Mardi Gras plus scattered winter faculty breaks and stray holidays means heavy crowds throughout what’s in any other case winter “low season” at Walt Disney World. This stretch of February might be busy, with greater wait occasions, attendance, and congestion in Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios. (Up to date February 5, 2024.)
Let’s begin with the excellent news. Mardi Gras 2024 gained’t be something like final yr. As we harassed repeatedly months beforehand, that week was a “pink flag” on our Walt Disney World Crowd Calendars. We predicted it might be the busiest week of the primary quarter of the yr, and one of many worst 10 weeks of all the yr at Walt Disney World.
That was on account of a confluence of circumstances leading to a number of holidays all roughly coinciding with each other, plus a runDisney race and youth sporting occasions at ESPN Broad World of Sports activities. Consequently, crowds began swelling a few days prematurely of the Presidents’ Day (and so forth.) lengthy weekend and crowds getting actually heavy throughout Mardi Gras week. On our extremely scientific scale of LSU and Saints shirts noticed within the parks, principally all the state of Louisiana visited Walt Disney World that week.
Being a local Midwesterner, my information of Mardi Gras is minimal. It wasn’t even on my radar till ~6 years in the past once we moved to Florida and began seeing a number of LSU and Saints shirts within the parks throughout a really busy week. (Significantly, that actually was what did it.) That led me to do a little analysis about faculty breaks, which confirmed suspicions. Since then, we’ve noticed this development proceed to play out on an annual foundation, with wait occasions additionally growing alongside the Saints and LSU gear (no such love for the Pelicans).
For these desirous to plan forward, listed below are future Mardi Gras dates:
- February 13, 2024
- March 4, 2025
- February 17, 2026
- February 9, 2027
- February 29, 2028
- February 13, 2029
- March 5, 2030
Right here’s the premise for these dates. That very same website additionally presents a ‘easy’ components for figuring it out your self: “Ash Wednesday is at all times 46 days earlier than Easter, and Fats Tuesday is at all times the day earlier than Ash Wednesday. Easter can fall on any Sunday from March 23 to April 25, with the precise date to coincide with the primary Sunday after the complete moon following a spring equinox. There you’ve gotten it. Voila! If you happen to’re nonetheless confused, get out a calendar that has the vacations printed on it. Fats Tuesday is at all times the day earlier than Ash Wednesday!”
If in any respect attainable, we’d advocate avoiding at the very least the lengthy weekend (Thursday to Tuesday) of Mardi Gras. Staying away for that whole week-plus is the most effective follow, however crowds do normally lower heading into the weekend (assuming one other vacation week doesn’t happen after Mardi Gras–in 2024, one does).
Mardi Gras crowds at Walt Disney World are significantly unhealthy when the vacation coincides with Presidents’ Day. When that occurs, it’s not simply Louisiana and a handful of different faculty districts in coastal counties in Mississippi and Alabama. Exponentially extra faculty districts have Mid-Winter Break or “Ski Week” that coincides with Presidents’ Day–the important thing distinction is that they’re not as geographically near Walt Disney world as are the Mardi Gras districts.
In any case, the excellent news is that Mardi Gras and Presidents’ Day don’t fall in the identical week in 2024 or for the following few years. That is excellent news, at the very least for individuals who have a Mardi Gras break and plan to go to Walt Disney World, because it means the crowds might be diluted over the course of two-plus weeks as an alternative of consolidated right into a single week.
It’s unhealthy information, I suppose, for individuals who simply occur to be visiting Walt Disney World in mid-February 2024 as a result of it looks as if a stunning time to go to and crowds weren’t significantly unhealthy final yr. Those self same dates might be worse this yr. (Mardi Gras additionally overlaps with Lunar New Yr and Valentine’s Day this yr, however other than perhaps ADRs at standard eating places for the latter, these holidays aren’t sturdy attendance indicators for Walt Disney World. It’s Mardi Gras that’ll be the reason for crowds that week.)
