In search of the very best and worst days of the week to go to every park at Walt Disney World? This technique information covers Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom, providing data about when the wait instances are lowest and highest, plus commentary about weekdays vs. weekends, particular occasions, and extra. (Up to date February 13, 2024.)
In the case of selecting the very best and worst instances to go to Walt Disney World, there’s loads to think about. In case you’re singularly targeted on avoiding lengthy traces, we advocate consulting our 2024 Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar to decide on journey dates. That will get up to date pretty commonly, with every particular person month receiving a refresh proper earlier than it begins for optimum accuracy.
In case you’re extra involved with the standard of the general expertise, we even have one thing extra holistic and, frankly, sensible: our record of the 10 Greatest and 10 Worst Weeks to Go to Walt Disney World in 2024 & 2025. When you slender down the week you wish to go to Walt Disney World, it’s time to start out fascinated with which days of the week to do every park. That’s the place this submit and its updates come into play…
For a lot of the final three years, standard day of the week recommendation for Walt Disney World was irrelevant or flat out unsuitable. Capability constraints and park reservations have been large components. Although the Park Cross system is not wanted to restrict attendance, it’s nonetheless getting used to redistribute crowds and normalize numbers among the many parks. All of this has upended our regular suggestions.
Fortunately, attendance and crowd dynamics have began to normalize. With park reservations going away for a lot of visitors in January 2024 and good-to-go dates for Annual Passholders and Solid Members, we do anticipate extra modifications–however not main ones–within the first half of 2024. Consequently, typical weekly attendance and crowds patterns among the many parks have additionally began to normalize.
Accordingly, right here’s our new recommendation for finest days of the week at Walt Disney World in 2024…
Wonky Weekends at Walt Disney World?!
Earlier than we get to the park-by-park suggestions, we wish to begin with an fascinating development that emerged round one 12 months in the past, which we dubbed Wonky Weekends at Walt Disney World, for lack of a greater time period. In a nutshell, weekends have been the slowest days of the week at Walt Disney World!
Final 12 months, the typical wait time throughout all of Walt Disney World was 44 minutes on Monday, which has been the busiest day of the week. In contrast, Saturday had a median wait time of 39 minutes and Sunday was 38 minutes. Which may not appear to be an enormous distinction, however over all the day at each attraction, it provides up.
That is all previous tense for a purpose. To this point in 2024, this development has largely vanished. Sunday continues to be one of many higher days of the week to go to, however Saturday has grow to be far worse. Admittedly, there isn’t a ton of consistency to this. Some weeks, Saturday is true on par with Monday; different weeks, it’s worse; others nonetheless, it’s much better.
The explanations for this are multifaceted, from climate to lengthy weekends to locals upgrading APs to conventions and youth occasions. Different components haven’t modified, although. (For a radical rationalization, see Why Are Weekends So Sluggish at Walt Disney World?).
The largest change is the 2024 Florida Resident Walt Disney World Ticket Deal. For the final a number of years, this has been weekday-only and had blockout dates. This 12 months, it’s legitimate on weekends and has no blockout dates. That’s a enormous distinction and, unsurprisingly, quite a lot of Floridians who’ve regular Monday by way of Friday, 9 to five jobs beforehand didn’t purchase the resident tickets. Now they’re, and are utilizing them disproportionately on weekends.
Consequently, that one variable is alone transferring the needle on Saturday and (to a lesser extent) Sunday crowd ranges at Walt Disney World. The explanation we aren’t eradicating this part solely is as a result of the present Florida resident ticket deal ends on March 11, 2024. After that, we’re anticipating weekends to decelerate a bit; a lot of the different variables that pushed individuals away from weekends final 12 months will nonetheless exist.
With that mentioned, we do anticipate weekends to be busier all through 2024 some extent. And when the summer season ticket deal inevitably consists of weekends, you possibly can anticipate Saturday to return to being one of many worst days to go to and Sunday climbing up the ranks. For reference, final 12 months’s summer season deal was legitimate for Could 16 by way of September 29–we’d anticipate related dates for 2024.
