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When to visit in Walt Disney World


When to visit in Walt Disney World

There used to be some times of year when the parks were relatively deserted, but not so much anymore. Now they just vary from "moderately busy" to "completely insane". Still, deciding when to go remains a game of trade-offs: you must decide whether to favor lower crowds or longer park hours, and decide whether you prefer scorching days or chilly nights. The peak periods for attendance are late December, mid-June to mid-August, and mid-February to mid-April. Why? That's when kids are on break from school. If you have kids, you may have no choice but to go during these peak times. The bad news is that you'll be packed like sardines next to 50,000 of your new closest friends, you'll wait two hours to go on rides like Splash Mountain and Soarin', and you'll be paying a premium for the privilege. In the summer, you also get to listen to the kids complain about the heat. On the bright side, though, you'll have plenty of company, the parks are guaranteed to be open late, and as many rides as possible will be up and running. If your schedule allows any flexibility at all, you should avoid these peak periods. Attendance is lowest in October, November (pre-Thanksgiving), December (pre-Christmas), and January. These can be very good times to go; crowds are low and prices are too, but keep in mind that you may find that several rides are shut down for maintenance, and the parks have shorter operating hours. In the winter, it's often too cold to go to the water parks, and you'll need a jacket at night. The weeks between Easter and Memorial Day are another slow period, as well as the months of August and September; both periods provide a good balance of price, crowds, temperature, and operating hours, but you may need to take the kids out of school if you're bringing them along. Of course, you may want to coordinate your trip with a special event. (It's no coincidence that these events are scheduled during otherwise-slow periods for the parks.) Epcot has two months-long events: the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival runs from March to mid-May, and the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival runs from October through mid-November. Hollywood Studios is the location for Star Wars Weekends in May and June. The Magic Kingdom hosts two special hard-ticket holiday events, Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party in September and October, and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party in November and December. These events, which let you stay in the park past the normal closing time, cost more than $50 per person, but tickets are limited so the crowds stay small.
How do they get the star on top?
How do they get the star on top?
Speaking of Christmas, the month of December may just be the most magical time of year at Walt Disney World. The entire resort goes all-out to decorate everything, with huge themed Christmas trees in each of the parks and each of the resorts, and the spectacular Castle Dreamlights draped onto Cinderella Castle. There are also countless holiday events at the resorts, the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Hollywood Studios, the Candlelight Processional at Epcot, and much much more. And as long as you avoid Thanksgiving week and Christmas week, the crowds really aren't that bad.

The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Walt Disney World


Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Walt Disney World - updated Mar 2024

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WHERE TO TRAVEL NEXT IN 2020


Walt Disney World Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.

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