When to Go

Believe it or not, when you choose to go can have a dramatic impact on your experience at Disney, and in some instances, shifting your plans even a few days can make a huge difference in terms of the crowds that you're likely to see. I get that you may not have any flexibility on when you go because of work, school, etc., but if you do have the ability to choose when you go, it should be the first decision you make.

Crowds

• Disney parks are at their most crowded when kids are out of school -- Winter and Thanksgiving Break, Spring Break, Summer, and long holiday weekends.

• Parks can also get very crowded on runDisney race weekends.

• Conversely, targeting times shortly after these busy times is usually a good strategy. Mid-January, mid-September, and the period between Thanksgiving Break and Winter Break tend to have relatively small crowds.

Cost

• It bears mention that the busiest times also tend to be the most expensive times to visit. Tickets cost more, hotel rooms cost more, and you might have trouble even getting a room at your preferred resort.

Tips

• The gold standard for identifying days with the lowest crowds is the TouringPlans Crowd Calendar. You'll need to pay for a subscription, but between that and other tools, it's well worth the cost.

• A short-hand way of identifying busier days is simply to look at Disney's single day ticket cost. Disney charges more on days when it's expecting big crowds. So, the more expensive the ticket, the larger the expected crowd. Easy, peasy!