As costs improve, you may need to know when are the least costly occasions to go to Walt Disney World? This solutions that, with seasons, weeks & dates in 2023 which have decrease costs and crowds than the costliest & busiest journey holidays. (Updated January 6, 2023.)
Note that “cheapest” is a relative time period and never an absolute one. Walt Disney World is an undeniably costly trip vacation spot, and the least costly dates are nonetheless priced on par with touring to Europe, Asia, or many tropical locales. Compounding that’s the actuality that complete journey costs to Walt Disney World are up by 1000’s of {dollars} within the final couple of years–and had risen by round 5% per yr within the decade earlier than that.
Park tickets, lodges, eating places, and extra at Walt Disney World have all elevated dramatically of late. While not completely unprecedented, menu and ticket costs elevated a number of occasions final yr. First in February, after which once more in phases between final October and December 8. In complete, Walt Disney World raised these prices by round 15-20% final yr. On a constructive word, resort charges went up by lower than the historic common, with larger rack charges by about 3-4% on common.
However, that doesn’t consider different prices, like transportation (airfare, rental automobiles, rideshare, and so on.) or added bills, like going from the free Disney’s Magical Express to paid airport transportation. It additionally doesn’t issue within the shift from free FastCross to the flat-rate Genie+ to date-based pricing for the line-skipping service. What was as soon as free jumped to $16 per day and now’s virtually double that on busier days.
We first took a have a look at this matter in How Much Does a Walt Disney World Vacation Cost in 2023? That was quite eye-opening for many individuals planning journeys for the primary time or coming back from a hiatus of some years. The reader feedback to which are equally illuminating, as many reported spending much more than our already excessive finances ranges on Walt Disney World holidays. Consider this submit an oblique “sequel” to that–and one which goals to keep away from overspending.
While this doesn’t assist you minimize prices or trim the fats out of your trip finances, it does intention that can assist you select essentially the most economical dates to go to! Similarly, our current Top 13 Money Saving Tips for Walt Disney World in 2023 presents help with lowering your trip finances by eliminating bills that don’t improve your journey. In reality, a few of that recommendation really improves your journey–for instance, doing breakfast in your room (saves cash and time–plus meals court docket breakfasts usually underwhelm until you want powdered eggs).
This submit is comparable in that selecting cheaper dates will usually additionally enhance your journey and may prevent cash. That’s as a result of the dates with the best costs are usually busiest, and vice-versa. As a normal rule, larger costs don’t deter folks from visiting or “redistribute” attendance. Crowds are virtually all the time a superb proxy for costs–the decrease the costs, the decrease you may count on attendance to be. Double win!
That’s one of many normal “rules” in terms of the most affordable occasions to go to Walt Disney World, and there are a number of extra. Another is that costs go up each single yr. These will increase take many types, and are staggered throughout the calendar. Typically, the price of snacks, sodas, and different pre-packaged objects will increase in late January or February and probably once more in September or October. Tickets and parking comply with a well-recognized sample; the final a number of years, these have gone up in February.
Vacation packages and resort charges for the next yr are often launched in mid-summer, and virtually all the time present larger charges. Other issues, corresponding to souvenirs and common restaurant menu costs go up at random with none actual predictable patterns. (This occurred many occasions final yr!)
Consequently, it’s virtually all the time cheaper to go to sooner quite than later. If you’re debating between 2023 and 2024, there’s a robust likelihood this yr will likely be cheaper. If you’re ready for costs to drop, historical past just isn’t in your facet.
However, there might be exceptions even to that. For instance, for those who e book your trip early and lock-in pricing on tickets and lodges, it would seemingly be cheaper to journey some dates in January or February 2024 than in November or December 2023. Granted, trip packages for 2024 have but to be launched and no reductions can be found but for any of the aforementioned dates, however costs usually lower within the winter low season as in comparison with the prior vacation season.
Another wildcard is discounting and the broader economic system. This is one thing we’ve been discussing fairly a bit, most lately in What Does Walt Disney World Do During A Recession? The odds aren’t in your favor that Disney will drop costs with all else being equal. However, the case could possibly be made that, proper now, all else is not equal.
