disney cruise crowd calendar

When is the Best Time to Go on a Disney Cruise?

Disney cruises are popular options for families. There are a plethora of activities onboard ships and ports of call. However, the timing of your cruise can be an essential factor in deciding whether it’s the right choice. Here are some things to consider when planning your trip and choosing the best time to go on a Disney cruise.

Family Schedules

A Disney cruise is a great choice any time of year, but some months and weeks are better than others.

First and foremost, the month you choose to go on a Disney cruise will depend on your preferences and when you and your family can travel —establishing a family schedule before planning will allow you to determine when everyone in your family can travel.

Be aware of your family’s school schedule, work schedule, and upcoming events. Once you know when everyone will be available, you can search for specific dates and itineraries.

There are more options if you are retired, have a flexible schedule, or are not traveling with children . But for most of us, you’ll have to pick what works best for everyone in your family or group.

If you’ve ever taken a Disney cruise, you know it’s a fantastic experience regardless of when you go. However, crowds may influence when you decide when you should go.

Disney cruises are most crowded during school breaks, summer, and significant holiday weeks like Spring Break, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. 

You get a lot of families during these periods since these are usually the only times when everyone in the family can take a vacation together. Most staterooms can accommodate 4 or 5 passengers, so the ship will seem (and be) more full (with families) during a peak time than during an off-peak period when there’s a higher percentage of couples.

Likewise, sailings on dates near a school break – or that fall near a long weekend – are usually busier as many families pull their children out of school for the weekend.

Off-peak times, like the fall, are less crowded for Disney cruises. In addition to offering better rates, off-peak times also tend to provide more stateroom availability and choices. Reserving far in advance will get you the best rates and a guaranteed stateroom.

Disney cruise ships are big and spacious, so even when the vessel is full, there is still room to escape the crowds, and you can always book a spacious cabin to retreat to. Some people find that the dining rooms and swimming pools are really the only crowded spots. However, each cruise is different.  You’ll never experience Disney World-type crowds, though!

Recommendation: Off-peak times are less crowded. 

Crowd levels can impact your decision on when is the best time to go on a Disney Cruise

If you need help navigating your Disney Cruise Line vacation plans, we highly recommend contacting The Vacationeer .

Their team of experienced Disney travel agents will help you find the lowest price and the best itineraries, and there’s never an additional charge for their services! Click HERE for a free, no-obligation price quote .

There is some overlap between crowds and prices. It is best to depart at off-peak times if possible.

Disney increases its prices during the summer and during major holidays, such as Spring Break, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. When cruising during the summer, avoid the peak season by going at the beginning – or end – of summer break if you have children.

The cost of Disney cruises tends to be lower when schools are in session since families are less likely to book cruises. There are also seasons when tickets are cheaper due to the calendar or weather.

Disney cruises are typically less expensive during:

• January (except for New Year’s week)
• Early February
• September and October
• Early November
• Early December

You can save a lot of money when you book a Disney cruise during one of these off-peak times. Additionally, Disney offers special themed cruises during these slower times to attract more tourists.

Another option for sailing during peak season is to book a last-minute cruise . This can be a great way to score a deal on a cruise with Disney , but it’s important to remember that you won’t have much choice when it comes to selecting your stateroom .

Other Ways to Get Discounts

Disney typically offers discounts for Florida residents , US military members, and Disney Vacation Club and Castaway Club members. Our Ways to Save Money on Disney Cruises article examines these cost-saving strategies in greater depth.

Additionally, some Disney travel agencies offer generous onboard credit , essentially free money to pay for tipping , alcohol, excursions, etc., on a cruise ship. This perk is offered to incentivize clients to book a cruise with them (instead of through Disney or another agency).

Are you interested in receiving free onboard credit? We recommend the commission-free travel agents at The Vacationeer, who offer among the highest onboard credit in the industry. Click HERE for a free, no-obligation price quote and find out how much you can save on your Disney cruise.

Recommendation: Prices are usually lower during off-peak weeks and months. Use a Disney travel agent that offers onboard credits.

When it comes to the weather, the best time to go on a Disney cruise depends on where you are heading. Here’s a breakdown of what to expect at each port of call.

The Bahamas and the Caribbean

The weather is generally very pleasant in the Bahamas no matter when you visit. For this reason, Disney offers at least one cruise to the Bahamas at any given time throughout the year.

Generally, December through May are ideal months to sail to the Bahamas and the Caribbean .

Avoid the Bahamas and Caribbean in July and August if you do not like hot and humid weather . Sure, it’s not oppressively hot, you can easily find air-conditioning aboard the ship, and the pool is always a great option. However, you may not be able to enjoy your port adventures as much if it’s in the 80s or 90s during the day.

For reference, Castaway Cay (in the Bahamas) has an average temperate of around 69 in January, 74 in April, 84 in July, and 74 in November, so it’s pretty nice all year long.

There is also hurricane season , which officially runs from June 1 through November 30. It is historically most active between August and September , so it may be a good idea to consider travel insurance if you plan on cruising to the Bahamas or the Caribbean during this time .

Recommendation: Winter or Spring is the best time to sail to the Bahamas or the Caribbean. 

Disney Cruise Line offers Alaska cruises from May to September. As this timeframe emphasizes, Alaska’s cruise season is relatively short, and cruises to Alaska are not available in the winter.

Alaskan temperatures usually range from mid-thirties to low forties Fahrenheit in May and September, but highs can reach the upper fifties. The weather has an average temperature in the low-60s during June, July, and August.

Alaska’s native wildlife is most visible during the summer months of June, July, and August. September is the best time to try to see the Northern Lights, though Disney cruises stay far enough south that such sightings are quite rare.

Recommendation: Summer is the best time to go on a Disney Alaskan cruise .

Most Disney cruises in Europe take place between May and September. For most areas in this region, this is the warmest and driest time of year and, indeed, the most pleasant time to cruise.

Recommendation: Summer is the best time to go on a Disney European cruise.

Disney cruises to Mexico every Spring and Fall each year. These are reliably warm months in the Mexican Riviera and Baja, Mexico. That said, the weather is typically more comfortable in March and April than in September and October.

Recommendation: Spring is the best time to sail to Mexico.

Itineraries

Several Disney Cruise Line itineraries are only available during specific times of the year.

Alaskan cruises, for instance, are only available during the late spring and summer months due to the cold weather for the remainder of the year. If you wish to take one of those cruises, your options will be limited.

There are also limited sailings in Northern Europe and San Diego .

Or, it might come down to what’s convenient to where you live. For those who live in or near Texas, taking a Disney Cruise out of Galveston makes for easier travel logistics, but limits you to the winter months when the ship is in the area.

Recommendation: It comes down to when and where you wish to sail. See our Best Disney Cruise Line Itineraries page for suggestions.

Disney’s Themed Cruises

Several themed cruises are also available during certain times of the year. If you are interested in one of these themed cruises, the time of year you choose to sail will affect whether you qualify for one of those special cruises.

Disney’s specially-themed cruises include Halloween on the High Seas (Autumn) and Very Merrytime Cruises (December), Marvel Day at Sea (various dates), and Pixar Day at Sea (multiple dates). These specialty cruises are sure to be popular options. Each one offers a unique experience that will surely be memorable for all who attend.

Book your cruise as early as possible if you have your heart set on sailing during one of these special event sailings. Disney cruises sell out fast, and the closer you get to your desired travel date, the less likely you are to find availability.

Recommendation: It depends on which themed cruise appeals to you.

Ages at Time of Travel

As opposed to asking what the best time of the year is, you might be asking what the right age your children should be for a Disney Cruise. They won’t be able to participate in all the activities if they are too young.

Disney is undoubtedly the best cruise line for families with younger kids , but the kids’ clubs are still best enjoyed by children who are old enough. You kids will probably want to spend the majority of their time at those youth clubs while at sea. Children as young as three are welcome, but we find that children five and older will find them to be very enjoyable.

Recommendation: Disney cruises are best for adults and children ages 5+.

Kids love Disney Cruise Line's Oceaneer Club | Image © Disney-Pixar

The Verdict: When is the Best Time to Go on a Disney Cruise?

Regarding saving money, the best time to go on a Disney cruise is during an off-peak time . For Disney Cruise Line, this means avoiding school holidays and peak summer months. Sailing during an off-peak time can save you money on your cruise fare, and you’ll also find more stateroom options available.

Similarly, Disney cruises are most crowded during school breaks, summer, and significant holiday weeks like Spring Break, Thanksgiving, and Christmas . If your priority is avoiding crowds, plan your trip during a time when kids won’t be on break.

If the weather is more important to you, the best time to book a Disney cruise depends on your destination. If you plan on sailing to the Bahamas or Caribbean, we recommend between December and May. A cruise to Mexico will be best in the spring. Summer is the best time for cooler weather destinations like Alaska and northern Europe.

When it comes to taking a themed cruise, you have fewer options because they are only available for a limited time. You’ll have to pick a departure that works best for you.

Last but most importantly, you’ll need to determine when everyone in your family will be available to travel and their preferences . You will need to figure out your family’s work schedule, school schedule, and upcoming events. When you know when everyone will be available, you can search for specific dates and itineraries.

You’ll have more options if you aren’t traveling with children, have a flexible schedule, or are retired. In most cases, however, you’ll have to decide what’s best for everyone in your group or family.

Frequently Asked Questions on When It’s Best to Sail with Disney

Here are some additional questions people ask when determining the best times to go on a Disney cruise.

When is the most popular time to go on a Disney Cruise?

Disney Cruises during the summer and winter holidays and those during spring break tend to be the most popular. For the best rates and stateroom availability during peak season, it is recommended that you book one year in advance. The earlier the better!

What is the cheapest month to go on Disney cruise ships?

A Disney cruise is most affordable during the months of mid-to-late January, early February, or early May. Some weeks in March and April are also cheaper, while September, early November, and early December are also good options.

What months should you not go on a cruise?

Hurricanes are more likely to develop in August and October, while September has the highest probability of developing into hurricanes. For this reason, September is the worst month of the year to take a cruise to the Bahamas or Caribbean.

It’s relatively rare for a cruise to be completely canceled due to a hurricane, but they may drastically alter their itineraries due to storms. We’ve seen ships change the order they visit ports, completely miss some ports, and even shorten/lengthen the entire cruise to miss the worst of the storm at a home port.

But if you don’t mind risking it (or have suitable travel insurance), then September can be a beautiful month to cruise.

Do cruise prices go down closer to the date?

As a general rule, cruise prices are lower when they are first put up for sale, which occurs 18 to 24 months before departure. Only if the cruise doesn’t sell out will there be a price drop on the cruise.

Is it cold on Disney Cruise?

Packing layers is recommended for ANY Disney cruise, but it is especially important for cold-weather cruises since there will be a lot of temperature changes. Depending on your itinerary, it probably makes sense to pack a few jackets, sweaters, and lightweight tops, along with your t-shirts, shorts, swimsuit, and footwear.

Even on warm-weather cruises, the ship’s travel speed on open water will often create a stiff breeze on the ship’s decks and your private verandah (if your stateroom is so equipped) — strong enough to make a windbreaker desirable for some travelers.

Ready to Book your Disney Cruise?

Working with an experienced travel agent is the best way to ensure smooth sailing, and The Vacationeer is ready and willing to help you determine the best time to go on a Disney cruise in 2024 or 2025.

Their team of Disney travel agents can arrange every part of your cruise and provide a generous onboard credit you can use towards purchases and activities while you’re on the ship. Whether you just want to visit Castaway Cay or have your sights set on Alaska, Europe, or even Australia, they can help make it happen!

There’s never any obligation to book, and there’s no additional charge to use their planning services!

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• Destinations

2022 Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar

When is the best time to visit Walt Disney World? The answer is – it depends. There are a variety of factors that can affect crowds. It’s true, ANY day is a great day to visit Walt Disney World, but some days do have lighter crowds than others. Here are some examples of factors that affect crowd levels:  

Holidays affect crowds in Walt Disney World, with some more impactful than others. Holidays which include a long weekend (Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, and Veterans Day) result in increased crowds vs. surrounding weeks but are not overly impacting. Independence Day, Easter, and Thanksgiving bring in moderate to heavy crowd levels, and the weeks before and during Christmas and New Year’s Eve bring significant crowds which frequently result in park closures due to the parks reaching maximum capacity. If you are flexible with your travel dates, avoiding any of the above holidays will result in visiting during less-busy times at Walt Disney World! 

REGIONAL EVENTS

There are several regional events that occur throughout the country that impact attendance in Walt Disney World. Mardi Gras is a holiday that is observed in large areas of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana – three states within reasonable driving distance of Walt Disney World. This holiday falls on different dates every year between late January and early March, so with that in mind, some years bring more crowds than others. During early November, New Jersey schools close down, and many travel south for a warm vacation in sunny Florida for “Jersey Week”. While the impact on crowds isn’t extreme, it’s definitely enough to make a difference. In the northeast, the third week in February and April are school vacation weeks which can impact crowd levels. The month of March is known as “spring break” and will also bring local and regional travelers to Walt Disney World.

DISNEY EVENTS

Disney World hosts many special events, festivals, races, and celebrations that attract visitors from near and far. The fall months bring Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival and Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, while the holidays brings lots of specialty entertainment across all theme parks including Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. During the winter months after the holidays, Epcot’s Festival of the Arts leads into Epcot’s Flower and Garden Festival in the spring. In addition to specialty entertainment, Disney hosts runDisney events throughout the year. Runners across the world travel to Walt Disney World to compete in bucket list-worthy races, with race entries selling out at 25,000 runners. Disney also hosts sporting events at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports on property which bring cheerleaders and athletes for a variety of competitions through the year. Make sure to talk to your Love the Mouse Travel Agent to assist in choosing a time to either take-part or avoid any of the above events on Walt Disney World property! 

Ready to start planning your magical vacation? Fill out a  no-obligation request form  and we will get you on your way!

*Calendar subject to change without notice.

2022 Disney World Crowd Calendars – When to Go

by Rain Blanken | Feb 2, 2021 | Animal Kingdom , Disney's Hollywood Studios , EPCOT , Magic Kingdom , Walt Disney World News , WDW Blog

Everything you need to know about using a 2022 Disney World crowd calendar, and which are the most reliable.

If you’ve never used a Disneyland or Walt Disney World crowd calendar before, here is what you should look for in a reliable source and what those calendars just can’t predict. (Updated 01-08-2022)

What is a 2022 Disney World Crowd Calendar?

Crowd calendars offer an estimate of how crowded the Disney Parks will be on a specific day.

Disney World crowd calendars can include weather, crowd levels, ticket prices, hours, and seasonal event information. They typically are created a year in advance , so most information is estimated.

2022 WDW Crowd Calendar Inclusions

🧑🏻‍🤝‍🧑🏿Crowd Levels: Usually indicated by attention-grabbing green, yellow, or red symbols. This information is at the heart of the crowd calendar, so it is usually the most prominent and accessible element.

☀️Weather: Crowd calendar weather is typically derived from historic weather in Anaheim and Orlando… sunny, rainy, cloudy? These are put in simple terms, sometimes with an average temperature.

