These free 2023 Walt Disney World crowd calendars fee dates so you may select greatest occasions to go & keep away from the worst, skipping lengthy traces and excessive wait occasions. We cowl seasonal occasions, climate, park hours, Orlando journey developments, and elements impacting when to go to Florida’s theme parks. (Updated November 1, 2022.)
There actually isn’t any “slow” season at Walt Disney World. Although there’s a park reservation system in place that Disney claims is to “protect the guest experience against overcrowding” and “guarantee a great guest experience no matter when people come,” that’s not the actual goal of reservations. Nor does it accomplish that in observe, as crowds have been heavy all through 2022.
Additionally, Walt Disney World makes use of promotions and particular occasions throughout beforehand gradual occasions of yr to lure visitors to the parks, hosts main conventions and youth sporting occasions, and has dynamic pricing for tickets, resorts, and even Genie+ and Lightning Lanes in an try to redistribute crowds. All of this has thrown a monkey wrench into crowd calendars, as Disney’s masterful manipulation makes predicting wait occasions difficult. Nevertheless, there are nonetheless positively massive variations in crowd ranges, and it is best to plan accordingly.
As of Late 2022, the excellent news is that Walt Disney World crowd calendars are beginning to normalize and will proceed to take action in 2023, making crowd ranges simpler to foretell as soon as once more. Attendance developments nonetheless should not “normal” by any stretch of the creativeness, however acquainted patterns have returned by way of the most effective & worst dates to go to, which largely observe historic developments. However, there are a few caveats to this.
First, theme park reservations are nonetheless required. In the previous few months, the one parks which are working out of reservations with regularity are Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. This has been occurring on many days no matter wait occasions, with each parks going unavailable every so often with 5/10 or decrease crowd ranges.
This is as a result of Walt Disney World is now utilizing park reservations to govern attendance dynamics and redistribute crowds on many days. They’re doing this by capping reservations at Magic Kingdom and pushing folks in the direction of Animal Kingdom and EPCOT to extend the utilization of these parks and normalize numbers throughout all 4 parks.
This really doesn’t have a fabric affect on our Walt Disney World crowd calendars. If something, it makes them extra correct since we don’t break down suggestions by park (exterior of occasion season at Magic Kingdom). Since Disney is utilizing Park Pass to maintain crowds constant throughout all 4 parks, the one time there’s a big same-day distinction among the many parks is when crowds are low…through which case, they’re usually low in all places!
Second, Walt Disney World attendance has surged by hundreds of thousands of visitors per yr, and nearly each single day of 2022 is considerably extra crowded than 2012. Similarly, 2022 is way busier than 2020 and 2021. This yr has not eclipsed 2019 (but), which stays the busiest yr in Walt Disney World historical past–however even that fall skilled an unprecedented crowd drop across the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
Crowd calendar scores are relative and calculated on a rolling foundation, that means a low day on the gang calendar now looks like a reasonable day did a couple of years in the past. In different phrases, a 1/10 immediately will not be the identical as a 1/10 in September 2012 or October 2015. Today’s 1/10 is likely to be nearer to a 5/10 from 5 years in the past.
Additionally, scores are additionally relative to their respective parks–that means immediately’s 1/10 doesn’t translate to the identical common wait time at Magic Kingdom because it does Hollywood Studios. In order for crowd calendars to serve a sensible goal relatively than a historic one, this strategy is important–even when it may be complicated.
Finally, these crowd calendars are a measure of wait occasions relatively than congestion. Given that they’re a quantity, wait occasions are quantifiable whereas congestion is subjective and continuously altering. It’s almost unattainable to measure. While wait occasions are normally a great proxy for crowd ranges, they aren’t conclusive of attendance or in-park congestion.
There are a number of different variables that may affect “feels like” crowds, from festivals at EPCOT to climate to visitor demographics to journey breakdowns to operational effectivity to time of day or day of the week. Beyond that, wait occasions may be manipulated by Walt Disney World–they’re typically inflated, or in any other case inaccurate. But to the extent wait occasions are inflated, they’re constantly inaccurate, so all of it evens out ultimately.
