When planning a trip to Central Florida to go to any theme park destination, knowing when to come may be just as important as planning what to do while on the trip. While most families visit the Walt Disney World® Resort during the peak season (summer), planning a trip around that especially busy time may make the world of difference when it comes to your trip.
As a general rule of thumb, January (starting the second week to avoid the New Years crowd and Walt Disney World® Marathon Weekend crowds), February, September and October are the least busy times of the year for all of the theme park destinations in Orlando. By far, the busiest months for the Walt Disney World® Resort are late May through August, when the summer crowd hits and kids are out of school. March and April are also busier than usual as well, as Spring Break is an extremely popular time for parents to take their children to Central Florida to take advantage of the warm (but not too hot) temperatures.
The year-round sunshine in Florida also makes it a great destination any time of the year and is one of the reasons why the holidays are so packed at the Walt Disney World® Resort. Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years, and the days surrounding them, are three of the busiest times of the year at the Walt Disney World® Resort. However, the slow seasons at the parks (January, February, September and October) may also be some of the best times weather-wise to visit. In the early months of the year, one can beat the extreme heat and humidity while still being comfortable. January is the coolest month of the year, but both January and February will see high temperatures ranging in the low-to-mid 70’s with lows hovering around the 50 degree mark. Rainfall is also very limited during this time, as these two months mark two of the five months of the year with expected precipitation under three inches. If you do plan to come during December and January, however, be sure to pack clothes for several different climates. Florida does get small cold snaps during these months, so it could go from being very cold to very mild all in the same week.
September, however, may be a bit of a different story in terms of rainfall and temperatures. Though the crowds are definitely thinning out at this time, you can still expect 90’s almost every day, with a high chance of rain daily as well. This is also still hurricane season in Florida, so there is always the possibility of encountering a tropical system on your visit during the late summer months.
The rainy season, with chances of rain and thunderstorms every day, usually lasts from late May until early October. You can also expect temperatures to be at least in the 80’s from April through October, with 90 degree readings from June through the end of August. But just because the rain chances are high every day, that shouldn’t detract you from enjoying all that these theme parks have to offer. A typical day in the summer will see a brief shower or thunderstorm pass through at least once per day, but a total washout is not highly likely and shouldn’t keep you from enjoying your fun for too long. Lightning in the area will shut down all outdoor activities, however, and will delay all of the attractions at the water parks for quite some time, so be sure to at the very least expect this to happen and keep an eye to the sky.
The key to visiting the Walt Disney World® Resort is to keep in mind that when kids are out of school for breaks, those will by far be the busiest times of the year. If you factor in a national holiday as well to those times as mentioned above, you can expect even larger crowds and lines at all Walt Disney World® attractions. And while the entire summer is busy, if you want to visit on July 4th, plan accordingly. The Magic Kingdom® Park will reach capacity early in the day, and every theme park will be busier than usual on this day. If you want to see the fireworks at any of the parks, especially the Magic Kingdom® Park and Epcot®, plan on being there several hours before the Independence Day spectacular just to secure a good viewing area. But like everything at the Walt Disney World® Resort, we are sure you will agree with us that it is worth the wait!
