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This chart (click thumbnail to open; when open, click one or two times again to enlarge) groups all rides at Walt Disney World based on two points of view:

• Vertically from the eyes of pre-school kids: best loved, to be avoided, or neither;
• Horizontally from the eyes of kids in the third grade or older, and their parents: skippable, favorites, or neither.

Groupings are based on ratings by age from a number of sources, on height restrictions, and on “scariness.”

To read the rest of this article, click here.

“While every child is different, in general this guidance is dead on.” –David C., Pediatrician

OVERVIEW

If this will be your kids’ only childhood visit, as of your arrival date at Walt Disney World, your youngest child should be 8 or 9 or older, and your shortest child should be at least 48 inches tall.

Children of any height or age can enjoy Walt Disney World. However, this site assumes that you are not sure whether or not you will ever be returning for another visit.

Because you may not be returning, your children should be old enough, 8-9 years old or older, and tall enough, 48″ tall or taller, to fully enjoy Walt Disney World on what may be their only childhood visit.

To read the rest of this article, click here.

OVERVIEW

If you can’t go to Walt Disney World the recommended week, or are just curious about weather patterns in Orlando, the following pages illuminate the weather in Orlando in the recent past.

To Read the Entire Article, Click Here

BEST TIMES FOR A FIRST FAMILY VISIT TO WALT DISNEY WORLD

• Early March (busy and expensive, but your best Spring Break bet)
• Between the second week after Easter and the week before Memorial Day
• Mid-late October
• November other than the first full week, and Thanksgiving week
• December up until a week before Christmas
• (For returning visitors, January and February, except the Presidents Day and Martin Luther King Day holiday weekends, are also excellent)

These periods are highlighted in this site’s 2010 Weeks to Visit and 2011 Weeks to Visit –each ranking the weeks of the year in order of best to worst.

WORST TIMES TO VISIT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Pretty much all other times, but especially Christmas week, New Years week, and the weeks before and after Easter.

More specifically,

• Walt Disney World is the most crowded when kids are out of school: over summer through mid-August, Thanksgiving week, Christmas and New Years weeks, the college spring break month of March; and the weeks before and after Easter. Crowds matter because they can increase waiting times by a factor of 3-4, lengthening your trip and/or reducing its value as a vacation while you are there.
• The times when kids are out of school are (mostly) also the most expensive times to visit–Disney increases resort prices at times of higher demand, so that for example the same room at the Polynesian is $1800 more during Christmas week than during the week this site recommends.
  • Walt Disney World pricing is complicated, and prices do vary during these busy periods–for example, prices go down quite bit in August, even though the first two weeks are busy. Click the thumbnail for the exact relationship on prices vs. crowds at Walt Disney World (when it opens, click it again to enlarge it more).
  • But generally you will pay more during the periods when kids are out of school.
• Rides are mostly likely to be closed (for refurbishment) between New Years and mid-February. For more on winter ride closures at Walt Disney World, click here
• The hurricane season officially runs from June 1 through November 30, but strongly peaks from mid-August through early October.
• Warm weather becomes materially less likely starting in mid-November, and the chance of good pool weather does not sharply improve again until mid-February. See Weather and When to Go.

MORE ON WHEN TO GO TO WALT DISNEY WORLD

• For when to go to Walt Disney World, see this
• For the next best dates, see this
• For the best and worst times to visit, see this
  • For 2010 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
  • For the 2010 Week Picker App, see this
  • For 2011 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
• For forecasting crowds at Walt Disney World, see this
• For seasonal pricing at Walt Disney World, see this
  • For 2010 price seasons, see this
  • For projected 2011 price seasons, see this
• For weather at Walt Disney World, see this

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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?

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