least crowded times at WDW?

[pdrlkr]

Any ideas on what would be the least crowed times to visit?

[stitchaholic]

beginning of january has been good to me.

[Strmchsr]

That's a good question that I don't think anyone really knows the answer to any more. Crowd patterns over the last 3-4 years have really been shifting. Many of the traditionally "least" crowded times (first couple of weeks of December, week after Thanksgiving, first week of May, etc) have become much more crowded as people have heard via great sites like Intercot that those are not crowded times. January is probably still the least crowded, though.

[bruin1344]

I went in Mid-May 2005. That was a great time time to go. Never waited more than 15 minutes on any attractions during the weekdays including soarin. We got most of the attractions in all 4 parks done in 2 days. The weather was beautiful also.

[Joannelet]

here are some things to look for when planning a trip to WDW and you are wondering about crowds etc.
Look at the deals that are being offered and when the deals are good for....(including free dining, free nights etc)
I really don't think the downtimes of DVC really have anything to do with crowd increases in the parks so don't really go by that.
Also check out when Florida schools have breaks and or states up north (like NJ, PA and NY) I know there are many weeks labeled NJ week
Also stay away from any 3 day weekends. (holidays) where people not only will have school off but work as well....
College student schedules (spring break etc)
And the events that are running in Disney at the time that draw HUGE crowds...like MVMCP and MNSSHP, food and wine festival, christmas decorating time, halloween time, etc.
These are just some criteria to go by
Hope this helps!

[baldburke]

Good points were raised all around here. I don't think there is any magic time where the parks will be completely dead. Weekends always seem to busy with locals.

Our last two trips have been Labor Day week and the week after Thanksgiving. Both times the week days were great with waits of no more than 10 or 20 minutes, but the weekends were a bit busier.

I also agree that those former "non-busy" periods cannot be relied on. We went a few times in October which was thought to be a slow time, but then someone told us the Brits tend to take holiday then.

But you can't beat average waits of 10-15 minutes or less.

[pox24]

This has worked for us since 2006. Week after Labor Day because school begins again. 3rd or
4th week in Janauary. I think its a misconception that all of Sept and Oct are slow.The Food and Wine festival draws good crowds. In January, the week of MLK holiday is very busy. End of the month is good. Early entry in the parks will get you around very quickly.

[Aggie97]

We've found the last week of January through the first week of February to be relatively quiet. If Mardi Gras falls during early February, though, there seems to be a moderate increase in crowds, as there are school breaks in some areas of the Southeast U.S. and Central/South America.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

The best time we went crowd wise was the week after New Years...my family went once the first week of February and they said it was awesome

[momof3boysinTN]

We have had good luck several years in a row in mid to late Sept and always with the free dining plan. No waits more than 10 mins except maybe on the weekends the crowds were a little heavier. good luck and the key is relax and take your time no matter what the crowds are like.

[lockedoutlogic]

That's a good question that I don't think anyone really knows the answer to any more. Crowd patterns over the last 3-4 years have really been shifting. Many of the traditionally "least" crowded times (first couple of weeks of December, week after Thanksgiving, first week of May, etc) have become much more crowded as people have heard via great sites like Intercot that those are not crowded times. January is probably still the least crowded, though.

this is the most accurate assessment i've seen....
we don't really know for sure. based on the economic downswing of last year...all times should be lighter than normal...and the "slow" months should be "dead"...

but disney was very quick to start selling discounts and steep incentives to try and hold the line...much more aggressive than in times past (apparently the one real lesson learned from 2001-02)...and they've had some success...

so...in general...it's hard to determine the "best" times anymore...

On the whole, the next year or two should be generally lighter in the crowds

[BMan62]

Since September of 2003 we have been in WDW: the first week of January; Valentine's Week; the week following Thanksgiving; and 5 times from mid-September to the first of October.

Of these periods, we have found that mid-September seems to have the lightest crowds in the parks. However, since the advent of the 'Free DDP' offers (2005,) the TS restaurants have been absolutely packed at this time.

[MistressGracey]

We have vacationed at Disney in late January, mid-February, early March and late September.