🎃Seasonal Events: Some crowd calendars will also list seasonal events, like EPCOT Festivals, runDisney events, or Magic Kingdom after-hours parties. This information can help you to determine why the crowds are so high in a day or week.

🎟️Ticket Prices: The cost to enter a Disney Park can vary depending on the time of year. Demand and capacity dictate which days are more expensive. Crowd calendars follow official posted Disney prices, so this tends to be one of the most accurate stats in a crowd calendar.

⏰Hours: Some crowd calendars list operating hours for all of the Disneyland or Disney World parks. This information could have changed since the calendar was posted.

📝Excess Info: Some crowd calendars track a lot of information you’ll never need. Like when SeaWorld is open, for instance. Make sure you’re using a simple crowd calendar that helps, not one that hides what you need among a lot of other info that doesn’t apply to your vacation.

How Do Crowd Calendars Help Plan Your Trip?

Different crowd calendars use various colors, numbers, and rating systems to give you the info on Disney World crowds.

Make sure you’re familiar with their system before you go making reservations! Crowd calendars can be confusing, especially if you are consulting a few with different tracking systems .

NOTE: ALL crowd calendars are an estimate of what will come to pass, based on previous years. While crowd calendars can offer some basic advice, make sure you are double-checking the information.

Top 2022 Disney Crowd Calendars

Not sure which calendar to go with? Here is a quick rundown of what each of the most popular crowd calendars has to offer:

1. Dad’s Guide to WDW Crowd Calendars

• ✔️Crowd Levels, Weather, Events
• ✔️Easily shareable calendar images
• ✔️Simple symbols and information
• ✔️Dedicated full pages to explain crowd levels each month

We have a soft spot for Dad’s Guide Crowd Calendars (as part of our parent company), but our team really does prefer Dad’s crowd control.

The easy-to-read crowd level indicators, weather, and special event notes are all we need. The best part is that the calendar images are easy to screenshot or share so that you have the info at your fingertips without sifting through a lot of extra text.

But you need more crowd details? Well, there’s a whole page dedicated to every calendar month in case you want to read a bit more.

2. Touring Plans Crowd Calendar

• ✔️Crowd levels, park hours, ticket prices, events
• ✔️Extra price and hourly information
• ❌Number system and extra info can be confusing
• ❌Redundant with MDE app info
• ❌Hard to look at on mobile
• ❌No shareable calendar images

The Touring Plans crowd calendars include crowd levels, park hours, ticket prices, and events. However, they are not easily shareable images and can be difficult to read. Much is info that My Disney Experience already has, like attraction wait times.

3. Undercover Tourist Crowd Calendar

• ✔️All the info you ever wanted
• ✔️Park-specific crowd levels
• ❌TOO MUCH info you never ever wanted
• ❌Hard to see the month on mobile

The Undercover Tourist crowd calendar has information for SeaWorld, Universal, etc. That can be a good thing but can make you go cross-eyed trying to look at it all. If you want something easy to read and share, avoid this beast of a mega-planner.

4. WDW Prep School Crowd Calendar

• ✔️All on one page
• ❌Per week, not per-day estimates
• ❌Only crowd levels and holidays
• ❌Not a true calendar; it is a list
• ❌Monthly information is not easily shareable

The WDW Prep School info is not a crowd calendar so much as a one-page list of which weeks are more crowded and the holidays that accompany them.

So, maybe you need some of what these calendars are offering, but Dad’s Guide is the one we stick with for our WDW-specific needs! The info is just what we need for at-a-glance planning, and the images are easy to share on mobile.

2022 Disney World Crowd Calendars

What is the best day to go to Walt Disney World? Photo by Rain Blanken

Are crowds down at Disney World? These monthly crowd calendars from Dad’s Guide give us a quick at-a-glance for each month alongside in-depth articles on what is happening each month (and how to make the most of the events and weather each month!)

January 2022 Crowd Calendar

• January Events: New Years Day, marathons, and Festival of the Arts. Which weeks will these events impact?
• View the January 2022 Crowd Calendar…

February 2022 Crowd Calendar

• February Events: Valentine’s Day and chillier weather can mean thin crowds:
• View the February 2022 Crowd Calendar…

March 2022 Crowd Calendar

• March Events: Most of March seems moderate… but wait till Spring Break hits:
• View the March 2022 Crowd Calendar…

April 2022 Crowd Calendar

• April Events: Easter, Spring Break, and the Flower & Garden Festival all build the crowd:
• View the April 2022 Crowd Calendar…

May 2022 Crowd Calendar

• May Events: Flower and Garden Continues, and May the 4th festivities may appear…
• View the May 2022 Crowd Calendar…

June 2022 Crowd Calendar

• June Events: Summertime is here, and Dad’s has tips on how the rain could actually save your park day…
• View the June 2022 Crowd Calendar…

July 2022 Crowd Calendar

• July Events: Fourth of July brings in lots of guests, but part of July is sparse…
• View the July 2022 Crowd Calendar…

August 2022 Crowd Calendar

• August Events: August is… HOT in Florida. But these crowd levels may convince you…
• View the August 2022 Crowd Calendar…

September 2022 Crowd Calendar

• September Events: The holiday season starts early at WDW, and Food and Wine is well underway…
• View the September 2022 Crowd Calendar…

October 2022 Crowd Calendar

• October Events: Time to howl at the moon, it’s Halloween at WDW!
• View the October 2022 Crowd Calendar…

November 2022 Crowd Calendar

• November Events: Next month may sound cozy, but Festival of the Holidays in November could be the perfect jolly getaway…
• View the November 2022 Crowd Calendar…

December 2022 Crowd Calendar

• December Events: It’s the most, crowded time… of the year! But who can resist the holidays with Mickey?
• View the December 2022 Crowd Calendar…

A crowd calendar above will tell you all the details, but in case you’re just looking for the least-crowded and most-crowded months, here is your briefing.

When is Disney World Least Crowded?

For the least-crowded months at Disney World, keep your eyes on these two chunks of the year:

• The last half of January—February
• The last half of August—September
• The last week of November—first full week of December

Kids are freshly back in school at these times, so not many families will have vacations planned. Spring break ramps up after February, and before that, marathons are happening in the first half of January.

Summer is busy, then in October, the Halloween crowds come in. That will immediately transition into Thanksgiving crowds. The last week of November/first week of December seems to be the eye of the holiday storm with a good lull in crowds.

When is Disney World Most Crowded?

The holidays are the most crowded time to visit at Disney World and tend to be more expensive too, as the resort rates and ticket prices fluctuate for demand.

Summer months also tend to be very crowded , and any other minor holiday when kids are out of school. Spring break (March—April) could also be avoided.

Disney World is most crowded during these chunks of the year:

• The last half of December
• Spring break months: March—Early May
• Summer months: May—the first half of August

Even in the low-crowd months, you’ll get more out of your park ticket if you visit on a weekday instead of a weekend when local Annual Passholder families are roaming the parks.

To see the Christmas decorations without the crowds , hit up Disney World in the first week of December, or immediately after Thanksgiving weekend.

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2024 Disney Cruise Schedule – Sail Dates, Ports & More

LAST UPDATE: 3/12/24

Itineraries for 2024 Disney Cruises  are listed below, along with the complete  2024 Disney Cruise Line schedule .

If you’re thinking about taking a Disney Cruise in 2024, you may also want to read our comprehensive Disney Cruise discount guide  and  Disney Cruise planning tips  pages.

• 2024 Itineraries

Get On the Early Booking List

• 2024 Holiday Cruises, Themed Cruise & Other Special Cruises

2024 Adventures by Disney Pre- and Post-Cruise Escape Packages

2024 drydock plans.

Sailings for Winter/Spring 2024 (January through April/May) were announced on December 7, 2022. They went on sale for Platinum Castaway Club members on December 12, 2022, Gold members on December 13, Silver members and DVC members on December 14, and everyone else on December 15.

Pixar Day at Sea and Marvel Day at Sea 2024 cruise dates (January through March) were announced on February 2, 2023.

Sailings for Summer 2024 (June through September) were announced on March 23, 2023. They went on sale for Platinum Castaway Club members on March 27, Gold members on March 28, Silver members and DVC members on March 29, and everyone else on March 30.

Sailings for Winter 2024 (October through December, and a few early 2025 itineraries) were announced on June 13, 2023. They went on sale for Pearl Castaway Club members on June 19,  Platinum Castaway Club members on June 20, Gold members on June 21, Silver members, Adventures Insiders and DVC members on June 22, and everyone else on June 26.

Inaugural sailings for the Disney Treasure (Late December) were announced on September 5, 2023. They went on sale for Pearl Castaway Club members on September 12, 2023, Platinum Castaway Club members on September 13, Gold members on September 14, DVC and Adventures By Disney Insiders on September 18, Silver members on September 19, and everyone else on September 20.

Disney Cruise 2024 Itineraries

Disney treasure, disney wish, disney fantasy, disney dream, disney wonder, disney magic.

Schedule in a nutshell:

• Late December:  — 7-night Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises from Port Canaveral

Complete 2024 Disney Treasure Cruise Schedule

• If you are interested in booking a 2024 cruise on the Disney Treasure , we recommend either Small World Vacations or Undercover Tourist . We have worked with both companies for over 15 years and can recommend them wholeheartedly. It’s really a question of whether you prefer full-service booking or self booking. These staterooms often sell out fast, so if you see one you like, snag it quickly.
• Small World Vacations is a full service agency, offering a personal travel agent you can contact by email or direct phone number. It costs you nothing to use them, PLUS their FREE onboard credit offer applies to these special fares (the total cruise fare for the stateroom must be at least $1000 to get their onboard credit). 
• Undercover Tourist is a self-service booking site similar to Expedia or Priceline, but with years of focus on the Disney travel market. They offer the special rates mentioned above PLUS they add their own discounts. 

The Disney Wish sails 3-night and 4-night Bahamian cruises from Port Canaveral, visiting Nassau and Castaway Cay, for 2024.

Complete 2024 Disney Wish Cruise Schedule

• If you are interested in booking a 2024 cruise on the Disney Wish , we recommend either Small World Vacations or Undercover Tourist . We have worked with both companies for over 15 years and can recommend them wholeheartedly. It’s really a question of whether you prefer full-service booking or self booking. These staterooms often sell out fast, so if you see one you like, snag it quickly.

The Disney Fantasy sails 7-night Western and Eastern Caribbean and 3- to 6-night Bahamian cruises from Port Canaveral in 2024, with a few double-dips and triple-dips to Lighthouse Point and Castaway Cay.

Complete 2024 Disney Fantasy Cruise Schedule

• If you are interested in booking a 2024 cruise on the Disney Fantasy , we recommend either Small World Vacations or Undercover Tourist . We have worked with both companies for over 15 years and can recommend them wholeheartedly. It’s really a question of whether you prefer full-service booking or self booking. These staterooms often sell out fast, so if you see one you like, snag it quickly.
• January – early May: Fort Lauderdale — 3- to 5-night Bahamian and Western Caribbean cruises, then across the Atlantic to Barcelona
• Late May – Late July: Barcelona & Civitavecchia — 5- to 11-night Mediterranean cruises, then reposition to Southampton
• Late July – Early October: Southampton — 3- to 12-night Northern Europe, Norwegian and Iceland cruises, then a possible drydock and a reposition across the Atlantic to Fort Lauderdale
• Late October – December: Fort Lauderdale — 3- to 5-night Bahamian and Western Caribbean cruises with several double-dips

Complete 2024 Disney Dream Cruise Schedule

• If you are interested in booking a 2024 cruise on the Disney Dream , we recommend either Small World Vacations or Undercover Tourist . We have worked with both companies for over 15 years and can recommend them wholeheartedly. It’s really a question of whether you prefer full-service booking or self booking. These staterooms often sell out fast, so if you see one you like, snag it quickly.
• January – mid-March: Sydney, Melbourne — 2- to 6-night Australian cruises, then reposition to San Diego via Honolulu & Vancouver
• Mid-March – early May: San Diego — 3- to 7-night Mexican cruises, then up the coast to Vancouver
• Mid-May – October: Vancouver — 5- to 9-night Alaskan cruises, then across the Pacific to Sydney, Australia via Hawaii.
• Late October – December: Australia — 2- to 6-night Australian and New Zealand cruises from various ports, many with no stops (cruises to nowhere)

Complete 2024 Disney Wonder Cruise Schedule

• If you are interested in booking a 2024 cruise on the Disney Wonder , we recommend either Small World Vacations or Undercover Tourist . We have worked with both companies for over 15 years and can recommend them wholeheartedly. It’s really a question of whether you prefer full-service booking or self booking. These staterooms often sell out fast, so if you see one you like, snag it quickly.
• January: Galveston — 4- to 6-night Western Caribbean cruises
• February: New Orleans — 4- to 7-night Western Caribbean cruises
• March – mid-April: Galveston  — 4- to 7-night Western Caribbean cruises, then reposition to San Juan, Puerto Rico
• Late April: San Juan — 7-night unique Southern Caribbean cruises 
• May – October: Fort Lauderdale — 3- to 5-night Bahamian and Western Caribbean cruises, including some visiting Disney’s new private beach: Lighthouse Point
• November – December: Galveston — Reposition to Galveston via San Juan, with a 7-night Southern Caribbean cruise in the middle, then 3- to 6-night Western Caribbean cruises

Complete 2024 Disney Magic Cruise Schedule

• If you are interested in booking a 2024 cruise on the Disney Magic , we recommend either Small World Vacations or Undercover Tourist . We have worked with both companies for over 15 years and can recommend them wholeheartedly. It’s really a question of whether you prefer full-service booking or self booking. These staterooms often sell out fast, so if you see one you like, snag it quickly.

Interested in booking a cruise for a date or itinerary that hasn’t been announced yet? You can submit a booking request for a Disney cruise, even before Disney Cruise Line releases the schedule. Save yourself some stress and fill out the Small World Vacations Wait List form in advance and they’ll book your preferred cruise the first day you are eligible, at no cost to you! Plus, you can get up to $1000 in FREE onboard credit  courtesy of Small World Vacations! (All staterooms and cruises are subject to availability at the time of booking.)

Disney Cruise Line announces their cruise dates and itineraries for only a few months at a time: January through April, then May through September and finally, September through December. Once the new itineraries come out, booking begins just a day or two later, first to Castaway Club members (people who’ve been on a previous Disney cruise) and then to the general public.

The people who book earliest almost always get the lowest possible price . Sometimes there will be last-minute deals via the restricted guarantee fares or Florida Resident fares , but only a small percentage of cruises ever have those fares, and those fares aren’t always cheaper than opening day fares. In addition, early bookers get first dibs on staterooms, making it the best way to land one of the hardest-to-get staterooms like the Secret Porthole and Secret Verandah rooms. Lots of people know about these advantages, so on the days the new itineraries become available for booking, both the phone lines and website get slammed.

