By the co-author of The easy Guide to Your Walt Disney World Visit 2020, the best-reviewed Disney World guidebook series ever.

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Category — a. When to Go to Walt Disney World

“Fall Breaks” and Autumn 2015 Crowds at Walt Disney World

FALL BREAK CROWDS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD?

One of the things you’ll see now and then on the web is the claim that “fall breaks from school create big crowds at Walt Disney World.”

“Fall breaks” are multi-day school holidays before Thanksgiving, and, if material, would have an effect on Disney World—because Disney World is most crowded when it’s easy for kids to go.

If you check the facts, though, you’ll find that fall breaks are both uncommon and scattered across October and early November—other than Jersey Week and the weeks before and including Columbus Day.

Outside of those three weeks, you are much more likely to run into trouble in the fall by choosing to go to the Magic Kingdom or Epcot on a bad day—

Disney World Fall Break Crowds 2015 from yourfirstvisit.net

See the chart, which shows the weighted percent of US school kids in my database with more than a three-day weekend in 2015 in October and in November before Thanksgiving week.

In it, weekends are in black, and Columbus Day is in red. (The mid-week Veteran’s Day has no impact on breaks in 2015.) Everything else is blue.

The first conclusion you can draw is that the only time when more than 5% of kids are having more than a three day weekend is just before and then over the week that includes Columbus Day.

These are already known to be moderate crowd weeks—from the Columbus Day holiday and Canadian Thanksgiving—so as a “fall break” there’s no real news here.

Note also that no kids in my database of the 2105-2106 school year calendars of more than 12.4 million kids have a break weekend that extends to Veterans Day.  This holiday is celebrated on its actual date—November 11–although if it occurs over the weekend, days off will be on Friday or Monday.  So more than half of years, it does not lead to a three day weekend, as it does not in 2015. Since it is a Wednesday in 2015, breaks are not built around it at all.

Moreover, even if it does lead to a three-day weekend, most private, non-unionized employers don’t have it as a holiday, so it’s not a particularly great time for parents to go to Walt Disney World.

Second, beyond those, there’s not a lot of material fall breaks.  Yes, you can see them every week shown, but not much–at most around 5% of kids during Jersey Week. and more typically much less.  There’s just not enough here to materially affect your choices as to when to go to Walt Disney World, other than Jersey Week and the weeks before and including Columbus Day.

Note: none of this is about Thanksgiving week, which is quite crowded and a lousy time to go!

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June 7, 2015   4 Comments

December 2015 at Walt Disney World

December   January   February   March   April   May   June    July

OVERVIEW: DECEMBER 2015 AT DISNEY WORLD

December 2015 at Walt Disney World from yourfirstvisit.netThis page reviews December 2015 Walt Disney World crowds, prices, deals and discounts, weather, and operating hours; adds a few other notes; and ends with week by week summaries.

Early December, with lower crowds, lower prices, and wonderful Christmas decorations and events, has the best weeks of the year to visit.

Later December with Christmas and New Year’s weeks has the highest crowds and prices of the year.

Park closings to additional guests are common in this period, as are 8a openings and daily morning Extra Magic Hours.

December also has a special party, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, a special evening event–with its own ticket–that has become a family tradition for many.

DECEMBER 2015 CROWDS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Early December is one of the less crowded periods at Walt Disney World.

Later December–beginning the 19th in 2015–is the most crowded time of the year at Walt Disney World.

On a crowd scale of 1-11, the week beginning 11/28 has a crowd rating of 3/low, the week beginning 12/5 4/low-plus, the week beginning 12/12 3/low, and the weeks beginning 12/19 and 12/26 11/highest.

However, because of the crowd effects of the Christmas Party, even the first three weeks you can face higher much waits if you go to the parks on the wrong days.  See this for how to avoid these crowds.

See this for more on 2015 crowds at Disney World.

DECEMBER 2015 PRICES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

December 2015 prices begin 10% higher than the lowest of the year at the values, 8% higher at the moderates, and 10% higher at the deluxes.

On 12/11, they increase to 45% higher than the lowest of the year at the values, 30% higher at the moderates and 16% higher at the deluxes.

On 12/18 prices go to 80% higher than the lowest of the year at the values, 50% higher at the moderates, and 33% higher at the deluxes.

Value and moderate prices stay at this level the rest of the month; prices at the deluxes go up one more time on 12/25 to 55% higher than the lowest of the year, and stay at this level the rest of the month.

See this for more on 2015 resort hotel prices at Walt Disney World.

DECEMBER 2015 DEALS AND DISCOUNTS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Deals are available for December 2015. Details are here.

