If you go to Disney World during the busiest times of the year, one perk is that the parks will have extended park hours. Take advantage of the early mornings and late nights when crowds are the thinnest. The late nights are one of the best times to visit the Star Wars attractions at Hollywood Studios.
In general the best days of the week to visit the Disney World parks are Tuesday and Wednesday. The reason being is many families find that you need an entire week for a Disney vacation and typically arrive on Saturday or Sunday. We find weekends and Monday to be the busiest days at Walt Disney World.
As happens every year around this time, crowds are starting to fall before Fall 2023 at Walt Disney World. This wait times report covers data for Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom.
Meanwhile, travel agents have pointed to higher ticket prices as a major factor in declining theme park attendance. On top of that, trips to Europe appear to be cannibalizing demand for domestic theme parks this year — likely both contributing to the downturn.
Genie Plus is definitely worth it for Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, and if you don't like early starts, you might consider it for Epcot and Animal Kingdom. If you are park hopping, Genie+ is even better value as it maximises the number of rides you have access to.
And as a general rule of thumb, the best time to go to Disney World, Florida is from January to early February, as well as the late February to early March range. Then later on in the year, most days in August, and September, as well as most weekdays in October are generally the cheapest times to visit.
The following tips will help you make the most of Rope Drop at Magic Kingdom. Arriving at the Magic Kingdom 30–60 minutes before official opening ensures the shortest possible waits for rides. Off-site guests, who aren't eligible for Early Theme Park Entry, should arrive 30 minutes before official opening on all days.
If you want to avoid long lines there's no simpler way than to wake up early and get to the park before it opens. Whether you have access to early entry or not, being at the park entrance before it opens will save you lots of time. Usually, you can get in 2-3 rides during the first hour of park operation.
Guests are allowed to bring outside food and nonalcoholic beverage items into the park for self-consumption, provided they are not in glass containers and do not require heating, reheating, processing, refrigeration or temperature control and do not have pungent odors.
Off-peak times fall around January, February, September, and early November. Discounts on vacation packages booked directly through Disney (which combine park tickets and hotel stays) can be found year-round, though they're most common at these less-crowded times.
The first two to three hours of every day are the time of the lowest crowds of the day. It's almost Magical. The wait time for Space Mountain at 10:00 am is usually around 20-30 minutes. At noon, it's 60-90 minutes.
Believe it or not, as night falls at Magic Kingdom, the crowds start to dwindle. That's because families with young children take the opportunity to head home for bedtime and you're left with a surprisingly less crowded park. (You ever wonder where all the thousands of strollers go at night?)
December is one of the busiest times of year for Disney World, and, as such, sees the highest average ticket prices. The most expensive day to visit Disney World at the end of the year is, again, not a surprise, the period of time right before Christmas until New Year's Eve.
Disney After Hours tickets are around the same price as regular, full-day theme park tickets. Expensive: Since the event is typically 3 hours long, then the cost per hour is much high compared to normal tickets. Disney After Hours is only available on select dates (see below) Not all rides are open.
Genie+ rides are not guaranteed. The most popular rides can run out of available Genie+ Lightning Lane selections. We usually see this later in the day for most attractions. However, the most popular ones can run out within minutes during busier periods.
So how many Disney guests actually use the service? In the Quarter 3 Earnings Call, Bob Chapek said that close to 50% of park guests purchase Genie+. “Even our Genie product, which we released short of a year ago, now about 50% of the people who come through the gate, buy up to that Genie product,” Chapek said.
All guests, regardless of where they stay, are limited to a maximum of two pay-per-ride attractions per day and can only book a particular ride once per day. What about Annual Passholders? Annual Passholders will need to purchase Genie+ on the day(s) of their visit.
Side note: There is a “no show” policy for Disneyland Magic Key Holders. If they miss 3 theme park reservations within a 90-day period, they will not be able to make a new reservation for 30 days. Existing reservations will not be impacted.
The evidence currently suggests slightly lower-than-normal crowds at Disney this summer compared to the last few years and a return to a more pre-pandemic level of busy.