2010 Weeks to Visit Walt Disney World, Ranked in Order

OVERVIEW: WEEKS TO VISIT WALT DISNEY WORLD

This site recommends arriving the second Saturday after Thanksgiving.

If you can’t go then, presented below are the weeks of 2010 in order of best to worst. (Click the thumbnail to see the same weeks in a calendar view.)

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.

To pick 2010 weeks based on your own criteria, see the 2010 Week Picker App. See this for recommended 2011 weeks

CRITERIA FOR RANKING WEEKS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

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. At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular also has announced closing dates of 1/11-1/15 2010. At Epcot, Test Track will be closed January 11-17, and Living With the Land January 18-February 5.

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.

To pick weeks based on your own criteria, see the 2010 Week Picker App.

RECOMMENDED 2010 WEEKS TO VISIT WALT DISNEY WOLRD

Based on this, the following 2010 Saturday arrival dates are recommended in order.

1: 12/4/10. Lowest prices of year, low crowds, Christmas
2: 11/27/10. Lowest prices of year, low crowds, Christmas
3: 12/11/10. Low crowds, Christmas
4: 10/16/10. Low crowds, 2nd lowest prices of year, great pool weather
5: 5/1/10. Low crowds, great weather, 2nd lowest prices of year
6: 2/27/10. Low crowds for period, expensive
7: 10/23/10. Low crowds, 2nd lowest prices of year, great pool weather
8: 11/6/10. Low crowds, 2nd lowest prices of year
9: 11/13/10. Low crowds, 2nd lowest prices of year
10: 4/24/10. Low crowds, 2nd lowest prices of year
11: 5/8/10. Low crowds, 2nd lowest prices of year
12: 10/9/10. Low crowds, 2nd lowest prices of year

The next 2 are about the same: higher crowds than 1-12, 2nd lowest prices of year, great weather
13: 5/15/10
14: 4/17/10

The next two have higher crowds and higher prices, but are your best bet for a “spring break” visit
15: 3/6/10
16: 3/13/10

This completes the weeks in 2010 that are recommended.

WORSE WEEKS

See this for the remainder of the 2010 weeks, which are not recommended, but are also ranked in order.

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Last updated 10/09

LINKS FOR WHEN TO GO

• 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

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