This all impacts crowds, or the notion thereof, and the way they diverge from wait occasions. As such, wait occasions are an imperfect measure of Walt Disney World’s uncooked attendance or crowds. Imperfect as they is likely to be, wait occasions are nonetheless the greatest measure of crowds–and the one goal one. The various is counting on particular person visitor perceptions, that are rather more flawed and incomplete.
That may offer you each purpose to doubt the usefulness of Walt Disney World crowd calendars, which is type of the purpose. Probably an odd strategy by a planning useful resource that purports to foretell crowd patterns, however we really feel that it’s essential to grasp the strengths and weaknesses of crowd calendars.
The unhealthy information is that these 2022-2023 Walt Disney World crowd calendars have the aforementioned limitations. Honestly, following a great itinerary and using sensible technique is far more essential than selecting the “right” dates. To that finish, it’s solely doable to beat unhealthy crowds by using Genie+ and Lightning Lanes, Early Entry, Extended Evening Hours, rope drop, and so forth. We cowl the most effective & worst strategy for every park in Best Time-Saving Strategies for Walt Disney World. (If you’re solely going to learn one planning publish, make it that as a substitute of this!)
If you wish to learn a couple of extra posts–all extra helpful than crowd calendars–you’ll want to additionally take a look at our Walt Disney World Itineraries for plans of assault, with choices now with and with out Genie+ and Lightning Lanes. Speaking of which, we’ve a ~4,500 phrase Guide to Genie+ at Walt Disney World & Lightning Lane FAQ for many who wish to completely grasp the brand new paid QuickPass system.
The excellent news is that Walt Disney World crowd calendars are rather more correct than they have been final yr and earlier in 2022. This is essentially due to the aforementioned Disney Park Pass reservation calendar, which now not has each date totally booked for months on finish. While we anticipate ‘grey dates’ to return all through this vacation season, the final a number of months haven’t been as unhealthy as February via April, which mirrored a combination of pent-up demand and capability constraints as a result of staffing shortages.
Things are getting higher on each fronts, leading to improved park reservation availability…and higher crowd forecasts! With that stated, we’re nonetheless not “out of the woods” with regard to long-term crowd forecasting. While we’ve completed preliminary updates to our 2023 Walt Disney World crowd calendars, we’d wish to see extra readability about every little thing from the financial system to geopolitical danger to family steadiness sheets and extra.
If oil costs go up extra or fears of a recession develop in 2023, attendance will drop. But even economists can’t agree on what’ll occur, so don’t anticipate Walt Disney World crowd forecasters to know. (As such, the additional out the 2023 Walt Disney World crowd calendars go, the much less correct they’re.)
With that in thoughts, I’ll provide a couple of fast predictions for the near-term. First is that, throughout the board, November and December 2022 will probably be busier than final yr. This is likely to be surprising or unsettling for annual attendees, particularly those that normally do the week of Thanksgiving. That week is the one potential exception, because it was actually unhealthy final yr and I hope Thanksgiving 2022 crowds gained’t surpass that.
Otherwise, final yr’s vacation season–as busy because it was–benefited from cancellations brought on by the Delta variant and reinstated masks guidelines. Had these two issues not occurred, the crowds would’ve been even worse. And I believe that’s precisely how the Christmas 2022 season will play out.
Expect a pair curler coaster crowd months, however even the valleys are going to backside out at larger elevations, so to talk. (In plain English, the bottom crowd degree for the subsequent two months might be 5/10 or 6/10, with 9/10 and 10/10 dates being way more widespread.) See the month-to-month crowd calendars for November and December (beneath) in order for you ranges for particular weeks or dates.
Conversely, there’s good–or at the least higher–information for many who are considering a go to in January or February 2023. These winter months have been their very own curler coaster over the course of the final 3 years. Attendance was astronomical for the primary three months of 2020 at first fell aside and Walt Disney World closed. (See Peak Crowds in Winter “Off-Season” at Walt Disney World.)
