These free 2024 Walt Disney World crowd calendars fee dates so you’ll be able to select greatest weeks to go & keep away from the worst, skipping lengthy traces and excessive wait instances. We cowl seasonal occasions, climate, park hours, Orlando journey developments, and elements impacting when to go to Florida’s theme parks. (Up to date April 1, 2024.)
Three months are within the books on 2024, and it’s already been a bizarre 12 months for Walt Disney World crowds. Wait instances have elevated year-over-year up to now in 2024, reversing month-to-month declines that occurred within the final 11 months of 2023. Though January, February and March 2024 all had increased common wait instances than the identical months final 12 months, it hasn’t been an across-the-board improve. Some days and weeks have been slower, with Orange County’s Spring Break–which was downright useless–being a chief instance.
This actually was not what we anticipated. As a complete, our 2024 Walt Disney World crowds forecast was for pent-up demand to proceed exhausting itself, a course of that had not but totally performed out as of the top of final 12 months. As such, we anticipated crowd ranges to drop barely by way of not less than the primary half of 2024. As an alternative, the alternative is going on. In What’s Inflicting Greater Crowds at Walt Disney World in 2024?, we theorize about the why of that, with dialogue of varied elements which have led to ‘re-revenge journey’ this 12 months.
No matter whether or not crowds improve or lower for the rest of 2024 as in comparison with final 12 months, you need to be ready for top wait instances by historic requirements. This 12 months doubtless received’t be on par with the stratospheric heights reached in 2022 (as a consequence of a novel set of circumstances that’ll hopefully by no means be repeated), however it’ll nonetheless increased than any 12 months between 2014 and 2019.
Even amidst final 12 months’s “slowdown” at Walt Disney World, common wait instances nonetheless reached 2018 ranges. This 12 months is shaping as much as be, at minimal, a repeat of 2019 and far busier than 2020-2021. That is key context since wait instances in 2019 have been nearly 10 minutes increased on common than any 12 months earlier than 2017.
In different phrases, your body of reference issues. Walt Disney World continues to be very crowded by historic requirements. We anticipate this development to proceed all through 2024 and the parks to be busier than they have been 6+ years in the past, even when crowd ranges don’t hit the record-setting peaks from 2022.
A part of Walt Disney World has seen a rebound in crowd ranges so far in 2024 is because of discounting, particularly on park tickets. Walt Disney World releasing tons of various reductions for 2024. Offers are higher than the final two years and are popping out earlier, and the top result’s that it’s really inexpensive to go to Walt Disney World now than it was within the final two years. Past that, the corporate is pulling extra “levers” in an try and entice friends to return, and quite a lot of them seem like working.
The following three months are a curler coaster of crowd ranges that embrace each among the slowest dates and likewise among the busiest weeks of the complete 12 months. Submit-Easter, Walt Disney World has entered the second half of Spring Break, which (unsurprisingly) ought to be busy.
After that, “shoulder season” arrives. That was one of many slowest 6-week stretches of final 12 months, however we anticipate late April and Might 2024 to be busier. That’s largely because of the aforementioned ticket offers, that are being provided to each Florida residents and most people. There’s additionally the finished overhaul of EPCOT, Tiana’s Bayou Journey opening in June 2024, and new summer season choices designed to lure individuals to the parks.
If you happen to’re searching for a handy useful resource for planning a weeklong or so trip to Walt Disney World and need to know when to go to or keep away from based mostly on crowds & congestion, climate, particular occasions, and extra–try our record of the 10 Greatest and 10 Worst Weeks to Go to Walt Disney World in 2024 & 2025.
Word that crowd ranges are calculated on a rolling foundation relative to the prior three hundred and sixty five days. They’re not anchored to 1971 or 1993 or 2008 wait instances. In different phrases, a 1/10 at this time shouldn’t be the identical as a 1/10 in September 2012 or October 2015. At this time’s 1/10 may be nearer to a 5/10 from 5 years in the past.