There’s an easy way to avoid the scramble to book on the first day the bookings open:  submit a request to Small World Vacations now. You just need basic information like where you want to go (Caribbean, Alaska, Norway, Europe, etc.), the date range you want, the kind of stateroom you want (inside, outside, verandah) and the names and ages of the people going. Let them know if you are a Castaway Club Member by including your Member Number and Level (Platinum, Gold or Silver). You can add other preferences or priorities as needed – early dining, lower deck, upper deck, not over a nightclub – whatever is important to you.  Their agents will review your request, contact you to confirm they understand your priorities, and then you can relax and let your personal agent book your cruise when the time comes. Your agent will provide their email and direct phone number, so you can discuss your options and preferences.

On the day the itineraries become available for your Castaway Club level, your agent will be up bright and early while you sleep in (or go about your usual day). If Disney releases a cruise that fits your criteria, your agent will typically go ahead and put a hold in place, thus reserving your stateroom(s), then email you with your cruise details and deposit information. You’ll be able to have your choice of room type and location and will lock in the opening day price. If later on you decide to change rooms on the same sailing, Disney will give you the opening day price on the new room , even if the price has gone up in the intervening days or months. 

Even if you aren’t 100% sure whether you’re going to be able to go, there’s no real risk in getting a cruise booked early . Disney Cruise Line deposits for any stateroom types other than Concierge are fully refundable up to the Payment In Full date, which is 120-75 days before sailing, depending on the specific cruise and time of year. You have lots of time to figure out whether that cruise will work for you. If it doesn’t, you can get the deposit back or just transfer it to a different sailing date that works better.

The agents who handle cruise bookings for Small World Vacations have collectively sailed on more than 400 Disney cruises, and know a truly astonishing amount about all four ships, the various Disney ports of call, shore excursions and all the common itineraries (and many uncommon ones). Many of them are Platinum members of Disney’s Castaway Club, meaning that they have personally been on 10 or more Disney cruises! They’re happy to share their firsthand experience with the kids’ clubs, dining, character meets, entertainment, transportation, etc. In our experience, the travel agents at Small World Vacations are great at finding the best fares. They know all the tricks that will save you money, and they know the Disney Cruise Line inside and out. We’re confident that once you work with a really great travel agent, you’ll never want to book a cruise any other way. Read more about why we recommend using Small World Vacations to book your cruise!

• If you are interested in booking a cruise that hasn’t been announced yet , fill out the Small World Vacations Wait List form and get on their Early Booking List!
• Small World Vacations offers onboard credit of $50-$1000 per booking, good toward most onboard activities and extras such as spa treatments, shore excursions or even your bar tab. Small World Vacations also gives you full service, including a personal travel agent you can contact by email or direct phone number. Best of all, it costs you nothing to use them! (Onboard credit courtesy of Small World Vacations.)

2024 Holiday Cruises, Themed Cruises & Other Special Cruises

Holiday cruises, themed cruises.

• Double Dip Cruises

Repositioning Cruises

Unique cruises, adventures by disney cruise packages, disney vacation club cruises, independence day, halloween on the high seas, thanksgiving, very merrytime cruises (christmas), new year’s eve.

On sailings that include July 4th, there is usually a special celebration with characters dressed in red, white and blue outfits. There has not been a special fireworks show in the past, but sometimes on sailings in the Caribbean or Bahamas they move pirate night to July 4th so they will have fireworks on Independence Day. (There is no pirate night or fireworks on sailings outside the Caribbean and Bahamas.)

During this period there will be special Halloween events onboard, including Halloween-themed parties, storytellings, movies and elaborate décor, including The Pumpkin Tree, which magically transforms throughout the cruise. You will also find characters dressed in Halloween costumes, as well as a costume party for families and, just for adults, a costume contest and a Villainous Takeover on the dance floor in the nighttime entertainment district.

In the past there has not been any special menu for Halloween night itself, over and above what they do on all the Halloween themed cruises during the whole period, but there will be some special Halloween-themed treats.

Halloween on the High Seas takes place on the following sail dates:

• Disney Dream : (Not yet announced)
• Disney Fantasy : September 14 – October 26
• Disney Magic : September 9 – October 31
• Disney Wish: September 13 – October 28
• Disney Wonder :  (Not yet announced)

In the past there has been a special menu on Thanksgiving Day, and pictures with Pilgrim Mickey and Minnie. The Christmas decorations will be fully up by Thanksgiving, and there will be a full set of holiday activities and events.

The following sailings include Thanksgiving Day (November 28, 2024).

• Disney Dream : 5-Night Bahamian on November 27
• Disney Fantasy : 7-Night Eastern Caribbean on November 23
• Disney Magic : 6-Night Western Caribbean on November 25
• Disney Wish: 4-Night Bahamian on November 25
• Disney Wonder : 5-Night Australian on November 24 ( note: since New Zealand & Australia don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, we don’t know if there will be a Thanksgiving Menu. )

Typically, Christmas decorations will be up from early November through the final New Year’s sailing, and there will be special holiday events during that whole period, including meet and greets with Santa Claus and with Disney characters in special Christmas outfits. Some of the more elaborate Christmas decorations, including a huge, real gingerbread house or other gingerbread decoration, will not be up until later in November.

Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island, will be transformed with “snow” flurries, a Christmas tree and more. Be on the lookout for Mr. and Mrs. Snowman, dressed in their island attire. Plus, the island’s tram is decorated to resemble a reindeer, complete with antlers and a tail.

Very Merrytime Christmas-themed cruises will be offered on sailings departing between the following dates:

• Disney Dream: November 14 – December 21
• Disney Fantasy: November 10 – December 22
• Disney Magic: November 21 – December 23
• Disney Wish: November 4 – December 23
• Disney Wonder:   (Not yet announced)

There are unique special events and a special menu on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

The following sailings include Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (December 24-25, 2024).

• Disney Dream : 5-Night Western Caribbean on December 21
• Disney Fantasy : 4-Night Bahamian on December 22
• Disney Magic : 6-Night Western Caribbean on December 23
• Disney Treasure : 7-Night Eastern Caribbean on December 21
• Disney Wish:  4-Night Bahamian on December 23
• Disney Wonder : 4-Night Australian on December 24

There is a special party with countdown and balloon drop on New Year’s Eve.

The following sailings include New Year’s Eve (December 31, 2024).

• Disney Dream : 5-Night Bahamian on December 30
• Disney Fantasy : 7-Night Eastern Caribbean on December 29
• Disney Magic : 4-Night Western Caribbean on December 29
• Disney Treasure : 7-Night Western Caribbean on December 28
• Disney Wish:  4-Night Bahamian on December 30
• Disney Wonder : 6-Night Australian on December 28
• If you are interested in booking a holiday Disney cruise , we recommend either Small World Vacations or Undercover Tourist . We have worked with both companies for over 15 years and can recommend them wholeheartedly. It’s really a question of whether you prefer full-service booking or self booking. These staterooms often sell out fast, so if you see one you like, snag it quickly.

Pixar Day at Sea

Marvel day at sea, star wars day at sea.

Pixar Day at Sea includes a Pixar film festival; photo opportunities with Pixar characters; a character breakfast with Woody, Jesse and Bullseye; a theatrical performance based on Coco ; a Pixar-themed dinner; a dance party with Pixar characters; and a nighttime spectacular featuring the Incredibles.

Pixar Day at Sea will take place on select Disney Fantasy 7-night Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises from Port Canaveral in early 2024. The Eastern Caribbean cruises are January 6, 20; February 3, 17 and March 2. The Western Caribbean cruises are January 13, 27; February 10 and 24.  

Marvel Day at Sea is a special all-day celebration of the Marvel Universe. Special features include multiple Marvel character meet-and-greets, Marvel-themed activities for families, Marvel movie screenings, a costume party, special merchandise and food, and an exclusive Marvel deck party. There is also an adults-only dance party with Star-Lord and Gamora.

Marvel Day at Sea will take place on select Disney Dream 5-night Western Caribbean cruises from Fort Lauderdale on January 7, 12, 21, 26; February 4, 9, 18, 23; March 3 and 8. 

Star Wars Day at Sea cruises generally feature a full day of Star Wars celebrations, including a deck party, meet-and-greets with favorite characters, Star Wars -themed youth activities, at-sea screenings of Star Wars films, unique food and beverage offerings, and special merchandise. The night before Star Wars Day at Sea, Darth Vader and Stormtroopers march into the ship’s atrium for an Imperial takeover.

Guests are encouraged to bring their costumes and participate in the costume celebration held in the ship’s atrium. Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique offers special makeovers on Star Wars Day at Sea. Kids ages 3-12 can transform into Rey, Kylo Ren, Leia and Poe. Adults and teens, can get a Rey makeover that includes a stylish dress, makeup and hair style or choose from one of four Star Wars-themed T-shirt options. All come with a personalized name tag, lanyard with medallion and magnet set.

No Star Wars Day at Sea dates have been announced for 2024. Star Wars Day at Sea appears to have been replaced with Pixar Day at Sea, but DCL has not made an official announcement one way or the other. 

• If you are interested in booking a themed Disney cruise , we recommend either Small World Vacations or Undercover Tourist . We have worked with both companies for over 15 years and can recommend them wholeheartedly. It’s really a question of whether you prefer full-service booking or self booking. These staterooms often sell out fast, so if you see one you like, snag it quickly.

Double Dip Cruises

A “Double Dip” sailing is one that visits Castaway Cay or Lighthouse Point twice on the same cruise, or goes to both of them on the same cruise. Many people (including us) feel the day at one of Disney’s private beaches is the highlight of a Bahamian or Caribbean cruise, and this gives you a double dose! Both days follow the typical Castaway Cay & Lighthouse Point schedule: off the ship at 8:30 am (depending on sea conditions), and all aboard at 4:45 pm. The same excursions and activities will be available both days, though if you want to do the same activity or book a cabana for both days, you’ll need to book each day separately. If you are going to Castaway Cay twice, you can run the Castaway Cay 5K twice!

In the rare event that the ship visits Castaway Cay or Lighthouse Point two days in a row, the ship will not stay docked overnight. It will leave the island at the usual time on the first day and come back the next morning.

Double Dip cruises scheduled so far for 2024:

• Disney Dream : March 17
• Disney Magic : July 1, July 15, July 29, August 12
• Disney Fantasy : Jun 8 (technically a triple-dip!), July 20, July 25

Repositioning is when a cruise starts in one port and finishes in another. These cruises can be a good deal, as they usually are cheaper per night than conventional round-trip cruises. They also tend to go to more unusual locations. The longest repositioning cruises are the Panama Canal and Transatlantic cruises, which are almost always the cheapest cruises (per night) of the whole year.

Unique cruises have an itinerary that is different from other cruise itineraries that particular ship is sailing around that time. They either visit an unusual location or locations or visit a unique combination of common locations. Repositioning cruises are all unique as well.

• If you are interested in booking a specialty Disney cruise , we recommend either Small World Vacations or Undercover Tourist . We have worked with both companies for over 15 years and can recommend them wholeheartedly. It’s really a question of whether you prefer full-service booking or self booking. These staterooms often sell out fast, so if you see one you like, snag it quickly.

2024 Adventures by Disney Cruise Packages have not yet been announced.

The Adventures by Disney Cruise Packages include 2 Adventures by Disney guides available onboard and in port; special VIP privileges; private onboard receptions; unique onshore activities; early debarkation at each port; all meals, snacks and water while in port; a photo CD with all ship photographer pictures, all Adventures by Disney guide photos and an Adventures by Disney slideshow.

• If you are interested in booking an Adventures by Disney Cruise Package , we recommend filling out a quote form with Small World Vacations . They give you full service, including a personal travel agent you can contact by email or direct phone number and we recommend them wholeheartedly ! Best of all, it costs you nothing to use them, PLUS they give you FREE onboard credit for any Disney Cruise Line booking of over $1000 total fare, good toward most onboard activities and extras such as spa treatments, shore excursions or even your bar tab.

DVC member cruises are only open to Disney Vacation Club members who have purchased at least some of their vacation points directly from Disney (rather than from another member via resale). Members can use their vacation points to book the cruise or can pay cash rates. Typically DVC cruises are significantly more expensive than similar cruises for the general public, but guests will be given a wide variety of DVC special gifts and will get to experience some exclusive member events including talks by special guests including artists, imagineers and/or actors from classic Disney movies.

Whether the DVC member cruise is worth booking is a personal judgment call. The extra events are difficult or impossible to experience any other way. The various DVC gifts are usually a mix of the usual kinds of tote bags, pens, and so forth you can get by attending a DVC meeting or buying a new DVC contract, plus at least a few special and unique items. Some people love the DVC member cruises and try to go on each one. Others go once and feel it’s not worth the extra money.

Disney Cruise Line has announced two Disney Vacation Club (DVC) member cruises for 2024:

• May 18: 7-night Mediterranean cruise from Barcelona on Disney Dream
• June 14: 5-night “triple dip” Bahamian cruise with two visits to Lighthouse Point and one visit to Castaway Cay on Disney Magic

Adventure by Disney Pre- and Post-Cruise Escape Packages take place before and after select Disney Cruise Line sailings. These 2- to 3-night Escapes include 2 Adventure by Disney guides; hotel accommodations; multiple, daily excursions; special VIP privileges; all transportation during the trip and a photo CD with all the Adventure by Disney guide photos.

• If you are interested in booking an Adventures by Disney Pre- or Post-Cruise Escape Package , we recommend filling out a quote form with Small World Vacations . They give you full service, including a personal travel agent you can contact by email or direct phone number and we recommend them wholeheartedly ! Best of all, it costs you nothing to use them, PLUS you could save up to $1,000!  Read more about the Small World Vacations savings offer here .

No drydock plans have been officially announced for 2024 yet.

A DCL primer for Disney World people

Lots of people enjoy going to the Disney parks and want to consider branching out to new areas but aren’t sure where to start.

That’s why we’ve put together this Disney Cruise Line primer to help you get started if cruising is new to you.

When we teach people how to plan trips to Walt Disney World, we like to use a 6-step planning process to make sure all of the decisions are being made in the right order.

We’re going to adapt that for cruising in order to walk you through the basics.

In this article

Step 1: pick a cruise

Choosing travel dates for a Disney World trip is usually a matter of comparing your availability to crowd calendars or events that are scheduled, but picking a cruise includes a lot more factors that might make this step harder (though other steps – like dining – are much easier for a cruise).

Factors to consider when picking a cruise:

• Your availability
• Length of cruise – lots of options available from 2-15 nights in length. We recommend 4-5 nights minimum for a first cruise to give you time to learn and enjoy the ship.
• Departure port – is the place that it’s departing easily accessible to you? If you’re a Disney World person who wants to try DCL, cruises out of Port Canaveral might be easiest to create a land/sea trip.
• Itinerary – is the cruise stopping in places you want to visit?
• Ship – Disney has 6 ships that vary in size, age, and amenities
• Price – the cost of each cruise can vary wildly. Booking early is your best bet for getting the lowest price.

Use DCL’s filter tool to narrow down your options based on your criteria and/or check out the chart below that compares all of the ships.

Step 2: choose your stateroom

For Disney World trips, this step would be all about choosing your hotel and room type, but it’s about choosing your stateroom when cruising.

Unlike hotels, cruises allow you to pick your exact room so you’ll know what type of room you’re getting and where it’ll be located on the ship.

(There’s also the option to choose an unassigned room for a lower cost which allows Disney Cruise Line to assign you closer to your cruise date. These are called guarantee rooms. Get more details .)

