Cheapest/Least Crowded Time to Go to Disney World?

[Chloe]

We've gone in early May and late October before. Both times were somewhat crowded. Should we go in late September, early December or January this time? Dh thinks September will be way too hot, but I worry about December and January not being warm enough to swim. My dc love the fancy pools. :lol: What do you think?

[Mom2J112903]

We will be going the week directly after Thanksgiving. One of the lowest crowd attendences :)

 

We have went the week after that and it too was not crowded.

 

We LOVE the Christmas decorations as well, Disney is SO pretty at this time of year!

 

Oh, and DH and J both swam-I had some "Mommy time" instead. ;)

[Frontier Mom]

We have been twice. Get there about January 2nd or so. Everyone heads back home after the holidays and the weather was fantastic both times. No crowds, no sweating!! My kind of vacation.

[abbeyej]

The crowd prediction from touringplans.com is *very* useful and generally quite accurate. You have to pay a few dollars to join, but it's *absolutely* worth it in terms of making your trip more pleasant. It's from the people who wrote The Unofficial Guide to WDW, another very worthwhile resource.

 

We have gone around Dec 5-10 twice now, and that's *my* very favorite time of year. The Thanksgiving crowds are gone, the Christmas crowds aren't there yet, and all of the holiday decorations and attractions are in full swing. It's just delightful. :) Of course, it was a little chilly for swimming -- the kids didn't mind at all, but dh and I were cold. ;)

 

Early May is okay -- you want to go after the spring breaks are over, but within the first two weeks of May before schools start getting out. *Very* early March can be okay, but anything past the 14th and you're headed into spring break territory. We've had a great visit in early October too.

 

Part of the problem is that crowd levels are *relative*. There really *aren't* days when the parks are just empty. But using the information from Unofficial Guide and Touring Plans can really increase your odds of picking the best parks each day during the best possible vacation week so that you aren't crowded and moving slowly.

[patchfire]

I have gone in October and loved it. I've also gone in February and REALLY loved it. It was warm enough to swim (this was the first week of February, so I think the last half of January would be the same), it was so 'empty' (by WDW standards), etc. The last several times we've gone have been at more high traffic times and I am SO excited that we're going in February again next time (in 2011). February wins, hands-down. Cheapest time, least crowded, and still warm enough to swim!

[Kristine in VA]

I've been in September and it was nice. The crowds were not overwhelming. You do need to consider hurricanes though. The year we went Isabella was coming up the coast. We left a day early from Virginia, so that we wouldn't get stuck in NC or SC!

 

We just came back from a trip at the end of April. That was great - not too crowded, the water parks were open, and the rates went down because it was after everyones spring break. The least crowded time was the first week of March, but it is not warm enough for the pools. February can be nice, but make sure you skip the northern schools winter breaks! Very bad time to go.

 

Best of luck in your decision,

Kristine in VA

[Jennifer in MI]

We've been in Sept, Oct, and January.

 

Sept was HOT and sweaty. VERY hot. But, many of the attractions were air conditioned, so there were breaks. No lines.

 

October was much nicer weather. No lines.

 

January - once was gorgeous. high 70s. Just lovely. This year, it was in the 30s. (!) (I ran the half marathon in sleet and freezing rain at Disney!) We all had LOTS of layers, mittens, hats, etc . But, there were no lines!!! LOL So, I think January is a crap shoot!!! The next week, we were on a cruise and the weather was in the 80s. You never know!!!

[Chloe]

We will be going the week directly after Thanksgiving. One of the lowest crowd attendences.

 

This is when we were thinking would be best also.

[Guest Cindie2dds]

We went the week after Thanksgiving this past year and it was wonderful. Christmas decorations were up, we only had to get fast passes for things like Soarin' and Toy Story Mania, other than that, it was beautiful. It wasn't empty, though. I don't think Disney ever is. We went the week after Easter since all of our spring breaks were over in Texas, but I didn't take into consideration European spring breaks. There were a lot of British people on spring break then. We had some amazing conversations, lovely people. The weather was much better in April than December. I would like to go in September some year just because I've heard the week after Labor Day is also a light time to go. I don't like the heat. You have to be careful at the end of September and beginning of October because of the food and wine festival, Oktoberfest and all the Halloween events..... just my .02.

[Chloe]

 

October was much nicer weather. No lines.