The following yr, we predicted that these crowds wouldn’t materialize because of the chance of a winter wave of COVID preserving folks away. That can be coupled with a scarcity of worldwide journey, conventions, youth occasions on the ESPN Wide World of Sports, and runDisney choices. That prediction ended up being correct.
Last yr, we predicted the alternative for a similar causes: worldwide journey, runDisney, conventions, and youth sporting occasions would all be again. On high of that, there have been home visitors who delayed visits from the primary three months of Walt Disney World’s fiftieth Anniversary because of the Delta variant or face masks guidelines.
Again, that was correct. After a surprisingly gradual October via mid-November (and even a vacation season that wasn’t as busy in regular by way of attendance, even when ‘feels like’ crowds begged to vary), January and February caught lots of people without warning with how unhealthy they have been.
For January and February 2023, we’re anticipating one thing between the 2 extremes. That may seem to be a cop out, however that’s my sincere evaluation. With that stated, in order for you a “sexier” prediction, and I have been compelled to guess on crowds being unhealthy or good at this level–with no “in between” possibility or extra nuance–I’d select good.
Specifically, our expectation is that January 9, 2023 via February 17, 2023 will probably be among the many least busy dates of the yr (minus the MLK vacation weekend). To ensure, it gained’t be “dead” or low season by historic requirements, however it needs to be the most effective time to go to since mid-August via September of this yr.
Just take into account that up to date crowds are worse than historic ones–so in case you’re one of many individuals who discovered this early fall to be “too crowded,” you’ll undoubtedly really feel the identical approach about these Winter 2023 dates.
Following that, Presidents’ Day will probably be unhealthy–among the many worst dates of the yr. Then there’s Osceola and Orange County Spring Breaks, Easter, and a spread of different dates that’ll be good and unhealthy. For extra perception into all of these and extra, see the month-by-month crowd calendars beneath.
If you’d favor one thing extra holistic as a substitute, we’d advocate consulting our 2022-2023 Best & Worst Months to Visit Walt Disney World. That is a broad overview of occasions to journey to Walt Disney World, plus a couple of of our favourite weeks to go to. That’s extra of a qualitative evaluation that additionally elements in generalized crowd developments.
With that stated, we’ve began the method of updating our month by month crowd calendars, and have recommendations for if you ought to and shouldn’t go to Walt Disney World…
2023 Disney World Crowd Calendars
If you’ve already narrowed down a season or vary of dates throughout which you wish to go to Walt Disney World, we’d advocate forgoing the rest of this publish. Instead, seek advice from our particular person month-to-month guides, which provide free crowd calendars and canopy climate, seasonal occasions, refurbishments, and what’s new & subsequent.
These 2023 Walt Disney World crowd calendars provide extra granular particulars for every particular month of the yr. We’d counsel studying all months for the time of yr you’re contemplating. For instance, in case you’re pondering of a summer season trip, learn the May via August month-to-month guides; in case you’re contemplating Christmas, seek the advice of each November and December.
Again, these 2023 Walt Disney World crowd calendars are solely dependable about 6 months upfront. It’s nonetheless too early to make dependable predictions for subsequent spring and past. With that stated, a few of the identical normal patterns play out yr out and in, so later months are helpful for broader weekly developments–relatively than particular dates to go to.
These Walt Disney World crowd calendars cowl the most effective and works week to go to in every month, with overarching assessments of attendance developments and wait occasions at Walt Disney World. In so doing, we eschew numerical or color-coded crowd calendars for detailed, qualitative explanations.
We imagine this strategy to Walt Disney World crowd calendars is much extra helpful to readers. While it’d be simpler to mindlessly select dates by what’s inexperienced or has a low quantity on crowd calendar, that strategy doesn’t do correct justice to attendance and wait time developments.
For these crowd calendars, we mix regular information like wait occasions and different data that serves as a proxy for crowds with our in-person observations and anecdotal experiences. From all of this, we’ve realized to identify patterns and spot issues about wait occasions and attendance at Walt Disney World, which we share with you in our crowd calendars.
