When is the right time to visit Disney?

• Adventure Season 2018

January 1st - 31st

September 1st - 30th

December 1st - 14th

With the exception of the first week in January and Labor Day Weekend, Adventure season is the cheapest and one of the least busy times at Disney. January can be an awesome time to be in Disney. According to Florida residents it can be COLD in January. But if you are traveling from the north, it will be much warmer than it is at home. September can have awesome weather, or hurricanes. Take your poncho.. Labor Day weekend begins Epcot's International Food and Wine Festival which runs into the 2nd week of November. This does add a little more attendance then usual to Epcot, especially in the World Showcase. But It does tend to pull numbers down slightly in other parks.  And finally December starts the Christmas season at Disney. It is an awesome time to visit the parks. Especially if you want to experience Christmas in Disney and avoid the crowd that come along with it. Overall during Adventure Season is one of the times that Disney closes rides for maintenance and conducts park renovations but you will find great deals especially at Disney resorts. 

• Choice Season

October 1st - November 20th

November 24th - 30th

December 15th - 23rd

I would probably have to say this is one of my Favorite seasons at Disney, for a few reasons. Starting with October, The International Food and Wine Festival continues in Epcot. And by this time the attendance in all of the parks has started to decline slightly. Times to avoid will be the weekends which still are not that bad and Columbus Day and that weekend, which can be fairly busy in all of the parks. Its worth mentioning that Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party starts in August and runs until the 31st (halloween day). Speaking of Halloween, historically this day tends to be a great day to visit the parks as attendance is generally low. Also I will add that even though it is possible, October is the tail end of Hurricane season which is normally at it's worst in August and September. But lets not forget about Hurricane Matthew that shut down the 4 parks on Oct 7th 2016. But again this is fairly rare. Now on to November. The week following Thanksgiving with the exception of the Saturday after Black Friday can be another great time to visit Disney. In addition to typically nice weather, Disney is in Full Christmas Mode! If you ever want to experience Christmas at Disney this is a perfect time to do it.  Finally December. The Christmas season continues at Disney and so do some great opportunities to visit the parks before the crazy begins. Now it certainly is busier the closer you get to  December 24th and 25th but in my opinion its still manageable. Do yourself a favor and get out by Friday before Christmas. If you really want to do Christmas at Disney my sugjestion would be to get there in the first two weeks of December during Adventure Season or that week following Thanksgiving that we talked about earlier. 

• Dream Season

 February 1st - 15th

May 1st - June 10th

August 16th - 31st

February can be a great time to be in Disney. Most everyone is in School or College and park attendance is low or moderately low. The weather is generally pretty nice, it is Florida after all. My only issue with this time of year is that it can be a little chilly and the water, if you plan to swim, can also be cold. Honestly I prefer the end of February during magic season. So we'll talk about that below. Dream Season continues at the Beginning of May and so does the International Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot which normally concludes on Memorial Day.  May can be a georgous time in Florida, but it also is the start of wet season. With the exception of Hurricanes, storms in Florida are generally fast moving and rarely linger for the entire day.  Be sure to pack a poncho and watch the weather forecasts for the day. Up until Memorial day attendance in the park is on the low side or moderately low side. This changes quickly the Friday before Memorial day and continues through the rest of Dream Season. The first two weeks or so of June see a surge of guests in the parks, mainly due to the fact that schools are finishing for the year. Don't forget that temperatures in Florida can easily soar into the mid and upper 90's during the beginning of June. Now finishing our take on Dream Season at Disney is the end of August. Park attendance is generally up and and so is the chance to get wet. Really Wet! I can all most guarantee that it will rain. Now this isn't for me, but I have been told that if you don't mind getting wet, wait time do fall during these rain events.   

• Magic Season

February 16th - March 24th

April 8th - 30th

June 11th - August 15th

November 21st - 23rd

Late February is by far my all time favorite time to be in Disney. The park attendance can be at all time lows, and the weather is fantastic. Now attendance in the park changes quickly starting with College break season around the 1st or 2nd week in March. Unless you are a college kid, avoid the parks during these couple of weeks especially if you have small children. I'll discuss this in greater detail below in Premier Season. The 2nd week of April generally begins to slow down sightly and continues through the 3rd week of April until Good Friday. Some Elementary and High Schools do have a break during this period but it rarely effects park attendance.  But then comes Easter. Now Easter is about the only Holiday that can float as far as 3 weeks. An early Easter will crash right into Spring break. A late Easter will end April on a high note. Either way Easter is crazy busy from Good Friday through about the Tuesday after. Skipping forward to June. Most if not all schools are out for the summer by the second week of June this leads to greater attendance in all of the parks. Also, let's not forget, you are in Florida. It will be hot, it will rain. Don't forget your poncho and your sunscreen. Yes, you'll need both. Magic Season continues through the 2nd week of August and so will the crowds. It is worth mentioning that the crowds do lighten up slightly in August as the start of hurricane season does deter some guests. Finally let's talk Turkey! I mean Thanksgiving. The monday prior to thanksgiving is known as the start of "Thanksgiving Week". This is one of the busiest weeks in Disney. Surprisingly enough, the next week (during Choice Season) can be one of best weeks.  

Premier Season

March 25th - April 8th

December 24th - 31st

This is by far the busiest and most expensive time to visit Disney World. Spring breaks start to happen during the 1st or 2nd week of March and peak with college break at the end of March and run through the beginning of April. I personally made the mistake of taking a trip at the end of March a few years ago. The park was extremely busy. I only call this a mistake because my daughter was 2 at the time.  The college kids were not as courteous as most Disney Guests and more than once I had to pick her up and dust her off due to being knocked down. If you are a college kid, this very well might be a great time to visit the parks.
Finally, December in the Disney Parks is amazing. The Disney Staff does an awesome job of transforming the park. If you want to experience this I would suggest the first two weeks of December during Adventure Season.  If you insist on Christmas at Disney during premier season, you must must be staying on property and you must must be early. Historically the Magic Kingdom has become FULL and has closed it gates in years past. YES, Disney has denied access to guests on these days. Mostly Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and New Years Eve.  

 

With all of this being said. These dates are predictions based on many years of study. However, changes in park attractions and weather can drastically effect park attendance. Also, it is worth mentioning if you are flexible on your travel and you aren't picky on where you stay, Disney offers fantastic last minute deals in most of their properties.