a. When to Go to Walt Disney World

15 comments

1 Neil { 02.27.08 at 3:58 pm }

I am looking to go with my family of 5 young children and the Dec 6th date looks good, except for the Pop Warner week that I’ve heard can overrun the value resorts (we’ll probably stay there due to the huge price difference for suites at the moderates/deluxe)…do you know if that really has that great of an impact on crowds?

2 davidhobart { 02.27.08 at 4:10 pm }

Pop Warner doesn’t have an impact on crowds at the parks.

It does have an impact on noise at the values, and especially at All-Star Sports. Pop Century tends to have the least noise, and of the All-Stars, Music is a good bet. If your youngest is under three, then you can all fit into a suite at Music–the suite buildings at Music will be among the quietest.

At the resort, you will find crowds at the food courts, bus stops, and swimmng pools. If you follow my intineraries the first two should be manageable–and I enjoy the people watching of a crowded pool!

Hope this helps!

3 Heather { 04.13.08 at 7:06 pm }

Thanks so much for this awesome site. We just returned from WDW and I wish I found this site before we left. We are thinking of returning in April 2011. The girls’ Spring Break is the first full week of April. . .Easter that year is 4/24. . .would the first week be O.K.? I assume most all colleges would be done with their Spring Breaks before then.

4 Dave { 04.13.08 at 8:43 pm }

Heather you should be fine! Spring break peak weeks do shift depending on the date of Easter, but they remain in March. Thanks for your kind words!

5 Sharon { 05.18.10 at 6:52 pm }

We have planned a visit December 26 – January 1. My husband is a teacher and this is the only time we have. We plan on this being a Christmas Present for our 3 grandsons, 2 daughters and their husbands. I know this will be a very busy week. What time should we arrive to guarantee getting in the park? I have read it sometimes closes early once you reach capacity. Any suggestions you have is appreciated.

6 Dave { 05.18.10 at 8:16 pm }

Sharon–There are two issues here: when the parks might close, and when you should arrive at the parks.

Whether or not you are staying at Disney resort hotel also matters.

The Magic Kingdom can close to new guests as early as 10a. There’s an order in which it closes: it closes first to people arriving at the parking lots, and last to Disney resort hotel guests. The other three parks are less likely to close–but they can–Epcot being the least likely. They reopen as people leave…and can then close again.

You should arrive as early as you can stand. Disney operating hours for December are not out yet–you can track them from the calendar links on the bottom half of this page. Note that they are likely to change, even the day before…

However, what’s common is for the Magic Kingdom to open to the general public this week at 8a, and to have Extra Magic Hours every day–so that Disney resort hotel guests can enter at 7a. (The Animal Kingdom has worked the same way recently.)

So if you are staying at a Disney resort, check the general and extra magic hours (EMH) schedules, and arrive at the park at least 30 minutes before it opens–e.g. at 6.30 at a park with an 8a general opening with EMH that morning, if you are a Disney resort hotel guest and can use EMH.

Tour the parks until the crowd gets to you or your energy gives out, and then return in late afternoon for parades fireworks etc.

7 Jennifer { 07.16.10 at 5:39 pm }

Hi, we want to book a vacation to Disney in June 2011. Our kids get out of school June 3th, and we want to leave to Disney on the 5th and stay for a week. My question is, what season will this fall into,and what will the crowds be like?’m not sure most schools will be out like ours will. I was trying to beat the crowds!

8 Dave { 07.16.10 at 7:41 pm }

Jennifer–summer is a crowded and expensive time to go. That said, your week is as good as summer gets until mid-late August–which may not be an option if you are out so early in June.

For more, see this for more on crowds at Disney World, see this for forecast 2011 Disney price seasons, and see this for 2011 weeks to visit Disney World ranked in order.

Hope this helps, and if you can’t go in later August–when both prices and crowds are lower–have a great trip anyway!!