DECEMBER 2015 WEATHER AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Average temperatures trend down over December, and weather becomes quite variable.  Days can be perfect, or quite cool.

Disney World Temperatures and Percentile Distribution Click the image, or go to Weather and When to Go to Disney World, for more on temperatures.

DECEMBER 2015 SPECIAL EVENTS

December brings delightful Christmas festivities to Disney World:

  • At the Magic KingdomMickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party—a special event that requires its own ticket—runs on many nights through the first two-thirds of the month. Later in the month, its signature events—a special Christmas parade, and special Christmas fireworks—are available to all guests. Christmas decor is in place by the night of the first party–in 2015, November 7
  • At Epcot, the evening fireworks show Illuminations has special Christmas additions. In addition, most nights Christmas carols are sung by massed choirs in the Candlelight Processional. Many of the countries in Epcot’s World Showcase have special Christmas events as part of Epcot’s Holidays Around the World program. Epcot’s special events usually begin the Friday after Thanksgiving
  • At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the Christmas celebration is the Osborne holiday lights in the Streets of America area. The evening opening ceremony is typically 6p.

NEW YEAR’S EVE 2015/2016 AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

New Year’s Eve festivities and fireworks will happen on December 31, 2015 at Disney World’s Epcot, Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios theme parks, and also at the Magic Kingdom on December 30.

The Animal Kingdom has no special New Year’s Eve fireworks, but will–for the first time– be offering a “New Year’s Eve Street Parti” in Africa’s Harambe Market from 3:30p to 8:30p.

Hours may be extended, but here’s what’s currently scheduled:

  • Epcot is scheduled to be open until 1a on New Year’s Eve; Disney’s Hollywood Studios until midnight for the general public, and 2a for Walt Disney World Resort hotel guests; and the Magic Kingdom until 2a
  • The Magic Kingdom will have Wishes at 6.30p, and special New Year’s Eve fireworks at 11.50p
  • Epcot will have its Illuminations fireworks show at 6p and 11.40p, plus DJs in various pavilions.
  • Disney’s Hollywood Studios will have fireworks at midnight
  • Note that alcohol is not available at the Magic Kingdom, but is available at Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios

The Magic Kingdom will have the same fireworks at the same times on 12/30. This date will likely be a little less crowded than 12/31.

DECEMBER 2015 OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Park operating hours vary by the day, and sometimes change without notice. It is rare for hours to be shorter than Disney has publicized, but Disney may lengthen them in response to unanticipated crowds.

The best way to keep up with operating hours is to check Disney’s official calendars, usually available six months in advance.

These calendars can be found by clicking the following links:

WEEK BY WEEK COMMENTS FOR DECEMBER 2015 AT WALT DISNEY WORLD BY ARRIVAL DATE

The week rankings that follow below are from 2015 weeks to visit, ranked in order, and are designed for first-time visitors who do not know whether or not they will return.

Disney World 2015 Week Rankings from yourfirstvisit.net (960x1280)

Click the image for a calendar view of 2015 weeks (when open, keep clicking to enlarge.)

  • 11/28/2015  Low prices at values and deluxes, moderate prices in moderates. Low crowds. Crowd ranking=3.  Week ranking=1. Recommended week. Use the Basic December Itinerary, but swap Wednesday and Thursday
  • 12/5/2015  Pop Warner Week. Low prices at values and deluxes, moderate prices in moderates. Low-plus crowds. Crowd ranking=4.  Week ranking=2. Recommended week. Use the Basic December Itinerary, but swap Wednesday and Thursday
  • 12/12/2015  High prices at values and moderates, moderate-plus prices in deluxes. Low crowds. Crowd ranking=3.  Week ranking=3. Recommended week. Use the Basic December Itinerary, but swap Wednesday and Thursday
  • 12/19/2015  Christmas week. Highest prices at values and moderates, higher prices in deluxes.   Highest crowds. Crowd ranking=11. Week ranking=45. Use the FastPass+ Higher Crowd Itinerary, but swap Tuesday and Wednesday in both the itinerary and its To-Do List
  • 12/26/2015  Christmas week. Highest prices at values, moderates, and deluxes.   Highest crowds. Crowd ranking=11. Week ranking=47. Use the FastPass+ Higher Crowd Itinerary, but swap Tuesday and Wednesday in both the itinerary and its To-Do List

MORE ON WHEN TO GO TO WALT DISNEY WORLD

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May 12, 2015   40 Comments

November 2015 at Walt Disney World

 October  November   December   January   February   March   April   May

OVERVIEW: NOVEMBER 2015 AT DISNEY WORLD

November 2015 at Disney World from yourfirstvisit.netThis page reviews November 2015 Walt Disney World crowds, prices, deals and discounts, weather, and operating hours; adds a few other notes; and ends with week by week summaries.

