Yes another lowest crowd thread.

[Greenfield1984]

Planning a big intergenerational family trip in 2018.

My last trip a couple years back I've noticed that no matter how much planning we did it appears as though the enormity of crowds are beginning to have a negative impact on our trips.

Seems to have gotten quite a bit worse since that trip.

So with a big family trip planned for 2018 I think my number one factor for a good time will be crowd size.

So if I could go for 10 days any time in 2018 which time would have least crowds?

I'm thinking sometime in September. Blazing heat sure but I suspect that will keep the crowds away along with school just starting.

 

[mom2rtk]

The week before MLK day.

September might be ok still. Not sure how the earlier start of F/W and MNSSHP will affect that.

 

[Micca]

First of all I'm sure you're adorable in any skirt you choose You should take a look at some crowd calendars to factor in your planning. I think you'd find that there are some slower times in September but as you mentioned it's absolutely peak summer weather in Central FL. I'm recalling that in 2016 things really started to slow down around mid August, whether that will repeat is unknown to me. I think I'd look at early November, some parts of January, and maybe early May. You certainly would deal less with the heat in Jan/Nov.

 

[Mike_Mac]

Our spring breaks are very early, typically wrapping up before March 7th. We've found the crowds at this time to be very comfortable. Additionally, we did December 11-16th this past year and found those to also be easy days around the parks. Those are really the only times we can go, as we are tied to a university work schedule, but they just happen to line up with less crowded days on the various crowd-calendars out there.

 

[Shellyred8]

In the past few years we did a couple of trips in the last week or two of August and I was pleasantly surprised with how low the crowds were. I'm not talking deserted or anything like that, but I was expecting large summer crowds, and they just weren't there. Come to find out, the local schools were back in session at that time, so that is the reason for the lower crowds. If you can deal with the blazing heat, this is when I would recommend going. I've also gone in September (careful to avoid any holidays), and the crowds were pretty tolerable then to.

The other time we like going is in early May and early December. The weather has been beautiful and the crowds were quite manageable.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

The week after Labor Day, assuming the early launch of F&WF doesn't change that. I have been every week of the year - lowest by a noticeable margin.

 

[Smittolis]

We went in the 2nd/3rd week of August last year that coincided with the 1st week of Florida schools. The parks had a nice balance of atmosphere but opportunities to ride all the big rides without too much trouble. September would be better, but even in August, the weather was steaming! Although not insurmountable!

 

[LaBelleVie]

The lowest crowds we've experienced were just after Thanksgiving (we arrived on Black Friday, but didn't do a park until Saturday).

 

[Accident]

Lowest crowd is relative, what's the lowest you've seen so we can compare if it even gets that low anymore.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

We are going January 27-February 3, 2018. Will crowds be manageable that week? I think I read they are typically a 3-4 on the scale?

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Last week of August. Like PP said, it's a nice atmosphere. It's not a ghost town but you also aren't waiting 45 minutes for a headliner. We never waited more than 15 minutes for a ride. We really enjoy that time of year.

 

[Greenfield1984]

First of all I'm sure you're adorable in any skirt you choose You should take a look at some crowd calendars to factor in your planning. I think you'd find that there are some slower times in September but as you mentioned it's absolutely peak summer weather in Central FL. I'm recalling that in 2016 things really started to slow down around mid August, whether that will repeat is unknown to me. I think I'd look at early November, some parts of January, and maybe early May. You certainly would deal less with the heat in Jan/Nov.

Ha!

Lowest crowd is relative, what's the lowest you've seen so we can compare if it even gets that low anymore.

Oh i've been to the park numerous times of the year. I've dealt with completely empty parks to super busy easter break parks.

Unfortunately it seems that there is no dead time anymore so i'm not expecting ghost towns anymore. I simply want to be there at the lowest crowd time possible.

It appears as though it hasn't changed too much from the past. Early December. Early January. And Early september.

I am surprised that many of you are saying late august may even be quieter then september. Hmm I wonder which would be quietest.
Early January used to be my go to for best time of the year. Good weather and low crowds. But with my 3 daughters who love swimming I think i'm aiming for the august or september time frame so they can use the pool.

Also i'm just getting out of our nearly 6 month winter in Ottawa. I'm sure we'll be fine in the heat . If not there is always tons of air conditioning.

Thanks for all the advice guys. For as long as these boards have been running I figured people would have been super sick of answering a low crowd question so much apreciated .

