2010 Weeks to Visit Walt Disney World, Ranked in Order

RECOMMENDED 2010 WEEKS TO VISIT WALT DISNEY WORLD, RANKED IN ORDER

This site recommends arriving at Walt Disney World the second Saturday after Thanksgiving.

If you can’t go then, below are the weeks of 2010 in order of best to worst. (For 2011 weeks, see this, and for 2012, see 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.

HOW THESE RANKINGS WERE CREATED

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

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 the first half of February.

Over the last five years, closed rides have included Splash Mountain, Test Track, Rock N’ Roller Coaster, Buzz Lightyear, Mickey’s Philharmagic, and more. Splash Mountain has been closed every year, for periods ranging from 5 days to the entire time, and averaging about a month.

For more on winter ride closures at Walt Disney World, click here.

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

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. For a calendar view of the 2010 weeks, click the image.

WORSE WEEKS

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

Pages: 1 | 2 | Next

MORE ON WHEN TO GO TO WALT DISNEY WORLD