Mid-November has some of the best times of the year to visit Disney World, with cooler weather, low crowds, low prices, and fun special events.

The beginning of the month is not so good, with moderate crowds from Jersey Week.  Thanksgiving week, with high crowds and higher prices than the rest of the month, should be avoided.

NOVEMBER 2015 CROWDS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

November has high, low and moderate crowd weeks.

On a crowd scale of 1-11, the week beginning 10/31 has a crowd rating of 5/moderate minus, the week beginning 11/7 3/low, the week beginning 11/14 2/low, and the week beginning 11/22 10/higher.

However, because of the Christmas Party and the Food and Wine Festival, you can face higher much waits if you go to the parks on the wrong days.  See this for how to avoid these crowds.

See this for more on 2015 crowds at Disney World.

NOVEMBER 2015 PRICES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

November 2015 prices begin 10% higher than the lowest of the year at the values, 8% higher at the moderates, and 10% higher at the deluxes.

Other than a bump over the Jersey Week (11/6 to 11/8) weekend, prices stay this level until November 21 at the values and moderates and November 24 at the deluxes, when they bump for Thanksgiving.  On November 28th, prices revert to the same as at the beginning of the month.

See this for more on 2015 resort hotel prices at Walt Disney World.

NOVEMBER 2015 DEALS AND DISCOUNTS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Deals are available for November 2015. Details are here.

NOVEMBER 2015 WEATHER AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Early November weather can be about as good as Orlando gets. Over the course of the month, lower and much more variable temps emerge.  Days can be perfect or quite cool.

Disney World Temperatures and Percentile Distribution Click the image, or go to Weather and When to Go to Disney World, for more on temperatures.

NOVEMBER 2015 SPECIAL EVENTS

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party has its last show November 1..

The Epcot International Food and Wine Festival continues through November 16.

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party kicks off November 8.

NOVEMBER 2015 OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Park operating hours vary by the day, and sometimes change without notice. It is rare for hours to be shorter than Disney has publicized, but Disney may lengthen them in response to unanticipated crowds.

The best way to keep up with operating hours is to check Disney’s official calendars, usually available six months in advance.

These calendars can be found by clicking the following links:

WEEK BY WEEK COMMENTS FOR NOVEMBER 2015 AT WALT DISNEY WORLD BY ARRIVAL DATE

The week rankings that follow below are from 2015 weeks to visit, ranked in order, and are designed for first-time visitors who do not know whether or not they will return.

Disney World 2015 Week Rankings from yourfirstvisit.net (960x1280)

Click the image for a calendar view of 2015 weeks (when open, keep clicking to enlarge.)

  • 10/31/2015 Jersey Week. Low prices at values and deluxes, moderate prices in moderates. Moderate-minus crowds. Crowd ranking=5. Week ranking=15. Use the FastPass+ Lower Crowd Itinerary, but swap First Sunday and Wednesday in both the itinerary and its To-Do List
  • 11/7/2015 Low prices at values and deluxes, moderate prices in moderates.   Low crowds. Crowd ranking=3. Week ranking=7. Recommended week.  Use the FastPass+ Lower Crowd Itinerary, but swap First Sunday and Wednesday in both the itinerary and its To-Do List
  • 11/14/2015  Low prices at values and deluxes, moderate prices in moderates.  Lower crowds. Crowd ranking=2. Week ranking=4.  Recommended week. Use the FastPass+ Lower Crowd Itinerary, but swap First Sunday and Wednesday in both the itinerary and its To-Do List
  • 11/21/2015  Thanksgiving week. High prices at values, moderate prices in moderates and deluxes.   Higher crowds. Crowd ranking=10. Week ranking=40. Use the FastPass+ Higher Crowd Itinerary, but swap First Sunday and Wednesday in both the itinerary and its To-Do List
  • 11/28/2015  Low prices at values and deluxes, moderate prices in moderates. Low crowds. Crowd ranking=3.  Week ranking=1. Recommended week. Use the Basic December Itinerary, but swap Wednesday and Thursday in both the itinerary and its To-Do List

MORE ON WHEN TO GO TO WALT DISNEY WORLD

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April 13, 2015   50 Comments

October 2015 at Walt Disney World

OVERVIEW: OCTOBER 2015 AT DISNEY WORLD

October 2015 at Walt Disney World from yourfirstvisit.netThis page reviews October 2015 Walt Disney World crowds, prices, deals and discounts, weather, and operating hours; adds a few other notes; and ends with week by week summaries.

