One of the most common questions about planning a Walt Disney World vacation is when to go. What is the best time of the year? Best month? The best season? What are the best days? Of course it all depends on what you want to get out of your time there.
For more than one reason the best time to visit Walt Disney World is in the fall, but just as with other seasons, it’s far from perfect. Before you start planning, there are some things you should know about the good and the bad of taking a Walt Disney World fall vacation.
What is the best month to go to Disney World?
The very best times to visit Disney World happen to be at the end of August (except for this year since that is when Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge opened up), most days in September and most weekdays in October and November leading up until Thanksgiving (which is one of the busiest times to visit Disney World).
Even though I have said before that you should NEVER EVER visit Disney, my family and I used to go to Disney World in October each year to celebrate my birthday.
It was always so nice to experience the parks not only around Halloween, but also because most kids were back in school and crowds were fairly low (low for Disney that is).
Disney World Fall Vacation – 5 Things to Know:
1. Hurricane Season
The big drawback to consider when picking this time of year for your travel is hurricane season. Although hurricanes rarely make it so far inland, it has happened to the extent that the Disney parks have had to close down.
On the bright side, Walt Disney World is one of the safest places you can be in a hurricane. More concerning is the frequent thundershowers that you are very likely to experience during your trip.
Prepare yourself for these type of circumstances and have some backup plans ready in case a hurricane should hit. You should also keep yourself updated with some useful free travel apps, pack your carry on appropriately with these essentials, and don’t forget to include ponchos.
2. Low Attendance
The main appeal to visiting Walt Disney World in the fall is that attendance is so small, which means you may not have to use these crowded park strategies. Also, school is back in session and there are no more big breaks until winter.
For this reason, September is one of the best months of the year to visit the parks if you don’t want to deal with crowds.
This is the perfect time to try and do some of these surprising Disney World activities, which even a few of the biggest Disney fans may not know about.
October is also good but it’s best to stick to weekdays if you can. Attendance stays relatively low throughout the fall up until the week of Thanksgiving, and then the holiday craziness arrives.
3. Halloween Party
One of the major attractions of a Disney World fall vacation is Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. That is an exciting experience, but it does have its drawbacks.
Since it is an after-hours party, the Magic Kingdom closes early to general guests on the dates when a party is scheduled.
However, if you have tickets to the party, you can get in up to three hours before the park closes down and have plenty of extra time to enjoy the low wait times and minimal crowds of the event.
At Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party guests can dress up and kids can trick or treat. There are rare characters to be found, plenty of exclusive, spooky-fun entertainment, snacks and experiences that you won’t want to miss.
4. Food and Wine
Starting on August 29 and running until November 23, the International Food and Wine Festival returns to Epcot for 2019. The event features pairing and tasting events, seminars, global kiosks, presentations, celebrity chefs and more.
This delicious festival adds another layer to Epcot, so you should try and plan on spending at least two days visiting this park during your Disney World fall vacation.
5. Attractions Not To Be Missed
New attractions and points of interest to discover throughout Disney this fall are, Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge at Hollywood Studios and the Disney Skyliner, which will provide transportation via gondolas on suspended cables.
The Skyliner will operate at Pop Century, Art of Animation, Caribbean Beach, Riviera, Epcot and Hollywood Studios.
There are so many changes coming to Epcot both this year and next. “Illuminations” had its final year, which I recently got to experience again during Disney Dreamers, and was replaced in early October by a show called Epcot Forever.
Whether you want to say goodbye to Illuminations, or see it’s replacement, it will all be happening this fall and you don’t want to miss a magical minute.
Even though the summer is almost over and fall is just about here, it’s not too late to grab some of these must have travel essentials and take a Disney World fall vacation.
This year I visited Disney World over Labor Day weekend since I was invited to attend the Permission To Hustle Disney Conference. It’s a similar conference to that cruise I went on last year.
Remember after that cruise I went straight to Disney to experience Toy Story Land?
We attended and covered:
- Epcot International Food and Wine Festival
- Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge
- Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party
Which Disney park, attraction or event would you want to visit most?
GRAB YOUR FREEBIE!
