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Next Week (January 17 Through January 25, 2015) at Walt Disney World
DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: JANUARY 17 TO JANUARY 25, 2015
The material below details operating hours, Extra Magic Hours, parades, and fireworks.
The same stuff is in the image, but organized by park, not by topic. For more on January 2015 at Walt Disney World, click here.
Note that typos happen, and schedules change! If something seems odd, or if you want to double check, use the calendar links near the bottom to get the latest official Disney World scoop.
OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/17/-1/25/2015
The Magic Kingdom will be open 9a-1a 1/17 and 1/18, 9a-11p 1/19, 9a-10p 1/20, 9a-8p 1/21, 9a-9p 1/22 and 1/23, 9a-12MN 1/24, and 9a-10p 1/25
Epcot will be open from 9a-9p every day
Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be open 9a-9p 1/17 and 1/18; 9a-8p 1/19; 9a-7p 1/20 through 1/23; and 9a-8p 1/24 and 1/25
Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be open 9a-7p 1/17; 9a-8p 1/18 and 1/19; 9a-5p 1/20 through 1/23; and 9a-7p 1/24 and 1/25
EXTRA MAGIC HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/17/-1/25/2015
Saturday 1/17 Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening: none
Sunday 1/18 Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none
Monday 1/19 Morning: none Evening: Hollywood Studios
Tuesday 1/20 Morning: Epcot Evening: none
Wednesday 1/21 Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none
Thursday 1/22 Morning: Magic Kingdom Evening: none
Friday 1/23 Morning: none Evening: Epcot
Saturday 1/24 Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening: Magic Kingdom
Sunday 1/25 Morning: none Evening: Hollywood Studios
PARADES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/17/-1/25/2015
The Magic Kingdom:
- Afternoon Festival of Fantasy Parade: 3p every day
- Evening Main Street Electrical Parade: 9 and 11p 1/17 through 1/19; 7 and 9p 1/20, 1/22 and 1/23; 8 and 10p 1/24; 8p 1/25
FIREWORKS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/17/-1/25/2015
Wishes at the Magic Kingdom: 10p 1/16 through 1/19; 8p 1/20 through 1/23; 9p 1/24 and 1/25
Illuminations at Epcot: 9p every night
Fantasmic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 7 and 8.30p 1/17 through 1/19; 7p 1/20 through 1/23; 7 and 8.30p 1/24 and 1/25
SHOW SCHEDULES FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/17/-1/25/2015
See Steve Soares’ site here. Click the park names at its top for show schedules.
LONG RANGE WEATHER FORECAST FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/17/-1/25/2015
See this for forecasts.
DISCLAIMER
Everything is subject to change and typos! Check the Disney Calendars for updates and official schedules. These calendars can be found by clicking the following links:
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January 16, 2015 No Comments
August 2015 at Walt Disney World
OVERVIEW: AUGUST 2015 AT DISNEY WORLD
This 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.
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.
Click the image for a calendar view of 2015 weeks (when open, keep clicking to enlarge.)
- 7/25/2015 Moderate to higher prices at values and moderates. Lowest prices at deluxes. High crowds. Crowd ranking=9. Week ranking=31. Use the FastPass+ High Crowd Itinerary
- 8/1/2015 Moderate to higher prices. High-minus crowds. Crowd ranking=8. Week ranking=28. Use the FastPass+ High Crowd Itinerary
- 8/8/2015 Moderate to higher prices. Moderate-plus crowds. Crowd ranking=7. Week ranking=18. Use the FastPass+ High Crowd Itinerary
- 8/15/2015 Low prices. Moderate crowds. Crowd ranking=6. Week ranking=27. Use the FastPass+ Lower Crowd Itinerary
- 8/22/2015 Low prices. Low-plus crowds. Crowd ranking=4. Week ranking=24. Use the FastPass+ Lower Crowd Itinerary
MORE ON WHEN TO GO TO WALT DISNEY WORLD
- For when to go to Walt Disney World, see this
- For the best and worst times to visit, see this
- For forecasting crowds at Walt Disney World, see this
- For the 2015 Crowd Calendar, click here
- For the 2016 Crowd Calendar, click here
- For seasonal pricing at Walt Disney World, see this
- For 2015 price seasons, see this
- For projected 2016 price seasons, see this
- For weather at Walt Disney World, see this
Want a second opinion? Then check out my book lol.
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January 13, 2015 3 Comments
Disney World Guidebooks for 2015
THE BEST OF DISNEY WORLD GUIDEBOOKS FOR 2015
There’s all kinds of great material about Disney World on the web (especially on this site 🙂 ) but many will prefer to supplement, or even replace, websites with guidebooks about Walt Disney World.
Affordable luxuries, guidebooks let you circle key concepts, fold over pages to insure you return to them, make notes on the inside covers. Kindle versions let you search them incredibly efficiently. Some guidebooks (like mine!) even are backed by a website and give you the Kindle version for free if you buy the paperback, so that you have the best of both worlds!!
Moreover, any great guidebook will almost assuredly be better organized, better edited, and shorter than an equally good website, just given the nature of the two publishing environments.
The core tests of guidebooks are the quality of their material on when to go, where to stay, and how to manage your days.
- When you go drives everything from waits to prices to weather, and is the most important issue.
- Where you stay is the biggest variable in your budgeting, as hotel rooms are available for from less than $100 to four figures, and is traditionally the weakest part of guidebooks, as it is so expensive and time consuming to keep up.
- How to spend your days is partly a question of picking the right parks on the right days, and partly a question of having great plans for that day–which now also means the optimal use of FastPass+
There’s really only five guidebooks worth considering, of which I recommend three*:
RECOMMENDED WALT DISNEY WORLD GUIDEBOOKS
Dave Shute and Josh Humphrey’s The easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit 2015.
