One of many busiest weeks of 2025 will quickly arrive at Walt Disney World, to the shock of many friends who anticipate winter to be low season because of colder climate in Florida and faculties being in session. This covers dates to keep away from, why it’ll be so busy, and what to do to beat the lengthy strains and crowds in the event you’re already planning a go to throughout this timeframe.
Earlier than we even get going, the unhealthy information is that anybody anticipating low attendance ranges from mid-January by means of mid-March will likely be sorely disenchanted. That is exactly what prompted us to write down Winter (Nonetheless) Is Not Off-Season at Walt Disney World final yr. After nearly a full yr of declining wait occasions (versus the identical months within the prior yr), January by means of March 2024 noticed wait occasions enhance.
That’s nothing new. Aside from anomalies in the course of the COVID period, winter crowds have grown since ~2017. Suffice to say, winter is now not the low season at Walt Disney World and hasn’t been for some time. There are a selection of causes for that, however it’s the brand new regular for this time of yr. With that mentioned, in case your body of reference on crowds is the winters of the final ~2 years as a substitute of a decade in the past, you would possibly really be pleasantly stunned…
There have been some sluggish days to this point in January 2025. Within the span of two weeks after New 12 months’s Eve, wait occasions had been greater than minimize in half. The height week of the vacation season noticed common wait occasions of fifty minutes (as soon as once more the busiest week of your complete yr), and the next week dropped to 33 minutes. Weekly averages have been in that ballpark since.
Needless to say these are weekly numbers, taking into consideration busier and less-busy days. The height day of the vacation season had a 65 minute common, whereas the low level of January 2025 to this point has had a 24 minute common. And all of those averages embody all of Walt Disney World, which means a bunch of perpetual no-wait rides and way more standard headliners.
The primary week of January 2025 was extremely busy. That timeframe has been getting busier and busier because of Osceola and Orange County faculties being out of session and a rising variety of locals. It’s additionally nonetheless technically the vacation season, so locals who had been blocked out within the two weeks prior return to get pleasure from one final little bit of Christmas.
Wait occasions since have been far and wide. The WDW Marathon Weekend didn’t actually transfer the needle, which is changing into more and more typical of runDisney races. Then again, there was a spike for MLK Day Weekend, which can be unsurprising. And wait occasions are as soon as once more heating up heading into the tip of January 2025, with 8/10 crowds over the weekend.
With that mentioned, this isn’t a typical backward-looking crowd report. Reasonably, we need to deliver your consideration to an upcoming week that will likely be actually busy–with an outdoor likelihood at being within the high 5 worst weeks of your complete yr, and nearly actually within the high 10. Absent a giant shock, it will likely be probably the most crowded window of the primary quarter of 2025.
That ‘worst week’ timeframe to keep away from is roughly February 14-23, 2025.
Nevertheless, not all dates inside that window will likely be equally crowded. Furthermore, excessive crowds might arrive barely earlier and go away later…or contract a tad. That is nothing new, as that timeframe is when many college districts supply a protracted weekend or full week off, for what’s extensively referred to as Mid-Winter Break (or “Ski Week” in some areas of the West Coast). A number of main districts within the Northeast and higher Midwest additionally supply this whole week off. Loads of others have a protracted weekend break.
As a basic matter, the heaviest crowds are more likely to be February 17-19, 2025. That’s Presidents’ Day by means of the Wednesday following. Larger wildcards are the lengthy weekend itself, which this yr contains Valentine’s Day on Friday, February 14, 2025. That’s not usually a crimson flag for crowds, however being a part of a vacation weekend might make it one.
For reference, final yr heavy crowds began on February 15 and continued till February 26.
The times earlier than that had been nonetheless reasonably busy, whereas after had low crowd ranges. Peak crowd ranges had been February 16-17 and February 19-21, all of which had 9/10 or 10/10 crowd ranges.
If adjusted for 2025 days of the weeks, that will imply February 13-24, 2025 can be the dates to keep away from. And it’s doable that’ll be the case on the backend, however most likely not the frontend of the vacation.
