By Amanda, Disney’s Cheapskate Princess.
Disney World is a very busy place. That’s probably an understatement; Walt Disney World can be an absolute elbow-to-elbow insanely crowded place for a vacation. I have spent hours reading planning books and websites, and the general Mickey Mouse rules of thumb is that if the kiddos are out of school, you don’t want to go to Disney if you don’t like crowds. But for some of us, pulling the kids out of school just isn’t going to happen, and to get our Disney vacation in, we have to travel when we can. Lots of us travel when the kids are out of school.
So if you choose to go to Disney World when the whole world will show up in Orlando, what are the “best” of the worst times? Let’s take a look at five busy times at Disney World, in reverse order, from crazy to pull your Mickey ears off insanity.
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5. Special Events
Disney has added all sorts of reasons for you to take a vacation at the Happiest Place on Earth, with celebrations and amazing events scheduled nearly every month of the year. Marathon weekends, Candlelight Processionals, any minor holiday when school lets out, and special events like Star Wars Weekends, Night of Joy, and Mickey’s Halloween and Christmas party days will always be more crowded than normal. Is there a normal when it comes to Disney crowds?
While it may not be crowded for a week at a time, if the schedule says “weekend,” (Star Wars Weekend) there will be more people in town before, during, and shortly after the weekend.
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4. Holidays Other than Christmas
If the kids are out of school, people are loading up their cars, catching flights, and heading to Disney by the thousands. This obviously makes the most scheduling sense, with work and school schedules, but it can cause you to stand in long lines and wind up parking what seems like miles away from the parks. Thank goodness for trams.
Thanksgiving week will be packed, as many schools, including my own school system, now take the entire week off. Any nationally celebrated holiday that gives you a Monday off, so that you have three days to play, will put you in the middle of streams of people all heading for roller coasters and Fastpass machines.
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3. Summer
Always keep in mind that unofficial rule about when kids are out of school. From just about the second week of June when kids run out the school doors, through the second week of August, when parents drag them kicking and screaming back to school, Disney will be crowded. Not only that, but summer will deliver heat, humidity, and possible rain showers.
Traditional Disney planning wisdom tells you to get to the parks bright and early, take a break and maybe a nap after lunch, and then head back to the parks late afternoon or after dinner. Summer offers many Extra Magic Hours opportunities that can save you time if you are staying at a Disney Resort.
I wouldn’t be caught on Main Street, U.S.A., between eleven a.m. and four p.m. in the summer, because it’s brutally hot outside and the most crowded during mid-day. You’ll find my family at the pool or snoozing off lunch, dreaming of heading back to the roller coasters after dinner.
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2. Spring Break
You have a three month period of schools letting out for spring break, which means thousands of pre-k to post graduate kids, teens, parents, and grandparents will flock to Disney for a school break. February through April are busy times at Disney, when the weather is somewhere between shivering and sweating, although it’s probably more crowded on weekends during these month.
“Easter week,” which runs from Easter weekend through the next week, will be crowded as people enjoy the lovely weather and spring decorations.
This week, Disney World’s Epcot Center made U.S.A Today’s 2013 “Trashiest Spring Break Destinations” because they feature an “Around the World in Beer” offering that draws college-age spring breakers, despite the family nature of the park.
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1. The Day After Christmas to New Years.
This is it ladies and gentlemen, the time the Disney Resorts and parks are the most crowded, and with good reason. School is out, lots of businesses are closed or people have just taken time off, and “The World” is alive with Christmas music and sparkly decorations. There may be no more beautiful time at Dinney World than when the Christmas decorations are hung by the stockings with care.
Yup, from Christmas to New Years is the most crowded and most expensive time of year. Daily crowd levels will increasingly steadily, as you move to standing room only on the monorails and 120 minute waits (or more) for busy rides, from around about December 20 and running through the New Year.
If the kids are out of school, they are hoping their parents will take them to Walt Disney World. Not to open a can of school make-up work worms, but if you ever took the kids out of school so the Space Mountain line would be shorter and your vacation patience level would be higher, then you just might be a Cheapskate Princess!
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Thanks for stopping by Couponing to Disney for a Disney vacation tip. Keep clipping coupons and saving money, and keep dreaming Disney!
Amanda
Disney’s Cheapskate Princess
Come see us at Disney’s Cheapskate Princess on Facebook and Cheapskate Princess on Pinterest.
I so agree with all of this too. My brother in law and his family are going in mid July this year and despite my advice have not done any advance planning – they got the dining plan and I don’t think they have even made any reservations yet! I just know that they are going to come back saying they are “over” Disney as well.
You just have to really do your research and have a plan and I think you can enjoy Disney, regardless of when you go!
I agree with Holly’s above post! ^^^We usually went to Disney during summer. Last year, we went over Easter Week because it would have interferred with my son’s football training. I did not expect to do much, because of the crowd. Quite to my surprise we seen and rode more then any other vacation! We would hit a park early morning come back to the room relax, swim , nap…then hit another park…during the parade at Magic Kingdom we were literally walking on rides with a 5 minute wait…Granted I have 3 teenagers so it nice to navigate and walk briskly to each ride :)…My advice take advantage of the late nights and be waiting in line when they open…My husband who supports my Disney addiction even commented how much fun he had on the last trip….We will be in Disney during Easter Week again this year!
Thanks for this post! Our family is one of those limited to spring break and we’ve successfully done this three times now. But it takes PLANNING. Our last visit was the best example of how careful planning can make for a successful trip, even during peak times. Friends of ours went during the same week – we had an amazing trip, they got so frustrated by the crowds they’ve decided that they’re “over” Disney and have no interest in returning. We rode Soarin with Fastpass and zipped right in, they waited nearly 2 hours. We went on TestTrack twice, they never got to ride at all. This is all because I knew what to expect and how to navigate the crowds. And oh, by the way, I did a HUGE amount of research right here on Couponing to Disney. There’s a ton of info out there – use it. You won’t regret it!
Another good place to find dates to avoid is the black out dates for the Florida Residents seasonal passes. We have that pass and I don’t mind the black out date because I wouldn’t go on those dates anyway :)
when are the black out dates?