Just about each single day in 2024 can be 10/10 if we used 2008 or earlier because the baseline. If you happen to final skilled Walt Disney World a number of years in the past, your baseline expectations and expertise most likely differ from somebody who visited over vacation weeks in 2022 when pent-up demand was working scorching.
Not solely that, however a ‘low’ crowd ranges doesn’t imply that in absolute phrases. Even on 1/10 days, the parks is not going to be ghost cities permitting you to do snow angels on the bottom. You will see rides with 60-90 minute posted wait instances. You will encounter areas of congestion. “Uncrowded” at Walt Disney World means one thing completely different than it does on the American Dream Mall or Wyoming in The Final of Us. The most well-liked rides, particularly in the course of the center of the day, will nonetheless have lengthy traces.
For instance, going from a ten/10 crowd degree to a 1/10 crowd degree means you may encounter a 65-75 minute common wait time for common rides–together with however not restricted to Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare, Peter Pan’s Flight, Slinky Canine Sprint, Remy’s Ratatouille Journey, Frozen Ever After, Na’vi River Journey and Avatar Flight of Passage–versus 90+ minute wait instances. These numbers are averages, so it additionally means increased peaks and decrease lows. Beneath-average crowd ranges doesn’t imply each experience is a walk-on!
We’re not making an attempt to be debbie downers. Our purpose is to offer reasonable expectations and preparation for crowds. And when you learn reviews of the parks being empty, ghost cities, or useless…properly, you may need be stunned to come across “solely” an hour wait time for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. (Sure, that’s quite a lot of ready–however that posted wait time can be inflated and nonetheless far decrease than it’d be throughout peak season.)
Level being, there are nonetheless undoubtedly large variations in crowd ranges, and you must plan accordingly. Regardless of how arduous Disney may strive, there are particular instances that journey is slower. Faculty schedules, climate, seasonal festivities, youth sporting occasions, conventions, and different elements all play an enormous position in crowd ranges at Walt Disney World.
If all of this sounds overwhelming or imprecise, the excellent news is that it’s totally potential to beat unhealthy crowds. In truth, we advocate savvy technique over selecting the “greatest” days to go to!
By using Genie+ and Lightning Lanes, Early Entry, Prolonged Night Hours, rope drop, and so on. We cowl the very best & worst strategy for every park in Greatest Time-Saving Methods for Walt Disney World. (If you happen to’re solely going to learn one planning put up, make it that!)
If you wish to learn a number of extra posts–all extra helpful than crowd calendars–make sure to additionally try our Walt Disney World Itineraries for plans of assault, with choices now with and with out Genie+ and Lightning Lanes.
Talking of which, now we have a ~4,500 phrase Information to Genie+ at Walt Disney World & Lightning Lane FAQ for individuals who need to totally grasp the brand new paid FastPass system.
Truthfully, following a great itinerary and using good technique is far more essential than selecting the “proper” dates. There are some exceptions to this, reminiscent of happening December 29, 2024 as an alternative of September 6, however by and huge, utilizing good technique will put you in a greater place than choosing the least-busy days and doing zero strategizing.
Ideally, you’d go for a better of each worlds strategy–selecting good dates in addition to using savvy technique, however that’s not all the time potential. In any case, there’s a cause most households go to Walt Disney World throughout college breaks. If you happen to don’t have any alternative however to journey throughout busier dates, you’ll be able to nonetheless beat the crowds.
With that mentioned, listed here are extra detailed options for once you ought to and shouldn’t go to Walt Disney World…
2024 Disney World Crowd Calendars
If you happen to’ve already narrowed down a season or vary of dates throughout which you need to go to Walt Disney World, we’d advocate forgoing the rest of this put up. As an alternative, check with our particular person month-to-month guides, which provide free crowd calendars and canopy climate, seasonal occasions, refurbishments, and what’s new & subsequent.
These 2024 Walt Disney World crowd calendars provide extra granular particulars for every particular month. We’d recommend studying all months for the time of 12 months you’re contemplating. For instance, when you’re pondering of a summer season trip, learn the Might by way of August month-to-month guides; when you’re contemplating Christmas, seek the advice of each November and December.