Our book is the shortest, most up-to-date, and most reliable guidebook out there. (It’s also the best-reviewed Disney World guidebook series on Amazon in history.) Combining my unmatched experience with the resorts with Josh’s world-beating expertise on how to manage your days, it’s also the first guidebook to be written from scratch for FastPass+.
Weaknesses include that it only covers Walt Disney World and has no color pictures (there’s thousands on our sites, of course).
For more on The easy Guide, see this.
Bob Sehlinger and Len Testa’s The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2015.
The Unofficial Guide is the most comprehensive guidebook for an Orlando visit available, with material on not just Disney World but also many other Orlando hotels and attractions.
Weaknesses include enormous length, tiny type, and no color pictures. Its Disney resort material gets better every year, but there’s still more errors/outdated info than I’d like to see.
Julie and Mike Neal’s The Complete Walt Disney World 2015.
The greatest virtue of the Complete Guide is its wonderful color pictures. Midway between The easy Guide and The Unofficial Guide in length, and with a distinctive voice and perspective, it’s an especially good second choice for people buying one or the other of these books.
The main weakness of the Complete Guide is some inaccurate/out of date/misleading resort info. The type is tiny, and some of the perspective expressed verges on the idiosyncratic. There’s no website backing it up.
WHICH DISNEY WORLD GUIDEBOOK FOR YOU?
The easy Guide is the best choice for first-timers, and for returning visitors whose main concern is picking a new hotel or using FastPass+…and for those with eyestrain.
The Unofficial Guide is the best choice for those who want to stay outside of Disney World, or visit parks, shopping or restaurants outside of Disney World… and for those who need an upper body workout.
The Complete Guide is the best choice for those who, unwilling to look at photos on the web, must have color photos in their guidebook…and for those off the grid.
*The other two are Birnbaum’s, no better than the Complete Guide, and Passporter’s, whose 2015 edition is not yet out, but whose 2014 edition had too much out-of-date or inaccurate stuff for me to recommend it.)
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January 11, 2015 1 Comment
Next Week (January 10 Through January 18, 2015) at Walt Disney World
DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: JANUARY 10 TO JANUARY 18, 2015
The material below details operating hours, Extra Magic Hours, parades, and fireworks.
The same stuff is in the image, but organized by park, not by topic. For more on January 2015 at Walt Disney World, click here.
Note that typos happen, and schedules change! If something seems odd, or if you want to double check, use the calendar links near the bottom to get the latest official Disney World scoop.
OPERATING HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/10/-1/18/2015
The Magic Kingdom will be open 9a-11p 1/10; 9a-9p 1/11 and 1/12; 9a-8p 1/13 and 1/14; 9a-9p 1/15; 9a-11p 1/16; 9a-1a 1/17 and 1/18
Epcot will be open from 9a-9p every day
Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be open 9a-8p 1/10; 9a-7p 1/11; 9a-8p 1/12; 9a-7p 1/13 through 1/16; and 9a-9p 1/17 and 1/18
Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be open 9a-8p 1/10; 9a-5p 1/11 through 1/16; 9a-p 1/17; and 9a-8p 1/18
EXTRA MAGIC HOURS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/10/-1/18/2015
Saturday 1/10 Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening: Magic Kingdom
Sunday 1/11 Morning: none Evening: Magic Kingdom
Monday 1/12 Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: Hollywood Studios
Tuesday 1/13 Morning: Epcot Evening: none
Wednesday 1/14 Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none
Thursday 1/15 Morning: Magic Kingdom Evening: none
Friday 1/16 Morning: none Evening: Epcot
Saturday 1/17 Morning: Hollywood Studios Evening: none
Sunday 1/18 Morning: Animal Kingdom Evening: none
PARADES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/10/-1/18/2015
The Magic Kingdom:
- Afternoon Festival of Fantasy Parade: 3p every day
- Evening Main Street Electrical Parade: 8 and 10p 1/10; 8p 1/11; 7p 1/13; 9 and 11p 1/16 through 1/18
FIREWORKS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/10/-1/18/2015
Wishes at the Magic Kingdom: 9p 1/10 and 1/11; 8p 1/12 tough 1/15; 10p 1/16 through 1/18
Illuminations at Epcot: 9p every night
Fantasmic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 7 and 8.30 p 1/10; 7p 1/11; 7 and 8.30p 1/12; 7p 1.13 through 1/16; 7 and 8.30p 1/17 and 1/18
SHOW SCHEDULES FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/10/-1/18/2015
See Steve Soares’ site here. Click the park names at its top for show schedules.
LONG RANGE WEATHER FORECAST FOR WALT DISNEY WORLD 1/10/-1/18/2015
See this for forecasts.
DISCLAIMER
Everything is subject to change and typos! Check the Disney Calendars for updates and official schedules. These calendars can be found by clicking the following links:
Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Google+ or Twitter or Pinterest!!
January 9, 2015 No Comments
Win A Free Autographed Copy of The easy Guide!
My friend Carl (of Dad’s Guide to WDW and WDW Magazine) is running a giveaway here for an autographed copy of The easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit 2015.
Carl and I met for breakfast at Art of Animation in December, and I gave him a couple of signed copies, one for himself, and one for this giveaway.
Click here to get to the giveaway!!
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January 6, 2015 2 Comments
Cheat Sheet for Walt Disney World in 2015
My five-page 2015 Walt Disney World Cheat Sheet–an example page is above–includes a number of this site’s famous charts and graphs.
In total, the cheat sheet provides the key data you need for planning your 2015 first family visit to Walt Disney World.
Click here to open it as a PDF–it’s 1.36 mb, so might take a bit.
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January 6, 2015 4 Comments
