Best Time to Go to Disney

I grew up in Florida and have been to Disney many many times---by far the best time to go is Jan or Feb. Hands down. 2 years ago I went in early Feb on a Monday and we walked onto almost every ride. December is one of the worst months to go.

My family and I went to Disney the 10th through the 14th and it didn't seem crowded to me at all. The longest we waited for a ride was about 10 minutes. We did go to the parks after lunch time and evening times. The kids handled it well (3 year old and 20 month old.) We are planning another trip next year for around the same time.

Hi T.,

We decided to go mid Oct. and the shuttle happened to be
launched that morning. Everyone was going East as we were traveling West. It was great and the park was not crowded.
I like to use those sanitizing wipes after each ride.
Best of luck to you!

we usually go for the special parties at night there is a princess/knight themed one in the spring a christmas one and a halloween one...they close down the park and then re-open for part 7-12pm, separate tix but cheaper and less crowded...

I think they can busy at any time. I took my girls in November and they were packed. The good thing about going for a week is that you can go from park to park if one is too crowded or go in the early morning when they aren';t busy. When we went they didn't start getting crowded until late morning. Good luck!

Hello..T.
I been in Disney so many times, but I think the best time to go is february...is not to hot or cold and there is not to many people.

I have heard that January mid month is a good time to go to Disney - I would just watch the weekend around MLKing Day - this year Manatee
County has a 4 day weekend and other schools have the 3 day weekend so there will probably be Florida residents -

Good Luck

My advice would be to go January, alot of people will have just traveled for the holidays so they won't want to be traveling again. Only problem is that Jan is colder than Dec usually. On the other hand, one big reason that it does get so busy in Dec is because they do all the christmas stuff there which is really fun to go see. Either way I hope you enjoy yourself. after all this the most wonderful place on earth right?

I've been to Disney the first weekend of October and it wasn't bad. The weather is good too, not cool but not summer heat.
I can't wait to take my 2 year old to Disney, I just hope soon.

In the winter and early spring months is when all things around here are busy...I would recommend not going in November or December....Those are the most busy with the holidays and all.

Merry Christmas,
K. J.

We have been to Disney many times with our 4 children. The best time that we went was during the week in Jan and Feb. I hear that Dec is pretty busy for Disney. My suggestion would be to check availability for hotels and prices....they usually have discounted rates for the "slow" season. Disney is much more fun with shorter wait times and no heat!! Good luck!!

December is actually one of the busiest time of year for Disney--the busiest week of the year for them is the week between Christmas and New Year's--parks like Animal Kingdom and MGM actually reach full capacity....
with that said--right after New year's is DEAD and the best time to go! The second week in January is my favorite time since the weather is beautiful and no one is there!
(September is also a very slow month, but it's still really hot).

during school year near no vacation time but it is disney world so no matter when you go its always crowded.

Disney is always crowded and difficult to deal with. They have problems with the rides and since I've lived here (4/2000) they are always in the news with fatalities. I wouldn't take my kids on a ride there if every park in Orlando shut down. We take our boys to Universal Studios. They price is cheaper and the park is clean, flat (not a hill like Disney) and built in a circle so you can see everything if you meander around. Isles of Adventure, which is Universals sister park in the same location, has Dr. Seuss Land which is totally devoted to the very young. My two year old enjoys the rides there. My 9 year old loves the Marvel Comics section which has age appropriate rides and my husband and I love the Hulk rollercoaster which is a monster but so much fun. Universal Studios has Barney Live and Nick Live. The shows are awesome. They have rides there but more shows. Twister is not a ride, it's an experience. haha. You safely watch a tornado up close. The wait for rides is always between 0 and 30 minutes. My sons love the ball park and the Curious George water area. Also on some occasions you can catch them in the process of making movies at the park. My husband and I were there when they were filming sections of the first Fast and the Furious movie. How cool is that?!

Stay out of the Disney trap. It's not worth the money or the headache, not to mention it's just not safe.

I have been in January and February and it was awesome. We were able to ride the water log ride (can't remember what it's called) three times in a row without getting off because there was no line. It was a little chilly but after walking around we warmed up. Hope this helps.