These Walt Disney World crowd calendars are most dependable about 6 months upfront. It’s nonetheless too early to make dependable predictions for subsequent summer season and past. With that mentioned, among the similar basic patterns play out 12 months out and in, so later months are helpful for broader weekly developments–relatively than particular dates to go to.
For these crowd calendars, we mix regular information like wait instances and different data that serves as a proxy for crowds with our in-person observations and anecdotal experiences. From all of this, we’ve realized to identify patterns and see issues about wait instances and attendance at Walt Disney World, which we share with you in our crowd calendars.
Word that the above crowd calendars don’t, for probably the most half, provide park by park crowd ranges. On a calendar day foundation, that’s far too granular and not potential to foretell. Nevertheless, we’d direct you to Greatest & Worst Days to Do All Parks at Walt Disney World for recommendation on selecting which day to do every park. Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and EPCOT usually comply with patterns and choosing the right (and avoiding the mistaken) days could make a giant distinction, it doesn’t matter what time of 12 months (uncrowded or crowded) that you simply go to.
Having somewhat information concerning the ebb and stream of attendance all through the day will even put together you to keep away from crowds and zig when others zag. Some parks and sights see customer numbers and features spike throughout sure elements of the day, and it’s essential to grasp the why of this, so you’ll be able to plan across the peak crowds.
This isn’t to say that there’s no option to keep away from the crowds anymore–there completely is–and crowd calendars will assist with that. The slower dates are nonetheless noticeably slower than the busier dates. All we’re saying is that crowd calendars should not some ‘magic bullet’ that you should utilize with out doing some other analysis to have an important journey, strolling onto each attraction. Over-reliance on Walt Disney World crowd calendars (together with ours!) will result in disappointment.
If you happen to’re making an attempt to find out when to go to, we advocate beginning by selecting seasonal occasions and the kind of climate that attraction most to you, after which narrowing your dates inside these broad parameters based mostly on what crowd calendars establish as the very best and first weeks to go to. Walt Disney World crowd calendars are nonetheless a great tool, however they’re not a planning panacea.
Selecting which days to go to Walt Disney World is only one facet of planning a visit. To be sure you sort out all the pieces, be sure you learn our Information to Planning a Walt Disney World Journey, which covers the entire necessities. With that mentioned, right here’s what else to contemplate…
Climate
If climate is a vital consideration, we extremely advocate heading down from in late September, October, early November, late February, March, or April. These are best from a climate perspective. That’s, assuming you need extra temperate climate, relatively than excessive warmth and humidity or extra chilly climate. If you happen to like your garments drenched in sweat from excessive temperatures, Might till late-August are the excellent instances so that you can go to.
Late summer season and early fall are the peak of hurricane and storm season, which have turn into more and more related. We extremely advocate consulting our Visiting Walt Disney World Throughout Storm Season article earlier than reserving a visit this time of 12 months. One of the best case situation is navigating the afternoon showers with out them placing an excessive amount of of a damper in your journey. Worst case, an approaching hurricane forces you to cancel your journey or be at Walt Disney World whereas the parks shut because of the storm.
If you happen to should go to between the late spring by way of early fall, simply keep in mind to pack accordingly, bringing the Frogg Toggs for the humidity…and ponchos for the rain so that you don’t spend $179 on them at Walt Disney World. Learn our Distinctive Disney World Packing Listing for some objects you won’t in any other case consider taking.
Whereas early December and January are nice instances to go to to keep away from crowds, our expertise has been that these are the worst two months when it comes to climate. Not solely does it get extraordinarily chilly (properly, comparatively talking–it’s Florida in spite of everything), however there are substantial swings in temperature. You may end up eager to put on shorts within the morning however by late afternoon it’s denims and sweatshirt climate. Because the night time rolls on, you may even end up eager to placed on a parka.