Suffice to say, you’re much better off spending the ~10 minutes to learn every crowd calendar part, as we clarify the why and how of those patterns. Some occasions of yr–September via December, particularly–crowd calendars don’t inform the total story.
Having a bit information in regards to the ebb and stream of attendance all through the day will much better put together you to keep away from crowds and zig when others zag. Some parks and points of interest see customer numbers and features spike throughout sure occasions of the day, and it’s essential to grasp the why of this, so you may plan across the peak crowds.
It’s additionally price noting is that we’ve seen many occasions that was once slower occasions of the yr improve by way of crowds. January and February was once gradual season and Summer was once peak season–neither of that are true anymore. There are a number of different ways in which attendance patterns have modified at Walt Disney World within the final a number of years that we handle in these rankings.
In the final a number of years, Walt Disney World has actually been aggressive with promotions and scheduling seasonal occasions through the slowest occasions of the yr to entice folks to go to and shut the hole. These makes an attempt to shut the hole have been profitable to a level in that there’s now really no “dead” time of the yr, however the distinction in crowds between, for instance, mid-September and the week earlier than Christmas stays vital.
This isn’t to say that there’s no approach to keep away from the crowds anymore–there completely is–and crowd calendars will assist with that. The slower occasions of the yr are nonetheless noticeably slower than the busier occasions of the yr. All we’re saying is that crowd calendars should not some ‘magic bullet’ that you should utilize with out doing some other analysis to have an excellent journey, strolling onto each attraction. Over-reliance on Walt Disney World crowd calendars (together with ours!) will result in disappointment.
If you’re making an attempt to find out when to go to, we advocate beginning by selecting seasonal occasions and the kind of climate that attraction most to you, after which narrowing your dates inside these broad parameters primarily based on what crowd calendars determine as the most effective and first weeks to go to. Walt Disney World crowd calendars are nonetheless a useful gizmo, however they’re not a planning panacea.
Choosing which days to go to Walt Disney World is only one facet of planning a visit. To be sure to sort out every little thing, be sure to learn our Guide to Planning a Walt Disney World Trip, which covers all the necessities. With that stated, right here’s what else to contemplate…
Weather
If climate is a crucial consideration, we extremely advocate heading down from in late September, October, early November, late February, March, or April. Those are the perfect occasions from a climate perspective. That is, assuming you need extra temperate climate, relatively than excessive warmth and humidity or extra chilly climate. If you want your garments drenched in sweat from excessive temperatures, May till late-August are the good occasions so that you can go to.
Late summer season and early fall are the peak of hurricane and storm season, which have been intensifying in the previous few years. We extremely advocate consulting our Visiting Walt Disney World During Storm Season article earlier than reserving a visit this time of yr. The greatest case situation is navigating the afternoon showers with out them placing an excessive amount of of a damper in your journey. Worst case, an approaching hurricane forces you to cancel your journey or reduce it brief.
If you have to go to between the late spring via early fall, simply keep in mind to pack accordingly, bringing the Frogg Toggs for the humidity…and ponchos for the rain so that you don’t spend $179 on them at Walt Disney World. Read our Unique Disney World Packing List for some objects you won’t in any other case consider taking.
While early December and January are nice occasions to go to to keep away from crowds, our expertise has been that these are the worst two months by way of climate. Not solely does it get extraordinarily chilly (nicely, comparatively talking–it’s Florida in any case), however there are substantial swings in temperature. You may end up eager to put on shorts within the morning however by late afternoon it’s denims and sweatshirt climate. As the night time rolls on, you may even end up eager to placed on a parka.
If you journey throughout these occasions of yr, anticipate to carry extra baggage and make extra stops at your room to vary clothes (or at the least plan on renting a locker to retailer extra layers of clothes every day). You could also be fortunate and discover comparatively constant temperate climate throughout these occasions of yr, however it’s greatest to arrange for the worst so that you simply don’t should buy a bunch of $50 sweatshirts from the Emporium on Main Street. Those $50 sweatshirts can add up rapidly! Check out our Winter Packing Tips for Disney publish for extra perception on what to take in your winter journey to Walt Disney World.
