You’ve decided to book a long over due vacation to Walt Disney World! Fantastic! But you have questions. When is the best time to go? Figuring out the best time to book your Disney World vacation can be a little challenging.
Should you go during a special time of year like Halloween or Christmas? Should you try to go to Disney during one of the special events like the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival? What about the weather?
When Is The Best Time To Go To Disney World?
While we can’t tell you the absolute best time to go to Walt Disney World, we can give you things you need to take into consideration when booking your trip. Each family has different dynamics that make this a uniquely personal decision. Lets dive in to six important factors to take into consideration
6 Factors to Consider When Booking Your Disney Vacation
1. Your Personal Calendar
The first thing you should consider when booking your Walt Disney World vacation is the time of year you want to go. You may have more or less travel flexibility because of school, work, or other personal commitments in your calendar.
When looking at your family’s calendar take into consideration school holidays (spring break, fall break, etc), school events, kids sports, and seasonal work commitments.
It is also helpful to try to book your vacation around weekends for extra time away without sacrificing days off of work or school.
2. School Calendars
Even if you don’t have kids in school you need to take the general school calendar into consideration. When schools are in session, there are less crowds at Disney World. If you don’t have kids, consider times like early September or before spring breaks start.
If you have kids in school, try to get creative with days your kids happen to be out of school while the majority of the country is not. For example, maybe your kids schools start later in September or get out earlier in May. Possibly there is a 3 day break somewhere in the school schedule that is unique to your district.
3. Holidays
You may want to incorporate your vacation into a holiday to take less time off of work and school. Pretty much any holiday will mean larger crowds.
That being said, some holidays are extra special at Disney World. Christmas and Halloween bring special decor and events – this may be a pro or a con for you. Three day weekends (Veteran’s Day, Memorial Day, etc.) will bring high crowds without special events.
4. Florida Weather and Seasons
You will want to consider the weather and seasonal impacts as you choose your vacation dates. When the days are longer in the summer the parks are open later. The parks close earlier in the winter when the days are shorter.
Spring and Fall
Spring and fall in Florida is a wonderful time to visit. You will have low rainfall, low humidity and the daylight is still long enough to enjoy the Disney parks. The high temperatures can hover in the low 80’s and nights can get a bit chilly but not cold.
The fall is the hurricane season which is something you will want to consider. You may see quite a bit of rain the fall, but with some preparation for wet weather it can be a great time to visit
Summer Months
Summer in Orlando is not for the faint of heart. It can get very hot and extremely humid with rain coming often.
You are likely to see a brief shower in the afternoons. Even though this sounds like a negative, it’s not really! Many of the attractions are air conditioned, some have some sort of a water element and busses, boats, hotels, and restaurants are air conditioned. The rain will very often not be a complete washout for a day, as it can hit and leave very quickly. Storms can impact the Skyliner, so keep that in mind.
Winter in Florida
Florida temperatures are typically in the low 70’s, however, there can be cold snaps which can get much chillier than that. Humidity is not a problem and the rainfall is much less in the winter months.
The daylight is of course less, however, Disney World is so beautiful at night that this can be a positive depending on how you look at it.
If your family is wanting to do a lot of swimming at your pool or spend time at the Disney water parks winter may not be the best season for you.
5. Disney Special Events and Crowds
Now that we understand the weather during the year, we can move forward with the other calendar consideration. Crowds. The crowds at Disney ebb and flow.
We have found the number one reason people have bad vacations when it comes to Walt Disney World is because of long lines. The more you can do to minimize these long lines the better your Disney experience will be.
The two main things to be aware of are the Disney World special events and having a general idea of the Disney crowd calendar. Disney hosts a huge variety of special events throughout the year which cause major upticks in crowds. For example, runDisney events draw huge weekend crowds.
Factoring in the Disney calendar with your personal calendar will be helpful in narrowing down the best days to go.
6. Budget Considerations
Obviously, no matter who you are, you want to try and get your Disney World trip as cost effective you can. For some of us, this is of utmost consideration.
There is no hard and fast rule as to when the “cheapest” time to go to Disney World is. Typically you can get the best prices during the least desirable times to go.
For example, late August through September means school is back in session for most of the United States and you can usually get some of the best deals not only at Disney World, but on airfare too! This can bring significant savings.
Another time that tends to be a great, less expensive time to go is New Years Day until late January. This time frame is after the Christmas Holidays and the peak tourist season is over.
Another important factor when it comes to your budget is deciding if you are staying at one of the Walt Disney World Resort Hotels or a less expensive one in Orlando. Disney has a special offers page that you can go to and see if you qualify for savings. You may also consider using the Disney Payment Plan or booking with Undercover Tourist.
Get Help From A Travel Agent
We feel the most important thing you can do immediately after you decide when you are going to Disney World is to contact a reputable travel agent. There are many agents out there but not many that are considered an actual Authorized Disney Vacation Planner.
A good Disney Vacation travel agent will make your life so much easier. You will see many of our posts recommend getting a travel agent to help you. Let us share our personal experience with you so you can see what we mean.
We have found one of the best is Pixie & Pirate Destinations. Our agent who has helped us with our last two trips is the amazing and wonderful Lisa Reese!
Why is Lisa so valuable to us? First of all, she makes us feel like we are her family and does all she can to get us the best trip possible. She takes the time to answer questions we have on where to stay, helps with dining reservations (this one is HUGELY important), helping with cost saving ideas and the list goes on and on.
Her expertise for Disney World cannot be emphasized enough and when you are shelling out a lot of money and want the best vacation possible, it is so wonderful to have her on your side. Speaking of money, you don’t pay her for her services.
Best Time To Go To Walt Disney World
So back to the original question – when is the best time to book your Walt Disney World Vacation? Unfortunately we can’t give you a straight answer!
Knowing your personal calendar, Florida weather, Disney World crowds, your budget, and getting help from a travel agent should help you nail down the best option for your family!
Be sure to check out our pros and cons to staying on and off site to help you make a decision of where to stay! Here are our top 10 picks for off site hotels.
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