If you happen to journey throughout these seasons, anticipate to convey extra baggage and make extra stops at your room to alter clothes (or not less than plan on renting a locker to retailer extra layers of clothes every day). Chances are you’ll be fortunate and discover comparatively constant temperate climate throughout these timeframes, however it’s greatest to organize for the worst so that you simply don’t must buy a bunch of $50 sweatshirts from the Emporium on Foremost Road. These $50 sweatshirts can add up rapidly! Try our Winter Packing Suggestions for Disney put up for extra perception on what to take in your winter journey to Walt Disney World.
Park Hours
In speaking to others, we’ve discovered that that is the one space that individuals take into account the least when planning their journeys, which we predict is not less than a small mistake. It’s essential to notice up entrance that, usually, much less busy seasons have shorter park hours and busier instances have longer park hours.
It thus stands to cause that you may principally get the identical quantity finished in a shorter day throughout a much less busy time than you could possibly throughout a busier time. Nevertheless, this isn’t all the time true. If you happen to use an environment friendly touring plan (see our Itineraries for Walt Disney World), you might have a great probability of getting extra finished throughout a busier time of 12 months than throughout a slower stretch.
That is very true when you get to the park early and keep late. Typically throughout particularly busy instances, Magic Kingdom will open at 8 am and can shut at 11 pm. Whereas we’ve taken benefit of those hours with out taking a break in the course of the day, we understand a few of you’re mere mortals.
An awesome technique to make use of throughout days with working hours reminiscent of these is to get to the park shortly earlier than opening, keep till round 11 a.m., return to your resort to nap or loosen up, and return round supper time to remain till park shut. Whatever the time of 12 months, the parks will all the time be pretty gradual in the course of the first couple operational hours, and can all the time be pretty abandoned late at night time. Journey as a lot as you’ll be able to early within the day and do much less common sights because the day wears on.
Equally, park hours ought to be taken into consideration based mostly upon your sleep habits. If you happen to’re a late-to-rise night time owl, the Fall and late Winter/early Spring months could also be a nasty thought, as these entail many early closing instances. If you happen to’re not going to get to the parks till midday anyway, your day may be solely 7 hours or so.
Conversely, when you get up early and usually name it a day by 5 or 7 pm or so, these midnight closings aren’t going to do you any good. Be sure you test Disney’s park hours calendar when planning your journey. It’s essential to notice that this calendar is commonly inaccurate far upfront (Disney posts hours conservatively, then extends them as bookings improve).
Particular Occasions
It is a large one for us, as we’ve been to Walt Disney World so many instances that it’s good to go to throughout completely different instances of 12 months to maintain issues diverse. Even when it’s your first go to to Walt Disney World, in case you have explicit pursuits, you may need to take into account planning your journey round these particular occasions. The schedules for these varies, as does the worth (if any), so please seek the advice of the respective web page for every occasion when doing all of your planning and budgeting.
Halloween and Christmas occasions within the Magic Kingdom are individually ticketed, which means you’ll be able to’t use your commonplace park tickets for them. In contrast to common park tickets, you can also’t buy these tickets at a reduction from licensed distributors (which might prevent some huge cash on common tickets). Regardless of this, each occasions are a ton of enjoyable and properly price experiencing. As you’ll be able to learn in our Final Information to Christmas at Walt Disney World, it’s our favourite time to go to the parks!
We’ve written suggestions & tips for nearly each seasonal occasion at Walt Disney World, as a result of most aren’t merely a matter of “present up, have enjoyable.” We encourage you to click on these hyperlinks (they are going to open in a brand new tab) and browse the guides. Like all issues Walt Disney World-related, you’ll have a a lot better time and see extra that the occasion has to supply when you do some advance planning…
Winter
- Walt Disney World Marathon – The flagship runDisney race weekend is held in early January, often the weekend after New Yr’s. It usually happens whereas faculties are nonetheless out for winter break, successfully extending the vacation season crowds into early January.
- EPCOT Worldwide Pageant of the Arts – This is without doubt one of the highlights of January and February at Walt Disney World for us. Really captures the essence of old skool EPCOT Middle.