Principally, should you’re visiting between now and March 11, you possibly can anticipate worse weekends (particularly Saturday). In case you’re visiting throughout Spring Break season, weekends shouldn’t be as unhealthy. Throughout shoulder and summer season season, weekends will most definitely return to being busier–however that’s dependent upon the dates and particulars of the subsequent ticket deal. We’ll proceed monitoring this development and can present a extra thorough replace earlier than the beginning of summer season. For now, we needed to offer this replace so you possibly can alter your plans accordingly.
Now, right here’s our common day of week recommendation, beginning with DHS…
Hollywood Studios
After we advocate doing Disney’s Hollywood Studios relies on whether or not weekends return to being wonky. For the previous a number of years, the very best days to do DHS has been, by far, Saturdays or Sundays. That has began to vary as of Winter 2024, and actually, there’s not but a ton of consistency.
At present, Sunday continues to be normally day to do DHS. Breaking it down even additional, Sunday nights are the very best time to go to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. In case you’re arriving late (after 4 pm), you possibly can accomplish a shocking quantity in that half-day at DHS. Frankly, it’s tough to clarify the ‘why’ of that at this level. One risk is that locals nonetheless do Disney’s Hollywood Studios on Sunday, however achieve this in the course of the center of the day and depart early.
This causes a giant spike in noon wait instances, leading to each these visitors and others bouncing early…and shorter wait instances within the afternoon and night. It’s additionally doable that locals are much less inclined to do rides, particularly ones with larger wait instances.
DHS is a foul possibility on Mondays and Tuesdays. It is because it’s normally the #2 precedence park (after Magic Kingdom) for many visitors, so visitors find yourself doing Disney’s Hollywood Studios earlier of their journey…which normally means Mondays or Tuesdays.
In case you don’t do DHS over a weekend, Wednesday or Thursday are the very best choices. If neither of these days work, Friday is normally an okay possibility. Principally, crowd ranges begin out sturdy to start the week and drop progressively beginning on Wednesday.
Epcot
Epcot is the worst choose on weekends as a result of it’s the largest “native’s park” at Walt Disney World, and Epcot is extra standard with Floridians than vacationers. Though the hole has closed slightly with the debuts of Remy’s Ratatouille Journey and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, it’s nonetheless true.
That is an instance of the place analyzing wait time knowledge would get you into bother, as you’ll (incorrectly) conclude that it doesn’t actually matter which day you do Epcot. That couldn’t be farther from the reality, and there’s arguably no park the place choosing the proper day of the week is extra essential from a qualitative perspective, however not a quantitative one.
Wait instances don’t inform the complete story–and even the primary one–on the subject of Epcot on weekends. Since locals are much less prone to do rides, they add to ‘looks like’ crowds and congestion with out making attraction wait instances noticeably worse. That is nonetheless a adverse, as traces for meals cubicles are longer and World Showcase is usually much less nice on the weekends.
You’re additionally extra prone to encounter teams Ingesting Across the World on Saturday and Sunday. For these of you who wish to relive your glory days by attending an open air frat celebration, this would possibly sound interesting. Nonetheless, these days are lengthy behind us, and we suspect many households don’t need their youngsters in that setting.
We’re not kidding. Weekends are prime time for faculty college students with disposable incomes to descend upon Epcot’s festivals to get sloshed. (It’s noticeably worse when UCF doesn’t have a house soccer sport.) Likewise, locals prove to drink, generally to extra. Now, we’re removed from teetotalers, however this generally could be a tad an excessive amount of for a family-friendly theme park. Even when it doesn’t cross the road (and it very properly might not for you), World Showcase is considerably extra crowded and congested on Friday nights, Saturdays, and Sundays.
Once more, that is is basically a qualitative evaluation, and never a quantitative one. Wait instances should not considerably worse at Epcot on weekends. Since a lot of the aforementioned viewers is visiting to drink, they’ve minimal affect on the wait instances for rides. (Strains for meals cubicles are a completely completely different story!)
As such, you would possibly have the ability to “beat” the weekend crowds at Epcot just by arriving early, doing World Showcase first, after which doubling-back into Future World (or no matter they’re calling these “neighborhoods” now) within the early afternoon. That’s a savvy technique, and one we advocate in our Epcot 1-Day Itinerary.