When choosing a stateroom, you’ll want to consider these things:

• Cost – bigger rooms cost more, interior rooms can save you money, etc.
• Type of room – room size, bed configuration, interior/exterior, etc.
• Location on the ship – forward (front) vs midship vs aft (back), port side (left side as you face the front of the ship) vs starboard (right side), and which deck (lower decks are often better for motion sickness, upper decks have better views)

While researching, you may want to search “[ship name] [stateroom]” for pics, videos, and reviews.

Step 3: make a daily plan

If this were Disney World, you’d be choosing which parks to visit each day of your trip. Since it’s a cruise with a preset itinerary, you’ll want to decide what activities to do each day of your cruise instead.

The tricky thing about knowing what’s happening on your cruise is that you have some parts you already know (days at sea, ports) and some you won’t easily know all the details about (when is pirate night, is there a formal night, etc.)

The schedule is available to concierge guests about 140 days before the cruise begins by emailing [email protected] .

Concierge guests will often share that schedule in cruise FB Groups. Sites sometimes have Personal Navigators (printed schedules) from recent cruises that can also give you much more detail on what’s happening each day.

For days at sea:

• There will be lots of onboard activities you can do for free. You’ll be able to find the whole list in the DCL app during your cruise. We recommend hearting the things you’re interested in which will put them in your plans.
• Activities you can pay extra to do. This can include things like mixology classes, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, spa services, etc.

For port days:

• You can choose to stay on the ship. The activities above are available on port days as well if you choose to stay on the ship. For example, we always stay on the ship in Nassau, Bahamas, because it’s not a port we like and the ship is quieter on those days.
• You can choose what to do when you get off the ship. If you get off at a port, you can choose what to do which could include just walking around, but often includes booking port adventures (excursions). Booking through DCL guarantees they’ll take care of you in the event of anything happening during your port adventure, but it also often means the activities cost more money or have more limited options. Booking on your own can give you more options at a lower cost, but if the port adventure operator doesn’t get you back in time (a rare event for a reputable company) the ship will leave without you boarding and you’ll have to figure out how to meet up with your cruise again. We highly recommend reading reviews of port adventures as the description given by the cruise line or operator doesn’t always thoroughly explain how it works or what’s included.

Themed nights during your cruise

In addition to sea and port days, you might also want to look at themed nights on your cruise.

Most or all Disney cruises have themed nights such as pirate night, Frozen night, formal night, semi-formal night, etc. You’ll likely find out the schedule for these in your cruise FB Group.

Participation in those is totally optional, but if you’re interested in partaking, be sure to add it to your daily plans so you can dress for the occasion.

Live productions

Every ship has a theater called Walt Disney Theater where stage productions take place a few nights during your cruise.

Some of these are stage versions of popular Disney movies (Tangled, Little Mermaid, Cinderella, etc.) and others are original cruise line productions (Golden Mickeys, Disney Seas the Adventure, Disney Dreams).

We highly recommend making time to see them as it’s 1 of the things that Disney Cruise Line does so well.

There will be 2 showings on the nights that the productions are running. For good seating, try to line up 20-30 minutes beforehand.

Step 4: planning dining

This step of the planning is much easier when cruising than going to Disney World since it’s mostly all planned out for you.

On Disney Cruise ships, there are usually these dining options available:

• 1 large casual buffet location – large buffet available for breakfast and lunch
• 3 main Table Service restaurants – themed dining rooms that you rotate through each night of your cruise, has a main dining time or late dining time option
• Quick Service locations – a few different options, often located near the pool
• 1 or 2 adult-exclusive restaurants – requires reservations, costs extra, has a dress code, available for brunch or dinner
• Room service – food is included with your cruise cost, but you’ll want to tip $1-3 for a small order, $4-5 for a larger order
• Miscellaneous areas – various lounges, coffee spots, etc., throughout the ship. Often costs extra.

All of the food listed above is included unless noted.

Some tips related to dining on your cruise:

• You will rotate between the 3 main Table Service restaurants throughout your cruise, keeping the same table number and servers who rotate with you.
• You won’t know which order you’ll be dining in them until you can connect to the ship’s wifi at the cruise terminal or on board. If, for some reason, you don’t don’t like your rotation, you can go to Guest Services on the ship to see if they can change it.
• Your stateroom will have breakfast order door hangers (usually in the desk drawer). You can jot down your breakfast order, leave it on your door, and it’ll be delivered at the time specified. This is completely free since all room service is included. Unless you’re staying concierge, room service breakfast options are really limited. You’ll want to head to a restaurant if you want hot breakfast food.

• Eating at the adult-exclusive restaurants requires a reservation. These spots can be really competitive, particularly on days at sea. The service and food are incredible, so we do highly recommend them if you want something special during your cruise.
• The 1 large casual buffet location on each ship is often very busy and crowded, but you can often find smaller locations near the pools that are less crowded .
• You’ll need to pick a dining time for your 3 rotational Table Service meals . Early dining is usually at 5:45 p.m., while late dining starts at 8 p.m. We’ve done both and prefer early dining because we like the flow of having dinner, going to see the ship’s evening show, and then heading for nighttime activities and bars. However, earlier dining does have more kids and may require getting back to the ship too early, depending on your port and port adventure times.

Step 5: booking and checking in

In this step, let’s talk about booking and check-in processes for Disney cruises because it’s often 1 of the most confusing parts of the whole process.

Now that you’ve made some decisions for your cruise, you can now book your trip.

You can do that on your own, but we highly recommend booking with Small World Vacations who can not only provide professional help but offer you onboard credit that you won’t be able to get on your own.

Once your deposit is put down, be sure to join your cruise’s FB Group which is an invaluable resource as you plan. Search “[ship name] [cruise date]” to find yours (for example “Disney Magic January 10-15 2025”).

FYI – booking for the items below opens at midnight eastern time.

Step 6: add extra magic

We always like to include this step in any trip plan because it’s a chance to customize and have fun with your plans.

For a Disney Cruise, consider some of these options:

• Bring special outfits to wear for themed nights (as mentioned above).
• Participate in Fish Extenders which allow you to hang something from the fish hook outside your room that other people can deposit trinkets into while you deposit gifts you’ve brought into theirs. This is usually organized in your cruise’s FB Group.
• Decorate your door. The stateroom doors are magnetic (sometimes the walls are too) so they’re fun to decorate with magnets that are often used to hang lights, dry erase boards, and other decorative items.

• Purchasing onboard gifts. This is a fun way to have your stateroom decorated when you arrive or have gifts delivered during your cruise. Many onboard gifts are exclusive to each ship.
• Get a free call from a character. Pre-recorded phone calls from Disney characters wishing you well on your sailing are a fun way to get the entire travel group excited about an upcoming Disney cruise. After you’ve booked your cruise, visit  My Reservations  under  My Disney Cruise  and select “Request Call” beside the Free Character Call header. This link will take you to a site where you can choose a Disney character, enter your phone number, schedule a call time, and provide additional information for your Character Call. 

Disney Cruise Line trip reports

We routinely chat with people about their cruises. If you’re interested in reading and/or listening to their reports, these might be of interest to you:

• Erin’s DCL cruise out of NOLA – PREP 398
• About my least fave DCL cruise – PREP 394
• Kelle’s westbound transatlantic cruise on the Disney Dream – PREP 379
• Disney cruise from England to Norwegian Fjords – PREP 374
• Cruising to Alaska on the Disney Wonder – PREP 360
• Cruising on the Disney Magic with John A. – PREP 350
• Sailing Concierge on the Disney Wish – PREP 348
• Combining Adventures by Disney with a Disney Cruise – PREP 343
• Disney Wish Cruise Review – PREP 336
• Ashley A.’s Land & Sea Trip Report – PREP316
• Lori’s DCL Alaskan Trip Report – PREP310
• Tom’s U.K. Disney Cruise to Nowhere – PREP288

Although this primer covers a lot of info, we dive into even more details in these articles.

Ultimate Disney cruise packing list

How disembarkation works on Disney Cruise Line

How to do embarkation day on Disney Cruise Line

All about Castaway Cay

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Disney World Crowd Calendar: Best Time to Go to Disney

September 4, 2019 //  by  Courtney Archer

When you are wishing on a star for the perfect Disney World vacay, a Disney World crowd calendar is the perfect start for a dream come true. Crowd calendars are a classic tool used to help plan for popular places.

We have made a crowd calendar WDW style just for you. It maps out the busiest times and provides an event schedule to go along with it. 

Figuring out the best time to go to Disney World is a serious business. Whether you have children or not, Disney World is all about reawakening the child inside yourself and bringing some of the wonder and imagination back into your life.

It, therefore, should come as no surprise that the park draws heaps and heaps of people to it whatever time of year it is. People like being reconnected to their youthful selves, and people like Disney World.

We compiled a list of Every Map At Disney World [resorts, parks, waterparks and more] for your convenience in planning and understanding where things are located around the Disney World Resort. This will help before and during your vacation and will help you navigate with ease. 

Here in this article, you will find answers to questions about when the park is least and most crowded, as well as what is going on that makes it that way. After all, crowds usually mean that there is something pretty spectacular going on.

Want to know if it is worth risking the crowds? Or want to avoid the crowds altogether? Without a  crowd calendar, Disney World can be unpredictable. Our Disney World crowd calendar is going to help you know what to expect every month of the year so that you have the best experience possible.

Get a FREE printable 30/60/90 day Disney countdown by joining our private Disney Facebook Group and share your photos and ask for tips and tricks! 

Disney World Calendar: Best Time to Go to Disney

When is walt disney world least crowded.

If you are only going to Walt Disney World for the rides and general experience, and do not care so much about events going on in and near the park, you may want to stick to the times when it is the least busy.

Big crowds make for long lines. In that case, you do not need the whole Walt Disney World crowd calendar as much as someone who wants to know everything going on throughout the year. That is fine!

The rides are a great experience all by themselves! In order to get the most rides in with the shortest lines, you are going to want to come when the Disney World crowds are at their smallest.

Is it any surprise that Walt Disney World is at its least crowded state when all the kids go back to school? Disney crowds tend to be full of children, and things get so much better when the children are busy.

The last couple of weeks of August and basically all of September are a breeze at Walt Disney World.

Of course, we know the crowds at Disney World tend to be packed with adults as well, and you will basically never find a time when there is no line whatsoever, but you can definitely find much shorter lines in August and September.

When is Walt Disney World Most Crowded?

Big crowds are a deal-breaker for some people, we get it. Even if they are not, it is good to be aware when the biggest crowds are going to gather so that you can plan for long lines and long waits.

That is the whole reason why we made our Disney World crowd calendar! Walt Disney World is the most crowded during the last three weeks of December and the first week of January.

If you simply have to go during this time, because, hello , Disney at Christmas! Well, just prepare yourself.

It is a good thing the park is absolutely beautiful at this time of year because you are going to spend a lot of time looking at it while you wait in line.

Now that being said, December is still a great time to go. Disney World pulls out all the stops for Christmas, and there is a ton going on that makes it worth all the time you will spend waiting around.

Depending on your preferences, December might be the best time to go to Disney World because wait times are not everything. Refer to the Disney World Crowd Calendar below to check out some of the events that make this a truly wonderful time of year.

What is the Best Time to Go to Disney World?

A lot of factors play into the best time to go to Disney World. Are you wanting the easiest trip, the most exciting one, or one that your kids will never forget?

Disney World offers all of these things, albeit at different times of the year. Good thing you found our Disney crowd calendar to help you sort it all out! We have sorted through everything for you and figured out the best times for comfort, excitement, and perfect childhood memories.

Read on to figure out the best time to come depending on what you are looking for.

Disney World is a paradise, and it can also be a bit of an ordeal sometimes between the Florida heat and the Disney crowds. If you love Disney World, but want as easy and comfortable experience as possible, come in January or September.

Florida temperatures in January are pretty mild and easily survivable. While the first week of January is crowded, as mentioned above, the rest of the month is much less crowded. January is also solidly outside of hurricane season too, making it less likely that you will have to cut your vacation short for a storm.

Temperatures and humidity are much higher in September, but they are still better than August. And, as mentioned above, September is the least crowded time of year.

September is at the tail end of hurricane season, which is definitely something to keep in mind. That being said though, just stay informed about the weather and any possible storms and you should be fine.

Both January and September, due to the smaller crowds during these times, offer lower prices for pretty much everything so that you can keep your wallet a lot more comfortable too.

Disney World has countless events going on all year, and a few that are truly exciting and worth planning trips around. This may be a Disney World crowd calendar, but we have to let you know about all the exciting things going on too!

The Epcot International Festival of the Arts runs during January and February. It offers exhibitions of creativity in pretty much every medium, including culinary and performing arts.

Your vision and ears will be filled with all of the colorful expressions of imagination throughout the Epcot Theme Park during this time.

Following shortly after is the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival , which runs through the springtime months.

The name pretty much tells you what you need to know–this festival is all about things gorgeous, green, and growing. Come during this time to see the fantastic living sculptures made of shrubs and trees.

Next up is the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival , beginning at the end of August and ending in late November.

Whether you consider yourself a foodie or someone who just really enjoys food, this is a spectacular time to visit Disney World. As noted above, this festival also falls in one of the less busy times of the year, making both comfort and excitement possible in one visit!

The Epcot Theme Park is not to be outdone at Christmas time either. Running through the very end of November and ending at the end of December is the Epcot International Festival of the Holidays .

It offers holiday culinary delights from cultures all over the world, as well as traditional multi-cultural performances. The Candlelight Processional is a special part of the festival.

Every night it tells the nativity story through a celebrity narrator, choir, and orchestra.

Child-Friendly

While the festivals listed above all offer child-friendly features, there are some events that are tailored specifically toward children.

We highly recommend checking out Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party with or without your kids, running from mid-August to the first of November.

It features parades, fireworks, trick-or-treating, and fun shows. This party is loved by children and adults alike.

In a similar vein, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party comes to Disney World in November and runs until just before Christmas in December.

Like the Halloween party, the Christmas party has parades, fireworks, and staged shows. It goes from 7 PM to midnight, so it can be a little late for younger children.

However, it offers kids an excellent chance to snack on cookies and cocoa while meeting some beloved Disney characters.

Disney World Crowd Calendar

If your visit to Walt Disney World is more centered around availability than what is happening at the time regarding Disney crowds or events, you have arrived at the portion of this article that is most useful for you.

Sometimes the best time to go to Disney World is simply when you have vacation time. School and nine to five jobs do not always make for flexible schedules.

We totally get it! That is why we have broken each month down for you so you know what to expect whenever you are able to come.

Here you will find our WDW crowd calendar for what is happening, what kind of crowds to plan for, and what the weather looks like for each month of the year.

What is Happening

Happy New Year! Disney World is a great place to ring in the new year, especially with the Epcot International Festival of the Arts .

While you are checking out the absolutely phenomenal arts, you can also run a marathon! The Walt Disney World Marathon happens early January each year.

This event also features a half marathon for people who value their ability to be able to walk the next day.

For those who do not value their ability to walk the next day, (and for you hardcore racers out there!) Disney World offers several challenges including the marathon. 

Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge starts with the half marathon on Saturday and finishes with the marathon on Sunday. Yup. That’s right. People run a marathon and a half in two days for this one. But hey, if you do it on pace, you get a medal!

A couple of days before the marathon there is also a 5k and then a 10k . If you really want to prove your mettle, you can do the Dopey Challenge and  run all four .

The 5k, 10k, half, and full marathon, all over the course of four days. You get a medal for each one, for Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge, and for the Dopey Challenge.

If you ask us the proportion of medals to the amount of time spent running is not quite balanced, but hey, it is more about the running than the medals, right?

And because this is Disney World, there are also races for children . We cannot think of a more fun place to race as a kid.

There is the Diaper Dash for babies, 100-Meter Dash for 1-4 year olds, and the 200-Meter Dash for 5-8 year olds. Ages 9 and up are welcome to sign up for the longer races.

Week By Week Crowd Breakdown

Week 1: Busy, busy, busy. Like, extremely busy. New Year festivities are still in full swing, and the crowds are still hopping. Weeks like this are the reason that crowd trackers exist because some people work to avoid these times.

Week 2: Getting better. Still moderate crowds, but heaviest on the weekends and still nothing like the week before. Expect shorter wait times, but still plan to arrive early to shows and events.

Week 3: Similar to the week before, with some truly light days in the middle of the week. There will still be lines, because Disney World, but mid-week is about as good as it gets for crowds.

Week 4: Moderate crowds all week–not heavy, but not light either. The weekend is busier as per usual.

Week 5: Crowds during the last week of January start out moderate, trend light in the middle of the week, and pick back up to heavy for the weekend.

January typically features highs around 71° F, with lows of 52° F. Disney World usually gets some rain in January, but not much so you do not really have to plan for it. If it does rain during your visit, it just gives you an excellent opportunity for spending some time inside cute Disney World shops!

Happy Valentines Day! The Epcot International Festival of the Arts is still running during February. Events like this make a Disney World crowd calendar all the more useful so that you can enjoy the festival and also avoid the crowds.

People love the Epcot International Festival of the Arts because it is a visual representation of everything Disney is about–creativity, happiness, and imagination come alive.

February also features some more races, although no marathon this month. Instead, there is the Disney Princess Half Marathon .

You can also do the Disney Princess Enchanted 10k , or the Disney Princess 5k . Like the marathon in January, there is also a medal for completing the Disney Fairy Tale Challenge , which is awarded for completing both the 10k and a half marathon on pace.

Of course,  of course , there are also races for kids of all ages. One of the beautiful things about Disney World is that it is a haven for children and adults alike.

Like with the Walt Disney World Marathon in January, there is the Diaper Dash for babies, 100-Meter Dash for 1-4-year-olds, and the 200-Meter Dash for 5-8-year-olds.

Week 1: An excellent time crowd-wise to visit Disney World, with moderate to light crowds. Even the weekend is only moderate, compared with the heavy weekends of January.

Week 2: This week is moderate, with heavy to very heavy crowds on the weekend. If you have to come this weekend, plan ahead for longer wait times for rides and events. Valentine’s day makes Disney World a popular date location, and it stays busy for days before and after.

Week 3: The crowds start out very heavy during this week, thin out to heavy, and then become moderate for the weekend. Valentine’s Day is still affecting this week, but things calm down a little by the weekend.

Week 4: Crowds are moderate at the beginning of this week but become light mid-week. The weekend is moderate to heavy again.

February offers highs of around 74° F, with lows of 55° F. Like January, there is usually some rain during this time but not much.

Just check the weather and be aware that you may get some rainfall. If you do happen into a little shower, we recommend ponchos over umbrellas so that your hands remain free!

The Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival begins in March. It is a beautiful spectacle that stays and draws people for months.

As far as events go, March is a slow month. But in mind that March is also Spring Break for colleges and schools across the United States, so even though there are not as many events going on in the park, there are still tons of people coming to the park. It is one of the busiest months of the year.

Week 1: The first week of March begins with heavy crowds that lean more toward moderate as the week goes on. It is the least busy week of March. If you need or want to come in March, we recommend this week as far as crowds go.

Week 2: Expect heavy to  very heavy crowds during the second week of March. All of the rest of March is busy, but this week is the busiest. The wait times will be upwards of two hours at best, and there will be people everywhere. In our Disney World crowd calendar, we recommend avoiding this week if possible.

Week 3: The crowds continue, although this week is usually a little better than the one before. Continue to expect long wait times, and to need to weave in between people everywhere to get where you need to go.

Week 4: Crowds start out very heavy this week, thin to heavy mid-week, and jump back up to very heavy at the end of the week. Again, you will have long wait times for everything, and you will have to deal with Disney crowds everywhere.

March creeps up with highs of 78° F, and lows of 58° F. The rain still does not get crazy this month. Like January and February, Disney World usually gets a little rain in March but nothing extreme.

April is a little busier event-wise than March, but not by much. Of course, not much is needed beyond the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival which is still taking center stage at this point. The Flower and Garden Festival is a true delight of whimsical fancy.

You will be very fortunate to be able to experience it if you visit in April.

Beyond the festival, April also has the Star Wars Rival Run Half Marathon . As with the Walt Disney World Marathon of January, and the Disney Princess Half Marathon of February, the Star Wars Rival Run Half Marathon also features other races and its own challenge.

As per usual, the other races are a 5k and 10k . The Star Wars Rival Run Challenge is running both the 10k and the half marathon.

As with the earlier mentioned marathons, there are also kid races ! The Star Wars Rival Run features also the Diaper Dash for babies, 100-Meter Dash for 1-4 year olds, and the 200-Meter Dash for 5-8 year olds. We love Disney World because they go to so much effort to create an experience that anyone can be a part of.

Week 1: The heavy crowds of March continue into the first week of April, with very heavy crowds the first weekend. However, the first week is the worst week. Things get better from here!

Week 2: Going from a very heavily crowded weekend, the second week of April eases into heavy crowds mid-week, and then thins even more into moderate crowds for the weekend. This is not a bad week to visit Disney World as far as crowds go.

Week 3: If you are going to visit Disney World during the third week of April, we recommend coming at the beginning of the week when crowds are moderate. They become heavy, and then very heavy by the end of the week.

Week 4: Crowds during week four of April start out heavy but then become moderate by the end of the week. The end of April actually features some light crowds, making it an excellent time to visit.

April breaks out of the 70s with highs of 83° F and lows of 63° F. Whatever that poem says about April showers does not hold true for Disney World, because this is typically the least rainy month of the year here.

May is the last month for the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival . Do not miss out on your chance to experience this creative culmination of nature and art! The Disney After Hours program also begins in May.

This is a program wherein certain parks stay open later, during which there are special events and shows. Our favorite part of the Disney After Hours program is that if you buy a ticket for it, snacks are included with the price!

Week 1: May’s first week shares a bit of April with it, and also shares some nice wait times with light crowds. By the weekend the crowds become heavier, but it still is not a bad time to visit Disney World.

Week 2: The second week of May is downright pleasant with moderate to light crowds. It just might be the best time to go to Disney World, with the Flower and Garden Festival, light crowds, and bearable temperatures.

Week 3: Great crowd ratios continue in the third week of May. They are light on the weekdays, becoming more moderate to heavy during the weekend.

Week 4: Crowds begin to grow during May’s fourth week. Although better than any week in March, this week’s crowds range from moderate to heavy.

Week 5: This is the busiest week in May. The very beginning of the week has moderate crowds, but the rest of the week’s crowds are heavy. You will want to plan accordingly if this is the week you visit Disney World.

May is still warmer with highs of 87° F, and lows of 69° F. It gets more rain than the previous four months, but still not a lot. As long as you check the weather and keep yourself informed you will not be blown away by an unexpected rainstorm.

The Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival ends during the first few days of June. Disney After Hours continues, giving you the unique opportunity to explore the Magic Kingdom Park or the Animal Kingdom Theme Park after usual hours on select summer nights.

Disney After Hours offers select entertainment and events that are not available during the day. You will need to purchase a separate ticket for it if you choose to go, but we think it is worth the extra money for the experience at least once!

During June the special Disney H2O Glow Nights event begins on select nights as well. Visit Typhoon Lagoon during this event to see the park come alive with lights and waterworks.

You will also find shorter wait times for rides, as this is a ticketed event. And great news! Like Disney After Hours, Disney H2O Glow Nights also includes snacks!

Week 1: June’s first week is a great time to visit Disney World. The Disney crowds are not swollen with summer vacationers yet. There are light crowds at the beginning of the week and only moderate crowds at the end of the week.

Week 2: Crowds get heavy at the beginning of this week, but are moderate to light for the rest of the week. The weekend is actually light, making it a best time to go to Disney World if all you have is Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Week 3: Beginning and ending with light crowds on the weekends, mid-week has moderate crowds. Again, if all you have is a weekend, this is another week to consider coming to avoid crowds at Disney World.

Week 4: The fourth week of June is also the most crowded week of June. That being said, it starts with moderate crowds and ends in heavy crowds, so it is still better than March!

The heavier crowds at the end are because we are headed toward the 4th of July, a very busy time for Disney World.

Get ready to sweat in June with highs of 90° F and lows of 73° F. June also features rainy days for about a third of the month. Bring your ponchos and some shoes that will still be comfortable wearing around the parks if they get wet. That being said, this is not the rainiest month of the year yet.

July features Disney After Hours and Disney H2O Glow Nights , just like June! There are no Epcot festivals this month, and it is a great month to focus on the park and the rides themselves. However, the July 4th celebration is unlike any other.

If anyone has fireworks shows down to a science, you can bet it is Disney! Disney World crowds are busy in July for the holiday festivities, and also because it is in the middle of summer break for a lot of schools. Come prepared for the crowds, heat, and the rainy weather if you choose to come in July.

Week 1: It is counter-intuitive because the 4th of July is this week, but this is the least busy week of July. The rest of July features heavy crowds, so if you want to come in July, we recommend this week in our Disney World crowd calendar.

Week 2: We warned you. This week has heavy crowds the whole way through. Expect longer wait times for rides and events.

Week 3: Same as Week 2–crowds are heavy, and wait times are long. Plan accordingly.

Week 4: The crowds start easing up again during the fourth week of July as we head toward the Food and Wine Festival of August. Temperatures are high, so you might as well avoid crowds if you can and come this week or the first week of July.

July and August are pretty even for the hottest months of the year at Disney World. July has highs of 90° F, and lows of 75° F. If you can take respite inside during the afternoon hours, definitely do. This is a prime nap, late lunch, and do anything but be outside time.

July and August also tie for the rainiest months of the year at Disney World. It will be hot, and it will be humid. Be careful of heat exhaustion during this time.

August welcomes the year’s next Epcot festival in the form of the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival . This festival is, shocker, all about food! If you visit during this time you will find 25 international kiosks throughout the park, each offering international specialties.

As if being able to taste countless different cuisines is not enough, you can also take classes on how to make some of them! The festival begins at the very end of August, and coincides with one of the least crowded times of the year, making this the best time to go to Disney World.

Along with the Food and Wine Festival, the Disney After Hours and Disney H2O Glow Nights specials continue.

August is the last month of the year to experience these spectaculars. Remember that they are separate, ticketed events, that are not included in the price of your day pass.

However, they do include beverages and snacks! Also keep in mind that because these are separate events, lines are shorter and you will not have to wait as long to go on your favorite rides.

Beginning mid-August, Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party hits the Disney World scene in the Magic Kingdom park. It has a fireworks show of its very own that is sure to thrill and delight.

There is also a parade of all your favorite Disney characters, as well as trick or treating in the park! Can you imagine a more fun place to go trick or treating? Because we cannot!

This is also a separately ticketed event, and another one that we think is worth experiencing at least once.

Week 1: Even though the temperatures are  harsh , the crowds in August are much nicer than July. Expect moderate crowds during the first week.

Week 2: The heavy crowds of August are done during the second week. All you will see is Moderate to light crowds from here on out.

Week 3: If the temperatures were not so high, and there was not so much rain, August would be the best time to go to Disney World. The third week has light crowds the whole way through, with a possibility of more moderate crowds on Saturday.

Week 4: The fourth week of August is another week of light crowds, with moderate crowds on the weekend. If you are all about being around as few people as possible, we suggest trying to come to Disney World in August or September.

August weather is basically a repeat of July with highs of 91° F and lows of 75°. Make staying hydrated a priority, along with staying inside during the worst of the heat. Like July, August is exceptionally rainy, but that does not really mean relief from the heat in Florida. It just means more humidity. Plan accordingly.

During September the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival really goes into full swing. If you visit Disney World during this time you will have a great opportunity to experience food from all around the world.

We love the Epcot park because it offers great opportunities to expand both your lived experience and your knowledge. The Epcot International Food and Wine Festival is an excellent chance to do this!

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party continues to draw crowds to the park, but not a ton because this is September! If you want to go to Mickey’s Halloween Party, September is a great time to come because of the light crowds and cooler weather.

Especially if you have little kids who are not in school yet, this is an excellent chance to visit the park and make life-long memories without the crush of people around to make things difficult.

Week 1: September’s crowds are the best crowds, especially because the hot summer temperatures finally ease up a little. You do not need a Disney World crowd calendar as much if you come in September. The crowds remain much the same light to moderate throughout the month.

Week 2: Crowds are the lightest during the second week of September, which is saying something because they are light all of September except when they creep up to moderate on the weekends.

Week 3: Disney World crowds continue to be light during the third week of September. This month really is a great one for avoiding the swarms of people you can sometimes find at Disney World.

Week 4: We were serious when we said September crowds are light all month long. This trend continues into Week 4, which is also when September’s best temperatures arrive! This is definitely a best time to go to Disney World.

Two degrees can make all the difference. September’s high is 89° F and the low is 74° F. September also starts to calm down on the rain. That being said, you are still more likely to see rain in September than at the beginning of the year, so keep tabs on what the weather is doing.

Naturally, Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is a major feature of the month of October. Kids and adults alike enjoy participating in the autumn activities happening in and around the parks. October also continues to feature the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival .

Crowds start to pick up in October but are not at crushing holiday levels yet. It is a good time to come and enjoy the park before things get hectic in the next couple of months.

October also features the Epcot Forever celebration. It is an outdoor show that explores the history and future of the Epcot park.

You can watch it anywhere in Epcot where you can see the World Showcase Lagoon, and you do not have to pay for a separate ticket to view the event. With fireworks, laser effects, and kites, this one is a hard one to miss.

Week 1: Say goodbye to the light crowds of September. With the advent of Mickey’s Halloween Party, Disney World once again begins to be a crowded place. The first week of October is not bad though, with moderate crowds mid-week and heavy crowds on the weekend.

Week 2: This is the busiest week of October, with heavy crowds all week until they become  very  heavy crowds on the weekend. The Halloween festivities are pretty spectacular though, so can you blame people for ignoring their crowd tracker and coming anyway?

Week 3: The third week of October is only very slightly less busy than the week before. The crowds tend to be heavy to very heavy, with slight spots of moderate Disney crowds.