To the opposite, Walt Disney World has had virtually two years of pent-up demand, sturdy spending, constrained capability, and so on. We’re optimistic that the dynamic is already altering as of early 2023. Walt Disney World has already launched extra–and higher–reductions for 2023 than final yr by this similar level (see All Current Walt Disney World Discounts). It thus appears more and more seemingly that this previous vacation season was the “last hurrah” for pent-up demand. As that begins to fizzle out, family financial savings lower, inflation stings extra, and the economic system slows down, it appears more and more seemingly that Walt Disney World will expertise its personal slowdown.
With regard to Walt Disney World, this might imply much less demand and extra provide–or normalizing operations. Nevertheless, it’s nonetheless completely attainable that inflation will proceed to run scorching for the remainder of this yr. That may proceed to place value stress on restaurant menus, souvenirs, and extra.
Wage development may speed up as companies are compelled to pay extra to draw hourly staff–quite than providing one-off hiring bonuses. On prime of that, demand may stay sturdy at worldwide journey resumes, enterprise journey and conventions resume, group bookings for youth occasions leap, or advertising and marketing for TRON Lightcycle Run (which opens in Spring 2023) proves efficient.
If most and even many of those situations play out, that might improve the probability of extra value jumps. Resort rack charges are already set for the yr, however ticket, meals, parking, and add-on prices may spike in February 2023 (the month when Disney usually raises costs).
Your private perspective in regards to the path of the economic system will virtually definitely dictate the place you suppose Walt Disney World’s pricing is heading within the subsequent couple of years. Although there are indicators of a looming recession, there are additionally indicators of a resilient economic system and American households. This just isn’t a weblog about client sentiment, and since there’s not even consensus amongst economists about what’s going to happen in some unspecified time in the future later in 2023, that’s past the scope of this submit.
Normally, the least costly time to go to Walt Disney World can be the winter low season in January and February. This principally encompasses these whole two months, excluding the very starting of the yr when faculties are nonetheless on Christmas break plus the weeks round MLK Day and Presidents’ Day.
There’s a bit extra nuance to it than that, however the normal rule is that January and February are the most affordable months of the yr, on common. There’s just a little extra nuance to it than that, as the autumn has had higher reductions (traditionally) and different variables that may transfer the needle on a case-by-case foundation. Nevertheless, let’s imagine January and February 2023 will principally be the most affordable months of the yr, with an asterisk to account for reductions in Fall 2023. (And the truth is, some such offers have already been launched via September 14, 2023!)
Again, it’s price reiterating that rack charges for resorts–the costliest part of most holidays–improve every calendar yr. While it’s debatable whether or not February or September will likely be cheaper inside 2023, it’s seemingly that each of these months will supply decrease charges than their counterparts in 2024. Same goes for 2024 as in comparison with 2025. (Again, barring a recession in a kind of years.)
In different phrases, the recommendation right here needs to be utilized to dates or months in the identical yr (with the aforementioned carve outs). Unless you’re “banking on” one other recession or financial downturn, it’s a protected wager that the final pattern line for Walt Disney World costs will proceed its upward climb on an annualized foundation.
Within every year, January and February are the most affordable months to go to. Specifically, January 8-12 and January 15 via mid-February 2023. Prices spike for the week of Presidents’ Day, falling once more the subsequent week–however not as little as these early-year low season dates.
Following that, early March is mostly one other candy spot, as is the tip of the month. Spring Break, Mardi Gras, and Easter all convey with them important spikes to each pricing and crowds.
Fast-forward previous Easter, and that week (after the vacation) via the week earlier than Memorial Day as soon as once more see decrease costs. This is technically thought of “regular” season, however it’s on par with some dates in mid-February and is the most affordable Walt Disney World will likely be till early August.
About every week earlier than faculties return into session, costs lower once more. This happens earlier on the resort facet of the equation than with park tickets, presumably as a result of locals proceed visiting after vacationers cease touring–and solely the latter books resort stays.
Starting the third Sunday of August, costs return to close their lowest ranges of the yr and keep there till mid-September (with the notable exception of Labor Day weekend). Costs do get larger from then till early October, however it’s by a nominal quantity. Technically, these charges are larger than low season dates in January and February. As famous above, that may be additional exacerbated by intervening value will increase on tickets, meals, and so on.
However, it may also be greater than offset by reductions that are usually provided within the fall offseason. Already, Walt Disney World Released a Summer & Fall 2023 Discount: ‘Free’ Dining Card Up to $150 Per Night. That low cost begins in June 2023, with the very best bonus and most cost-effective charges being in August and September 2023. These two months may leapfrog January and February for some households consequently.