With that mentioned, our precise recommendation is visiting Epcot on a weekday. Mondays by way of Wednesdays are all equally good. We’ve seen a slight uptick in crowds on Thursdays, and a extra important one on Fridays. Nonetheless, not almost as unhealthy as Saturday or Sunday.
Although the affect on wait instances isn’t horrible, Epcot is the one park we attempt to keep away from on Saturday and Sunday if in any respect doable. I’d a lot fairly cope with the crowds and longer waits on Saturday in Magic Kingdom than these in Epcot. To every their very own, however it’s simply not our scene.
Animal Kingdom
As a basic matter, Animal Kingdom is the park that requires the least technique and is the best place to beat the crowds in all of Walt Disney World. It doesn’t require Genie+ or Particular person Lightning Lanes, and is fairly straightforward to knock out the whole lot–after which some–should you keep for a full day.
Objectively, the very best days to go to Animal Kingdom are weekdays. Throughout the board, common each day wait instances are decrease Monday by way of Friday than they’re Saturday or Sunday. Nonetheless, that comes with a fairly enormous asterisk or caveat.
Weekend wait instances are solely “worse” at Animal Kingdom as a result of center of the day. In case you’re staying on-site and benefiting from Early Entry (and even going within the first couple hours the park is open), it’s fairly straightforward to beat the crowds.
Furthermore, there’s a fairly steep fall off in wait instances over the past couple hours Animal Kingdom is open. This one does differ by season (in the course of the holidays, it’s much less prone to be true) however is correct to some extent all through all the 12 months.
That makes Animal Kingdom trickier than different parks at Walt Disney World when it comes to our suggestion. Statistically, it’s a “unhealthy” park to do on Saturday or Sunday. Personally, we don’t hesitate to go to it on both of these days as a result of it’s really easy to outsmart the crowds–simply arrive early and/or keep late, and do reveals or animal displays noon when crowds peak.
In case you’re capable of observe that recommendation, Animal Kingdom is a strong Saturday or Sunday alternative. That early opening time coupled with a late closing time—and a restricted slate of sights—makes Animal Kingdom straightforward to knock out.
Even on crowded days, the technique for Animal Kingdom is comparatively easy, as coated in our 1-Day Animal Kingdom Itinerary. Simply ensure to not battle the noon crowds or attempt to swim upstream and you have to be tremendous! (Actually, the very best observe is to decide on your days for Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Epcot first. No matter is left over could be “assigned” to Animal Kingdom. Don’t fear an excessive amount of about this park.)
Magic Kingdom
Traditionally, the worst days of the week at Magic Kingdom are Saturday, Monday and Tuesday.
Exterior of Social gathering Season, Magic Kingdom is a superb choose Wednesday by way of Thursday. The most effective day of the week in Magic Kingdom from an goal perspective is Wednesday. That is true even following the debut of Prolonged Night Hours in Magic Kingdom, which haven’t noticeably moved the needle on daytime crowds.
Locals have a tendency to go to on weekends, with Saturday being extra probably than Fridays or Sundays. All three days see elevated attendance amongst Floridians. Then there are Southerners who take lengthy weekend journeys, impacting all three days (however once more, Saturday disproportionately). Nonetheless, these demos are all smaller than vacationers, so none of them are actually horrible.
Lastly, vacationers most ceaselessly begin their journeys on the weekend, and Monday is the commonest first day within the parks for them. In disproportionate numbers, out-of-state vacation-goers do the most well-liked or their favourite park first, and that’s normally Magic Kingdom.
On account of its rising reputation with Star Wars and Toy Story followers, Disney’s Hollywood Studios is more and more turning into a #1 or #2 alternative for a lot of visitors, which suggests Magic Kingdom has fallen to #2 for some guests. Consequently, it may possibly nonetheless see elevated crowds on Tuesdays, when these vacationers are doing their #2 park. (For the very same purpose, Disney’s Hollywood Studios can also be seeing larger crowds on Tuesdays because it’s grow to be a #2 park for many individuals.)
This leaves Wednesday and Thursday because the least busy days of the week at Magic Kingdom. Sunday has additionally emerged as a surprisingly uncrowded day at Magic Kingdom. We’re hesitant to advocate visiting on Sunday as a result of historic wait time knowledge suggests this may change, however it has definitely been possibility recently.