Later October has some of the best times of the year to visit Disney World, with nice weather, low crowds, low prices, and fun special events.

The first half of the month is OK, but not so good, as the first week is still in the peak of the hurricane season, and the second week sees extra crowds and higher prices from Columbus Day.

OCTOBER 2015 CROWDS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

October is one of the least crowded months at Walt Disney World–though it gets more crowded every year with kids on fall breaks, especially the week of Columbus Day.

On a crowd scale of 1-11, the week beginning 9/26 has a crowd rating of 4/low-plus, the week beginning 10/3 5/moderate-minus, the week beginning 10/10 6/moderate, the week beginning 10/17 3/low and the week beginning 10/24 3/low.

However, because of the Halloween Party and the Food and Wine Festival, you can face higher much waits if you go to the parks on the wrong days.  See this for how to avoid these crowds.

See this for more on 2015 crowds at Disney World.

OCTOBER 2015 PRICES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

October 2015 prices begin 10% higher than the lowest of the year at the values, 8% higher at the moderates, and 12% higher at the deluxes.

Other than a bump over Columbus Day weekend, value and moderate prices stay this level all month. Deluxe prices see the same Columbus Day weekend bump, then drop a bit on 10/18 to 10% higher than the lowest of the year.

See this for more on 2015 resort hotel prices at Walt Disney World.

OCTOBER 2015 DEALS AND DISCOUNTS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Deals are available for October 2015. Details are here.

OCTOBER 2015 WEATHER AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Early October sees the end of the peak of the hurricane season. The second half of the month sees weather  about as good as Orlando gets.

Disney World Temperatures and Percentile Distribution Click the image, or go to Weather and When to Go to Disney World, for more on temperatures.

OCTOBER 2015 SPECIAL EVENTS

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party continues on selected dates throughout October.

The Epcot International Food and Wine Festival continues through the month.

OCTOBER 2015 OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Park operating hours vary by the day, and sometimes change without notice. It is rare for hours to be shorter than Disney has publicized, but Disney may lengthen them in response to unanticipated crowds.

The best way to keep up with operating hours is to check Disney’s official calendars, usually available six months in advance.

These calendars can be found by clicking the following links:

WEEK BY WEEK COMMENTS FOR OCTOBER 2015 AT WALT DISNEY WORLD BY ARRIVAL DATE

The week rankings that follow below are from 2015 weeks to visit, ranked in order, and are designed for first-time visitors who do not know whether or not they will return.

Disney World 2015 Week Rankings from yourfirstvisit.net (960x1280)

Click the image for a calendar view of 2015 weeks (when open, keep clicking to enlarge.)

MORE ON WHEN TO GO TO WALT DISNEY WORLD

Want a second opinion?  Then check out my book lol.

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March 15, 2015   68 Comments

September 2015 at Walt Disney World

OVERVIEW: SEPTEMBER 2015 AT DISNEY WORLD

September 2015 at Walt Disney World from yourfirstvisit.netThis page reviews September 2015 Walt Disney World crowds, prices, deals and discounts, weather, and operating hours; adds a few other notes; and ends with week by week summaries.

September combines low crowds with low prices, and typically also has a great room rate and free dining deals as well.

This makes it a great month for returning visitors.

But it has lousy weather, combining continuing summer heat and humidity with the peak of the hurricane season, making me not so keen on the month for first time visitors who may never return.

SEPTEMBER 2015 CROWDS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

September is one of the least crowded months of the year.

However, effects of the Halloween Party and Food and Wine can make certain days quite crowded  at certain parks.  See this for how to avoid them.

On a crowd scale of 1-11, the week beginning 8/29 has a crowd rating of 3/low, the week beginning 9/5 2/lower, the weeks beginning 9/12 and 9/19 1/lowest, and the week beginning 9/26 4/low-plus.

See this for more on 2015 crowds at Disney World.

SEPTEMBER 2015 PRICES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

September 2015 prices begin among the lowest of the year. On September 11 they go up to 10% higher than the lowest of the year at the values and 8% higher at the moderates. On September 25, deluxe prices go to 12% higher than the lowest of the year.

See this for more on 2015 resort hotel prices at Walt Disney World.

SEPTEMBER 2015 DEALS AND DISCOUNTS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Deals are available for September 2015. Details are here.

SEPTEMBER 2015 WEATHER AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

September weather is hot and humid, with afternoon storms common.