We’re drawing your consideration to the week of Mardi Gras as a result of the group spike occurs each single yr and there’s a lesson to be realized. Not solely that, however followers are caught off-guard by the rise in attendance and wait occasions. In spite of everything, lots of you exterior Louisiana and people coastal counties in neighboring states might don’t have any clue Mardi Gras is “a factor” at Walt Disney World that will increase crowd ranges.
It’s comprehensible that the spike in crowds continues to shock Walt Disney World followers yr after yr. There are most likely a number of components at play right here. First, reviews of decrease crowd ranges for the month or so beforehand lulls individuals right into a false sense of safety and optimism that low season tendencies will proceed. If you happen to’re seeing low-to-moderate wait occasions one week, you most likely don’t anticipate these to spike sharply in a single day. However they typically do.
Second, whereas most individuals are typically conscious of the aforementioned February holidays, not many individuals have them off work. Mardi Gras just isn’t precisely like Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Yr’s Eve. The diploma to which a few states or a area having a faculty break can affect Walt Disney World crowd ranges is definitely fairly important.
If you happen to reside within the Midwest, you is probably not conscious that Mardi Gras is a “massive deal” and standard journey interval for the Southeast. If you happen to don’t reside in these places, it’s an comprehensible blind spot. The identical factor occurs with Jersey Week, which impacts crowd ranges at Walt Disney World. It’s not like these are federal holidays, and it’s additionally straightforward to underestimate how a lot a single state can transfer the needle.
However you recognize what they are saying? “Idiot me as soon as, strike one. However idiot me twice… strike three.” ~Michael Scott
As for the way unhealthy crowds might be through the week of Mardi Gras, actually, it’s nearly unimaginable to foretell. Final yr, the break coincided with Presidents’ Day and, by extension, Mid-Winter Break and Ski Week. It’s at all times worse when that occurs. Sadly, it’s tough to separate these visiting from Mardi Gras faculty districts and people coming from Mid-Winter Break ones. Though there are a number of LSU and Saints shirts, that scale really isn’t fairly scientific. Surprising, I do know.
In fact, there have been loads of earlier years when Mardi Gras and Presidents’ Day didn’t coincide. The newest of these was 2022, however the issue with attempting to extrapolate something from that was that it occurred throughout when park reservations have been being utilized to a extra significant diploma but additionally through the begin of pent-up demand in earnest. In consequence, the parks ran out of reservations for many dates throughout that two-week timeframe.
For no matter it’s value (not a lot, in my view–however I’m nonetheless going to share it), Mid-Winter Break crowds began rising that yr the Thursday earlier than Presidents’ Day and peaked on the next Wednesday (2/23/2022) with a ten+/10 crowd stage. Wait occasions have been far above the traditional vary for 10/10 crowds–it was the busiest day of 2022 up till Thanksgiving, far worse than any day round Spring Break or Easter.
Your entire lengthy weekend was busy, a lot worse than any day throughout Mardi Gras (or the stretch as a complete). Wait occasions began dropped a bit Thursday by means of Sunday, and spiked on the Monday earlier than Mardi Gras. Crowd ranges slowly trended downward the remainder of that week–from 9/10 to 7/10.
I wouldn’t be inclined to attract any conclusions from that, other than the large image one which Mardi Gras 2024 gained’t be as busy because the week round Presidents’ Day. That’s a fairly secure one, in line with what we’ve seen previously after they’re separate weeks. It’s additionally pretty affordable to conclude that Mardi Gras crowd ranges might be greater than late January and early February, and even these have been elevated as in comparison with the historic norm.
So 8/10 to 9/10 crowds for Mardi Gras 2024 is completely inside the realm of risk. I’d guess in opposition to a number of days of 10/10 crowd ranges for the whole thing of Walt Disney World, however particular parks hitting that wouldn’t be an enormous shock. A giant a part of that relies on Genie+ pricing. If the service is priced “too low” (relative to crowd ranges), there’s the potential of it promoting out (or at the very least promoting very nicely); that in flip might trigger greater standby wait occasions, and that’s what crowd ranges measure, anyway.