Spring
Summer time
- EPCOT Worldwide Meals & Wine Pageant – Starting in late summer season, that is EPCOT’s flagship culinary occasion. Wish to know what to do–and extra importantly what NOT to do? Learn our information. It’ll provide you with an thought of what’s not well worth the cash, and what’s price doing.
Fall
- 2024 Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Celebration at Magic Kingdom – Probably greater than some other particular occasion at Walt Disney World, you want to do advance planning for this. Character meet & greets can kind hour-plus lengthy waits, and there’s a lot to do that you may’t accomplish all the pieces in a single celebration. We extremely advocate studying this information!
- EPCOT Meals & Wine Pageant – Similar as above often continues by way of mid to late November.
Holidays
Faculty Schedules
If college schedules are one thing round which you need to plan, chances are high you’re going to go throughout one of many busier (or not less than not one of many least busy) instances of the 12 months. Faculty schedules are the paramount consideration for a lot of different households planning journeys, too.
It could appear handy to go to throughout one of many ‘holidays’ your youngsters have off from college, however it’s essential to contemplate whether or not different faculties have these similar dates off, as properly. Of the standard college holidays, solely Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends are good instances to go to.
As a result of most colleges have the week earlier than Christmas till the shortly after New Yr’s off, that is an particularly crowded window to go to. Likewise, the identical goes for President’s Day weekend, Easter week, Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples’ Day week, Veterans Day week, everything of the Summer time, and Thanksgiving week.
Though faculties do differ their Spring Break schedules, don’t anticipate the parks to be any much less busy due to staggered Spring Breaks. Mid-March till mid-April are additionally extremely busy dates for the parks due to Spring Breaks, with the 2 weeks abutting Easter being absolutely the worst (since most colleges nonetheless use Easter as a proxy for Spring Break).
Some individuals don’t have many different choices, so it’s going throughout a faculty break or nothing. In that case, it’s not the top of the world. As we’ve confused above, crowd calendars should not as essential as they was once. Merely pack your persistence and have a great touring plan (which is much extra essential than selecting dates based mostly upon a crowd calendar, anyway). For assist with this, check with our Free Walt Disney World Park Itineraries & Touring Plans. We’ve got the proper technique for enjoyable, environment friendly, and memorable days within the parks!
If you happen to don’t have youngsters or aren’t in any other case pressured to journey round holidays or conventional trip intervals, we’d extremely advocate avoiding them. Not as a result of now we have something in opposition to youngsters, however as a result of crowds and costs will likely be increased throughout these breaks. Plan round them and save each money and time! As we frequently say, pack your persistence and arm your self with savvy technique when you’re visiting Walt Disney World and also you’ll just do high-quality, no matter crowds.
If you’re uncertain of when visiting Walt Disney World may be greatest for you–or want customized assist with any facet of your journey from inns to the Disney Eating Plan and extra–we advocate contacting a no price “Approved Disney Trip Planner” (principally, Disney’s time period for a journey agent) to get a quote and that will help you plan. They get their fee from Disney, so not one of the licensed (key phrase) planners will cost you for reserving their journey and serving to. Right here’s one such Approved Disney Trip Planner that we advocate!
Hopefully this can be a priceless primer that will help you select once you need to go to Walt Disney World. Determining when to go to is a vital first step, however there’s far more to know. You’ll additionally need to learn our Suggestions for Saving Cash on Walt Disney World Tickets put up to purchase the most cost effective tickets from reputable sources. To determine the place to remain, our Walt Disney World Lodge Opinions web page is a good useful resource. Wish to know the place to eat or if the Disney Eating Plan is best for you? Our Walt Disney World Eating Sources will assist! For plenty of different Walt Disney World journey planning suggestions and complete recommendation, be sure that to learn our Walt Disney World Journey Planning Information.
Your Ideas
Visiting Walt Disney World throughout the very best dates to keep away from crowds might be some of the essential points of journey planning. What season, month, or week do you typically go to WDW? Do you go to at instances when you realize crowds will likely be mild, or do you go to when college is out of session? Do you agree or disagree with our recommendation? Any questions we might help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even once you disagree with us–is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!
