If you\u2019re planning a Walt Disney World journey for 2023 or 2024, you clearly can’t rely on these precise numbers holding up. However, that\u2019s fairly in keeping with what we\u2019ve seen in regular years for the final decade or so. Typically, crowds fall off a cliff the Sunday after Thanksgiving, plateau for every week or so, after which regularly rise within the lead-up to Christmas.<\/p>\n
All bets are off as soon as winter breaks begin, with the interval between Christmas and New Year\u2019s Eve being one of many worst weeks of the 12 months, and issues probably not letting up till faculties return into session and Marathon Weekend concludes.<\/p>\n
Dining Availability<\/strong> \u2013 We have been capable of eat in every single place we wished (with the essential caveat that a lot of the locations we choose aren\u2019t essentially the most highly-coveted Advance Dining Reservations), and infrequently discovered same-day ADRs or availability through walk-up waitlist. This included actually no look ahead to Nomad Lounge and Steakhouse 71, in addition to discovering same-day ADRs for numerous eating places (and even Fantasmic and Candlelight Processional eating packages).<\/p>\nGiven that we each choose extra spontaneity, this positive beats visiting in the course of the peak vacation weeks. Guests doing journeys then needed to be up early to make ADRs 60+ days upfront, and a few seemingly nonetheless didn\u2019t get the whole lot they wished. Waits for Mobile Order and Walk-Up Waitlist are additionally a lot worse when it\u2019s busier.<\/p>\n
Genie+ Pricing & Availability<\/strong> \u2013 During my go to for Christmas, I purchased Genie+ on three separate days for analysis (I wrote concerning the DHS day right here, however on account of a scarcity of curiosity, I\u2019ll confine the others to updates of present posts), if this have been my first and solely expertise with Genie+ and Lightning Lanes, I\u2019d most likely surprise what the entire fuss is about. Genie+ was additionally \u201conly\u201d $16 after tax each single day of my keep, which was good (and reflective of the decreased demand).<\/p>\nSarah had issues even higher, with a part of her go to overlapping the \u2018game-changing\u2019 Genie+ modify button. Conversely, crowds have been barely greater and Genie+ value extra most days, however the potential to change arguably made it simpler and higher on steadiness.<\/p>\n
Either manner, our experiences have been (and are) a stark distinction to the weeks of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year\u2019s Eve, when Lightning Lane availability was or might be rather more restricted on account of elevated \u201ccompetition\u201d ensuing from extra folks shopping for the paid FastPass service. Worse crowds solely compound that, with greater wait occasions and extra congestion in between Lightning Lane return occasions.<\/p>\n
Weather<\/strong> \u2013 One factor I\u2019ve discovered over the previous few years is that I used to be not \u201cbuilt\u201d for Florida warmth and humidity. To make certain, we had traveled to Walt Disney World in each month and week of the 12 months beforehand, so we knew what we have been getting ourselves into. Nevertheless, a lot of our transplant buddies reassured us that it\u2019s not so unhealthy and also you get used to it. That by no means occurred for us, and we discovered ourselves spending far an excessive amount of time indoors 8 months of the 12 months.<\/p>\nWhile some folks go to Florida for the limitless summer season sunshine and heat temperatures, that\u2019s undoubtedly not the case for us. Our \u2018sweet spot\u2019 for Florida climate is from round November till February. I’ll take having to put on a coat over sweating by way of my shirt any day of the week. You can all the time add layers, however there are solely so many you possibly can subtract earlier than safety says, \u201csir, you can\u2019t take off your shirt here and this Miss Piggy fountain is not a water play area.\u201d (Buzzkills.)<\/p>\n
While it\u2019s not all the time excellent, we\u2019ve discovered that 90% of the time, the climate in late November and early December is no less than temperate. As a lot as I really like late August and September for low crowds, I\u2019ll fortunately take care of barely elevated attendance for considerably higher climate. It\u2019s a straightforward commerce off for us.<\/p>\n
