more time off for holiday reasons so you can find yourself with groups that love to chant and push their kids in front of line and then act like you got in the way and they are before you..