 

[chicagoshannon]

Last week of Jan/first week of Feb (as long as Mardi Gras isn't that week). Weather could be cold, although this year it was amazing.

Last week of August/first of September. Weather will be hot and could rain a lot.

Week after Thanksgiving/first week of December. (we'll be going this week in 2018)

First week in May. Most people won't take their kids out of school so close to end of the year.

 

[RealBlast3]

Planning a big intergenerational family trip in 2018.

My last trip a couple years back I've noticed that no matter how much planning we did it appears as though the enormity of crowds are beginning to have a negative impact on our trips.

Seems to have gotten quite a bit worse since that trip.

So with a big family trip planned for 2018 I think my number one factor for a good time will be crowd size.

So if I could go for 10 days any time in 2018 which time would have least crowds?

I'm thinking sometime in September. Blazing heat sure but I suspect that will keep the crowds away along with school just starting.

While I DO understand this and it is a consideration in the planning of all my trips, I think one must really come to terms with the fact that Disney is always crowded and though we all hate that fact about it, I think one way to deal with it, mentally, is to not place so much emphasis and importance on that detail. Like, yeah, sure, absolutely do your research as we all do to find the best time to go, but try not to worry about the fact that the parks are so crowded.

It just seems like so many people really let the crowds get to them and spoil their trips because they're just not mentally prepared to deal with them or they're expecting them not to be there or something even if it's a desired week. Like, how many threads do we see where someone says "This was supposed to be a good week! And it's so crowded! What's going on here? XYZ Touring Site let me down!".

I think everyone just has to come to peace and terms with that Disney World is always going to be crowded and as time goes on, it just seems to get more crowded.

I plan my trips using **************.net and their ranking of the weeks. They don't just consider crowd levels but the overall most desirable factors that make vacations in Disney most desirable to least desirable. Crowds are super important, but then so is weather/rain/heat, cost, and seasonal/holiday times and refurbishments/early closings, and other issues, as well. One doesn't want to focus TOO much on just one issue and forget about some of the others which can also contribute to making a trip great or not.

And the easiest rule of thumb on the crowds issue that you can always use as your general guide is to go to Disney when the school kids and college kids are in school and not off. I mean, no matter what, on that score, any week where the younguns are in school is, generally speaking, a good time to go to Disney.

But here's the chart for best week. You can focus on the weeks that are in green or clear/white for the Low and Moderate crowds while obviously staying away from weeks in red underneath the crowd column. Incidentally, I have gone in weeks where the crowd ranking was a "1" and I don't know, it's obviously preferable to a "10" LOL but Disney is always crowded no matter what, even the weeks where it's a "1". That's why, I go when I want but follow the basic guideline I mentioned above about how to avoid "red" weeks because to me, there's not that much difference between a super green week and one where the crowds are more "moderate". I wouldn't sacrifice everything to go to Disney World or wait an incredibly long time to plan my trip, let's say, just to catch a week that's a "1", I mean. Because you're likely to end up feeling that you moved heaven and earth to plan this vacation to get that "1 crowd level" week and yet it still feels "crowded" to you.

 

[Animation Fanatic]

September 2014 was the only time that I went any other time other than spring break and in July... and compared to those 2 times of chaos... Sept seemed tame... that being said... crowed size is relative... what might be a big crowd for you, might not be to me or to someone else etc....

The weather, however, is the reason why I would probably not go that time of a year again. I don't know if this is a usual thing for September, but that September, it rained every single day of our trip at exactly 3pm... I only remember that because we tried to watch "Festival of Fantasy" on several occasions during our trip... blowing through time in the park to stick around the castle or in the southside of Fantasyland to be in the hub for not 1 but 3 failed attempts at seeing FOF at the now extinct FP viewing location... heh... oh well... something to look forward to I guess...
I will eventually be in front of the castle facing the Liberty square bridge to view FOF... it will happen! lol

 

[loutoo]

I am surprised that many of you are saying late august may even be quieter then september. Hmm I wonder which would be quietest.

September would indeed have the "lower crowds," meaning there are fewer actual visitors, but that alone doesn't always translate to shortest wait times or best experience. A lot of that has to do with staffing, ride closures etc. More specifically, In September there might be fewer people on main street but a longer wait on a ride in fantasy land. Starting in September some rides might go down for refurbs, which reduces overall capacity, and even if that doesn't happen, many of the attractions will no longer be operating at peak capacity, because peak capacity means more cast members, which cost WDW more money.

