Category — a. When to Go to Walt Disney World

I’ve recently published the final revision of the weeks of 2013 ranked in order of how good they are for a family on their first visit to Walt Disney World who may never return.

This page explains how they are built.

HOW THE WEEK RANKINGS ARE BUILT

Basically, I chunk up the weeks of the year based on certain criteria, and then sort within each chunk based first on crowds, and then, within the same crowd level, prices.

“WEEKS TO AVOID” AT WALT DISNEY WORLD [Read more →]

V2 OF 2013 WEEKS TO VISIT WALT DISNEY WORLD RANKED IN ORDER IS OUT

The updated Disney World 2013 week ranking is now out, and (barring typos and logical lacunae) should now be stable through 2013.

The update incorporates final Disney World 2013 price seasons and crowd forecasts.

Only 3 weeks changed their ranking by more than a couple of places from the draft version, and only two more than 5 places. [Read more →]

2013 CROWDS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

The analysis of 2013 school breaks is done, and based on that, I’ve updated my 2013 Disney World crowd calendar.  It should–barring typos or cataclysms–now be stable through 2013. [Read more →]

DISNEY WORLD 2013 SUMMER CROWDS: THE PRINCIPLES

Walt Disney World summer crowds are governed by two factors:

• Public school summer break calendars, which have start and end dates more varied than you’d think
• The beginning of the peak of the hurricane season, in mid-August

Pretty much all kids are off all of July. As a result, July is the busiest summer month, and during it, the week that includes the 4th of July the busiest week.

Varied dates for when summer breaks begin means June can start well (but see below), and then build to high crowd levels.

August has the opposite pattern, beginning with high crowds, but, through the combination of a trickle turning to a flood of back-to-school dates, and savvy travelers avoiding the peak of the hurricane season, it ends quite un-crowded.

Families that can only visit in the summer (for example, school teachers) should go as early in June or as late in August as their schedules permit. [Read more →]

OVERVIEW: FEBRUARY 2013 AT DISNEY WORLD

This page reviews February 2013 Walt Disney World crowds, prices, deals and discounts, weather, operating hours, adds a few other notes, and ends with week by week summaries.

[Read more →]

2013 DISNEY WORLD PRICE SEASONS UPDATED

Barring possible typos, I’ve got the Disney World 2013 price seasons updated, and so have removed the “projected” language.  Find them here.

For some commentary on 2013 resort hotel prices, see this. For an overall view of Disney World 2013 price and value, especially in the light of changes to evening Extra Magic Hours starting in January, see this.

AVERAGE DISNEY WORLD NIGHTLY PRICES BY ARRIVAL DATE AND LENGTH OF VISIT [Read more →]