Best Times to visit Walt Disney World & Park Attendance Levels
Whilst you might think that the best time to visit Walt Disney World is all about the crowds, it's always useful to take a number of other items into consideration when planning your trip. For example, the weather - do you want to be in the parks when its 100 degrees, or 70? Then there's the park hours and special events that you may want to visit.
There are a number of excellent times during the year to visit, the only 'bad' times would be when the parks are at absolute maximum capacity. When this happens its virtually impossible to get on a ride without queueing for hours, and is generally a lot less fun.
In the past, there were a number of points during the year that were considered quiet, however as more people have realised this, they are becoming increasingly rare.
The below table will give you an overview of each month, helping you decide when you'd like to visit. It's also worth checking out the park hours (usually released 180 days in advance), and the refurb list. Don't forget that if you view our park hours, we provide an estimate for how busy each day will be. This is based on history and events to help give you a rough guide as to what the parks will be like.
| Month | Approx. Attendance Levels | Special Events and notes that may influence crowd levels |
|---|---|---|
| January | Low | Early Jan. is usually busy from people who have been at the parks over New Year - avoid the parks on New Year's Day. |
| February | Low to high | Quiet except for on President's Day weekend where the parks get very busy! |
| March | Medium, increasing to high at the end of the month | Spring Break - crowds get worse towards the end of the month. Average crowds early in the month however. |
| April | High | Spring Break - gets a little quieter at the end of the month. |
| May | Medium to high | Generally an average month, however gets very busy for Memorial Day Weekend |
| June | Medium to high | Busy from around the 20th. Gay Days are held on the first weekend at one park per day. |
| July | High | July 4th is one of the busiest days of the year at WDW. Generally a very busy month as its peak season. |
| August | High | Very busy month - Lots of guests from Europe due to schools being closed. |
| September | High to low | Very busy unto (and including) Labor Day - goes quiet after tis however. |
| October | Low to medium | A quiet month, however Epcot's Food and Wine Festival and Mickey's Halloween Party draw crowds. |
| November | Low to high | Quiet until thanksgiving weekend where it gets busy. Quietens down again after thanksgiving. |
| December | Low to high | Quiet up until around the 20th - after this it's busy over christmas and VERY bust over New Year (quite possibly the busiest time to visit!) |
Tips When Planning Your Visit:
- If you can, visit when the US kids are still at school.
- If you don't like it being too hot, avoid visiting from June to September as these are the hottest months of the year
- Don't be put off by 'Hurricane Season' as it rarely affects park activities.
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The absolute quietists and ideal times to visit will be:
- Mid January
- Early February
- Late September
- October
- Early November
- Early December
Park Crowds
There are a few general points that you can use to work out which parks are busy and when. The main factor is Extra Magic Hours. If, for example the Magic Kingdom has a morning Extra Magic Hour on Monday - go somewhere else as a large number of on-site guests will take advantage of the early opening. If a park has an evening Extra Magic Hour, try visiting the next morning as it'll have a much lower attendance level.
As mentioned above, use our park hours page to determine which parks are busy on which days (please also remember that this is an estimation and not a guarantee).