Week 4: Crowds at Disney World slow down in the fourth week of October, with only a little bit of heavy and mostly moderate crowds.

Week 5: The last week is the best time to go to Disney in October. Crowds are moderate to light as the Halloween festivities start to wind down. The nice thing about Disney World is that they do the festivities all month long so that people do not feel like they have to cram them in at the end of the month.

October breathes a sigh of relief as it enters autumn and leaves the 90s well and truly behind. The high this month is 84° F and the low is 68° F. Rainfall comes back down to average levels for Disney World during October, making trick or treating during Mickey’s Halloween Party all the more fun!

In November the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival gives way to the  Epcot International Festival of the Holidays . This is a fun time to come because, if you play your cards right, you can catch the tail end of the Food and Wine Festival as well as the beginning of the Festival of the Holidays.

The Festival of the Holidays includes a live performance of the Nativity story in the Candlelight Processional .

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party begins in November is another separately ticketed event that runs from 7 PM to midnight on select nights. It features the traditional parade, fireworks show, and a memorable stage show.

Not only does it offer the chance to see some of your favorite Disney characters, but they will also be wearing festive seasonal apparel.

If you do not want to pay extra for the tickets to this event, rest assured that every park in Disney World will be decked out in holiday cheer.

November also has its own half marathon, in the form of the Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon . It follows the format of the marathons before, with a Disney Fall Feast 5k , Disney Wine and Dine 10k , Disney Two Course Challenge (doing both the 10k and half marathon), and kids races .

As before, the kids races include the Diaper Dash for babies, 100-Meter Dash for 1-4 year olds, and the 200-Meter Dash for 5-8 year olds.

Week 1: The first week of November is a solid mix of light and moderate crowds, with heavy Disney crowds on the weekend. It is actually impressive how light the crowds can be considering how many things are happening during this time!

Week 2: This is the best week of November for avoiding large crowds of people. November is a tricky month and one that makes use of a Disney World crowd calendar imperative. The week starts with moderate crowds and finishes with light crowds at Disney World.

Week 3: November’s third week just might give you whiplash. Staring with light crowds, the park is packed with very heavy crowds by the end of the week. Thanksgiving weekend never fails to draw in scores of people.

Week 4: Things do not ease up in the last week of November. Crowds go from heavy to very heavy, and back to heavy again at the end. Use your Disney World crowd calendar to make the most of this week! And if you can avoid this week, we recommend it. Of course, we definitely understand if you just cannot say no to all the festivals and Christmas events.

Pleasant temperatures make November a lovely time to visit Disney World. November’s high is 78° F and the low is 60° F. November and December tie for the months with the lowest predicted rainy days for Disney World. It is a pleasant alternative to the snowy holiday weather present in much of the rest of the United States during this time!

During the last month of the year, the Epcot International Festival of the Holidays is still keeping the holiday cheer strong. Do not forget that the Candlelight Processional is part of the event, and you will not need to pay for a separate ticket to view it! Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party continues to hold the secret to the best Christmas memories possible.

If Christmas is your favorite holiday of the year, December is the best time to go to Disney World. However, it is necessary to use a Disney World crowd calendar during this time.

Crowds can be overwhelming during this time, and it is wise to be proactive in scheduling your visit from event times to meal reservations.

Week 1: December’s first week is a break from the very heavy crowds of the week before. If you can wait until the first week of December, instead of going the last week of November, it is worth considering! The Disney crowds are moderate the whole week through.

Week 2: This is the best week in December. The weekends feature moderate crowds, with light crowds on weekdays. This is the best time to go to Disney World to avoid crowds and still participate in the holiday festivities.

Week 3: Things are ramping up the week before Christmas. Crowds start out heavy and only increase to very heavy as the week goes on.

Week 4: Merry Christmas! Hopefully you do not want to actually ride any rides if you come this week, because the lines will be unbearable.

This is  the  busiest, most crowded week in Disney World. If you want to know what a true crowd Disney world style looks like, come this week. Get reservations in advance, or plan on just watching from afar, because there are going to be a ton  of people.

Week 5: Happy New Year! December finishes strong with very extremely heavy crowds. This is another week that made the use of a Disney World crowd calendar necessary.

If you can wait to come until the next week, you might want to consider it. That being said, there just are not many experiences like a Disney New Year.

December is barely beat out by January for the coolest month of the year at Disney World, but December is still very pleasant.

The high this month is 74° F and the low is 56° F. December also has the fewest predicted rainy days, along with November, making it an excellent time to visit Disney World and to enjoy all of the holiday festivities.

With a crowd calendar, Disney World becomes much easier to navigate. We hope ours has helped you figure out the best time to go to Disney World, and that you are able to create the experience you are dreaming of. Whatever month you come during, you are sure to make happy memories!

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2024 Disney World Crowd Calendar

These free 2024 Walt Disney World crowd calendars rate dates so you can choose best weeks to go & avoid the worst, skipping long lines and high wait times. We cover seasonal events, weather, park hours, Orlando travel trends, and factors impacting when to visit Florida’s theme parks. (Updated April 1, 2024 .)

Three months are in the books on 2024, and it’s already been a weird year for Walt Disney World crowds. Wait times have increased year-over-year so far in 2024, reversing monthly declines that occurred in the last 11 months of 2023. Although January, February and March 2024 all had higher average wait times than the same months last year, it hasn’t been an across-the-board increase. Some days and weeks have been slower, with Orange County’s Spring Break–which was downright dead–being a prime example.

This honestly was not what we expected. As a whole, our 2024 Walt Disney World crowds forecast was for pent-up demand to continue exhausting itself, a process that had not yet fully played out as of the end of last year. As such, we expected crowd levels to drop slightly through at least the first half of 2024. Instead, the opposite is happening. In What’s Causing Higher Crowds at Walt Disney World in 2024? , we theorize about the why  of that, with discussion of various factors that have led to ‘re-revenge travel’ this year.

Regardless of whether crowds increase or decrease for the remainder of 2024 as compared to last year, you should be prepared for high wait times by historical standards. This year likely won’t be on par with the stratospheric heights reached in 2022 ( due to a unique set of circumstances that’ll hopefully never be repeated ), but it’ll still higher than any year between 2014 and 2019.

Even amidst last year’s “slowdown” at Walt Disney World, average wait times still reached 2018 levels. This year is shaping up to be, at minimum, a repeat of 2019 and much busier than 2020-2021. This is key context since wait times in 2019 were almost 10 minutes higher on average than any year before 2017.

In other words, your frame of reference matters. Walt Disney World is still very crowded by historical standards. We expect this trend to continue throughout 2024 and the parks to be busier than they were 6+ years ago, even if crowd levels don’t hit the record-setting peaks from 2022.

Part of Walt Disney World has seen a rebound in crowd levels thus far in 2024 is due to discounting, especially on park tickets. Walt Disney World releasing tons of different discounts for 2024 . Deals are better than the last two years and are coming out earlier, and the end result is that it’s actually less expensive to visit Walt Disney World now than it was in the last two years. Beyond that, the company is pulling more “levers” in an attempt to entice guests to return, and a lot of them appear to be working.

The next three months are a roller coaster of crowd levels that include both some of the slowest dates and also some of the busiest weeks of the entire year. Post-Easter, Walt Disney World has entered the second half of Spring Break, which (unsurprisingly) should be busy.

After that, “shoulder season” arrives. That was one of the slowest 6-week stretches of last year, but we expect late April and May 2024 to be busier. That’s in large part due to the aforementioned ticket deals, which are being offered to both Florida residents and the general public. There’s also the completed overhaul of EPCOT, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opening in June 2024, and new summer offerings designed to lure people to the parks.

If you’re looking for a convenient resource for planning a weeklong or so vacation to Walt Disney World and want to know when to visit or avoid based on crowds & congestion, weather, special events, and more–check out our list of the 10 Best and 10 Worst Weeks to Visit Walt Disney World in 2024 & 2025 .

Note that crowd levels are calculated on a rolling basis relative to the prior 365 days. They are not anchored to 1971 or 1993 or 2008 wait times. In other words, a 1/10 today is not the same as a 1/10 in September 2012 or October 2015. Today’s 1/10 might be closer to a 5/10 from five years ago.

Pretty much every single day in 2024 would be 10/10 if we used 2008 or earlier as the baseline. If you last experienced Walt Disney World several years ago, your baseline expectations and experience probably differ from someone who visited over holiday weeks in 2022 when pent-up demand was running hot.

Not only that, but a ‘low’ crowd levels does not mean that in absolute terms. Even on 1/10 days, the parks will not be ghost towns allowing you to do snow angels on the ground. You will see rides with 60-90 minute posted wait times. You will encounter areas of congestion. “Uncrowded” at Walt Disney World means something different than it does at the American Dream Mall or Wyoming in  The Last of Us.  The most popular rides, especially during the middle of the day, will still have long lines.

For example, going from a 10/10 crowd level to a 1/10 crowd level means you might encounter a 65-75 minute average wait time for popular rides–including but not limited to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Peter Pan’s Flight, Slinky Dog Dash, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, Frozen Ever After, Na’vi River Journey and Avatar Flight of Passage–as opposed to 90+ minute wait times. Those numbers are averages, so it also means higher peaks and lower lows. Below-average crowd levels does not mean every ride is a walk-on!

We’re not trying to be debbie downers. Our goal is to provide  realistic  expectations and preparation for crowds. And if you read reports of the parks being empty, ghost towns, or dead…well, you might have be surprised to encounter “only” an hour wait time for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. (Yes, that’s a lot of waiting–but that posted wait time is also inflated and still far lower than it’d be during peak season.)

Point being, there are still definitely big differences in crowd levels, and you should plan accordingly. No matter how hard Disney might try, there are certain times that travel is slower. School schedules, weather, seasonal festivities, youth sporting events, conventions, and other factors all play a huge role in crowd levels at Walt Disney World.

If all of this sounds overwhelming or imprecise, the good news is that it’s entirely possible to beat bad crowds. In fact, we recommend savvy strategy over choosing the “best” days to visit!

By utilizing Genie+ and Lightning Lanes, Early Entry, Extended Evening Hours, rope drop, etc. We cover the best & worst approach for each park in Best Time-Saving Strategies for Walt Disney World . (If you’re only going to read one planning post, make it that!)

If you want to read a few more posts–all more useful than crowd calendars–be sure to also check out our Walt Disney World Itineraries   for plans of attack, with options now with and without Genie+ and Lightning Lanes.

Speaking of which, we have a ~4,500 word   Guide to Genie+ at Walt Disney World & Lightning Lane FAQ  for those who want to thoroughly master the new paid FastPass system.

Honestly, following a good itinerary and utilizing smart strategy is way more important than choosing the “right” dates. There are some exceptions to this, such as going on December 29, 2024 instead of September 6, but by and large, using smart strategy will put you in a better position than picking the least-busy days and doing zero strategizing.

Ideally, you’d opt for a best of both worlds approach–choosing good dates  as well as  utilizing savvy strategy, but that’s not always possible. After all, there’s a reason most families visit Walt Disney World during school breaks. If you don’t have any choice but to travel during busier dates, you can still beat the crowds.

With that said, here are more detailed suggestions for when you should and shouldn’t visit Walt Disney World…

2024 Disney World Crowd Calendars

If you’ve already narrowed down a season or range of dates during which you want to visit Walt Disney World, we’d recommend forgoing the remainder of this post. Instead, refer to our individual monthly guides, which offer free crowd calendars and cover weather, seasonal events, refurbishments, and what’s new & next.

These 2024 Walt Disney World crowd calendars offer more granular details for each specific month. We’d suggest reading all months for the time of year you’re considering. For example, if you’re thinking of a summer vacation, read the May through August monthly guides; if you’re considering Christmas, consult both November and December.

• January Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar & Info
• February Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar & Info
• March Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar & Info
• April 2024 Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar & Info
• May 2024 Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar & Info
• June 2024 Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar & Info
• July 2024 Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar & Info
• August 2024 Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar & Info
• September 2024 Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar & Info
• October 2024 Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar & Info
• November 2024 Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar & Info
• December 2024 Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar & Info

These Walt Disney World crowd calendars are most reliable about 6 months in advance. It’s still too early to make reliable predictions for next summer and beyond. With that said, some of the same general patterns play out year in and out, so later months are useful for broader weekly trends–rather than specific dates to visit.

For these crowd calendars, we combine normal data like wait times and other info that serves as a proxy for crowds with our in-person observations and anecdotal experiences. From all of this, we’ve learned to spot patterns and notice things about wait times and attendance at Walt Disney World, which we share with you in our crowd calendars.

Note that the above crowd calendars do not, for the most part, offer park by park crowd levels. On a calendar day basis, that’s far too granular and no longer possible to predict. However, we’d direct you to Best & Worst Days to Do All Parks at Walt Disney World for advice on choosing which day to do each park. Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and EPCOT typically follow patterns and picking the right (and avoiding the wrong) days can make a big difference, no matter what time of year (uncrowded or crowded) that you visit.

Having a little knowledge about the ebb and flow of attendance throughout the day will also prepare you to avoid crowds and zig when others zag. Some parks and attractions see visitor numbers and lines spike during certain parts of the day, and it’s important to understand the why of this, so you can plan around the peak crowds.

This isn’t to say that there’s no way to avoid the crowds anymore–there absolutely is–and crowd calendars will help with that. The slower dates are still noticeably slower than the busier dates. All we’re saying is that crowd calendars are not some ‘magic bullet’ that you can use without doing any other research to have a great trip, walking onto every attraction. Over-reliance on Walt Disney World crowd calendars (including ours!) will lead to disappointment.

If you’re trying to determine when to visit, we recommend starting by choosing seasonal events and the type of weather that appeal most to you, and then narrowing your dates within those broad parameters based on what crowd calendars identify as the best and first weeks to visit. Walt Disney World crowd calendars are still a useful tool, but they’re not a planning panacea.

Choosing which days to visit Walt Disney World is just one aspect of planning a trip. To make sure you tackle everything, make sure you read our Guide to Planning a Walt Disney World Trip , which covers all of the essentials. With that said, here’s what else to consider…

If weather is an important consideration, we highly recommend heading down from in late September, October, early November, late February, March, or April. Those are ideal  from a weather perspective. That is, assuming you want more temperate weather, rather than extreme heat and humidity or more cold weather. If you like your clothes drenched in sweat from high temperatures, May until late-August are the perfect times for you to visit.

Late summer and early fall are the height of hurricane and storm season, which have become increasingly relevant. We highly recommend consulting our Visiting Walt Disney World During Storm Season article before booking a trip this time of year. The best case scenario is navigating the afternoon showers without them putting too much of a damper on your trip. Worst case, an approaching hurricane forces you to cancel your trip or be at Walt Disney World while the parks close due to the storm.

If you must visit between the late spring through early fall, just remember to pack accordingly, bringing the Frogg Toggs for the humidity…and ponchos for the rain so you don’t spend $179 on them at Walt Disney World. Read our Unique Disney World Packing List for some items you might not otherwise think of taking.

While early December and January are great times to visit to avoid crowds, our experience has been that these are the worst two months in terms of weather. Not only does it get extremely cold (well, relatively speaking–it is Florida after all), but there are substantial swings in temperature. You might find yourself wanting to wear shorts in the morning but by late afternoon it is jeans and sweatshirt weather. As the night rolls on, you might even find yourself wanting to put on a parka.

