My family and I are finding it hard and harder to plan our Disney World Vacations during slower times of the year. The reason is there is NO MORE slow times of the year at Walt Disney World.
We have a membership to Touring Plans. Like most people I use the Crowd Calendar to plan when we are going to visit the theme parks. There in lies the problem. LIKE MOST PEOPLE.
In this day and age everyone is using tools like Touring Plans Crowd Calendar to plan when to go to Disney World. In the picture above is the estimated Crowd Levels for Feb 2013. In the past February is usually not that busy. Other than Presidents Week we have visited with minimal crowds. That my friends is no longer the case.
As you can see where there used to be 1’s & 2’s they are now replaced with 3’s & 4’s. Our last trip I was forced to figure out a new way to travel which seemed to help with the unexpected crowds.
So I couldn’t say we offer Planning Tips if I didn’t offer up a way to pick Non Busy Times to goto the parks. I think in this day in age till Disney decides to build a 3rd theme park here in the US you are just going to have to pick dates when there is nothing going on.
Things like Free Dining, Special Room Rates, Park Events, etc. Of course that means you will be paying a higher price to go to the Parks. So you and your family will have to decide which is the lesser of 2 evils.
Crowds vs Saving Money
I wish I had a magic crystal ball and be able to predict when the best time to go now. Unfortunately like you we are all stuck in the same boat of guessing when that is.
I want here what you think. Do you think the parks are becoming to crowded? Is it becoming impossible to pick a slow season?
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We also have noticed an increase in crowds. We were there March 4th thru 8th this year and it was busier than we expected. You have to have a plan these days – no more wandering around just enjoying the attractions as you get to them. I’m thinking that 3rd theme park area sounds like a great idea. Are you listening Disney???
There are so many special events going on at Disney throughout the year now. It seems there really isn’t any month without a holiday, or a race, or a school function, or Disney special event. I guess the times should be just called slightly less busy, busy, and very busy.
We go the week before Christmas break. Love it! Though the crowds start to get heavier on Wednesday. Still, it is our favorite place to be for the holidays so we grin and bare it.
Some schools have moved up their spring breaks. Many that I know of are now in February….
I didn’t know there was a Vacation Planner like this! This is cool! **Ah, but you have to pay for such a thing. That’s a bummer, but it makes sense.
We found that happening with May also!
Good Luck! LOL We go usually around the 9-14th depending how the weeks fall that year before the Florida breaks kick in and it’s very very slow BUT if you are a day early or a day late it’s really busy. But time it right and it will be amazing
It amazes me how busy the parks have become during slower times of the year. I’ve been going to Disney regularly for many many years and I’ve just watched the crowds get bigger and bigger. Even on slow days it’s equal to a busy day 15 years ago. We don’t have kids so we usually try to go outside of any school breaks and schedule it during the week instead of the weekend but it’s still pretty busy even in September or January when we usually go. Even my Thanksgiving secret has come out-it used to be slow but not anymore!
I think it has. We have habitually gone in Feb for the past 10 years and this past year was the first time that we experienced crowds during that time, it was also more crowded in early December than it had been in previous years. I read somewhere that Disney was going to start scaling back on free dining offers and that would affect crowd levels, but I don’t know if that’s true or not…….
Not impossible but definitely harder. Surprising since the economy sucks!! When the we went the first September it was a 2 , last September was a 3. Not bad but, noticeably more crowded. Going in December this year, early to try to see the decos without a huge crowd!