Prices for October via early December are usually a veritable curler coaster relying upon whether or not it’s a vacation week/finish or not. Columbus Day, Veterans Day, and Thanksgiving all see spikes–some pretty huge. Same goes for runDisney race weekends.
If it’s not a kind of weeks or weekends, pricing is close to its lowest ranges of the yr via the primary week of December. That regularly escalates starting the second week in December, culminating within the weeks of Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Beginning December 16 and lasting till the tip of the calendar yr, vacation season kicks in and costs hit their highest ranges of your complete yr.
There’s a number of uncertainty about subsequent yr, however we are able to say with virtually full confidence that the costliest dates to go to Walt Disney World are December 15-31, 2023.
If you need extra specificity within the least & most costly dates to go to and the very best & worst dates to go to, it may be helpful to seek the advice of our Walt Disney World Crowd Calendar. Look for the least busy dates, you’ll additionally usually discover the most affordable dates.
If you need to comparability store very particular dates, one other nice useful resource is the speed calendar for every resort on Disneyworld.com. Finding this isn’t straightforward, however we break down the steps with screenshots in 2023 Walt Disney World Resort Hotel Price Increases.
Even although costs differ significantly, each resort follows roughly the identical sample. You can thus glean so much simply from scrolling via that calendar for Pop Century or Port Orleans Riverside.
Ultimately, that ought to reply some questions on when it’s most cost-effective to go to Walt Disney World…and maybe elevate much more. Basically, the least costly dates on paper as of proper now are mid-January via mid-February and mid-August via September, adopted by late April to late May, then October via early December–all minus lengthy vacation weekends and the complete weeks main as much as main holidays.
Of course, that’s a variety of dates and even potential pricing relying upon the place issues go from right here. While I can not supply any credible predictions in regards to the economic system, my normal sentiment is actually this could’t go on endlessly.
Against that backdrop and with that bias, if compelled to decide on dates to go to Walt Disney World in 2023–for a spread of causes each qualitative and quantitative–I’d not choose the winter months.
I don’t suppose these months will likely be almost as dangerous as they have been this yr, however they’re nonetheless too unsure. My expectation is that issues will decelerate a bit by then, however there are a number of wildcards: worldwide journey, snowbirds heading south, runDisney, youth sporting occasions, and extra. I believe there’s a good likelihood winter is not the sleepy low season it as soon as was, and Disney has but to totally alter pricing to account for the new-normal of upper demand throughout these months.
Instead, I’d sit up for September 2023. This is actually a hedge, with the expectation that Walt Disney World operations will totally normalize by then as will actual world circumstances past the berm.
It’s not essentially that I believe it’ll take that lengthy, however quite, that issues have already moved slower than anticipated with extra disruptions than anticipated that erring on the facet of ready longer is pragmatic. Plus, September is reliably the very best month for crowds and offers at Walt Disney World.
Personally, I’d really transcend September for my journey goal and e book the week after Thanksgiving. This is nothing new and truly has nothing to do with pricing–our Best & Worst Months to Visit Walt Disney World in 2023 has really helpful that week for ages–that’s simply our private favourite for a mixture of causes associated to pricing, crowds, climate, and the vacation season.
Late November and early December are “objectively inferior” to September, however the actuality is that people don’t take holidays in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. That’s the higher week on steadiness. It usually presents superior climate (far decrease probability of excessive warmth & humidity…or hurricanes!), seasonal occasions, and extra. It’ll be barely extra crowded and costly, however that’s a worthwhile tradeoff in our view. Everything has a value, whether or not in {dollars} or in any other case, and you would argue that the non-monetary prices of visiting in September are larger than within the lull between holidays.
Planning a Walt Disney World journey? Learn about lodges on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews web page. For the place to eat, learn our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To lower your expenses on tickets or decide which sort to purchase, learn our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets submit. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips submit takes a novel have a look at intelligent objects to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will assist. For complete recommendation, the very best place to start out is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for the whole lot it’s essential know!
YOUR THOUGHTS…
What do you concentrate on this have a look at the most affordable occasions to go to Walt Disney World? Which would you choose within the January/February v. August/September dilemma? Think reductions will proceed to enhance all through 2023 and put a reality-check on runaway costs? Have you seen these will increase in 2023 Walt Disney World trip packages? Do you agree or disagree with our evaluation? Any questions we may help 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 under within the feedback!