However all of that’s largely tutorial. For actual individuals really visiting Walt Disney World through the week of Mardi Gras, the parks will really feel very busy. Placing a selected quantity on that’s arguably counterproductive–8/10 to 9/10 might undersell the ‘appears like’ crowds and congestion that you’ll understand.
If you happen to’re a Midwesterner (or anybody for that matter–however a particular shoutout to my fellow Michiganders!) who’s at the moment freaking out since you unintentionally picked the week of Mardi Gras to go to Walt Disney World as a result of those self same dates have been good final yr: don’t. Positive, the week of Mardi Gras might be busy. But it surely’s additionally a wonderful time of yr within the park with comfy climate (definitely higher than what you’ll have at residence!)
On high of that, following a great itinerary and using good technique is extra necessary than selecting the “proper” dates. And as we’ve seen on many events previously, even those that select dates that ought to be good have had that undermined by shocking crowds, disruptive climate, and so forth.
To that finish, it’s fully attainable to beat unhealthy crowds by using Genie+ and Lightning Lanes, Early Entry, Prolonged Night Hours, rope drop, and so forth. We cowl the most effective & worst strategy for every park in Finest Time-Saving Methods for Walt Disney World. If you happen to’re solely going to learn one planning put up, make it that. There are nice methods to beat the crowds–even on busy days–with out shopping for Genie+ or Particular person Lightning Lanes.
By merely arriving early or staying late, you may beat the worst of the noon crowds. (In fact, that’s “easy” in principle however harder in follow, particularly you probably have babies. That’s a giant cause why wait occasions are decrease very first thing within the morning and later within the evenings.) Make sure you additionally take a look at our Walt Disney World Itineraries for plans of assault, together with choices with and with out Genie+ and Lightning Lanes.
In case you have a wholesome trip funds and are interested by a splurge, there’s additionally an After Hours at Magic Kingdom on February 12, 2024. Whereas I’m not inclined to strongly advocate that as a result of massive worth improve this yr, it’s a quasi-VIP expertise and weeks like this are when it completely is sensible and could be a “value it” buy.
To that time, we now have a ~4,500 phrase Information to Genie+ at Walt Disney World & Lightning Lane FAQ for individuals who wish to totally grasp paid FastPass. Weeks like this, it’s undoubtedly a great possibility for Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and EPCOT. (Advance reserving of Lightning Lanes will not launch earlier than Mardi Gras…and possibly not previous to Spring Break, at this level.)
Finally, we’ve been warning for some time that Mardi Gras might be unhealthy at Walt Disney World. Though this understandably catches trip planners without warning, excessive crowds for Mardi Gras just isn’t a daring prediction–it’s one backed by at the very least a decade of precedent and wait occasions information.
The open query is simply how unhealthy it’ll find yourself being in 2024. That is the primary “regular” yr shortly when Mardi Gras gained’t coincide with Presidents’ Day, and there’s an honest vary of potentialities for crowd ranges–however all of them are above-average to heavy. There’s additionally the truth that Walt Disney World has not blocked out reductions for these dates, which implies there are resort reductions for vacationers and resident ticket offers for Floridians (and people embrace weekends this yr).
For individuals who are eager about a go to to Walt Disney World this winter that’s exterior the second half of February 2024, we’d advocate consulting our February 2024 Crowd Calendar and March 2024 Crowd Calendar for particular greatest and worst dates. Particularly, keep away from Osceola and Orange County Okay-12 Spring Breaks. The excellent news is that, because of Easter occurring earlier, issues will begin wanting higher sooner than regular this spring.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Have you ever visited Walt Disney World throughout Mardi Gras or the opposite February holidays? Was it a yr that coincided with Presidents’ Day/Mid-Winter Break? What did you consider the crowds? Any parks, occasions of day, or days of the week noticeably worse than the others? Did you discover a big distinction between posted and precise wait occasions? If you happen to visited within the weeks earlier than/after Mardi Gras, did you discover a giant distinction in crowd ranges? Visited for previous Mardi Gras weeks? Do you agree or disagree with something in our crowd report? Any questions we may help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even whenever you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!