Outfits <\/strong>\u2013 I’m not what you\u2019d name a classy man in any conventional sense of the time period. GQ won’t be ringing me anytime quickly, asking the place I get my moisture wicking polos, quick-drying shorts, or bucket hats. In the summer season, my outfit rotation is fairly easy and restricted. Unlike Sarah, who all the time appears to be like good irrespective of the season or climate, I seem like a doofus who simply emerged from the sauna throughout Florida\u2019s three seasons of summer season.<\/p>\nHowever, roughly 75% of my wardrobe is sweaters and flannel shirts. It\u2019s gotten to the purpose that I\u2019ve been \u201cbanned\u201d from shopping for extra blue plaid, as \u2018that looks like a half-dozen shirts you already own and can\u2019t put on 10 months of the 12 months.\u2019 It ought to go with out saying, however these will not be the optimum outfits for Florida.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an offshoot of climate, however one of many issues I like about this time of 12 months at Walt Disney World is that I don\u2019t have to decorate in utilitarian clothes that appears like I\u2019m about to go fishing. I can bust out my formidable sweater assortment or huge array of blue plaid shirts. In the grand scheme of issues, it\u2019s minor, however it\u2019s good to have photographs of us the place we each look presentable and have enjoyable outfits.<\/p>\n
Mickey\u2019s Very Merry Christmas Party<\/strong> \u2013 For years, we\u2019ve achieved the primary Mickey\u2019s Not So Scary Halloween Party in early August and the primary Mickey\u2019s Very Merry Christmas Party in early November. While I can go from 0 to 60 in relation to entering into the vacation spirit, the identical isn\u2019t true of everybody else.<\/p>\nNot solely is the climate (normally) higher for the December events, however the vitality is sort of all the time higher. Way extra company are wearing ugly Christmas sweaters, truthful isle onesies, vacation Spirit Jerseys, and so forth. Just because the MNSSHP is healthier in October, so too is Mickey\u2019s Very Merry Christmas Party nearer to Christmas. The occasion itself is equivalent, and but, higher.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s powerful to elucidate how, however in the event you\u2019ve achieved the primary evening of MVMCP and in addition one of many December dates, you realize. (We have additionally been rained out\u00a0manner too many occasions\u00a0<\/em>on the first MVMCP prior to now, and that might\u2019ve occurred once more had we attended this 12 months. Knock on wooden, however that hasn\u2019t occurred to us in ages in the course of the December dates of Mickey\u2019s Very Merry Christmas Party.)<\/p>\nCandlelight Processional<\/strong> \u2013 I\u2019m a sucker for Candlelight Processional. The pageantry of all of it, lovely music, and energy put into the spectacle by so many expert and passionate Cast Members. Suffice to say, Candlelight Processional is one thing particular. From the choir to the orchestra to the conductor to the ASL interpreter, I really like watching these gifted performers give it their all. It\u2019s an awesome custom\u2013one began by Walt Disney at Disneyland and imported to EPCOT a lot later\u2013and one thing I hope by no means ends.<\/p>\nI\u2019m not notably \u2018big\u2019 on celebrities, so the narrator issues much less to me. (If something, I favor among the much less well-liked ones as they draw smaller crowds of their followers.) With that mentioned, there are some I get pleasure from greater than others. I don\u2019t wish to \u2018name names\u2019 and disparage anybody (or alienate their followers), however I\u2019m not notably eager on the narrators who ceaselessly seem throughout this window. Perhaps it\u2019s simply my notion, however it looks like Walt Disney World books the very best narrators in mid-to-late December.<\/p>\n
The upside to that is low crowds for Candlelight Processional. I managed to snag seats twice with no eating package deal and no wait in line. Sure, I used to be in direction of the again, however I\u2019ve seen it sufficient that I\u2019m completely glad with solely an okay view. Not having to purchase a eating package deal (to not point out the stress of attempting to attain ADRs) or wait in a protracted line is a greater than truthful tradeoff, from my perspective.<\/p>\n
