Best Days to Visit Each Walt Disney World Park

Best Times to Visit Disney World For Low Crowds

Whether you’re looking for the least crowded time to go to Disney World, or even just the best time to visit Magic Kingdom, we’re going to break it all down in the post so you can make the best Disney itinerary for your trip. 

Overall Best Dates for the Lowest Crowd Levels 

Lowest Crowds at Walt Disney World 

• January 10-13 and 25-27 | Festival of the Arts
• January 31-February 10 | Festival of the Arts
• May 3-12 | Flower and Garden Festival
• August 15-31 | MNSSHP, Food and Wine Festival
• September 1- 30 | Food and Wine Festival
• November 14-16 | Food and Wine Festival, Holiday Resort Decorations
• December 1-10 | Festival of Holidays

Best and Worst Times to Visit Walt Disney World Overall

Overall Best Time to Visit Walt Disney World

The best time and worst times to visit Walt Disney World are based on crowd levels AND costs. As some times of the year are simply cheaper than others. Here is a quick schedule repeated every year with slightly different dates for a quick look at the Peak/Off-Peak times at Walt Disney World.

• Off-Peak Periods / Least Expensive Times to Visit Disney
  • January: 4th week in January through 2nd week in February
  • Spring: 4th week in April- 3rd week in May sees average crowds
  • August: Generally 2nd week in August through 1st week in December
• Peak Periods/ Most Expensive Times to Visit Disney
  • Winter Break: 3rd weekend in January/ MLK three-day weekend
  • Spring/Easter Break: 1st week of March through 3rd week in April
  • Memorial Day: Last 2 weeks of May
  • Summer Vacation Last week in May through 2nd Week in August
  • Thanksgiving: Day and Weekend after
  • Christmas: 2nd week in December through 1st Week in January

Note: Your busiest times will always be around holidays, especially when kids are off school, and on weekends. Check out the EXACT DATES of when Disney is the Least Expensive with lower crowds every year. 

Walt Disney World Crowd Calendars

If you want a day-by-historical look at crowds to get your vacation on a microcosm schedule, check out the crowd calendars. Know that Disney crowd levels have been changing a lot, so take these with a grain of salt. Undercover Tourist has an outlook calendar-style layout that will show you the exact days and levels to expect.

Disney Annual Events and Holidays

Planning a Disney Vacation for the perfect time is tough. As a result, it’s important to know the best times to visit to give yourself your best chance. We’ve pulled together a list of all the Disney Festivals and Parties that happen annually so you can choose the best time to visit. Here are also the major holidays and runDisney events causing the busiest times to visit Walt Disney World.

January: runDisney Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend, Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend 
February: Valentine’s Day/President’s Day Weekend, runDisney Princess Half Marathon, and Mardi Gras Week 
March: Spring Break
April: Easter, runDisney Springtime Surprise Weekend
May: Dapper Day, Memorial Day Weekend
July: Fourth of July Week
September: Labor Day Weekend
October: Columbus Day Weekend
November: Wine and Dine Half Marathon,  Thanksgiving Week, Destination D23
December: Christmas Week

Walt Disney World Events by Month

Now, since there’s a good chance you planned your vacation because you had time off at work or were working around a child’s school schedule, the crowd-level info in these guides can only get you so far. To get a glimpse as to what you’ll be seeing at Disney while you’re there, regardless of when you go, here’s the rundown of yearly Disney festivals and activities. Check out our Walt Disney World Events Calendar for 2023 for a List of ALL THE EVENTS at Walt Disney World throughout the year. 

Best and Worst Months to Visit Walt Disney World

We won’t pretend this is black and white, some weeks in certain months are simply busier due to certain events. But if you’re looking at costs, crowds and weather here is a quick snapshot of the Best and Worst Months to visit Walt Disney World. We’ll go into the events in each month below and which days each week are best per park. 

