Disney fans love to argue about when is the best time to visit Walt Disney World. For some, you can’t beat the energy of summer, even with its heat and humidity. For others, the trade offs of shorter park hours and fewer showtimes make the offseason the perfect time to visit.
The reality is, there isn’t a bad time to head to the Vacation Kingdom. Even the worst day at Walt Disney World is better than the best day at work.
In fact, I can prove it to you. Here’s one reason why you should visit Walt Disney World, in every month of the year.
January – Walt Disney World Marathon
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Somehow, Disney has made itself a destination for runners seeking to find new ways to challenge themselves. The headlining race of the year also happens to be the earliest: The Walt Disney World Marathon.
The course travels through all four major parks, and runners from all over the world fly in to compete. The result, then, is an international energy and fervor that takes over the entire resort. It’s hard not to be delighted when you board Flight of Passage and see the person to your left is wearing a Marathon medal.
Marathon weekend is busy, yes, but it also brings a true communal spirit to Walt Disney World property.
February – Epcot Festival of the Arts
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The newest of Epcot’s festivals, the Festival of the Arts is much smaller in scale than its food and flowered friends. Nevertheless, what it lacks in sheer size, it more than makes up for with clever programming and fun snacks.
Local artists have opportunities to show off their work. Imagineers offer seminars and discussions on some of their most iconic attractions and designs. Broadway-style song and dance numbers take the stage just outside the American Adventure.
Epcot has become Disney’s de-facto festival ground, and Epcot’s Festival of the Arts is a worthy inhabitant.
March – Offseason Vibes
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Yes, technically March includes the overlapping of two Epcot Festivals, as well as some Spring Break shenanigans for the lucky ones who get such a trip. But, on the whole, it also offers a decent taste of the winter-esque offseason in Orlando.
The weather is brisk without being chilly, the parks are calmer without being empty, and the water parks are just the right temperature to seem inviting (when they aren’t being refurbished, that is).
In all, March can be — if you time it right — one of the best times to visit Walt Disney World if your goal is to relax and unwind, rather than to see and do it all.
April – Epcot Flower and Garden Festival
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Obviously, the Epcot Food and Wine Festival is the real showstopper at the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. But, Epcot’s Flower and Garden Festival has become a mainstay of its own, complete with plenty of food and some truly astonishing horticulture.
Yes, the food stands are one of the best parts, offering delicious dishes you can’t get anywhere else on property. But, on top of that, the various floral displays are absolutely breathtaking to behold. The classes and workshops are clever and useful, particularly for those itching to get started exploring their green thumb roots.
If you want to try a Disney festival, but the crowds and craziness of Food and Wine scare you slightly, the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival offers a good toe in the water.
May – Summer Energy (Without Full Summer Heat)
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For some, a trip to Disney is the type of event that can only happen in the summer. Whether it’s for scheduling reasons, with school calendars and summer Fridays beckoning, or simply because of summer’s devil-may-care vibe, some people can’t imagine visiting Disney at any other time of year.
But, those people are also likely acutely aware of the intense heat and painful crowds that descend on Orlando every year.
Thus, the middle ground: May. The full summer sun hasn’t yet arrived to Disney property, and many schools are still in session for just a little while longer. As such, May can offer the first real taste of the summer season with much less drawbacks. The parks are open later, you aren’t the only one sitting inside Monsters Inc: Laugh Floor, and bars are a bit more sociable than in winter. In all, it’s summer without the pain.
June – Disney After Hours
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You might find it distasteful to spend something in the ballpark of a full day’s admission cost to attend a glorified pizza party at a Walt Disney World park. But, if you make the leap and attend one of the Disney After Hours parties, you’ll find that it truly is worth the monetary hit.
For one, the limited nature of tickets sold means that the park feels virtually empty to the party’s attendees. Additionally, the extra space gives Disney’s cast members room to play and have fun in ways they aren’t able to when operations are front of mind.
Plus, if you’re a villains fan, Disney offers a special villain-themed event at the Magic Kingdom. Yes, these ticketed events are offered all summer long, but June is the sweet spot to try one out.
July – July 4th Fireworks
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Walt Disney World creates the greatest fireworks shows in the world. This is undisputed fact. So, what does the company do when it is asked to create a fireworks show for a holiday focused entirely on fireworks?
The answer, if you’re unaware, is put together the single most spectacular show you could possibly witness.
Known as “A Fourth of July Concert in the Sky,” the Magic Kingdom’s celebration of Independence Day features patriotic music, an incredible light show, and fireworks set off frown around the perimeter of not just the Magic Kingdom itself, but also the immediate area and resorts. The result is a completely special and awe-inspiring fireworks show that must be seen to be believed.
Yes, July crowds are crazy, but these fireworks make fighting those crowds worth it.
August – Free Dining
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For over a decade, Disney has released a special offer that has colloquially come to be known as “Free Dining.” Traditionally announced in January, guests staying on-property in the late-summer/early-fall period can opt to add a free Disney Dining Plan to their vacation package using this promotion if their stay qualifies under the promotion’s rules.
For some guests, this can prove to be an enormous savings. Generally, if you were planning on staying in a Deluxe Resort anyway, and if you intended to either buy the dining plan on your own or eat exclusively at Disney’s sit-down restaurants, it can be a good deal. For other guests, regular hotel room discounts can sometimes prove to be the better buy.
Regardless of how the financials work out (a travel agent is a fantastic resource for helping you do the math), August does have this nice perk if you plan far enough in advance.
September – Low Crowds
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Long ago, September was considered a dead time at Walt Disney World. Kids were back in school, summer vacations were over, and most people looking to travel at this time weren’t headed to Central Florida.
Now, things are different. There rarely is a slow period at Walt Disney World. But, if you were looking for the closest thing we have nowadays to an off period, September would be it.
The smaller crowd size is quite noticeable. While you won’t be able to ride Big Thunder Mountain over and over again without disembarking, you will absolutely be able to do far more in a day than you would otherwise be able to. That is the great benefit of September visits.
October – Halloween
For some, Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is an annual obsession. For others, the decorations in the park, around the resorts, and at Disney Springs are enough to make October at Disney the perfect time to visit.
Costume parties and candy elevate the traditional day at the parks to something truly special, and added Halloween events around the Disney property make the entire resort come alive for the spookiest holiday of all.
You haven’t truly seen Disney until you’ve ridden the Haunted Mansion late on a fall night.
November – Epcot Food and Wine Festival
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November is kind of a weird time at Disney. Halloween is over, and Christmas isn’t yet fully underway (although, the decorations certainly do make their first appearance). So, Disney went ahead and invented its own special celebration to fill the void: Epcot Food and Wine Festival.
Technically beginning in September, the festival runs through November and truly transforms Epcot into a culinary paradise. No matter what you enjoy to eat, you will find something to love at the Epcot Food and Wine Festival. It is a celebration of food that is unmatched nearly anywhere else in the world, with incredible dishes seemingly exploding out of the World Showcase lagoon itself.
If the Festival is underway, make your way to Disney — you won’t regret it.
December – Christmas
Image: dkelly1126, Flickr (license)
For me, December has the greatest reason to visit Walt Disney World of all: Christmas.
Regardless of whether or not you celebrate the holiday, having the ability to see every inch of Walt Disney World property decorated with winter magic is something that defies description. Trees, lights, snow, ornaments, wreaths, tinsel, greenery, projections — every resort, theme park, and store has a new look when December rolls around.
The background music in the parks changes. The characters don different outfits. The whole resort looks extra special and full of magic.
If you want to see Disney as it is supposed to look, visit any other time of year. But, if you want to see Disney looking its absolute best, December is the only choice.