Hi there! I used to work at Disney World (I'm assuming you mean this location and not other Disney spots) and I would have to say that January and February are your best bets for it to be less crowded than other times of the year. Have fun!

Hi T.,

I am taking my daughter this January and can let you know afterward how it was. Just e-mail me a personal message so when I see it, I will remember to write you! :)

Thanks!
K.

I would think that the reason it was so crouded is because of the vacationers wanting to get away from the cold weather. I'm from Boston and the only time we ever went to Disney was during winter vacations so I would stay away from December through at least April(don't forget Spring Break) if you want the least amount of croud.

Don't go the first week, that is when they tape the Christmas parade for TV and they offer free tickets to people who want to be in the tapping and it will be packed. This year they tapped on Dec 1 and 2, and I believe they did some show tapping on Nov 30th.

When my daughter wasn't in school yet we would love to go in February, we would shoot over for just the day. I think Jan or Feb should be low on crowds. Typically if there are alot of florida resident hotel deals, that means it's not all that busy because they are trying to get people to go.

One thing that wasn't mentioned is that all those months that are the "best" months to go are also the most active flu months of the year. With that many people in one place, it's VERY easy to catch a bug and end up sick the whole trip. (I know this from experience) If you do go, be extra careful with the hand washing and touching things. With small children it's almost impossible to keep them from touching germy things then touching themselves. Something to consider.

We went the first/second week of November and it wasn't crowded at all. One way to beat some of the crowds is to get there right when they open too. They even have an opening show that most people miss out on.

i have gone in january a couple of times. there was no wait time for even the best rides. the hours at some of the parks were shorter and sometimes a couple of things are being repaired but as far as crowds go it was perfect. also the weather required a light jacket in the morning but you are moving around so much it was no big deal. hope this helps.M.

I'm a native Floridian, and have been to Disney at least 10 times. I'd suggest visiting in January, weekend or during the week. I think we went the last time on a Monday, which worked out well. We walked right in every ride. No crowds, and no summer heat. Definitely avoid the place in December if you don't like crowds! :)

L.

We are going in Jan can let you know how it goes after we get back. One year we went the day after xmas and the park was empty. So nice. But that has been several years and it just may be bad anytime of the year now.

T., we have been to Disney a zillion times and always like January and February. Last time we went was in May, and it was 90 and HOT and NASTY. I agree with you on avoiding the heat. We like January and February because temps are down to the low-mid 70s on average. That being said, my kids are MUCH better out when it is early... before lunch in general. It can be pretty cold at the parks that early in Jan and Feb. For us, anything below 60 is too cold to be constantly outside. Then March is pretty good when the weather is typically a few degrees warmer. But, of course, watch out then about scheduling before spring break to avoid the mad crowds! Good luck. LOVE Disney!

We found out the best time to go to Disney with younger children is in August, when they have preschool oriented activities. If you go to the Disney website you will be able to sign up for member information and know when you can go for toddlers. We're planning our family trip then going to spend 2-3 days as soo much to do in just 1 day

check out the website Touringplans.com they tell you when it is the best time of year "statistically" to go to Disney. It breaks down all of the parks. It's pretty cool! Good luck.
Ps. we were just at the magic kingdom on 12-12-07 and we ripped through the entire park in about 6 hours. There were no lines. The longest line that we waited in was to meet Minnie, pluto and goofy. That line was 10 minutes long!!!! :)

Hello. I worked at the Magic Kingdom for three years after college. You were right. The first two weeks of December (during the week) are some of the best weeks to go. The parks are decorated beautifully and the crowds are much smaller (there are always going to be some people there though!). Mid January and September are also great times.

Good luck and say hello to the Mouse for me when you see him again!

We went to a Disney Resort during Veteran's Day Weekend. That was great. The week of November 4th. There were people, but it was not crowded at all.

Then we went again for Isles of Adventure during the 1st week of December it was good too, but was noticably more people out and about than when we came to Orlando in November.

1st week of December was decent, but November was better, hardly any wait for lines to rides.

HTHs