The hurricane season officially begins June 1, but hurricanes a rarely a threat until mid-August. The peak of the hurricane season begins then.  Hurricanes rarely have an impact on a Disney World vacation, but mid-August begins the period when such an impact is most likely. All of September is in this period.

Disney World Temperatures and Percentile Distribution Click the image, or go to Weather and When to Go to Disney World, for more on temperatures.

SEPTEMBER 2015 SPECIAL EVENTS

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party kicks off September 15.

The Epcot International Food and Wine Festival begins September 25.

SEPTEMBER 2015 OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Park operating hours vary by the day, and sometimes change without notice. It is rare for hours to be shorter than Disney has publicized, but Disney may lengthen them in response to unanticipated crowds.

The best way to keep up with operating hours is to check Disney’s official calendars, usually available six months in advance.

These calendars can be found by clicking the following links:

WEEK BY WEEK COMMENTS FOR SEPTEMBER 2015 AT WALT DISNEY WORLD BY ARRIVAL DATE

The week rankings that follow below are from 2015 weeks to visit, ranked in order, and are designed for first-time visitors who do not know whether or not they will return.

Disney World 2015 Week Rankings from yourfirstvisit.net (960x1280)

Click the image for a calendar view of 2015 weeks (when open, keep clicking to enlarge.)

MORE ON WHEN TO GO TO WALT DISNEY WORLD

Want a second opinion?  Then check out my book lol.

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February 9, 2015   9 Comments

August 2015 at Walt Disney World

OVERVIEW: AUGUST 2015 AT DISNEY WORLD

August 2015 at Walt Disney World from yourfirstvisit.netThis page reviews August 2015 Walt Disney World crowds, prices, deals and discounts, weather, and operating hours; adds a few other notes; and ends with week by week summaries.

There are no great times to visit in August. Kids start going back to school in August, so crowds go down later in the month–but that’s also when the peak of the hurricane season  kicks off.

Prices begin the month low at the deluxes, OK at the moderates, and high at the values. Moderate and value prices drop to among the lowest of the year August 16

For first-timers who can’t return, the best week is that beginning 8/8–higher crowds and prices than later in the month, but lower hurricane risk.

For those who can return–or are returning–the later in the month, the better.

AUGUST 2015 CROWDS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

As more and more kids go back to school, crowds moderate over the course of the month.

On a crowd scale of 1-11, the week beginning 7/25 has a crowd rating of 9/high, the week beginning 8/1 8 high-minus, the week beginning 8/8 7/moderate-plus, the week beginning 8/15 6/moderate, and the week beginning 8/22 4/low-plus.

See this for more on 2015 crowds at Disney World.

AUGUST 2015 PRICES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

August 2015 prices begin 50% higher than the lowest of the year at the values, 15% higher than the lowest of the year at the moderates, and near the lowest of the year at the deluxes. They stay at this level until August 16, when prices at the values and moderates join the deluxe sin being among the lowest of the year.

See this for more on 2015 resort hotel prices at Walt Disney World.

AUGUST 2015 DEALS AND DISCOUNTS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Deals are available for August 2015. See this for more.

AUGUST 2015 WEATHER AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

August weather is hot and humid, with afternoon storms common.

The hurricane season officially begins June 1, but hurricanes a rarely a threat until mid-August. The peak of the hurricane season begins then.  Hurricanes rarely have an impact on a Disney World vacation, but mid-August begins the period when such an impact is most likely.

Disney World Temperatures and Percentile Distribution Click the image, or go to Weather and When to Go to Disney World, for more on temperatures.

AUGUST 2015 SPECIAL EVENTS

There are no special events at Disney World in August

AUGUST 2015 OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Park operating hours vary by the day, and sometimes change without notice. It is rare for hours to be shorter than Disney has publicized, but Disney may lengthen them in response to unanticipated crowds.

The best way to keep up with operating hours is to check Disney’s official calendars, usually available six months in advance.

These calendars can be found by clicking the following links:

WEEK BY WEEK COMMENTS FOR AUGUST 2015 AT WALT DISNEY WORLD BY ARRIVAL DATE

The week rankings that follow below are from 2015 weeks to visit, ranked in order, and are designed for first-time visitors who do not know whether or not they will return.

Disney World 2015 Week Rankings from yourfirstvisit.net (960x1280)

Click the image for a calendar view of 2015 weeks (when open, keep clicking to enlarge.)

MORE ON WHEN TO GO TO WALT DISNEY WORLD

Want a second opinion?  Then check out my book lol.

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January 13, 2015   3 Comments