If you travel during these seasons, expect to bring more luggage and make more stops at your room to change clothing (or at least plan on renting a locker to store additional layers of clothing each day). You may be lucky and find relatively consistent temperate weather during these timeframes, but it’s best to prepare for the worst so that you don’t have to purchase a bunch of $50 sweatshirts from the Emporium on Main Street. Those $50 sweatshirts can add up quickly! Check out our Winter Packing Tips for Disney post for more insight on what to take on your winter trip to Walt Disney World.

In talking to others, we’ve found that this is the one area that people consider the least when planning their trips, which we think is at least a small mistake. It’s important to note up front that, typically, less busy seasons have shorter park hours and busier times have longer park hours.

It thus stands to reason that you can basically get the same amount done in a shorter day during a less busy time than you could during a busier time. However, this isn’t always true. If you use an efficient touring plan (see our Itineraries for Walt Disney World ), you have a good chance of getting more done during a busier time of year than during a slower stretch.

This is especially true if you get to the park early and stay late. Sometimes during especially busy times, Magic Kingdom will open at 8 am and will close at 11 pm. While we’ve taken advantage of these hours without taking a break during the day, we realize some of you are mere mortals.

A great strategy to employ during days with operating hours such as these is to get to the park shortly before opening, stay until around 11 a.m., go back to your resort to nap or relax, and return around dinner time to stay until park close. Regardless of the time of year, the parks will always be fairly slow during the first couple operational hours, and will always be fairly deserted late at night. Ride as much as you can early in the day and do less popular attractions as the day wears on.

Similarly, park hours should be taken into account based upon your sleep habits. If you’re a late-to-rise night owl, the Fall and late Winter/early Spring months may be a bad idea, as these entail many early closing times. If you’re not going to get to the parks until noon anyway, your day might be only 7 hours or so.

Conversely, if you wake up early and generally call it a day by 5 or 7 pm or so, those midnight closings aren’t going to do you any good. Make sure you check Disney’s park hours calendar when planning your trip. It’s important to note that this calendar is often inaccurate far in advance (Disney posts hours conservatively, then extends them as bookings increase).

Special Events

This is a big one for us, as we’ve been to Walt Disney World so many times that it’s nice to visit during different times of year to keep things varied. Even if it’s your first visit to Walt Disney World, if you have particular interests, you might want to consider planning your trip around these special events. The schedules for these varies, as does the price (if any), so please consult the respective page for each event when doing your planning and budgeting.

Halloween and Christmas events in the Magic Kingdom are separately ticketed, meaning you can’t use your standard park tickets for them. Unlike regular park tickets, you also can’t purchase these tickets at a discount from authorized vendors ( which can save you a lot of money on regular tickets ). Despite this, both events are a ton of fun and well worth experiencing. As you can read in our Ultimate Guide to Christmas at Walt Disney World , it’s our favorite time to visit the parks!

We’ve written tips & tricks for almost every seasonal event at Walt Disney World , because most aren’t simply a matter of “show up, have fun.” We encourage you to click these links (they will open in a new tab) and read the guides. Like all things Walt Disney World-related, you’ll have a much better time and see more that the event has to offer if you do some advance planning…

• Walt Disney World Marathon   – The flagship runDisney race weekend is held in early January, usually the weekend after New Year’s. It typically occurs while schools are still out for winter break, effectively extending the holiday season crowds into early January.
• EPCOT International Festival of the Arts – This is one of the highlights of January and February at Walt Disney World for us. Truly captures the essence of old school EPCOT Center.
• EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival – Our Guide to the Flower & Garden Festival. We think this is one of the most underrated events at Walt Disney World. Epcot looks so beautiful in full bloom.
• EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival – Beginning in late summer, this is EPCOT’s flagship culinary event. Want to know what to do–and more importantly what NOT to do? Read our guide. It’ll give you an idea of what’s not worth the money, and what is worth doing.
• 2024 Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom – Possibly more than any other special event at Walt Disney World, you need to do advance planning for this. Character meet & greets can form hour-plus long waits, and there’s so much to do that you can’t accomplish everything in one party. We highly recommend reading this guide!
• EPCOT Food & Wine Festival – Same as above usually continues through mid to late November.
• 2024 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom – Read this post for our Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party tips & tricks, including what to do and when to do it at the party.
• EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays – This expanded event now features food, Holiday Storytellers in the World Showcase, and other entertainment.
• Candlelight Processional at Epcot – Here we cover whether you should do the dinner package, along with a list of the narrators, and some photos from recent Candlelight Processionals we’ve attended.

School Schedules

If school schedules are something around which you must plan, chances are you’re going to go during one of the busier (or at least not one of the least busy) times of the year. School schedules are the paramount consideration for many other families planning trips, too.

It may seem convenient to visit during one of the ‘holidays’ your kids have off from school, but it’s important to consider whether other schools have these same dates off, as well. Of the traditional school holidays, only Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends are good times to visit.

Because most schools have the week before Christmas until the shortly after New Year’s off, this is an especially crowded window to visit. Likewise, the same goes for President’s Day weekend, Easter week, Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples’ Day week, Veterans Day week, the entirety of the Summer, and Thanksgiving week.

Although schools do vary their Spring Break schedules, don’t expect the parks to be any less busy because of staggered Spring Breaks. Mid-March until mid-April are also incredibly busy dates for the parks because of Spring Breaks, with the two weeks abutting Easter being the absolute worst (since most schools still use Easter as a proxy for Spring Break).

Some people don’t have many other options, so it’s going during a school break or nothing. If so, it’s not the end of the world. As we’ve stressed above, crowd calendars are not as important as they used to be. Simply pack your patience and have a good touring plan (which is far more important than choosing dates based upon a crowd calendar, anyway). For help with this, refer to our Free Walt Disney World Park Itineraries & Touring Plans . We have the perfect strategy for fun, efficient, and memorable days in the parks!

If you don’t have kids or aren’t otherwise forced to travel around holidays or traditional vacation periods, we’d highly recommend avoiding them. Not because we have anything against kids, but because crowds and prices will be higher during these breaks. Plan around them and save both time and money! As we often say, pack your patience and arm yourself with savvy strategy if you’re visiting Walt Disney World and you’ll do just fine, regardless of crowds.

If you are unsure of when visiting Walt Disney World might be best for you–or need personalized help with any aspect of your trip from hotels to the Disney Dining Plan and more–we recommend contacting a no fee “Authorized Disney Vacation Planner” (basically, Disney’s term for a travel agent) to get a quote and to help you plan. They get their commission from Disney, so none of the authorized (key word) planners will charge you for booking their trip and helping. Here’s one such Authorized Disney Vacation Planner that we recommend!

Hopefully this is a valuable primer to help you choose when you want to visit Walt Disney World. Figuring out when to visit is an important first step, but there’s much more to know. You’ll also want to read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post to buy the cheapest tickets from legitimate sources. To figure out where to stay, our Walt Disney World Hotel Reviews page is a great resource. Want to know where to eat or if the Disney Dining Plan is right for you? Our Walt Disney World Dining Resources will help! For lots of other Walt Disney World trip planning tips and comprehensive advice, make sure to read our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide .

Your Thoughts

Visiting Walt Disney World during the best dates to avoid crowds is probably one of the most important aspects of trip planning. What season, month, or week do you generally visit WDW? Do you visit at times when you know crowds will be light, or do you visit when school is out of session? Do you agree or disagree with our advice? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!

Written by Tom Bricker

Hello. How’s the crowd in MK during Memorial Day? Thank you

SWORE last year was my final time after battling end of January crowds….but now after reading here i decided ..OK i will go back on my favorite time….first week of December……seems everyone else read your posting here….our old faithful FRENCH Qtr is BOOKED……..UGHHHHHHHH……

We were at Epcot, Disney Springs, and Universal last week. We were also at Disney the exact same week in ’23. The crowds we’re definitely bigger, with the most noticeable difference being significantly more foreign language speakers this year. I would guess international guest numbers are up a lot!

Thanks for the analysis, Tom. Do you have any plans to update your days-of-the-week schedule given some of the surprising data in the first three months?

Yes to this, please! (Also, I live by your Genie+ priority rankings, Tom. Thanks for continuing to keep those up to date.)

I last updated that post ( https://www.disneytouristblog.com/best-worst-days-week-visit-every-park-disney-world/ ) in mid-February and made a note about evolving trends with Saturday and Sunday.

I’m waiting for the new ticket deals to get going for a few weeks before drawing any further conclusions. I think that will tell us a lot, but it’s still too early for that.

Next crowd resource update is on the best & worst weeks to visit.

Are we really talking about unexpected crowds, or just increased wait times as a result of WDW trying to drive Genie+/ILL sales by operating attractions with less capacity and less adequate staffing than in the past (thus driving up wait times on purpose)? Now that WDW is financially incentivized to make wait times longer instead of shorter, I don’t think wait times are still a reliable shorthand way to estimate or compare crowd levels.

How do we think the dance competition crowds on the weekend of 02/03 along with the pro bowl happening in downtown Orlando that same weekend will affect the crowds at the parks ?

Could be wrong because it’s unprecedented, but I don’t think the NFL Pro Bowl will have any impact whatsoever on Walt Disney World. I don’t see much demographic overlap between the two.

If anything, I could see a scenario where demand for the Pro Bowl spikes hotel and airfare prices enough that it discourages winter weekend getaways to WDW at a time when they’re otherwise fairly popular.

I’m prepared to be totally wrong about any/all of this since we don’t have past precedent for it…but that’s what my gut says.

Tom, I went to the November 2024 link, but it still has 2023 info. I know the first half of the article is obviously generalized and still fits, but any updates for the second half?

Thanks for the heads up on that. Did you have that same issue with the other links or did you only try that one?

I had just updated the late (October-December) month crowd calendars for 2024, so it’s possible the page cache just hadn’t cleared. I’ve now manually done that, so you *should* see the updated pages now even if you weren’t before. Please let me know if there’s still an issue. Sorry about that!

Other links, like the Best and Worst Weeks, were fine! I’m very excited, we are booked for the prime week, December 1-8, 2024!

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Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar 2024

Are you going to Walt Disney World in 2024? Would you like to know what you can expect from the crowds? Are you trying to determine the best time to head to Walt Disney World? Then take a look at our Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar for 2024.

Our crowd calendar will help you prepare and make the best decisions for planning the dates of your magical Disney vacation. While days with more substantial crowds may occur, this crowd calendar will give you a traditional idea of what you can expect.

On This Page

• January Crowd Calendar
• February Crowd Calendar
• March Crowd Calendar 
• April Crowd Calendar
• May Crowd Calendar
• June Crowd Calendar
• July Crowd Calendar
• August Crowd Calendar
• September Crowd Calendar
• October Crowd Calendar
• November Crowd Calendar
• December Crowd Calendar

January 2024 Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar

January key events.

• January 1: New Year’s Day
• January 3 – 7: Marathon Weekend
• January 12 – February 19: Epcot International Festival of the Arts
• January 15: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Summary of the month

The beginning of January begins super busy with the New Year. The busy holidays lead right into the very popular Marathon weekend. Next, Martin Luther King Day is a holiday where many visit the parks due to kids having time off from school and businesses having Monday off. By the end of the month, however, crowds will have lightened.

February 2024 Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar

February key events.

• February 14: Valentine’s Day
• February 19: Presidents’ Day
• February 22 – 26: Princess Half Marathon Weekend
• February 28 – May 27: Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival

The month of February begins with lower crowds. February is a great time to go as the weather is nice, and crowds are typically lower than average. February doesn’t usually get busy until around Valentine’s Day through President’s Day Weekend. Presidents’ Day, like Martin Luther King Day in January, causes crowds to increase due to longer school breaks. Presidents’ Day Weekend and extends into the week as guests take extra days off for a longer getaway. Student groups (like sports, cheer, music, etc.) tend to have events during this time of year.

March 2024 Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar

March key events.

• March 31: Easter Sunday

Summary of month

March starts with spring break crowds that will grow as the month continues.  The second week of March typically starts to show an increase in crowds as spring break crowds get heavier around the US. Don’t shy away from this time of the year, though, as the weather is nice and the parks are beautiful with spring flowers blooming.  Just make sure you plan to manage the crowds. The week before and after Easter bring the most Spring Break travelers.

April 2024 Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar

April key events.

• All month: Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival
• April 18 – 21: runDisney Springtime Surprise Weekend

The month of April starts with crowds as the week after Easter attracts many travelers. Once the week after Easter passes, spring break crowds will diminish.  runDisney Springtime Surprise Weekend is a fun addition to April. Like the Princess Half Marathon Weekend, this doesn’t draw as many runners as the marathon in January, but it does slightly increase crowd levels on race days. April will wrap up with moderate to lighter crowds as temperatures warm.

May 2024 Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar

May key events.

• May 12: Mother’s Day
• May 27: Memorial Day

The beginning of May is a great time to visit the parks as crowds are on the low end. With schools wrapping up, few families take vacations during this time of the year, making crowd levels low. As the month continues, crowds will increase as schools finish their year. Memorial Day Weekend will be a higher level crowd time due to extra time off from work and schools.

June 2024 Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar

June key events.

• June 16: Father’s Day
• June 19: Junteenth

June starts the summer months of crowds, where you can expect moderate to heavy crowds most days. Although this may seem like a time to avoid visiting, with a good plan, you can manage the masses, making June a good summer month option.

July 2024 Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar

Key events in july.

• July 4th: Independence Day

With the 4th of July, this month starts with higher crowds. The most intense summer crowds occur around the 4th of July celebration. Following the holiday, crowds are heavy to moderate throughout the month. Like with June, although this may seem like a time to avoid visiting, with a good plan, you can manage the crowds. 

August 2024 Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar

August key events.

• TBD August – November:   Epcot International Food & Wine Festival
• mid-August – October 31: Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party

August starts with the typical summer crowds; however, as the month continues, the crowds lessen due to schools starting. Leading into September is often some of the slower times of the year. 

September 2024 Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar

September key events.

• September 2: Labor Day

September is often the slowest month, however thanks to possible special offers, sometimes September can see moderate crowds. Labor Day Weekend sees a moderate uptick in crowds, and weekends will likely be heavy due to the Epcot Food and Wine Festival.

October 2024 Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar

October key events.

• All Month:   Epcot International Food & Wine Festival
• October 31st: Halloween
• October 31 – November 3: Wine and Dine Half Marathon Weekend

October sees an uptick in crowds due to a number of school districts taking a fall break in the first couple of weeks of the month. The Epcot Food and Wine Festival also brings crowds on the weekends as locals come to experience the event. Also, don’t forget about Halloween Parties, which brings people to the resorts.

November 2024 Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar

November key events.

• November 11: Veterans Day
• Through mid November:   Epcot International Food & Wine Festival
• November 28: Thanksgiving

Summary of Month

With both the Epcot Food and Wine Festival and Jersey Days early in the month and Thanksgiving later in the month, November sees heavier crowds. Add in the holiday decorations and parties starting earlier each year, this month keeps more moderate crowds overall. Like in the summer months don’t let this keep you from enjoying the magic.  Plan and be prepared and the crowds won’t bother you anyway.