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind Holiday Remix<\/strong> \u2013 While I hope this isn’t related to anybody planning a 2023 Walt Disney World trip in the course of the vacation season, the digital queue for Cosmic Rewind was exceedingly straightforward to enter within the afternoon. On a number of events, I joined after 2 pm Park Hopping started. My newest entry time was after 4 pm! (Above is a photograph of a nearly-empty queue taken a type of nights when the attraction was a literal walk-on to the pre-show.)<\/p>\nAlthough the digital queue will hopefully be retired for Cosmic Rewind in Winter 2023, there\u2019s a robust probability it received\u2019t die out utterly. Instead, count on TRON Lightcycle Run to turn into the brand new VQ trip. In which case, it ought to be an analogous story\u2013a lot simpler to enter the digital queue within the couple weeks after Thanksgiving than throughout peak vacation weeks when it nonetheless fills up in seconds.<\/p>\n
Speaking of issues that I hope will not be related subsequent 12 months, there\u2019s the Holiday Remix \u201coverlay\u201d of Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. To every their very own, however neither of us cared for this. It\u2019s under no circumstances in anyway built-in into the attraction, so the Christmas music simply comes out of nowhere. Even with that, the trip doesn\u2019t really feel in the slightest degree festive as a result of actually nothing else was achieved to make it a cohesive or complete Christmas overlay.<\/p>\n
The music itself just isn’t superb, and really\u00a0diminishes\u00a0<\/em>the trip itself. Cosmic Rewind has incredible circulate and fluidity\u2013due to the music and the movement, it usually seems like dancing in curler coaster type. That\u2019s not the case for Holiday Remix, which underscores simply how a lot music choice issues. Here\u2019s hoping that this can be a one and achieved.<\/p>\nUltimately, it ought to be straightforward to see why that is our favourite week (or weeks?) of the 12 months at Walt Disney World. Even although wait occasions\u00a0 for sure headliners are nonetheless excessive, the decrease congestion ranges as in comparison with Thanksgiving week made a big <\/em>distinction for us when it comes to total consolation stage\u2013and the climate additionally helped there. The solely time and place we ever noticed crowding was within the hub and Main Street throughout Mickey\u2019s Very Merry Christmas Party, however that\u2019s about par for the course.<\/p>\nIf you\u2019re wanting ahead to subsequent 12 months, our suggestion could be to make November 26, 2023 your first day within the parks, leaving by December 2, 2023. That\u2019ll nearly definitely be the candy spot for the very best of crowds, wait occasions, climate, seasonal spirit, and so forth. With that mentioned, if we had to decide on a next-best set of dates from a qualitative perspective, I\u2019m not inclined to decide on December 3-9, 2023 over November 12-17, 2023 (that\u2019d be my third alternative).<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an analogous story for the next 12 months. While it\u2019s untimely to set any dates in stone as rather a lot can change between every now and then, I\u2019m inclined to pencil in December 1-7, 2024 as my first alternative and December 8-14, 2024 as my second alternative. I\u2019m much less assured about that second week, because it\u2019s nearer to Christmas than the identical timeframe this 12 months or in 2023. Regardless, some potential journey dates to contemplate on your future journeys to Walt Disney World!<\/p>\n
Planning a Walt Disney World journey? Learn about inns on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews<\/a> web page. For the place to eat, learn our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews<\/a>. To get monetary savings on tickets or decide which kind to purchase, learn our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets<\/a> submit. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips<\/a> submit takes a novel have a look at intelligent gadgets to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides<\/a> will assist. For complete recommendation, the very best place to start out is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide<\/strong><\/a> for the whole lot you’ll want to know!<\/p>\nYOUR THOUGHTS<\/h2>\n If you probably did Walt Disney World post-Thanksgiving this 12 months, what was your expertise? If you\u2019ve visited this similar week in prior years, how do you suppose this 12 months compares? Thoughts about the rest coated right here? If you\u2019re a frequent customer throughout this timeframe, what\u2019s your tackle crowds, wait occasions, seasonal spirit, climate, and so forth? Agree or disagree with our evaluation of those two weeks as the very best time in the course of the vacation season? Any questions we may also help you reply? Hearing your suggestions is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!<\/p>\n