 

 

 

Yes, I think it was a fluke the year we went in October. A hurricane had just hit southern Florida, so lots of residence flocked to DW because their homes didn't have electricity for a while. :tongue_smilie:

[kokotg]

We always go in September because DH has a week off then. Advantages: free dining! For our family, there's not really any other discount that competes with free dining, so it's the cheapest time to go. Crowds are good; I don't have much to compare it to, and I've heard things have gotten more crowded in September since they started offering free dining, but it's still one of the least crowded times of year, and it's definitely manageable.

 

The only real disadvantage is the heat, but it's a pretty big one. The average high in September is 89, I think, and it's that or right around that pretty much every day. We don't really have any choice; DH is a teacher, and his September break is the only time we can go when most people are in school. Otherwise we'd have to weigh my love of free dining against my love of cooler weather to decide whether to go in Jan or Feb instead (oh, BTW, the only thing to watch out for in Feb is President's Week; a lot of schools have that week off, so it's one of the more crowded weeks of the year.)

[sparrow]

We went the went February 20-27th this year. We had no lines and only had to use one Fast Pass for Toy Story Mania. Weather was pretty good. Jeans/capris and t-shirts weather (70s-80). It was a really cold winter for FL though. We had an evening at Epcot that got downright chilly. Dh ran to the car and got our winter jackets (true Michiganders are prepared for any kind of weather :D) and mittens. We walked the World Showcase sipping coffee and hot cocoa and watched Illuminations from England. It was quite lovely.

 

February seems like a good month to go, except for President's week (the week before we were there) which I hear has almost unbearable crowd levels.

[Mommyof4ks]

Most people we know go the week after a major holiday, and everyone says it is great! I will say do not go on Star Wars Weekends (May and June), because the parks are CROWDED. We just went during the first one thinking with school going on it would not be too bad; we were wrong. :glare:

[whitestavern]

We have done it twice the last week in Feb/first week in March and it is very low attendance! Plus, the weather is usually very warm/comfortable; mid to high 70s. For me, living in New England, I want to leave when it's cold here so that's why we do that.

[Jan in SC]

We have been in September, October, and December. September was very, very hot, but no crowds. Last October was really hot, but minimal crowds. Epcot had a lot of people with the food festival, but it handles crowds well.

 

December was unusal. It was rainy and cold. We wore long pants and sweatshirts during the day and at night the heavy coats and gloves were used. It was probably a fluke, though. We did not swim that year!

 

I think we may try December again this year.

[sbgrace]

The first week("ish") in December was wonderful.

 

However, we had some really severe winter weather/ice on the drive down from our home in Indiana. I don't know that I would pick traveling in the winter again for that reason. I guess it was bad luck but it was beyond scary traveling through mountains in ice.

[Cindyz]

We went the week of November 15th - 22nd, 2009. The crowds were very low and the weather was gorgeous!!

[hsbaby]

We went last February and it wad BAD....really bad. Apparently it was a school break for many people on the East coast. Next time I guess I will be checking public school break schedules. Did I mention it wad bad?!?!?:)

Edited June 7, 2010 by hsbaby

[Susan in KY]

We went the week after Thanksgiving this past year and it was wonderful. Christmas decorations were up, we only had to get fast passes for things like Soarin' and Toy Story Mania, other than that, it was beautiful. It wasn't empty, though

 

:iagree: We went the 2nd week of Dec., but it really wrecked my Christmas plans. We didn't actually put a tree up until Easter, and only because I promised them we'd do it. :D

[OnTheBrink]

Go during the riots following a high-profile racism trial.

 

We had tickets for Disneyland that were only for a specific day; the day after the verdict was returned on the Rodney King trial. Riots everywhere! D-land said they had hugely beefed up security, so we went. We walked onto every ride! I think there were more security guards than customers! It was the best day we'd ever had at D-Land.

 

So, if you can manage to orchestrate a riot to divert attention, that would be the day to go. :lol:

 

(I'm truly not making light of the Rodney King issue, or all those who were hurt during the riots.)

[Chloe]

Thanks, everyone! I think we are going to try to go the week after Thanksgiving.

[RahRah]

We've gone a number of times during different times of the year....

 

September - both times hot and humid, crowds are usually okay - but it's free dining time, so dining reservations need to be made well in advance if you're eating at table service restaurants.

