Crowds

[moe513]

What is the time to visit that has the absolutely lowest crowds. Please give specific dates if possible. Thanks

[BiloxiMom]

In my experience, and I've been in almost every month, I feel January is the least crowded. I can't give specific dates, because certain holidays (MLK Day, etc.) change each yr. I've found if you avoid the holidays, and the marathon weekend, Jan. is a wonderful month. We went last Jan. around the 22 and we waited for nothing. Literally, everything was a walk on. We had so much fun, we're headed back next month on the 27th. Have fun, whenever you go!

[GrumpyFan]

I Haven't been personally, but I've heard that from about the 5th of January until the 1st weekend in February is the least busy time of year to go.

[magicman]

I've found the last week in Jan & 1st week in Feb to be the least crowded. If I had to pick dates I would say Jan 25 - Feb 4. If I had to pick hours...i digress

[DizneyRox]

Look at park hours, the days where parks consistently close early are usually your lowest attendence days.

Lower crowds = less hours.

To some extent you can alos look at the refurb schedule, typically those are done off season to lower the impact to guests (well actually because they don't need the capacity they allow to get more people through the turnstyles. Tickets = profit).

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

:) Can't speak from experience but a cast member told us the last two and a half weeks of January and the month of February are generally the least crowded....my mom went once the third week of February and said there were no lines more than 10 minutes long.

[browneyedgirl12]

When I went in Seprember we hardly waited at all. We went on BTMRR and we were asked if we would like to stay on and the same thing happened om Splash M. It was incerdible. Although with the free dining it may be getting busier and busier. :(

I also went in Feb. and there was hardly an crowds plus it was pleasent weather. :mickey:

[TBone]

We have found the week right after Thanksgiving to be a great time to go, relatively small crowds and decent weather.

[Sean Riley Taylor's Mom]

Although with the free dining it may be getting busier and busier. :(



Compared to September of years ago, Yes, Free Dining has made a big impact on crowds in our opinion.

We have gone every September since 1996 and it has gotten a lot more crowded. Not so much the lines for rides, but the parks and the resorts. Of course the table service restaurants are packed

We are skipping September in 2008 for the first time since 96. :(

[CaptainJessicaSparrow]

The days we usually go that have the least crowds are MLK day (Sun-Monday), Labor Day (also Sun-Mon) and the first two weeks of Dec (1st-14th).

Typical wait for us in these periods is 10-20 minutes.

[Disney Doll]

We usually go in early Feb, before President's Day weekend and have always experienced low crowds. We've also been in Jan and found that to be a good time to go as well.

[Ms.Disney]

We went from 9/8-9/15 and we did not wait in line for anything except soarin (but we used FP). One thing you want to keep in mind when planing a trip is the weather. It was VERY hot :thedolls: the 2nd week of Sept. My DH and I are both from Florida so I didn't think it would bother us that bad. By the 3rd day I was sick of the heat! We still had a great time and little to no wait for the attractions but I think that our next trip will be the last week of Jan. From what I here crowds are not that bad and the weather will be cooler. :mickey:

[CaptSmee]

Jan 2nd or 3rd until March, September, and November until the week before Thanksgiving. Then Dec. until the week before x-mas are very quiet too.

[TBY2225]

September before free dining! But even now, waits were 15-20 minutes!

[jenfriend]

There is a website with crowd indexes for SPECIFIC dates & may even break it down by park, touringplansdotcom

My personal experience in Jan. 2006 - we chose January becuase we heard that it was a low crowd index time. We arrived on MLK day & stayed for 8 nights. The longest line we waited in was 20 minutes for the Tomorrowland Transit Authority which is a slower-loading ride and many of the cars were in need of a mechanic so there was a reason for the wait. We also waited 20 minutes for the bus to the Studios one morning which was unusual from POR. We used the Fastpasses twice: Once for Soarin' which we picked up in the late aftrnoon for around closing. The other time was for the Jungle Cruise which we picked up in late morning, ate lunch and returned. Most of the lines were 10 minutes to just walking on to the ride. I had looked into many touring plans from books and website & had a plan every morning. I did know which rides we should get to right away in the morning, etc. so I think this helped, but really one could just wander in Jan. and see most everything with minimal waits.

The patience idex of my family is zero, so this was exactly what we were looking for.

Why is Jan. so slow? Two reasons, I think: People have less money because of the holidays so they cut back in Jan. on entertainment dollar; and weather can be hit or miss. We, fortunately, had fabulous weather: highs were low 70s to upper 80s. The average high was upper 70s. Sunny nearly every day. Jacket weather in mornings and evenings, shorts or pants ok everyday. Rained only 1 day and 1 evening. Humid only 1 day. I have heard horror stories about cold weather though - today's high in Orlando was 49F.

I recommend January to anyone who doesn't like crowds.

We're taking our next trip over the MLK holdiay, so I can report back about the difference in crowds.

[Jillirose]

We've gone the week before Halloween and crowds were fine - and with the holiday there was a lot of bonus outdoor concerts/entertainment.

Our last visit was the week before president's weekend in February, also lite crowds.

[moe513]

Thanks jenfriend for the web site. We went Aug. this yr and didnt like the crowds because of free dining. That was our 3rd aug trip. Im thinking Jan next time.