When is the best time to go to Walt Disney World?

This is one of the most important questions when you start planning a Disney trip. When do you go? I used to suffer with this question! There are planning sites with Crowd Calendars that will tell you the least crowded times to go (for a fee-see Touring Plans link). I used to religiously plan my trips for the least crowded times. But if you have a child in school, as I do, you are limited by the school calendar, which naturally conflicts quite a bit with the least crowded times to go. Now there is a whole debate about taking your child(ren) out of school for a trip. I personally think children learn much more at Disney than they would at school but trips can be disruptive to a school-year routine and therefore, can have lasting implications. Obviously, you're not going to go during testing periods, etc.

Another benefit of going at less crowded times is the hotel rooms are much less expensive. A room at a value resort can go for up to $160 per night in high seasons and that same room will cost $82 in value season (and these are "rack rates"-special deals can bring this price down even further-more on this later). Plus, off-site hotels will really have some good deals when demand is down. Value Season can be a good time for you to be able to afford a luxury trip at a Deluxe resort also. Rooms at Disney's Polynesian Resort, for instance, are around $365 per night as opposed to $610 per night for that very same room during Christmas! Add better availablity of discounts to those calculations during value season and you have the makings of an extravagant vacation at the lowest price possible.

The Fall is the absolute least crowded time to go in my experience. I have been during September where the park is literally deserted and those have been very fun trips! However, there is a tradeoff for going at a less crowded time: Disney chooses to refurbish many rides during the slow season. So it is very likely a "favorite" attraction will be down.

This is how deserted a September morning can be:




The weather is also an important consideration. Walt Disney World can be extremely humid and hot-almost unbearably so (and I'm from Texas so I KNOW Hot!) Cooler weather can make a trip so much more enjoyable. Generally, the weather is nice from November until April. It is very hot in the other months and in late summer and fall you can have daily afternoon showers or thunderstorms. These Florida showers are usually short and can provide a welcome relief from the heat but it gets much hotter and more humid after the showers. An important rule is to always have a rain poncho in your park bag so the showers don't slow you down!

Our next trip is planned for May 29-June 4 (my daughter's birthday is June 4th!). The Crowd Calendar has just been upped to pretty much all 8's for that time (from previous 5's and 6's-these are on a scale of 1 to 10). No need to panic! Yes, it will be crowded but given a proper touring plan you can do all that you would like to do and have a great trip!

There is another consideration for when to go: special events Disney offers throughout the year. Here's a brief list and how they can impact crowds:

January-WDW Marathon This has a minor impact on crowds-not a reason not to go at this time.

March - May Epcot's Flower and Garden Festival A wonderful festival during a great time to go (with the exception of Easter week). If you love gardening this is a must-see. Weather is usually perfect.

Easter Week Historically this is an extremely busy time to go, if you can avoid going at this time, I would.

Late May-Early June Star Wars Weekends Are you a Star Wars Fan? Meet the stars of Star Wars and many of the characters at Hollywood Studios. The weekends at the studios will be very crowded during this time.

Early June Gay Days A gathering of gay people-They usually pick a specific park each day and crowds can be extremely heavy at that park on those dates.

Here's a shot of MK Gay Days 2009:


Week of July 4th Can be a very crowded time to visit

Sept & Oct Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party A great hard ticket event (usually around $45-65 per person) with many extras during an historically less crowded time. Halloween night usually sells out and can be extremely crowded.

Oct - Nov Food & Wine Festival Weekends can be crowded with locals but this festival generally spans a less crowded time at WDW.

Thanksgiving week A very crowded time to go!

Christmas and New Years A very crowded time to visit with many wonderful decorations

So, the timing of your trip is important but not so important that you stress and second guess your timing after you book and your trip plans are in motion. A fun day can be any day in WDW-crowded or deserted. Some of my fondest WDW moments are during crowded times like Christmas! Whatever you decide, make a plan and stick to it! All of your future trip plans will hinge on exact trip dates!

Happy planning!

Welcome to the blog!

So I decided to start a blog about all our Disney adventures. My first trip to Disneyland was in 1977 but my Disney obsession didn't start until 1999, when I took my cousin to Walt Disney World. My roommate at the time, Traci, came from a family of Disney lovers. She told me their adventures at Walt Disney World and thus began my Disney trip planning obsession! I planned a week long trip and we stayed at the now defunct Villas at Disney Institute. Disney's Animal Kingdom had just opened a year earlier. We had a great trip!



Fast forward to eight years later. I had a daughter of my own and was itching to take her to Disney. She was three years old when I began to plan her first trip. It was an 8 day trip with a split stay at Coronado Springs and Old Key West. I rented Disney Vacation Club points for the Old Key West portion and had Free Dining on the Coronado Springs Resort portion: and so my quest began to do Disney vacations in the least expensive way possible!






I know a lot of people who ask me "How do you take so many vacations? Isn't it EXPENSIVE?" Well, the answer to that is IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE. I do Disney trips very inexpensively and pride myself on saving lots of $$$ on the trips.

That first trip we went to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. We also ate in Cinderella's castle. With a few exceptions of some inescapable four year old meltdowns, we had the most magical week long Disney vacation imaginable! Since that trip in Fall of 2007, we have been on 12 more Disney vacations and our lucky #13 is just 33 days away. While some parts of my trip planning haven't changed, so much has changed...(more on that in a later post!)

Another question asked often of me is "why do you love Disney so much? Don't you get sick of it? Wouldn't you like to go somewhere else for a change?" I've given some thought to my Disney obsession...where does it come from? Is there some need to relive my youth? If you know me, you know that I am for the most part an analytical, no-nonsense, type A individual. I get things done. I don't play around. Perhaps going to Disney is my way of "letting my hair down" and getting away from the pressures of the business world. It is my excuse to dance in the streets, hug Winnie the Pooh, and indulge in a chocolate Mickey Ice Cream Bar. It's a place where I FEEL GOOD. I can't explain it. My friend Traci likes to say "there's 2 kinds of people in the world-those that "get" Disney and those that don't!". I think she's right. You can't explain what it does to you. Why you feel the way you do. But there are experiences that I have only had at Disney that provoke extreme emotion: like seeing your daughter blush at Tink's mischevious tauntings, like letting the words to the song "We Go On" during Illuminations move over you, like seeing a boy cry when he sees Pooh for the first time, like dancing in the streets and not caring how dumb you look, like seeing a man propose to his future wife in front of the castle...I could go on and on.

Until you have experienced the magic of Disney and had your heart and soul feel light and happy and all the cares of the real world melt away....you don't "get it". But when that moment comes you are forever changed and will forever be....DEVOTED TO DISNEY.

This blog will go in depth into how we do it: take multiple Disney vacations each year without being rich. How we save for the trips, how I find the best deals, how we feel about all the Disney experiences...and so much more.

So please keep your hands, arms and legs inside, remain seated at all times, and hang on to them hats & glasses...