Magic Kingdom could be tougher when it’s busy, however it’s nonetheless doable to have a satisfying and productive day within the park. We’d advocate shopping for Genie+ in Magic Kingdom, or a minimum of utilizing Early Entry. Observe our 1-Day Magic Kingdom Itinerary if you wish to beat the crowds with out both.
Social gathering Season
Social gathering season in Magic Kingdom encompasses early August by way of late December–a fairly large chunk of the calendar–when the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Social gathering (MNSSHP) and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Social gathering (MVMCP) particular occasions are held.
On days when the celebration is held, Magic Kingdom opens at 8 am or 9 am and closes to common ticket holders at 6 pm. On non-party days, Magic Kingdom opens at 9 am and closes at 10 pm or 11 pm. In different phrases, the park stays open 5 hours later to common visitors when MNSSHP and MVMCP should not held.
Most guests behave accordingly, making the intuitive alternative and visiting Magic Kingdom after they can spend 4-5 further hours within the park. That looks as if the “apparent” determination, as extra time within the park–to not point out truly having the ability to see the fireworks and Magic Kingdom at night time–is the smarter technique.
Sadly, that isn’t true. Everybody making the intuitive determination throws a monkey wrench into attendance and crowd dynamics in the course of the celebration season. The consequence of that visitor conduct ought to likewise be apparent: Magic Kingdom is considerably much less busy in the course of the day time hours on dates when events are held within the night, and way more busy on non-party days.
To place this into context, Magic Kingdom commonly has 9/10 or 10/10 crowd ranges on non-party days, with Saturdays being the worst. In contrast, Magic Kingdom sometimes has 1/10 to 4/10 crowd ranges on celebration days. That quantities to a median wait time differential of about 20 to half-hour per trip, which provides up over the course of the day to the purpose that you could accomplish extra within the party-shortened days when Magic Kingdom closes at 6 pm.
Consequently, we strongly advocate doing Magic Kingdom in the course of the days shortened by the Halloween or Christmas, after which Park Hopping to a different park earlier than 4 pm. Visitors of the occasions can begin coming into Magic Kingdom at 4 pm, and this ‘mix-in’ time with common day visitors is when the park goes from blissfully uncrowded to busier. (We normally intention to go away by 3 pm.)
Although non-party days supply considerably longer hours, you’ll nonetheless come out forward by avoiding Saturdays, Mondays, Wednesdays, and different non-party days. Regardless of far few hours on a celebration day, you’ll virtually at all times come out forward due to the time saved ready in traces.
There’s one other upside to visiting Magic Kingdom in the course of the day when a celebration is held at night time: earlier opening instances on many/most dates. It is a enormous benefit, as coated in Photograph Report & Technique: Magic Kingdom Early Entry at 7:30 am. Suffice to say, there’s a giant distinction in crowds for Early Entry on a day when Magic Kingdom opens to the general public at 8 am v. 9 am.
The massive draw back to attending Magic Kingdom on a celebration day is having to go away by 6 pm. This implies lacking the fireworks and normally night within the park. The upside is that you could see fireworks from outdoors the park–or you possibly can Park Hop again to Magic Kingdom on a non-party night time. Simply brace your self for considerably larger crowds than what you skilled on the celebration day, as many individuals can have the identical thought!
There’s additionally a flip aspect to all of this, which is that the opposite 3 parks are much less crowded on non-party days and extra crowded on celebration days. If you consider it, this is smart–Magic Kingdom crowds don’t exist in a vacuum. If much less or extra persons are in a single park, the other is true within the others.
Consequently, Saturday is a superb day to go to Disney’s Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom throughout celebration season. That’s not the case for EPCOT, because it’s the ‘celebration park’ (completely different form of celebration on this context), and plenty of Floridians and native faculty college students go to on the weekends to drink round World Showcase.
All three different parks grow to be good choices on Mondays and Wednesdays. The converse can also be true: EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom are worse choices on days when the events are held in Magic Kingdom. None of that is as pronounced as it’s with the curler coaster crowds in Magic Kingdom, although. With 3 different parks to soak up the displaced visitors, the affect is decrease on every of them than on Magic Kingdom itself.
