2026 Disney World Week Rankings
By Dave Shute
OVERVIEW: THE BEST TIMES IN 2026 TO VISIT WALT DISNEY WORLD
The rankings of times to visit Walt Disney World in 2026 that follow are designed for first time visitors who do not know whether or not they will return.
For visitors on a return trip or first timers who know they will return, less concerned about ride closures or the peak of the hurricane season, the later January, August, and September weeks would be ranked much higher.
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The rankings are in calendar order in the image above. Weeks I recommend are in bold. Weeks in rank order are below.
These week rankings are based on my analysis of 2026 school breaks covering more than 15 million kids, my resulting Disney World crowd calendar for 2026, on Disney World’s 2026 resort hotel price seasons, and on Disney World’s 2026 ticket price calendar.
Other factors are key as well–the holiday program, ride closure season and hurricane season in particular.
For more on how I build these rankings–although it’s old, it still is mostly how I do it–see this.
RECOMMENDED 2026 WEEKS AT DISNEY WORLD, RANKED IN ORDER
I’ll publish a detailed discussion of the 2026 week rankings soon, but for now, here they are in order:
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RECOMMENDED 2026 WEEKS AT DISNEY WORLD, RANKED IN ORDER
The nine recommended weeks that follow are the best weeks to visit Walt Disney World in 2026 for first time visitors who may never return. They are lower crowd weeks that are not in the peak hurricane or ride closure seasons.
The top three weeks have the full Disney World holiday program, which is astonishingly good, and the fourth week has some of it. The rest are largely in later spring, after Easter but avoiding Memorial Day.
2026 WEEKS I’M LESS KEEN ON
Weeks 10-28 all have moderate crowd levels, and avoid the peak hurricane and ride closure seasons. They have different prices and weather. Weeks with some or all of the holiday program come at the head of the list, and after that sorting is on prices.
With good plans, all of these weeks are manageable by first time visitors who may never return. The main problem is that this group includes so many summer dates. Those who can should avoid the heat and humidity of the summer at Disney World…
In the next group, weeks 29-36 have one thing in common: while low or moderate crowd weeks, they all occur during the peak of the hurricane season. Hurricanes are rare and even more rarely affect a Disney World vacation, but for first-timers who may never return, why not just avoid the risk?
For returning visitors, though, the low crowd, lower price weeks that can be found among this group–especially weeks 29-31–can be, with weather luck, wonderful times to visit.
2026 WEEKS TO AVOID AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
There’s two groups of weeks to avoid in 2026: high crowd weeks and weeks when some rides are often closed.
The first group, weeks ranked 37-46, should be avoided because of crowds that traditionally range from high to unbelievable.
This group includes many of the busy March and April spring break weeks, and the busiest holiday weeks—President’s Day week, Thanksgiving week, and the weeks around Christmas.
The next group includes the January and early February 2026 weeks when some rides are sometimes closed for repair or refurbishment—weeks 47-52.
Some of these weeks have among the lowest crowds and lowest hotel prices of the year. However, this is the peak time for ride closures at Walt Disney World, especially the January weeks.
If this may be your only family visit, why go when you know likely a few of the best of Disney World will probably be closed?
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