Dave

9 Aidan Devlon { 07.21.10 at 11:05 pm }

My roommate and I are planning a trip in the first full week of December (the 5th through the 8th). We are really angling for Universal Studios Harry Potter Park in the Christmas season, but we are variable as to our third day of park visitation. I’m dead set on Epcot as I’ve got a strange and geeky fascination with it, and I attended the opening year as a very miniscule child, but we’ve argued heavily over the third day. It may be Disney, and it may be Universal. We were in Cali earlier this year and went to Disneyland. If Magic Kingdom (which is nearly identical to Disneyland) is entirely out of the picture, should that affect our decision? We’d be going with Hollywood Studios vs. whatever non-HP related fare Universal offers (although I did Islands of Adventure with my family in ’06 and was unimpressed).

10 Dave { 07.22.10 at 8:06 am }

Aidan–If MK is out, and I agree with your reasoning for why–then (and this is based on divining your psychology from your brief comment about Epcot!)–I recommend the Animal Kingdom for your third day. Think of it as an extension of the World Showcase to Africa and Nepal, with some kicking thrill rides as well–Dinosaur and Everest.

That said, don’t stress out–unless you think you will never return and thus this decision has to be perfect, you can’t make a bad one.

11 Matt { 08.06.10 at 11:25 pm }

Hello, This website is GREAT!!! I would LOVE your advice or opinion. My family and I (3adults, 3kids 7,4,1) will be arriving Sept 5th (Sunday right before labor day) and staying that week until Friday. We will be staying onsite at a Disney World Resort. I would love to “avoid” the crowds if possible. But it seems all the parks I planned on the given days will be crowded because of extra magic hours, but I refuse to pay $50 per ticket for Park Hopper Pass. Which parks on which days do you recommend? Also which park do you think I can do in the amount of time allowed and not need the extra magic hours. I understand Sunday and Labor Day will be the worst as crowd goes so which parks should I avoid and which should I enjoy? SO CONFUSED

THANK YOU!!!!

12 Dave { 08.07.10 at 9:21 am }

Matt: thanks for the kind words about the site!

Here’s what I suggest, based on your kids’ ages, Extra Magic Hours–especially AM EMH–and fireworks/parades/Fantasmic schedules.

MK on Sunday, aiming to see the 9p parade and 10p fireworks. Yes it will be crowded, but there are no “lines” for these–you will want to arrive there by 8p to get a spot for the parade that the 4yo can see from. The only other night on your trip that has both showing is Monday. Sun is better than Mon because thanks to PM EMH on Sunday you can hang around after the fireworks (visit Fantasyland and plan you later time there, do souvenir shopping) and not have to leave when the fireworks end–with 50,000 other people-the way you would have to on Monday.

If your kids were older I’d say for sure Epcot on Monday–it handles crowds the best and has no EMH problems. The problem is that there’s not much of interest at Epcot for kids the age of yours–see this page. You could see some of the fun stuff early in the morning, then return late afternoon for the rest, a tour of the World Showcase, and Illuminations. If you wanna skip Epcot entirely, you could spend Monday morning at MK, leave when it gets too crowded, and return in the evening, getting on rides during the parade/firework time, as they will be less crowded from all the people waiting to see the parade and fireworks.

Thursday has to be Hollywood Studios, as that’s the only night (other than Sun) Fantasmic is playing.

This leaves Tues, Weds, and Friday am. MK is fine all of these days. AK is best Tues, and OK Fri. Suggest AK Tues, MK Weds and MK Fri am. (Unless you decided to skip Epcot and go to MK on Monday–in which case I’d still go to MK on Weds, but sleep in and hit it later in the morning.)

Hope this helps, and have a great trip!! Dave

(PS: this is a little different than my general advice on which days at which park because of the age of your kids, the length of your trip, and the exact days you will be there.)

13 Matt { 08.10.10 at 12:59 pm }

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This really helps

14 Sarah C. { 08.16.10 at 4:09 pm }

We’ll be traveling to Disney World Oct 11- 16 2010 and was wondering about the crowds. My kids are 2 & 7 years old. Which parks should we do on which days?

15 Dave { 08.16.10 at 5:12 pm }

Sarah–for crowds, see this, and for which day to visit which park, see this.

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