The explanation crowds keep elevated into the weekend following Presidents’ Day is the Princess Half Marathon Weekend, which runs February 20-24, 2025. In terms of runDisney occasions, most runners will present up early slightly than staying late.
These races have much less of an impression on wait occasions than they used to, as evidenced by the 2025 Walt Disney World Marathon barely being a blip on the radar. Crowd ranges had been reasonable within the lead-up to the primary occasion, then 1/10 on that Sunday and persevering with to be low the next week. So we’re not inclined to incorporate February 24, 2025 as a part of the dates to keep away from. Even February 23 is likely to be stretching it.
That is doubly true given the ESPN Broad World of Sports activities Calendar. There are a bunch of cheer and dance competitions dotting the calendar from late January by means of early March, and these can have an effect on crowds–particularly looks like ones. However they’re normally not sufficient to trigger heavy crowds on their very own. Nevertheless, the sporting occasions could make already busy timeframes even worse.
That’s precisely the state of affairs round Presidents’ Day. There are two main youth occasions in the course of the aforementioned timeline–the 2025 USA Competitions Presidential Basic and Disney Presidents Day Soccer Event–however they’re February 14-17 and February 15-17, respectively.
If something, these main youth sporting occasions can be cause to foretell larger crowds on the entrance finish. Perhaps that can happen to some extent, however in relation to this lengthy weekend, extra college districts are more likely to have time without work within the days that observe.
The excellent news, in the event you’re searching for a silver lining, is that Mardi Gras isn’t till March 4, 2025.
In a number of current years, the 2 have coincided (or near it), leading to an inflow of holiday makers from Louisiana and different areas of the South. With there being an over two week hole between the 2 holidays, there received’t be any spillover from one to the opposite.
When the 2 holidays coincide, the mixed vacation week is regularly one of many worst 5 of your complete yr. Once they don’t, it’s normally “solely” high 10. Mardi Gras alone does make for elevated crowds, however not almost on par with Presidents’ Day–it’s extra an accelerant to already busy days.
In terms of crowds all through winter, it’s price mentioning the impression of pricing and reductions.
Winter is usually the Most cost-effective Time of 12 months to Go to Walt Disney World, with rack charges which can be decrease on common than even August and September. For that reason, we regularly discipline issues from followers this time of yr who’re planning journeys and see that resort stock is extraordinarily restricted (see Why Are Walt Disney World Resorts Bought Out?).
Disney lastly wised as much as this, and provided low share financial savings for a lot of winter journey dates in 2025. Even so, there are a ton of dates with restricted resort availability earlier than Spring Break, and fewer throughout these peak weeks. There are a number of causes for that, however it largely comes right down to pricing. The same dynamic happens throughout non-peak dates in November and December versus peak ones. The latter nonetheless ended up being significantly busier within the parks.
As we’ve mentioned earlier than, bought out lodges aren’t conclusive of crowds. There’s solely a lot resort stock on-site at Walt Disney World and most park guests come from off-site (not solely that, however DVC resorts are designed to run close to full capability, so these being booked up has zero bearing on crowds).
Whether or not cheaper costs on WDW resorts induce extra Florida holidays or just shift the stays between off-site and on-site lodges is debatable. It most likely does transfer the needle a bit, however on-site resort stock doesn’t have as vital of an impact on crowds as many followers consider. Occupancy at non-Disney resorts and visitation patterns of locals is what’s extra consequential.
The larger issue is the 2025 Florida Resident Ticket Deal for Walt Disney World. This deal doesn’t have blockout dates however does require reservations, which act as a theoretical restrict on utilization–however not a lot genuinely. Suffice to say, that ticket deal can even have an effect–particularly in the course of the last week of the 2025 EPCOT Competition of the Arts, which is standard with locals.
For those who’re at the moment freaking out since you picked February 14 to February 23, 2025 (or dates inside that window) to go to Walt Disney World: don’t.