Park Hours
In speaking to others, we’ve discovered that that is the one space that folks think about the least when planning their journeys, which we expect is at the least a small mistake. It’s essential to notice up entrance that, usually, much less busy occasions of yr have shorter park hours and busier occasions of yr have longer park hours.
It thus stands to purpose you could principally get the identical quantity completed in a shorter day throughout a much less busy time of yr than you would throughout a busier time of yr. However, this isn’t all the time true. If you utilize an environment friendly touring plan (see our Itineraries for Walt Disney World), you could have a great likelihood of getting extra completed throughout a busier time of yr than throughout a gradual time of yr.
This is particularly true in case you get to the park early and keep late. Sometimes throughout particularly busy occasions of yr, the Magic Kingdom will open at 8 am and can shut at 11 pm. While we’ve taken benefit of those hours with out taking a break through the day, we understand a few of you’re mere mortals.
An ideal technique to make use of throughout days with working hours equivalent to these is to get to the park shortly earlier than opening, keep till round 11 a.m., return to your resort to nap or calm down, and return round time for supper to remain till park shut. Regardless of the time of yr, the parks will all the time be pretty gradual through the first couple operational hours, and can all the time be pretty abandoned late at night time. Ride as a lot as you may early within the day and do much less well-liked points of interest because the day wears on.
Similarly, park hours needs to be taken under consideration primarily based upon your sleep habits. If you’re a late-to-rise night time owl, the Fall and late Winter/early Spring months could also be a foul concept, as these entail many early closing occasions. If you’re not going to get to the parks till midday anyway, your day is likely to be solely 7 hours or so.
Conversely, in case you get up early and usually name it a day by 5 or 7 pm or so, these midnight closings aren’t going to do you any good. Make certain you verify Disney’s park hours calendar when planning your journey. It’s essential to notice that this calendar is commonly inaccurate far upfront (Disney posts hours conservatively, then extends them as bookings improve).
Special Events
This is an enormous one for us, as we’ve been to Walt Disney World so many occasions that it’s good to go to throughout completely different occasions of yr to maintain issues assorted. Even if it’s your first go to to Walt Disney World, in case you have specific pursuits, you may wish to think about planning your journey round these particular occasions. The schedules for these varies from yr to yr, as does the value (if any), so please seek the advice of the respective web page for every occasion when doing all your planning and budgeting.
Halloween and Christmas occasions within the Magic Kingdom are individually ticketed (and prone to return in 2022), that means you may’t use your commonplace park tickets for them. Unlike common park tickets, you can also’t buy these tickets at a reduction from licensed distributors (which might prevent some huge cash on common tickets). Despite this, each occasions are a ton of enjoyable and nicely price experiencing. As you may learn in our Ultimate Guide to Christmas at Walt Disney World, it’s our favourite time to go to the parks!
We’ve written suggestions & methods for nearly each seasonal occasion at Walt Disney World, as a result of most aren’t merely a matter of “show up, have fun.” We encourage you to click on these hyperlinks (they are going to open in a brand new tab) and skim the guides. Like all issues Walt Disney World-related, you’ll have a a lot better time and see extra that the occasion has to supply in case you do some advance planning…
Winter
Spring
Summer
- There should not normally massive summer season particular occasions at Walt Disney World. Typically, that is the time when Walt Disney World unveils new points of interest, and provides summer season advertising and marketing revolving round these. The massive attraction openings for this summer season is Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. It’s unclear whether or not particular occasions will probably be added this summer season to complement.
- EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival – Beginning on July 14, 2022, that is EPCOT’s flagship culinary occasion. Want to know what to do–and extra importantly what NOT to do? Read our information. It’ll offer you an concept of what’s not well worth the cash, and what’s price doing.
Fall
- 2022 Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom – Possibly greater than some other particular occasion at Walt Disney World, you could do advance planning for this. Character meet & greets can type hour-plus lengthy waits, and there’s a lot to do you could’t accomplish every little thing in a single occasion. We extremely advocate studying this information!
