Category — a. When to Go to Walt Disney World

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When to Go      Future Crowds      2009 Weeks Ranked in Order      2010 Weeks

OVERVIEW

This page has been made obsolete by 2009 Weeks Ranked in Order and 2010 Weeks Ranked in Order.

The thumbnail (click to open; when open, click again a couple of times to enlarge) lists every week through 2010 and recommends whether or not to go that week.

Note: 2009 is included on the thumbnail, but see also this for much more detail, including 2009 weeks to visit, ranked in order.

LINKS FOR WHEN TO GO

• For when to go, see this
• For next best dates, see this
• For 2009 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
• For 2010 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
• For forecasting crowds at Walt Disney World, see this
• For 2009 price seasons, see this
• For projected price seasons in future years, see this
• For weather at Walt Disney World, see this

Home       Donate      Summary of Instructions      Sitemap

When to Go      Future Crowds      2009 Weeks Ranked in Order      2010 Weeks

I recommend arriving the second Saturday after Thanksgiving. If you can’t go then, I present below the weeks of 2008 in order of best to worst…although I have grouped some almost equally bad weeks.

CRITERIA FOR RANKING WEEKS

My most important criteria in creating this list were:

1. Few attractions closed. Since this may be your only visit, you want to 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 for doing so is January and February.

2. Lower crowds. The basic source for the 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 free), and double check their Crowd Calendar before making a firm commitment to a particular week.

I sorted the results so far based on three more points:

• Presence/absence of special events. One special event—Disney’s Christmas program—is a positive. Other special events tend to be of less general interest to first-time visitors, but do attract extra crowds for them to deal with, and are treated as a negative
• Avoiding the peak of the hurricane season, and
• Lower prices.

RECOMMENDED WEEKS

Based on this, I recommend the following 2008 Saturday arrival dates, in order. The patterns remain the same for future years, but because Easter and Thanksgiving move, the exact weeks may not.

1. 12/6: Lowest prices of year, low crowds, Christmas
2. 11/29: Lowest prices of year, low crowds, Christmas
3. 12/13: Low crowds, Christmas
4. 10/18: Low crowds, 2nd lowest prices of year, great pool weather
5. 5/3: Low crowds, great weather, 2nd lowest prices of year
6. 3/1: Low crowds for period, expensive
7. 10/25: Low crowds, 2nd lowest prices of year, great pool weather
8. 11/8: Low crowds, 2nd lowest prices of year
9. 11/15: Low crowds, 2nd lowest prices of year

The next 4 are about the same: higher crowds than 1-9, 2nd lowest prices of year, great weather
10: 4/5
11: 4/26
12: 5/10
13: 10/11

The next three are about the same: higher crowds than 10-13, similar prices
14: 4/12
15: 4/19
16: 5/17

The next two have similar or slightly higher crowd levels compared to 14-16, but higher prices
17: 3/8
18: 3/29

This completes the weeks I actually recommend.

WORSE WEEKS
See the continuation of this page here for the remaining, not recommended, weeks of 2008 ranked in order.

LINKS FOR WHEN TO GO

• For when to go, see this
• For next best dates, see this
• For 2009 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
• For 2010 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
• For forecasting crowds at Walt Disney World, see this
• For 2009 price seasons, see this
• For projected price seasons in future years, see this
• For weather at Walt Disney World, see this

NEXT BEST DATES

If you can’t go to Walt Disney World the week I recommend,

• See this page for your next best 2009 choices: 2009 Weeks to Visit Ranked in Order.
• For 2010 weeks ranked in order, click here.
• And for 2011 weeks, see this.

To see the reasons behind these recommendations, or to pick your own dates, see the following links:

To Read the Entire Article, Click Here

WHEN TO GO

Arrive in Walt Disney World the second Saturday after Thanksgiving. In 2009, arrive December 5th; in 2010, arrive December 4th, in 2011, arrive December 3.

WHY GO THEN?

 To Read the Complete Article, Click Here