Positive, these dates will likely be busy. However it’s additionally a wonderful time of yr within the park with snug climate–actually higher than what you’ll have at dwelling in the event you’re from the Northeast or Midwest. It’s additionally a qualitatively higher time of yr than mid-August by means of September.
Frankly, if I had to decide on between low season dates in these months or a busier go to in winter, I’m choosing the latter each single time. That’s most likely a giant cause why winter has worsened, whereas the summer season and early fall have gotten much less busy.
On high of that, following a superb itinerary and using good technique is simply as vital (if not moreso) than selecting the “proper” dates. Even selecting dates that ought to be good may be undermined by stunning crowds, disruptive climate, and many others.
It’s completely doable to beat excessive wait occasions by using Lightning Lanes, Early Entry, Prolonged Night Hours, rope drop, and many others. We cowl one of the best & worst method for every park in Finest Time-Saving Methods for Walt Disney World. For those who’re solely going to learn one planning publish, make it that. There are nice methods to perform lots–even on busy days–with out shopping for Lightning Lanes.
By arriving early or staying late, you possibly can beat the worst of the noon crowds. The one factor you actually can’t fully beat is “looks like” crowds, particularly in World Showcase at EPCOT and for Fortunately Ever After in Magic Kingdom. However even then, there are methods to reduce the worst of the congestion–be sure you additionally take a look at our Walt Disney World Itineraries for plans of assault.
Talking of which, we’ve a ~4,500 phrase Information to Lightning Lanes at Walt Disney World for individuals who need to completely grasp paid FastPass. Weeks like this, it’s undoubtedly a superb possibility for Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and EPCOT.
In the end, we’ve been warning for over a yr that February 14 to 23, 2025 will likely be unhealthy at Walt Disney World in our Finest & Worst Weeks to Go to Walt Disney World in 2025 & 2026 (see that checklist for optimum occasions to go to throughout this winter or subsequent if in case you have flexibility). Though this understandably catches trip planners abruptly, this isn’t a daring prediction–it’s one backed by not less than a decade of precedent.
The open query is simply how unhealthy it’ll find yourself being. Valentine’s Day being the Friday beforehand, together with two youth sporting occasions that weekend and a runDisney occasion the next weekend might exacerbate crowds. Similar goes with discounted tickets and no significant limits on reservations. Then again, all of this isn’t completely unprecedented.
Not solely that, however the larger issue is the timing of Mardi Gras two weeks later, lack of main cheer & dance occasions both of these weekends, and runDisney races having much less of an impression on wait occasions. Moreover, year-over-year wait occasions typically haven’t been as unhealthy within the final ~6 months because of the DAS overhaul and swap from Genie+ to Lightning Lane Multi-Move. On high of all that, the nearer Epic Universe’s opening date will get, the extra probably households are to postpone visits to Central Florida till that. This isn’t to say that Mid-Winter Break/Presidents’ Day/Ski Week/and many others. received’t be busy–it completely will–however perhaps it received’t be fairly as unhealthy as final yr or the yr earlier than.
Planning a Walt Disney World journey? Find out about lodges on our Walt Disney World Inns Opinions web page. For the place to eat, learn our Walt Disney World Restaurant Opinions. To save cash on tickets or decide which kind to purchase, learn our Ideas for Saving Cash on Walt Disney World Tickets publish. Our What to Pack for Disney Journeys publish takes a singular take a look at intelligent gadgets to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Journey Guides will assist. For complete recommendation, one of the best place to begin is our Walt Disney World Journey Planning Information for all the things you want to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Have you ever visited Walt Disney World throughout Mid-Winter Break/Presidents’ Day/Ski Week/Sporting Occasions/and many others. up to now? What did you consider the crowds? Any parks, occasions of day, or days of the week noticeably worse than the others? What’s your expectation for February 14-23, 2025? For those who’ve visited within the weeks earlier than/after in earlier years, did you discover a giant distinction in crowd ranges as soon as the ‘peak week’ obtained underway? Do you agree or disagree with our predictions? Any questions we may also help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even once you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas under within the feedback!