With that mentioned, our expertise with crowds at Disney’s Hollywood Studios throughout the newest Social gathering Season is that it’s the park absorbing most of visitors who should not doing Magic Kingdom on MNSSHP days. This is smart, as DHS has emerged alongside Magic Kingdom as the highest precedence park for many visitors as a result of its many latest additions (Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Toy Story Land, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway), so it’s sometimes the park visitors do earlier within the week and normally not the park individuals reduce from their plans in the event that they solely have 3-day tickets.
Wait instances knowledge doesn’t absolutely corroborate this but, however anecdotally, we’ve accomplished DHS on Saturdays (the very best day to go to) after which the next Tuesdays (MNSSHP dates at Magic Kingdom) and it’s a night time and day distinction. That is particularly true very first thing within the morning–we’ve been capable of accomplish a ton throughout Early Entry and twine drop at DHS on days when Magic Kingdom is open till 10 pm.
At present, wait time averages are “solely” 5-6 minutes higher at DHS on Saturdays than Tuesdays throughout Social gathering Season, however that’s over the course of a whole day. In our expertise doing this a couple of instances, the hole is way more pronounced within the mornings and there’s a distinct benefit at Disney’s Hollywood Studios earlier than the afternoon on days when Magic Kingdom is internet hosting a Halloween celebration.
If Saturday isn’t an possibility, the very best days to do DHS throughout Social gathering Season are going to be different days when Magic Kingdom just isn’t internet hosting MNSSHP or MVMCP. Throughout the earlier half of Social gathering Season, which means Thursdays are finest. As soon as that turns into a celebration day at MK, Wednesday is the second-best possibility after Saturdays. Presumably, the identical shall be true when Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Social gathering rolls round, however we’ll preserve you posted. Past that, regular day of week recommendation applies to DHS, as mentioned beneath.
Apologies for this prolonged rationalization, however that is the most essential consideration in selecting your day to go to every park. Greater than the rest, the ‘celebration season’ crowd dynamic is essentially the most constant and predictable–this identical dynamic has performed out with MNSSHP and MVMCP for years.
It’s additionally the place most visitors ‘goof up’ and select the intuitive-but-incorrect method. Whereas it doesn’t embody all the calendar, it does apply to five months of the 12 months–should you’re visiting throughout this stretch, we’d extremely advocate shopping for Park Hopper tickets and following this recommendation!
Greatest & Worst Days at WDW Recap
We’ve coated quite a lot of floor and it may be overwhelming, so let’s attempt to break down the very best and worst days to go to every park at Walt Disney World in a extra concise method:
Go to on These Days:
- Wednesday and Thursday do Disney’s Hollywood Studios
- Wednesday and Thursday do Magic Kingdom
- Monday by way of Thursday do EPCOT
- Any weekday do Animal Kingdom
- Social gathering Days do Magic Kingdom if capable of Park Hop elsewhere
- Non-Social gathering Days do Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Okay to Good Days:
- Sunday is okay at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, particularly if staying late
- Sunday can also be respectable at Magic Kingdom, with nights once more being finest
- Friday is ok at EPCOT if arriving early
- Saturday and Sunday do Animal Kingdom if arriving early or staying late
Keep away from These Days:
- Saturday, Monday and Tuesday don’t do Magic Kingdom
- Monday and Tuesday don’t do Disney’s Hollywood Studios
- Saturdays and Sundays don’t do EPCOT
- Saturdays and Sundays don’t do Animal Kingdom if arriving late and leaving early
With it laid out like this, it’s best to see that some days are constantly the very best and worst for a number of parks. Which means in the course of the course of a median trip, you may need no alternative however to do sure parks on days that aren’t objectively nearly as good. Don’t fear about that, as defined within the remaining part…
How A lot Does Day of the Week Matter?
Common wait instances can differ by 3 to 10 minutes on the very best versus worst days of the week at every park. That won’t appear to be a lot, however a ten minute distinction is definitely enormous. Over the course of the day, that may means spending an hour (or extra) much less time ready in line should you select appropriately.