 

[MaizeRage25]

WDW is always crowded, you're always going to be waiting in pretty decent sized lines by 11AM.

I think your best off looking for the following times:

(1) Schools in session - this is the biggest indicator IMO
(2) Bad or undesirable weather - cold (January) or hot/humid/rainy (September)
(3) Disney events - this is tough because it seems like it's always something at Disney - Food/Wine, Flower/Garden, etc

 

[Greenfield1984]

September would indeed have the "lower crowds," meaning there are fewer actual visitors, but that alone doesn't always translate to shortest wait times or best experience. A lot of that has to do with staffing, ride closures etc. More specifically, In September there might be fewer people on main street but a longer wait on a ride in fantasy land. Starting in September some rides might go down for refurbs, which reduces overall capacity, and even if that doesn't happen, many of the attractions will no longer be operating at peak capacity, because peak capacity means more cast members, which cost WDW more money.

Good point. So would August have both low crowds plus full staffing?

Many of you have pointed out that disney is always crowded now and to simply accept that, as well as crowd size being relative.

I've conceded that this is a new time where an empty park was a thing of the past. However much of the reason I fell in love with Disney is the magical feeling that the park evokes. That magic is hard to experience when in shoulder to shoulder crowds.

I'm not so much concerned about the size of lines. It is a factor but with all my disney tricks i'm sure i'll do just fine in that regard. It is really more the feeling of crowdedness that is indeed relative from person to person.

So while I am not looking for a dead park I am simply looking for the lowest sized crowds of the year.

The only other consideration i'm concerned about is the rain.

So now i'm wondering which time of the year both offers fairly low crowds, warm weather, plus less rain....hmmm. As far as scheduling goes i'm really available to book a trip any time of the year.

That **************.net calendar is very helpful. Thank you for that.

 

[DrummerBoy523]

Planning a big intergenerational family trip in 2018.

My last trip a couple years back I've noticed that no matter how much planning we did it appears as though the enormity of crowds are beginning to have a negative impact on our trips.

Seems to have gotten quite a bit worse since that trip.

So with a big family trip planned for 2018 I think my number one factor for a good time will be crowd size.

So if I could go for 10 days any time in 2018 which time would have least crowds?

I'm thinking sometime in September. Blazing heat sure but I suspect that will keep the crowds away along with school just starting.

Early May has been our best shot at low crowds.

 

[RealBlast3]

I think if you go during one of the "good" times of the year that has been cited, for low crowds AND you get there at park opening, you actually still can achieve that elusive "feeling" of an almost empty park, at least for a little while. Like, last year, I went in the last week of January - if anyone remembers, that week was preceeded by a HUGE blizzard that crippled the entire east coast. I left NY the day before the blizzard hit. Anyway, the first several days in Disney were FREEZING - like it really was 32 degrees Fahrenheit at 11:00 in the morning. But anyway, when I went to Magic Kingdom at park opening , I made a beeline to Adventureland, which is what I always do - my own tradition and anyway, the park in that area WAS beautifully empty-ish, or as empty as Disney World is ever likely to get in it's busiest park. When you combined the frigid temps with the great time of year for low crowds and add in being there at Park Opening and also that I didn't visit where the coasters are first, and with that you get that wonderful feeling of almost having a part of the park to yourself. It's an elusive feeling but I enjoyed it. I passed Rafiki who was taking pictures and though I usually don't bother with that, how could I resist posing with a character when there was no line? So, it was pretty amazing and sparsely attended, at least for a bit in that section of the park.

However, my first week or so in Disney was uncomfortably cold, so that is a major detraction to that time of the year. My 2nd week there, the temps finally normalized. Generally, speaking, I suppose those two weeks, last week in Jan. and first week in Feb. were probably the least attended I've ever seen the parks. Though obviously, not the MOST desirable time of year to go.

Other times I've gone that had a little more crowds than that but still pleasant-ish were the first 2 weeks in Dec. and the first 2 weeks and last 2 weeks in April, when Easter week/Holy Week weren't part of the calendar. I also have gone the first 2 weeks in June and it really wasn't that bad - not all the kids are out of school yet, some are, but it fit my schedule, and while it was less desirable than the other times, due to heat and more crowds, it was still doable.