2011 Weeks to Visit Walt Disney World, Ranked in Order

OVERVIEW: 2011 WEEKS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

This site recommends arriving the second Saturday after Thanksgiving, or the weeks immediately before and after.

If you can’t go then, presented below are the weeks of 2011 in order of best to worst.

(Click the thumbnail to see the same weeks in a calendar view. For a calendar order list, click here.)

The ranking is designed for first time visitors who do not know whether or not they will return.

For visitors on a return trip, less concerned about ride closures, the January and early February weeks would be ranked much higher–with the President’s Day and Martin Luther King day weeks being the worst of these.

See this  for recommended 2010 weeks.

CRITERIA FOR RANKING WEEKS

The most important criteria in creating this list were, in order:

1. Few attractions closed. Since this may be your only visit, go during a time when the rides and attractions are likely to be open. While they can be closed for refurbishment at any time, the most common period is January and February.

For example, in a 2009 late January/early February visit, Triceratops Spin, Hall of Presidents, Mickey’s Philharmagic, Pecos Bill’s, Ellen’s Universe of Energy, Sounds Dangerous, and the Studio Backlot Tour were all fully closed for refurbishment, and Voyage of the Little Mermaid was operating every other day and being refurbished the rest of the time.

Already scheduled 2010 closures include two favorites at the Magic Kingdom: Splash Mountain will be closed from 1/3 through 2/27/2010, and the Crystal Palace from 1/3-2/14/2010.

2. Lower crowds. The basic source for this is this page on forecasting future Walt Disney World crowds.

A great supplement to this is Testa and Sehlinger’s touringplans.com. Sign up for a fee (or buy their book, which allows you to use their website for a discount), and double check their crowd calendar before making a firm commitment to a particular week.

The results so far were sorted based on three more points:

• Presence/absence of special events. One special event—Disney’s Christmas program—is a positive. Other special events are of less interest to first-time visitors, but do attract extra crowds, and are treated as a negative
• Avoiding the peak of the hurricane season, and
• Lower prices.

RECOMMENDED 2011 WEEKS

Based on this, the following 2011 Saturday arrival dates are recommended in order.

The first three are almost interchangeable: lowest prices of the year, low crowds, wonderful Christmas programs and decorations

• 1: 12/3/11. Despite higher crowds than #2, slightly warmer. Those intending to stay at Pop or other values should consider week #2, as Pop Warner football makes the value resorts crowded and boisterous this week.
• 2: 12/10/11. A great week to visit. Could easily be ranked #1.
• 3: 11/26/11. Tail end of Thanksgiving week makes the first Saturday and Sunday of this week more crowded and expensive than weeks #1 and 2. The rest of this week is terrific

The next six share great weather, low crowds, and moderate prices

• 4: 5/7/11. Perfect weather
• 5: 4/30/11. Perfect weather. First Saturday and Sunday may be crowded from the tail end of the crowds from the prior week—which is the week that follows Easter
• 6: 10/15/11. Peak of hurricane season just over; perfect otherwise
• 7: 10/22/11.
• 8: 10/29/11. weather starts to become cooler and more variable
• 9: 11/12/11. Weather cooler and more variable than weeks 6-8.

The next three share very high prices, but low crowds, and are your best Spring Break bets

• 10: 4/2/11. Tucked between the March Spring Breakers and the later April Easter build up. Best weather of these three.
• 11: 2/26/11. Weather cooler and more variable than week 10, but less crowded
• 12: 3/5/11. Slightly better weather than 11, but with slightly higher crowds

Week 13 has higher crowds but lower prices than 10-12. It also marks the beginning of the rainy season.

• 13: 5/14/11

Week 14 is similar to weeks 10-12—great weather, high prices, avoids the peak weeks of March and April– but is more crowded than them.

• 14: 4/9/11

This completes the weeks in 2011 that are recommended.

WORSE WEEKS

See this for the remainder of the weeks of 2011, which are not recommended, but are still ranked in order.

Page: 1 2 Next

Last updated 1/10

LINKS FOR WHEN TO GO TO WALT DISNEY WORLD

• For when to go to Walt Disney World, see this
• For the next best dates, see this
• For the best and worst times to visit, see this
  • For 2010 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
  • For the 2010 Week Picker App, see this
  • For 2011 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
• For forecasting crowds at Walt Disney World, see this
• For seasonal pricing at Walt Disney World, see this
  • For 2010 price seasons, see this
  • For projected 2011 price seasons, see this
• For weather at Walt Disney World, see this

Home Donate Sitemap

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

• 2008 Weeks to Visit Walt Disney World Ranked in Order
• 2009 Weeks to Visit Walt Disney World, Ranked in Order
• The Weeks of Spring Break 2010 at Walt Disney World