• Best Months to Visit Disney: January, September, November
• Worst Months to Visit Disney: February, March, April, May, June, July, August, October, December

March

• Flower and Garden Festival Begins
  Best Weeks to Visit: 1st or 2nd Week
• Expect Spring Break Crowds to be heavy 3rd week in March through the 2nd week in April

April

• Easter at Walt Disney World
• Flower and Garden Festival
• runDisney Springtime Surprise Weekend
• Dapper Day Spring Event
  Best Week to Visit: 3rd or 4th Week

May

The first three weeks of May are typically the last chance you have with non-sweltering weather and manageable crowds. While prices and crowds are moderate this time of year, they get noticeably worse at the end of the month. Plan to visit early in the month for your best vacation. 

• Flower and Garden Festival
  Best Weeks to Visit: 1st and 2nd Weeks
• Expect high school Senior Trip Crowds the 3rd and 4th weeks of May

June

The summer at Walt Disney World is probably the worst idea ever. BUT, we respect that people have schedules, and school to work around. That said, expect June through Early August to be extremely hot and very crowded. Plan to be in the park early, take a break from 12- 4 pm when the heat and crowds are heaviest, and then head back to the parks for the evening. 

• H20 Glow Night at the Water Parks
  Best Week to Visit: 1st Week
• Expect lots of summer heat.  and pretty much why we’d recommend visiting any other time of year. 

July

• EPCOT Food and Wine Festival Begins
• Best Week to Visit: 3rd Week

August

Walt Disney World in the fall is extra fun with special events, snacks, and decorations. Plan on visiting from late August through September for good prices and decent crowds. It’s still very hot in August and September in Florida, but if you can stand it, it’s worth it. 

• Food and Wine Festival
• Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party Begins
• Best Week to Visit: 3rd or 4th Week

September

• Food and Wine Festival
• Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party
  Best Weeks to Visit: All weeks are fairly good:)

October

Oddly, October is very crowded and pretty pricey! With Fall at Walt Disney World being a favorite of many and a great time for an annual trip as the weather starts to cool, we recommend going early in the month for your best vacation. 

• Food and Wine Festival
• Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party
  Best Week to Visit: 3rd or 4th Week

Which Days at Walt Disney World are the Busiest?

• Sunday is the busiest day at every Walt Disney World Park.
• Saturday the second busiest.
• Monday the third busiest.
• Friday the fourth busiest.

Which Disney Park Takes the Least Time?

Hollywood Studios typically takes the Least Time of any Walt Disney World park. As one of Disney’s smaller parks, this park is broken up into several areas. Get to know the Hollywood Studios map before you go, because while it has the least things to do, see and eat, it also has a rather confusing layout. Our best advice here if you’re trying to save time at Walt Disney World is to head to the major rides first, Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Rise of the Resistance, and Slinky Dog Dash.

What are the Best Days to Visit Each Disney Park?

Thankfully, even if you don’t pick a vacation during the best time to visit Disney World, you still have control over which days you go to which park. THIS is just as important. If you’ve made your dining and Lightning Lane reservations already some of these decisions may have already been decided for you. These are your best days to be in the parks with minimal crowds and minimal waits. Note that the BEST DAYS to visit EVERY PARK at Walt Disney World are always Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. But for practical purposes, we’re covering all the days here so you can plan out your week or two of vacation. 

• Magic Kingdom (MK): Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday
• Hollywood Studios(HS): Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays
• Animal Kingdom(AK): Wednesday- Friday, Sunday
• Epcot (EP): Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays

What are the Worst Days to Visit Each Disney Park?

Avoid Magic Kingdom on Mondays and Saturdays. For many, this is the first park they visit, and most vacations begin on Mondays, so it is the busiest day to visit. And for many, Saturday is their last full day in the parks, before heading home on Sunday, which means Magic Kingdom is the park they give a second day to, and it’s usually their last day before leaving, Saturday. Additionally, the longer hours at Magic Kingdom on Saturday, means many park hop there as their second park, making it even more crowded. 

Avoid Hollywood Studios on Monday and Tuesday. Hollywood Studios is a small park, so feels crowds more often than the other parks. That said, It’s also one people skip on the weekends in favor of EPCOT or Magic Kingdom. As such, while a weekday is always better here, Saturdays and Sundays aren’t that bad. Though we’d recommend skipping Monday and Tuesday at Hollywood Studios if possible. 