 

December - Christmas-New Year's - crazy crowds, we won't do that time of the year again!

 

April - a couple of weeks after Easter - low crowds, nice temps, moderate humidity.

 

October - early in the month - moderate temps and humidity, moderate crowds. Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party was fun.

 

Friends have traveled various months too:

 

Early December - low crowds, low temps but still good swimming. Mickey's very Merry Christmas Party runs through mid-December.

 

July - very hot and humid, moderate crowds

 

HTH

[happyhomemaker25]

We went five times last year. It's a day trip for us and we took advantage of the free birthday pass with each of our kids individually.

March was good. It was a bit chilly but just long sleeves chilly and maybe a light jacket. I hate crowds and did not notice the crowds so it must not have been to bad.

April 14 was a typical FL spring day with some light showers. We stopped OUTSIDE of Disney and got ponchos. Not to hot and not to crowded.

April 19 was a bit warm and the crowds had started showing up.

September was hotter but the crowds weren't too bad.

Yes, I went twice in one week, please be sad for me. :tongue_smilie:

January was SO cold and this was actually the busiest we'd seen the park all year.

We are planning on going the last week in October this year because we did the free volunteer day.

Stay away from Disney from about the end of April through the end of September I would say. April and May are iffy weather wise could be beautiful spring like weather or burning up "if this is what it's like we'll all be dead by August" weather. June, July and August speak for themselves.

September is much like April and May even Oct can see temps in the 90s, but it's not as likely.

As far as crowds I think it's iffy. We did try to go during the week during the school year. I mean.. that's why we homeschool, right? :)

[Kari C in SC]

I have been many times and my favorite time is during the first 2 weeks of December. Sometimes it has been cooler, but I will take that over blazing heat. I love the Christmas things and the Osborne Family Lights. Best time to go.

[mom31257]

We have been several times. The least crowded times we went were the 3rd week of September and the 2nd week of December. As far as cheapest, I would say the Disney homeschool days are probably the cheapest.

[RahRah]

We have been several times. The least crowded times we went were the 3rd week of September and the 2nd week of December. As far as cheapest, I would say the Disney homeschool days are probably the cheapest.

 

Homeschool Days for 2010 are September 7, 8 and 9....

 

http://disneyyouthgroups.disney.go.com/wdyp/listing/listingPageRender?page=HSDEventInfoListingPage

[MyFourSons]

I've been there in the first two weeks of May twice, both times during the middle of the week. Both times it was not very crowded at all Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and then started to pick up around Thursday and was very busy Friday. They try to handle the larger crowds on these days by having the park open an hour early for those staying at the resorts on Thursday morning, so you can try to hit the busier rides before it opens to the general public. One of the perks of staying in the park.

 

I have been to Disneyland 10 times throughout my life, and my two trips to Disney World in May were both less crowded than any of my times there.

 

I have heard that the first part of January is a great time to go as well, and the hotel rates are a little less since it is "off peak." I really want to go in the winter some time, if we can ever work it out.

 

Of course, with the fast pass, it doesn't seem so crowded even when it is. At least if you grew up standing in line for three hours to go on Splash Mountain!

[cjbeach]

I've gone a lot and at various times. We're local so we do day trips. I know they say there's a standard slow time, but I've yet to find the ideal time. We've been in November in the "slow period" and it was crowded (25 min + wait in lines). We've been in December, April, June, October....OK, I think we've been there most months except July and August.

I really haven't found the rhyme or reason why some times are more crowded than other.

I know everyone is posting November, but I was there in November a few times and my waits were as long as other times. :001_huh:So who knows....

 

If you're not heat tolerant I just DO NOT recommend coming in the heat of summer. My hairdresser (a FL resident her whole life) went to WDW last August. I kind of laughed at her like "WHY would you go in August?" But she did, she had been given a free room, and it was bad. She said walking through the parks people were so hot they were actually vomiting. She said the smell was disgusting. I won't even go into the interior of FL in the summer, the humidity grabs you some days. When there is no air, it's exhausting. And if you're not used to it, I can't imagine....

[hsmamainva]

We've never been, but we have a trip scheduled for February 5-12.

 

We're staying in a resort (off-site) with a heated pool, so we'll be able to swim no matter what.

 

And I've heard the crowds are light, as long as you avoid the holiday breaks (and that includes minor holidays like President's Day, etc.)

 

Happy Planning!