Mid-November through mid-December (except the week of Thanksgiving). The weather is usually cool but pleasant, the Christmas decorations are up, special events are running, and the attendance is usually moderate. Expect crowds on Saturdays, especially at the Magic Kingdom. Disney’s resorts typically fill up early for all of December, but this doesn’t necessary translate into huge crowds during early December.
Second week of January through mid-February. It’s cool (sometimes even a bit cold) at this time of year. This is one of the least busy times of year and hotel prices are lower. However, some rides will be closed for refurbishment at this time of year. The first week of January can be busy due to extended holiday vacations and the Walt Disney World Marathon. Avoid any holiday weekends.
First three weeks of May. The weather is warm in May, but usually not unbearably so. Crowds and hotel prices are moderate. Memorial Day weekend will be more crowded, but often not as bad as you might expect.
Late August and entire month of September (even Labor Day weekend). It will be extremely hot, and this is peak hurricane season. Plan on taking afternoons off and visiting water parks. Crowds are low. Off-site hotels usually have their rock-bottom deals during this period, and Disney has offered “free dining” packages in this time frame each year since 2005.
During special events that interest you. Bear in mind that events held on major holidays usually attract significant crowds, however.
The WORST times to visit Walt Disney World are:
December 26-January 1. This is the most crowded and most expensive time of year. Crowds get increasingly bad starting about December 20 and running through the New Year. (If you absolutely must go at this time, check out our Christmas week survival guide.)
Mid-February through mid-April (or later, depending on the date of Easter). Easter week (the weekend of Easter and the following week) is the second most busy time of the year. Holiday weekends in this time frame, such as President’s Day, are also exceptionally busy. Expect big crowds, high resort prices and expensive airfares, but usually very nice weather. This whole period is a peak time due to various overlapping Spring Breaks, though there can be slower periods of a few days here and there, particularly mid-week.
Midsummer (June through early August). Expect it to be very busy and extremely hot, with heavy humidity. To maximize your experience, plan on hitting the parks first thing in the morning. After lunch, take an afternoon break, then return to the park in the late afternoon/early evening. 11:00 am to 4:00 pm is the hottest part of the day and ironically the most crowded, too.
Other holidays. Among the other busy time periods are Thanksgiving week and any national holiday with a 3-day weekend (except Labor Day weekend and to a lesser extent Memorial Day weekend).
During special events. Some don’t create a lot of crowds, but some do.
Some less-known events that may affect crowds, park hours/experiences and/or traffic at Walt Disney World:
Cheerleading/Twirl/Dance Competitions – Various dates each year, especially January-March and end of April, early May. These usually don’t have a lot of impact on the in-park crowds. The issue is that the Value resorts (All-Stars and Pop Century) play host to hordes of girls who can be extremely loud, so you may want to avoid those resorts during competitions.
South American Tour Groups – In January and July each year, large groups of teenagers from Brazil and Argentina descend on Walt Disney World for their school breaks. Some of the groups do a lot of chanting, singing, clapping and shouting. The sheer size of the groups (up to 100 kids in a single group) can make navigating around them difficult.
Mardi Gras Week. February or March (varies annually). Many New Orleans schools have all or part of this week off, so families leave town the weekend before the holiday and head to Disney World in droves. However, this usually doesn’t have a huge influence on the overall crowds, unless it corresponds with another holiday weekend.
“Jersey Week” – Usually the first or second week of November. The New Jersey schools have a teachers’ convention, which is often close to Veterans Day. Lots of people take advantage of this time off to pull their kids out of school for the whole week and add on the weekend before and/or after, taking this opportunity to go to Disney World in the “off season.” New Jersey is the single biggest market for Walt Disney World — you do the math!
ABC’s Very Merry Christmas Day Parade - while the parade is broadcast on December 25th, footage is taped in advance in the Magic Kingdom usually shortly after Thanksgiving. The exact dates are often not released publicly, but they usually leak out a few weeks prior. Unless you want to watch the production process, you may want to avoid Magic Kingdom on those dates, because the taping creates crowd problems. Also, some shows or parades may be cancelled or rescheduled.
Pop Warner Week – The Pop Warner Super Bowl and National Cheer & Dance Championships are held at Disney World in early December. The Value resorts and some of the Moderate resorts will be FULL of kids (both football players and cheerleaders – there are 64 football teams and 400 cheer squads competing). Expect a lot of noise if you stay there. This event can cause increased crowds at the parks in the evenings (not during the day, since they are busy competing).
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