Avoid Animal Kingdom on Saturday. Animal Kingdom is the biggest park and can accommodate crowds more than any other park. That said, we’d still recommend weekdays, unless you can strategize an early morning or late evening during the weekends when Animal Kingdom has longer hours. 

Avoid EPCOT on the Weekends. Friday Nights, Saturdays, and Sundays are the Worst times to visit EPCOT due to it being a hotspot for locals and a drinking playground. 

Which Disney Park on Which Day?

Here’s what you can control. We’ll assume for convenience that you are tackling one park each day of your vacation. Keep in mind that Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios are the smallest parks, so fill up faster, so the weekend will feel extra crowded at these parks. 

You will find that Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are by far the best days to be in the parks. Still, chances are your vacation will be longer than 3 days, so you will be venturing into the parks Friday through Monday as well. These are our recommendations if you want a little more elbow room and a little less line waiting. We’ve added the Disney Monorail Resorts and the Disney BoardWalk Resorts as honorary fifth and sixth locations you can spend your time close to the parks because they are convenient and a nice change of pace. AK= Animal Kingdom, MK= Magic Kingdom, HS = Hollywood Studios, EP= EPCOT Park

• Monday: AK, EP
• Tuesday: MK, EP
• Wednesday: HS, EP, AK, MK
• Thursday: EP, MK, AK
• Friday: AK or Disney Springs
• Saturday: HS
• Sunday: HS, AK or Disney Monorail Resorts, Disney BoardWalk Resorts. 
• Disney Water Parks, Blizzard Beach, and Typhoon Lagoon are the least busy during the late spring and early fall on weekdays.
• Disney Springs is the least busy M-Th mornings and afternoons.

Early Entry into the Parks

Days with Early Theme Park Entry are for Disney Resort Guests ONLY and allow you to enter the park 30 minutes before it opens. This offers opportunities to maximize your time! Morning magic hours are still pretty light when it comes to crowds so we definitely recommend, if you’re a morning family, to get up early and take advantage of the extra hours. Early theme park entry is now available every day.

Sample Itinerary for a Disney Vacation

We primarily make the choice to leave for vacation mid-week because flight costs are cheaper. If you’re driving these aren’t requirements for your algorithm.

• Wednesday: EPCOT (arrive morning, 1/2 day in the park)
• Thursday: Up early, MK (access early hours) first full day in parks
• Friday: Up early, AK stay up late 
• Saturday: sleep in, HS (access early hours)
• Sunday: sleep in and head to brunch at Disney Boardwalk or Disney Springs
• Monday: AK or EP
• Tuesday: MK (depart evening, 1/2 day in the park)

The opportunity to take advantage of early morning hours any day of your vacation is a good one. Additionally, we always like to build in a day to get tea at the Grand Floridian, dole whip at The Polynesian, and time on The Boardwalk. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need a ticket to anywhere to have fun on the Boardwalk. Just access it from the secret path at the entrance of Hollywood Studios. This plan is for your typical 7-day/6-night and 6-day park ticket ( assuming that either your arriving or departing day you will not be in the parks).

Planning Tips for Picking Your Disney Park Days

Cheapest and Most Expensive Times to Visit Disney

One of our favorite new hacks we learned on our DVC tour was that there is actually a calendar that shows the cheapest times to visit Walt Disney World. And frankly, until there is an update to this pricing schedule we’re gonna treat it like the gospel it is. The cheapest season to book is Adventure Season and the most expensive is Premier Season. Here’s where the dates fall for each.

Adventure Season ( cheapest)

• Jan1-31
• Sept 1-30
• Dec 1-14

Choice Season

• Oct 1-Nov 26
• Nov 30
• Dec 15-23

Dream Season

• Feb 1- 15
• May 1- Jun 10
• Aug 16- 31

Magic Season

• Feb 16- Apr 13
• Apr 28- 30
• Jun 11- Aug 15
• Nov 27- 29

Premier Season ( most expensive)

• Apr 14- 27
• Dec 24- 31

We hope this gives you a little more information than you had before and some good tips to make sure you make the most of your Disney vacation. And be sure to check out our Disney World Event Calendar for specific things happening this year!