If you are wanting to skip out on the types of crowds that cause you to push through hordes of sweaty people to be able to make it to a bathroom then it is best to avoid:
- any holidays (ie. long weekends)
- President's day weekend
- Memorial day weekend
- school breaks
- summer vacation (June to August)
- spring break (April / March)
- Christmas break (December)
- weekends during special themed events (Mickey's Halloween Party, Flower festival, Wine festival, new park openings, etc)
- October: Mickey's Halloween Party
- November - December: Christmas festivities later afternoons / evenings (think people off of school / work, fire work viewings)
- Park Anniversaries
Usually a good plan is not to go pretty much any time kids will be out of school. With kids out, families are free to travel and plan to travel. The downside with the busy periods is that prices actually go up on everything from hotels to park tickets so going during the slow times are also beneficial to your wallet.
When is the best time to go? Generally you can expect less people and smaller crowds during:
- weekdays (Tuesday - Thursday)
- January to early February (kids are back in school & no holidays)
- magic hours (in the morning, the evening ones get busy!)
- mid - late September (kids just heading back to school)
The downside of these less populated times is that some rides will be taken out of service for repairs or shut down for good to make way for other rides. If you want to see what the schedule is for the rides / shows when you are going as well as what will be closed then check out Disney's website here for the listing. Generally keep in mind seasons, ex. the water rides will generally be closed in the winter for maintenance .
If you are going and still want to know what to expect, there are lots of apps and websites out there that will also show you the busy / slow times for rides as well as what the line ups are sitting at. I'm currently working on some articles that will include more information on these options so keep checking back!