- EPCOT Food & Wine Festival – Same as above normally continues via mid to late November.
School Schedules
If faculty schedules are one thing round which you have to plan, chances are high you’re going to go throughout one of many busier (or at the least not one of many least busy) occasions of the yr. School schedules are the paramount consideration for a lot of different households planning journeys, too.
It might seem to be a handy time to go to throughout one of many ‘holidays’ your youngsters have off from faculty, however it’s essential to contemplate whether or not different faculties have these identical occasions off, as nicely. Of the standard faculty holidays, solely Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends are good occasions to go to.
Because most faculties have the week earlier than Christmas till the shortly after New Year’s off, that is an particularly crowded time to go to. Likewise, the identical goes for President’s Day weekend, Easter week, Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples’ Day week, Veterans Day week, everything of the Summer, and Thanksgiving week.
Although faculties do range their Spring Break schedules, don’t anticipate the parks to be any much less busy due to staggered Spring Breaks. Mid-March till mid-April are additionally extremely busy occasions for the parks due to Spring Breaks, with the 2 weeks abutting Easter being absolutely the worst (since most faculties nonetheless use Easter as a proxy for Spring Break).
Some folks don’t have many different choices, so it’s going throughout a college break or nothing. If so, it’s not the tip of the world. As we’ve harassed above, crowd calendars should not as essential as they was once. Simply pack your persistence and have a great touring plan (which is much extra essential than selecting dates primarily based upon a crowd calendar, anyway). For assist with this, seek advice from our Free Walt Disney World Park Itineraries & Touring Plans. We have the proper technique for enjoyable, environment friendly, and memorable days within the parks!
If you don’t have youngsters or aren’t in any other case compelled to journey round holidays or conventional trip intervals, we’d extremely advocate avoiding them. Not as a result of we’ve something in opposition to youngsters, however as a result of crowds and costs will probably be larger throughout these breaks. Plan round them and save each money and time!
If you’re not sure of when visiting Walt Disney World is likely to be greatest for you–or want personalised assist with any facet of your journey from resorts to the Disney Dining Plan and extra–we advocate contacting a no payment “Authorized Disney Vacation Planner” (principally, Disney’s time period for a journey agent) to get a quote and that will help you plan. They get their fee from Disney, so not one of the licensed (key phrase) planners will cost you for reserving their journey and serving to. Here’s one such advisable Authorized Disney Vacation Planner.
Ultimately, all of this can be a long-winded approach of claiming that consulting crowd calendars for Walt Disney World in 2022-2023 is helpful, however technique issues extra. That has been the case since ~2018, however it’s extra pronounced than ever proper now. With Disney Park Pass reservations reserving up each day, crowds are largely being leveled and never reflective of precise, natural demand. That presumably does range rather more day-to-day or week-to-week, however that’s not taking part in out with the capability caps in place.
As we frequently say, pack your persistence and arm your self with savvy technique in case you’re visiting Walt Disney World within the coming weeks or months. The unhealthy information is that it’s going to be very busy with “feels like” crowds and wait occasions among the many highest we’ve seen within the final two years. The excellent news is that these crowds are extra “beatable” than these of this winter or final vacation season.
Hopefully this can be a invaluable primer that will help you select if you wish to go to Walt Disney World. Figuring out when to go to is a crucial first step, however there’s rather more to know. You’ll additionally wish to learn our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets publish to purchase the most affordable tickets from legit sources. To work out the place to remain, our Walt Disney World Hotel Reviews web page is a superb useful resource. Want to know the place to eat or if the Disney Dining Plan is best for you? Our Walt Disney World Dining Resources will assist! For a lot of different Walt Disney World journey planning suggestions and complete recommendation, ensure that to learn our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide.
Your Thoughts
Visiting Walt Disney World on the proper time to keep away from crowds might be one of the vital essential points of journey planning. What time of yr do you usually go to? Do you go to at occasions when you already know crowds will probably be gentle, or do you go to when faculty is out of session? Do you agree or disagree with our recommendation? Any questions we can assist you reply? Hearing your suggestions–even if you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!