Best Time to Visit Disney Least Crowds?

[Poohbear88]

What is your opinion on when is the best time to visit out of these months Oct, Nov, Jan, Feb or March? Least amount of crowds and the best deals?

[SBETigg]

It depends on the times of month, mostly. They all have quiet times and busy times and different deals. October is good, except for Epcot's World Showcase with the Food & Wine bringing in crowds, especially on weekends, and watch out for Columbus Day weekend. Plus there are Halloween parties in MK. November, the end of the Food & Wine fest and also "Jersey Week" and Thanksgiving. January and February have holidays, school vacations, and running events. March is usually busy with Spring Breaks. When Easter falls in March, you want to forget the week before and after Easter if you are avoiding crowds.

So each month has good weeks, when kids are in school and Disney is quieter, and bad weeks, when holidays and events happen and bring in crowds. The key isn't as much in choosing the best month but in choosing the best time to go in each month. These past weeks after Halloween and before Veteran's Day seem to have been a quieter time to go by recent trip reports.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

Excluding Presidents Day week I would say February.

[vicster]

September! I know that wasn't one of the choices but that's when we usually go. We made a big mistake this year going October 11 - October 18. Never again - we couldn't believe the crowds. It was like going in the summer.

[jillluvsdisney]

From my years of experience I think the weeks after Thanksgiving to the week before Christmas is a good time to visit if you don't mind taking a chance on the weather. It could be chilly. My other suggestion is the last 2 weeks of August if you can tolerate the heat.
Most Florida schools and many other states have started back by then.

[Polynesian Dweller]

September! I know that wasn't one of the choices but that's when we usually go. We made a big mistake this year going October 11 - October 18. Never again - we couldn't believe the crowds. It was like going in the summer.

You went the week of the Gartner Convention which fills several hotels. Especially later in the day the parks and restaurants be one very busy. Add to that that Columbus Day and Canadian Thanksgivings Day were the Mondays and people could get 5 days off work using only 4 vacation days it tended to be a busy week.

The real thing is one has to look at the things going on in a given week like a convention, marathon or half marathon, holidays etc and avoid those weeks. It takes a little research work but for any of the months the OP is asking about there are busier and lighter weeks and the research can help pick a good one to go.

[GoldenAurora]

I went a few years back in February over around Valentine's Day and it was smooth sailing for us seeing as there weren't any winter breaks that week.

[faline]

My other suggestion is the last 2 weeks of August if you can tolerate the heat.
Most Florida schools and many other states have started back by then.

We went during that time frame this year. I was surprised at how crowded it was. From pat experience I would have expected far lower crowds for the reasons you cite above. I don't know if this was an aberration or a shift in crowd patterns.

[PopPhan]

It depends on the times of month, mostly. They all have quiet times and busy times and different deals. October is good, except for Epcot's World Showcase with the Food & Wine bringing in crowds, especially on weekends, and watch out for Columbus Day weekend. Plus there are Halloween parties in MK. November, the end of the Food & Wine fest and also "Jersey Week" and Thanksgiving. January and February have holidays, school vacations, and running events. March is usually busy with Spring Breaks. When Easter falls in March, you want to forget the week before and after Easter if you are avoiding crowds.

So each month has good weeks, when kids are in school and Disney is quieter, and bad weeks, when holidays and events happen and bring in crowds. The key isn't as much in choosing the best month but in choosing the best time to go in each month. These past weeks after Halloween and before Veteran's Day seem to have been a quieter time to go by recent trip reports.

That's a pretty good rundown on the goings on, but you forgot MVMCP in November and December.


Of the months the OP questioned:
October is getting busier with the F&WF (as mentioned by SBETigg);
November I don't know much about (I have taken the week AFTER Thanksgiving to begin my visits as the crowds drop nicely. Downfalls of the time just after Thanksgiving are the taping of the Christmas Parade and Pop Warner Football.);
January, again, was just after the holidays and the place was dead;
February around Valentine's Day was surprisingly slow, but weather can be really weird! 50's one day, 80's the next.;
March is a month I have not visited in, so no data.

[Strmchsr]

We went during that time frame this year. I was surprised at how crowded it was. From pat experience I would have expected far lower crowds for the reasons you cite above. I don't know if this was an aberration or a shift in crowd patterns.

That seems to be the case year round now. Oct was incredibly crowded this year, January is much more crowded, March is always crowded. I guess February pre-President's Day or early November would probably be the best based on the months listed by the OP.

[AgentC]

That seems to be the case year round now. Oct was incredibly crowded this year, January is much more crowded, March is always crowded. I guess February pre-President's Day or early November would probably be the best based on the months listed by the OP.

I agree with Chris. Overall I have found September to be our best month but early November/February aren't bad. Weather is probably better in November.

We used to go in October all the time but Food & Wine combined with MNSSHP has really bumped up the crowds.

[AntMagsMom]

We've gone three times in September (our schools have the Rosh Hashana Jewish Holiday off) and so we've added a day here or there and gotten five and it's always been good. One year it was early September and still very hot/humid. We went in '11 and it was the end of September and weather was great. Crowds have always been good then too.

We just came back on 11/11. Our trip was 11/5 - 11/11. We overlapped the "jersey week" days and I was concerned and honestly it was awesome. We had FP+ but for other rides I think we waited maybe five minutes in lines. The crowds (and weather) were really good.

[Disney1977]

January has always been great for us. Go the last week if you can.

Have a great trip.