December 2024 Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar

December Key Events:

• Through December: Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party
• December 25: Christmas
• December 31: New Year’s Eve

Summary of the month:

December has quickly become one of the busiest times at Walt Disney World.  More and more people want to experience Walt Disney World during the holidays and who can blame them? However, this has led to an increase in park crowds.  It is important during this time of year to have a plan, allowing you to truly enjoy the magic of the holidays at Walt Disney World. Make sure to book early because resort availability will be limited, especially in the second half of the month. 

Above all, it’s always a great time to visit the Walt Disney World Resort no matter what time of the year it is, as the magic never stops. When you visit Walt Disney World, make sure to use your MyDisneyExperience to help make the most of your trip.

Walt Disney World Resort Free Quote

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A major component of your Walt Disney World vacation will be touring the parks . Some folks like to have definitive plans while others prefer to meander about. Here's our best advice for you planners!

Touring Plans

The folks at TouringPlans have made a science out of avoiding lines at Disney World. They’ve created 140 customizable, step-by-step itineraries for Walt Disney World, called “touring plans.” Those plans are grouped by age, so you’ll find Magic Kingdom plans for parents with small children , Epcot plans for adults , Animal Kingdom plans for ‘tweens and teens, and lots more.

Each touring plan includes the park’s best attractions for that age group, plus restaurant recommendations and Fastpass suggestions. And they’re designed to minimize your wait in line.

You can customize each plan to your vacation dates – plus you can pick which rides your touring plan includes, and tell it when you want to take breaks.

Disney estimates that the average guest experiences 10 attractions in a day at the Magic Kingdom. Using a touring plan you should be able to see double that, and save hours in line. The science behind Touring Plans has been reatured in Wired, Popular Science, the New York Times and many other places.

Crowd Calendars

If you really want to avoid Disney World crowds, you’ll want to know which parks are less crowded for each day of your trip. TouringPlans also has a Disney Crowd Calendar , showing how busy each Disney World park will be for each day of your trip:

The Disney World Crowd Calendar

The Crowd Calendar shows you how busy the theme parks will be on any day of the year. If you’re just starting to plan your Disney vacation, you’ll be able to pick a less-busy time of year to visit. The calendar also shows Disney World’s seasonal ticket prices, special events, historical weather, and park hours.

A year’s use of TouringPlans.com is just $14.95 and includes access to the Crowd Calendar and their mobile application, Lines, so you can follow your plans and get updates while you’re in the parks. And they offer a 45-day money-back guarantee.

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Best Disney World Crowd Calendars

By: Author Courtney Derqu

Posted on Last updated: January 8, 2022

The hunt is always on for the best time of year to visit Disney World. And with the start of the new year, there’s no time like the present to start planning your Walt Disney World vacation. Crowd calendars can be a great gauge on when to be where at Disney World. Unfortunately, there is a bit of bad news I have to pass along about this. In recent years, there has become a shortage of these “dead” periods at Disney World. Disney is just becoming more and more popular so crowd calendars are becoming more important when it comes to Disney World vacation planning.

What is a Disney World Crowd Calendar? 

A Disney World crowd calendar is a type of methodology that helps guests know when is the best (and worst) times to visit Disney. Crowd calendars examine all sorts of data, including previous park attendance rates, resort and ticket prices, holidays, and different promotions such as the summer and fall sales that offer 25% off room rates when booked during a certain period. 

This data is used to make future predictions about attendance trends in the coming year. 

Disney World Crowd Calendar Options

Some popular Disney World crowd calendars are both  Touring Plans  (paid) and  Undercover Tourist.  These two calendars are based on a database of collected information.

We also enjoy the crowd calendars from the  Disney Tourist Blog  as well as  WDW Prep School.  These two crowd calendars fall into the category of well-thought-out opinions. Despite these two sites’ calendars not coming from a database of scientific information, we wanted to share them because they are two trustworthy Disney World opinions. Both teams have vast knowledge and frequent experience traveling to Disney World.

What Factors Affect Disney Crowd Calendars? 

Unfortunately, many things. Let’s look at the COVID-19 pandemic as the best example. Since data from the previous year is looked at, it was very difficult to make predictions about what the crowds would be like in 2021 since the data from 2020 was so unpredictable, thanks to park closures, limited tickets, and travel restrictions. However, this example is the exception rather than the rule as pandemics aren’t usually a common thing. 

Traditionally speaking, the most common factors that affect the reliability and accuracy of Disney crowd calendars has a lot to do with special events, annual passholder tickets, and in recent years, influencers. 

Disney World holds a lot of events throughout the year. That, combined with the onset of new attractions and experiences at an almost unprecedented rate, you’d be hard-pressed to find a time to visit Disney when there isn’t something special going on. Here’s a list of all the special events happening in Disney World in 2022 (so far): 

• Re-opening of the Festival of Fantasy parade 
• Epcot’s Festival of the Arts : January 14, 2022: February 21, 2022
• Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser resort : March 1, 2022
• Epcot’s Flower & Garden Festival : March 2, 2022 – July 4, 2022
• Finding Nemo: The Big Blue….and Beyond
• Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival: July 15, 2022 – November 20, 2022
• Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon weekend: November 3-6, 2022
• Tron Lightcycle Power Run
• Mickey’s Royal Friendship Faire
• Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind

This, of course, doesn’t include everything that occurred in the latter half of 2021 that many people haven’t yet experienced such as the opening of Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure , La Creperie De Paris, and Space 220 in Epcot, as well as the new firework show, Enchantment in Magic Kingdom, KiteTails in Animal Kingdom, and Drawn to Life, the new Cirque du Soleil show at Disney Springs. Nor does it include special ticketed events such as Boo Bash or other festivities such as the park’s 50th Anniversary Celebration . 

These events and attraction openings usually result in higher crowds, which can dramatically skew these numbers. Another factor that may affect Disney crowd calendars are annual passholders, as these not only have blackout dates but can fluctuate throughout the year. For example, many annual passes for out-of-state visitors were paused in late 2021 due to the influx of travelers over the holiday season.

Another more recent trend affecting the reliability of Disney crowd calendars is the rise of influencers. While Disney has always been synonymous with families, it has increasingly become more popular with millennials. I could see this shift a few years ago at the Disney Store (rip) when they started introducing cookware, jewelry, and fashionable adult clothing in the front of the store that appealed to adults, rather than the kids they’ve always marketed to.  

Furthermore, with the rise of social media apps like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, there has been an influx of Disney influencers and creators spending time in the parks documenting all of the latest events and new merchandise for their YouTube channels and Instagram accounts. Disney themselves have taken advantage of influencers and use them as part of their promotion for these events, as well. With the addition of creators in the parks for grand openings, festivals, and other special occasions, this may inflate the number of park attendance, regardless of whether or not these individuals are riding rides or staying on property. 

What Month is Disney the Least Busy?

Typically speaking, Disney World is usually less crowded during off-periods, such as right after the holiday season and the week after Labor Day when kids have already returned to school. However, with many children still taking part in remote learning, this allows families a little bit of extra flexibility to travel to Walt Disney World outside of summer and winter break. 

Final Thoughts

While it may seem like a Disney crowd calendar won’t be too helpful, the opposite is exactly true. Even though the park attendance changes due to the factors mentioned above, it doesn’t change that much from year to year. The parks usually hit max capacity during the holiday season, especially during the week of Christmas. Special dates, such as the introduction of Enchantment and Harmonious saw increased attendance, and the first couple of months of Tron’s and Guardians of the Galaxy’s opening will see increased attendance at both Epcot and Magic Kingdom. 

When it comes to booking your Walt Disney World vacation, a crowd calendar can help you make an informed decision based on previous data, and you can come up with your own plans after doing a little research on any upcoming events that may be taking place during your proposed dates. Even going during a crowded season, chances are, you probably won’t be waiting more than an hour for the majority of the rides. Plus, even if you are waiting, there are a lot of  things to do waiting in line at Disney World  that can pass the time. 

Do you use Disney crowd calendars to help plan your trip? Let us know in the comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Instagram for all the latest Disney tips and tricks. 

As a self-proclaimed Mouseketeer, Courtney Dercqu is a fan of all things Disney. Between decorating her desk with souvenirs from the park, to making unique mouse ears and having a dedicated Disney Instagram, Courtney is a true believer in the magic of a Walt Disney World vacation. Having had more than 200 articles published on various content, Courtney’s excited to share her knowledge and experience with everyone! Be sure to follow her on Instagram for all the Disney magic.

Crowd Calendars

Theme parks are fun, but long lines aren’t..

Between the exciting rides, delicious restaurants, entertainment options, and more, you’ll have a lot to explore on your theme park vacation – and the last thing you want to do is spend hours waiting in line. One of the best ways to make the most of your trip is by visiting on less crowded days.

To make planning your vacation easy, check out our crowd calendars that let you know which days to avoid if you’re looking to escape the wait times!

2023 Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar

If you want to avoid the lines at Walt Disney World, your best bet is to plan a vacation during May, August, or September – although most months have at least a few expected days of light crowds. If you can’t avoid booking during the busier months, you may want to consider getting a Lightning Lane entrance.

2023 Universal Orlando Resort Crowd Calendar

Spring and summer are busy times at Universal Orlando Resort, as well as the holidays. There’s a good chance you can skip a lot of lines if you plan a visit during August, September, or October. Click the image above for a more detailed look at the expected crowd for each day.

2023 Disneyland Crowd Calendar

With southern California’s beautiful weather, you can expect Disneyland to be busy year-round – but there are still a few opportunities to skip the crowds! If possible, try to plan a visit during the week when not as many people are out and about.

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2024 Walt Disney World Crowd Calendars

Are you going to Walt Disney World? Ready to start planning when you’ll visit next? You’ll want to check out our Walt Disney World Crowd Calendars! There, you’ll find out what the daily crowd levels will be like, type of weather you can expect, and seasonal experiences for you to enjoy.

Dad’s Guide to WDW Crowd Calendar Disclaimer

This calendar is based on historical facts as we know them today, and personal experiences. Walt Disney World is an ever-changing destination and you might find the crowds, weather, or seasonal experiences to be different from what we’ve predicted.

If you’d like to jump ahead to a particular month below, just click on any months in the following list.

January • February • March • April • May • June • July • August • September • October • November • December

Walt disney world crowd patterns.

Walt Disney World crowd patterns have undergone a pretty substantial shift over the last few years.  The introduction of tiered ticket pricing (back in 2016) had a major impact on crowd patterns that still lingers to today.

Some of the traditionally slow times have become busy and historically busy times have slowed down quite a bit. Much of the summer has gone from extremely busy to moderately busy (even the 4th of July isn’t  as busy as it used to be) and certain times in September have become much more crowded.

With the long-lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic—stemming from WDW’s temporary closure in 2020 and countless guests canceling their trips due to travel restrictions and safety concerns—only time will tell how this unique (to say the least!) situation will impact WDW crowds going forward.

January Disney World crowds start off with a  bang —New Year’s Eve is quite possibly the busiest single day of the year at WDW! After the new year celebrations fade, the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts (my personal favorite annual EPCOT festival!) begins.

See more about January Disney World crowds here.

February is one of the best months of the year to visit WDW. The EPCOT International Festival of the Arts continues, and the crowds are pretty low all month long… Aside from the week of Presidents Day, which always draws heavy crowds.

See more about February Disney World crowds here.

In March, Spring Break drives up the crowd levels significantly. But, if you visit during any other part of the month, you’ll find beautiful temperatures and get to enjoy the EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival .

See more about March Disney World crowds here.

The continuation of the EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival  and Easter festivities (which do draw  very large  crowds) sum up the special happenings during April. Low crowds, warm temperatures, and special seasonal events make April such an enjoyable month at WDW.

See more about April Disney World crowds here.

START PLANNING HERE

Memorial Day Weekend marks the (unofficial) start of summer at WDW—and in the past few years, this weekend has been quite eventful! From the grand opening of Pandora – The World of Avatar to the kickoff of a recent “Incredible Summer” campaign of special offerings, Memorial Day Weekend is a very exciting (but  busy ) time of year. But, in early-mid May, you can enjoy some great pool weather with moderate crowds while the EPCOT International Flower and Garden is still taking place.

See more about May Disney World crowds here.

In June, the temperatures start to spike, but the crowds (luckily) range from low to average. The EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival runs all month long and Gay Days happen (during 4 consecutive days) early in the month!

See more about June Disney World crowds here.

Spending the 4th of July (despite the very heavy crowds) at WDW is something I believe all Disney fans should do at least once! Seeing so many guests dressed in red, white and blue at the parks, which are also decorated for the patriotic occasion, is just outright cool. The fireworks at EPCOT and the Magic Kingdom will leave your jaw dropped, ready to head back again next year (trust me, I’ve been there)! But, if you know me, you won’t be too surprised to hear that my ultimate 4th of July must-do at WDW is seeing the Voices of Liberty perform their signature show of the year (several times throughout the day)—outdoors at The America Gardens Theatre!

See more about July Disney World crowds here.

August is a very rainy—and low crowd—month at WDW, which all leads up to the start of the EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival later in the month. If you’re okay with some extreme heat, then August would be a great time for you to take advantage of those low crowds… Just make sure you plan extra time to enjoy the pool at your resort!

See more about August Disney World crowds here.

After encountering the most incredibly hot weather I’ve ever experienced at WDW in September over the past couple of years, I have a (personal) theory that September is the hottest time of the year to visit WDW (especially early in the month). On Labor Day Weekend, the crowd levels are almost as high as the temperatures! Labor Day is becoming an increasingly popular holiday to visit WDW, but after that busy weekend, the crowds tend to disperse. Plus, by September, the Halloween season is already in full swing!

See more about September Disney World crowds here.

October is undoubtedly the most  spooktacular time of the year to visit WDW! Crowd levels vary greatly throughout the month (making it even more important to reference our crowd calendar when planning your trip). In addition to the many Halloween festivities October has to offer, the EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival continues all month long.

See more about October Disney World crowds here.

To me, the month of November at WDW can be summed up in one simple word… CHRISTMAS!

The holiday season begins at WDW in November (right after Halloween) with a very quick transition from pumpkin and leave-filled decor throughout the parks and resorts to Christmas trees, lights, garland, and ornaments.

Also, in mid-late November, the EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival comes to an end, making way for the EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays !

See more about November Disney World crowds here.

All months are magical at WDW, but December just might be the most magical of all. From Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (at the Magic Kingdom ) to Sunset Seasons Greetings (at Disney’s Hollywood Studios ), the amount of holiday spirit at WDW is simply off the charts… As are the crowd levels towards the end of the month!

See more about December Disney World crowds here.

Let the planning begin.

So, have you decided which month is perfect for your next Walt Disney World vacation? If you have your heart set on visiting during a certain time of year (or if you still need help figuring out when is best for you to go), our friends at Destinations to Travel are here to help! Reach out to them here and a member of their team of Authorized Disney Vacation Planners will reach out to you shortly. START PLANNING HERE

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