HANDS DOWN the least busy time was the trip we just returned from, September 19th-26th. We walked right on just about every ride. However, there are two considerations: one, free dining promos make the sit-down restaurants VERY crowded. If you plan to eat at these you would have to have ADRs as far in advance as possible, and two, it was HOT! Still in the low-to-mid 90's every day. Made for some great night swimming, though.

[Disnamic Duo]

We've visited at 4 different times - we always try to shoot for low attendance. We've been last week in Jan, last week in Sept, last week in Oct and week before Thanksgiving week. All seem like good times to us, but the lightest crowds were during last week of Sept (and that was during free dining). But, we didn't care for the temps (around 90deg), so we prefer the week before Thanksgiving (and we LOVE the Christmas decorations and activities).

[MarkC]

I've always found posts about crowds to be slightly amusing. Different posters who are there at the same time will post exactly the opposite about how busy the parks are.

The prior posters have provided you good information about when the parks are most likely to have light crowds. The one thing I haven't seen posted is how YOU handle your time when you are there. Even during very crowded times, you can do almost everything with almost no waits if you get up and get to the parks right at rope drop. Use fastpass for the major rides and do them first.

If you look at my signature line you will notice that we have been there several times during peak seasons. However, even this August we didn't wait in any line more than 10 minutes. If there was a long line we would just skip that attraction and come back to it later. So if you have a plan and make wise use of your time, that will have as much affect as the number of the people in the parks.

So use what the other posters have told you and then have a plan when you arrive. I promise you'll be raving about how much you were able to see and do with no little or no waiting. Good luck.

[Mousemates]

I've always found posts about crowds to be slightly amusing. Different posters who are there at the same time will post exactly the opposite about how busy the parks are.

..... Even during very crowded times, you can do almost everything with almost no waits if you get up and get to the parks right at rope drop. Use fastpass for the major rides and do them first.

.....So use what the other posters have told you and then have a plan when you arrive. I promise you'll be raving about how much you were able to see and do with no little or no waiting. Good luck.

[amd780]

Of these periods, we have found that mid-September seems to have the lightest crowds in the parks. However, since the advent of the 'Free DDP' offers (2005,) the TS restaurants have been absolutely packed at this time.

DH and I noticed this, too! We were in WDW 9/13-9/19, and were able to walk on to just about everything (except we did have to use Fastpass for Soarin'). However, even though I called in for our ADRs on the first day of our booking window, many of the time slots and restaurants I had asked for were unavailable. Overall though, we had a great time! Mid-September is our new favorite time to go.

[JerseyDad]

here are some things to look for when planning a trip to WDW and you are wondering about crowds etc.
Look at the deals that are being offered and when the deals are good for....(including free dining, free nights etc)
I really don't think the downtimes of DVC really have anything to do with crowd increases in the parks so don't really go by that.
Also check out when Florida schools have breaks and or states up north (like NJ, PA and NY) I know there are many weeks labeled NJ week
Also stay away from any 3 day weekends. (holidays) where people not only will have school off but work as well....
College student schedules (spring break etc)
And the events that are running in Disney at the time that draw HUGE crowds...like MVMCP and MNSSHP, food and wine festival, christmas decorating time, halloween time, etc.
These are just some criteria to go by
Hope this helps!

...having been to WDW during spring break time (once)...I decided...NEVER AGAIN!! +2 hr waits for most attractions is not what I drive nearly 1200 mile to experience. I agree that there are several other factors that will affect crowd levels...including the dreaded "Jersey Week" (traditionally the last day or two of Oct. into the first week of Nov). That has been the time that we've gone each year since our first experience during spring break. The crowds are unusually light (except on the weekends at Epcot...since it's the Food & Wine Festival there)....and the weather has been perfect...with temp's. ranging between 85 during the day and 65 at night.

[Tinkerfreak]

We went during Jersey Week last year and had a wonderful time. The crowds were really low and we had a blast with lots of people from Jersey on the busses and by the pool etc. I would love to go back at that time again. We had not seen the crowds that low since our first trip in 2002.