Nonetheless, it’s not normally a ten minute distinction–that’s an excessive instance. You additionally in all probability wouldn’t select the worst days if choosing at random, nor would you by accident go at solely the time of day when crowds are heaviest and the hole is highest. So in observe, you possibly can in all probability anticipate to save lots of just a few minutes per trip by making good decisions with the day of the week you go to every park. That’s not a ton of time, however it does add up over the course of a visit.
With that mentioned, there’s sometimes way more of a distinction in crowds between weeks fairly than inside them. Accordingly, selecting time to go to Walt Disney World is considerably extra essential than the way you allocate your days throughout the week.
Much more essential is arriving early and/or staying late, which is the best method to beat crowds at Walt Disney World. Late morning to mid-afternoon is the busiest time of day at each single park, and when wait instances are the worst.
Simply as essential is having savvy technique. Choosing an awesome day or week to go to could make touring the parks considerably simpler, however so can also having itinerary that zigs when others zag.
Then there’s the choice of shopping for your approach out of crowds with Genie+ and Lightning Lanes, which is one other good fail protected possibility. (See our Walt Disney World Itineraries web page for choices with Genie+ and with out it.)
Selecting the very best days of the week–and avoiding the worst ones–at every Walt Disney World theme park comes in spite of everything of these issues. To make sure, it’s observe and price retaining in thoughts that Magic Kingdom is finest on Sundays, or that Epcot must be prevented on weekends.
It’s additionally helpful for these boxed into lower than very best journey dates as a result of faculty or work schedules. Similar goes for anybody who realistically received’t have the choice to reach early or keep late (there’s a purpose these instances are most advantageous–as a result of it’s merely not possible for a lot of households with babies). Ditto anybody who doesn’t wish to pay further for Genie+ on precept, or as a result of it’s not of their trip price range. For anybody this describes, fastidiously selecting days of the week for every park can relieve some strain and end in shorter wait instances.
With that mentioned, we wouldn’t upend our previously-planned schedules to account for this. Up to now, we’ve provided day of week suggestions and have acquired frantic questions from readers who have already got their Advance Eating Reservations set, and have made meticulous plans for every park, questioning if they need to throw all of it away and begin from scratch.
The reply, with out exception, is a convincing “no.” Day of the week issues, however not that a lot. Furthermore, day of the weeke suggestions are fairly straightforward to disrupt. All it actually takes is inclimate climate (comparatively commonplace in Florida) or inordinate attraction downtime. Both of these issues could be sufficient to show a “unhealthy” day right into a “good” one when it comes to wait instances, or vice-versa.
In the end, just by advantage of researching and studying a submit about the very best and worst days of the week to go to each park at Walt Disney World, you’re higher outfitted to keep away from crowds than 95% of visitors–however since you’re virtually definitely not studying simply this technique. Whereas the recommendation right here is theoretically helpful, it’s fairly removed from make or break.
You’re significantly better off utilizing the different assets on this weblog to decide on good months or weeks to go to. If that’s not an possibility (and even whether it is), keep in mind to reach early or keep late. Failing that, use our itineraries to prioritize sights in the very best order. Don’t wish to do this for some odd purpose, spend the cash on Genie+ and purchase your approach out of traces. In case you’d fairly not spend cash and float throughout a midday-only go to…I assume that is the very best recommendation for you!
Planning a Walt Disney World journey? Study inns on our Walt Disney World Resorts Evaluations web page. For the place to eat, learn our Walt Disney World Restaurant Evaluations. To economize on tickets or decide which kind to purchase, learn our Suggestions for Saving Cash on Walt Disney World Tickets submit. Our What to Pack for Disney Journeys submit takes a novel take a look at intelligent gadgets to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Trip Guides will assist. For complete recommendation, the very best place to start out is our Walt Disney World Journey Planning Information for the whole lot it’s worthwhile to know!
Your Ideas
Which days are your favorites for every of the parks? Assume it’s good recommendation to keep away from Epcot on weekends, even when it’s not supported by wait instances? What about weekends at Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios? Some other finest or worst days at every of the Walt Disney World theme parks? Do you agree or disagree with our picks? Any questions we may also help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even while you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!
