You’ve probably heard people say “it’s best to visit Disney World during the spring.” Or “you should never visit Disney World during the summer.” But, does it REALLY matter when you visit Disney World?

Is there really a significant difference when it comes to hotel prices, ticket prices, and more that could and should affect when you choose to visit the parks? We’re taking a look at all of that and breaking it down for you today!

Hotel Prices

We’ll start our analysis by looking at Disney World hotel prices. Specifically, we’ll be taking a look at hotel prices in late January (a relatively slower time for Disney World after the rush from the holidays has passed), April (close to spring break season), June (peak summertime), September (typically a slower time once kids are back in school), November (Thanksgiving time), and December (typically one of the busiest times in Disney World around Christmas and New Year’s Eve). This will give us a good overall view of just how much hotel prices can vary.

We’ll be using prices from the available bookings in Disney World for 2022 when possible and looking at the estimated cost for a 5-night trip. And, we’ll limit it to the 1-2 least expensive hotel options for each proposed stay since many guests are looking for something more budget-friendly.

Alright, let’s dive in!

January

For January, we looked at a trip where we’d check in on January 23rd and check out on January 28th, 2022. At the time we looked, the cheapest hotels available were The Campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort (which was a $95 average cost per night) and Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort (which was a $136.20 average cost per night).

Now, because January tends to draw lighter crowds to the parks, you can often find additional hotel discounts during this time of year. This can make your stay even cheaper or make a stay at a nicer Disney World hotel more affordable.

April

For our April trip, we checked hotel rooms for April 3rd through the 8th, 2022. The cheapest rooms available were once again at Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort ($152.40 per night) and The Campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort ($159 per night).

June

For June, we checked for a stay from June 26th through July 1st, 2022, and found that the cheapest rooms were The Campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort ($101 per night) and any of the All-Star Resorts — Sports, Music, or Movies ($167.40 per night). Sensing a trend here?

September

For September, we looked at estimates for a trip from September 11th through September 16th, 2022. To no surprise, the cheapest options available were The Campsites and All-Star Movies and Sports with the average prices being $66 per night and $153.20 per night, respectively.

November

For November, we looked for a trip from November 21st through November 25th, 2022, and the results were a bit different. The cheapest hotels available were Disney’s All-Star Sports REsort ($192 per night) and Disney’s All-Star Music Resort (also $192 per night). All-Star Movies was more expensive at an average of $229 per night.

Now, it’s important to note here that The Campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort is likely a bit cheaper, but the holidays are a popular time at this spot. Disney-goers gather here and decorate their campsites, participate in holiday-themed golf cart parades, and more, so you can expect it to book up fast (and likely cost a little more).

December

And finally, for December we estimated a stay over the Christmas holiday from December 23rd through December 28th, 2022, and the cheapest hotels available were All-Star Sports and Music. Each one was priced at $239 per night, which is a pretty significant jump compared to what we saw throughout the rest of 2022.

Overall

So, you can see the BIG difference in price just by looking at the different options we’ve outlined above. The cheapest hotel in December is priced at $239 per night, while the cheapest hotel (OK, so less “hotel” as it is a campsite!) in September is only $66 a night. That’s a difference of $162 PER NIGHT! Multiply that by the 5 nights of the trip and you’re talking some serious savings!

And, to take more of a general look at the numbers based on the price of the least expensive hotel available in each category, the “best” times to stay at a Disney World hotel would be September, followed by late January, June, April, November, and finally December.

Of course, this doesn’t take into account any specific hotel deals or discounts, which could make some of those rooms more affordable.

Click HERE to see our page with ALL of Disney World’s upcoming deals and discounts!

Ticket Prices

Next, we’ll take a look at ticket prices using the same general time periods discussed above — again all in 2022 for a 5-day trip with 1 park per day. Keep in mind that ticket prices can vary a lot depending on what type of ticket you’re buying and how many days you’re visiting, but this will give you a general overview of what time periods will cost more versus those that will cost less.

January

The beginning of January is still filled with holiday-goers, but if we look at the same week that we priced out a hotel for this month, then you can see a fairly significant drop in the cost of tickets. For example, from January 23rd to 28th, tickets cost roughly $95 per day bringing the total to $478.80 for a 5-day trip (1-park per day).

April

Things get a little pricier in April around spring break with tickets costing about $111 to $112 per day for our proposed April trip. This brings the total cost of tickets for the trip to $550.72.

June

For the June 2022 trip we were looking at, the price is $524.93 with 1-park ticket costing $105 to $106 per day.

September

Prices dip down again around the time that most schools begin in September, bringing the cost per day to roughly $94 or $468.37 total.

November

We start to see some of the highest ticket prices in November, with a 5-day trip over the Thanksgiving holiday costing $604.97 per person (or $121 per day).

December

And finally, for December the same 5-day ticket will cost the most at $607.39.

So, as you might expect, not only are the weekends in November and December and holidays some of the busiest times to be in the parks, they’re also the most expensive.

Click HERE to see the most expensive days to visit Disney World in 2022.

Overall

Again, you can see a really clear difference in terms of ticket price here. There is a $139.02 difference between the ticket prices for September and December. And that’s just for ONE 5-day ticket without a park hopper! If you’ll be traveling with a party of 3, 4, 5, or more people that can be a HUGE difference in price when multiplied across so many individuals.

For this post, we just looked at some general dates, but if you really wanted to get some big savings, you could literally go day by day through the calendar to look for the least expensive tickets within a particular stretch of time.

So, when is the best time to visit Disney World if you’re looking to spend the least amount on park tickets? Well, based on our search, it would be September first, then January, June, April, November, and finally December. This matches the best times based on hotel prices too.

Are ticket prices increasing in 2022? Click here to see what we’ve noticed.

Crowds

It’s not all about the price for many Disney-goers though! Even if you plan your trip solely based on which days are the cheapest, a Disney World vacation is still pretty costly. So, what time of year will make for the BEST Disney Park experience? It can really depend on crowds!

Of course, Disney World crowds can vary A LOT depending on when you’re visiting. In 2020, the parks reopened with a 35% capacity limit, but Disney has since increased this number over the past 18 months (though they haven’t revealed by how much exactly). However, even with the assumption that a capacity limit is still in place currently, you will generally notice a dramatic difference between the crowds that appear during “slower” times and the holiday season. Plus, you may also notice a difference in crowds between the weekdays and weekends.

In late January 2021, we saw some pretty low crowds with wait times significantly dropping later in the month, and that has proven to remain true in 2022. Kids tend to be back in school during this time, and it’s winter, which means that you won’t necessarily be able to enjoy the pools and water parks on those rare cold Florida days (and by cold we mean like…50 degrees in Orlando). So, this tends to keep the crowds on the lower end.

April on the other hand has traditionally brought in a few more crowds for the tail end of the spring break period. In 2021, we noticed Park Passes fill up pretty far in advance for the beginning of the month, though some average wait times for attractions were surprisingly lower than what we expected.

June is peak summertime and generally when TONS families (thanks to kids being off school!) choose to travel to Disney World to enjoy some fun in the sun. And, with more people traveling, that means there are more people in the parks. So, while the parks remained closed in June 2020, it didn’t take long for things to pick up once again.

In June of 2021, the increase in capacity limits (and demand) was clear as a LOT of summer Park Passes filled up MONTHS in advance, although many were later added, increasing availability. Of course, the additional availability was just met with more park-goers, getting the parks closer to the crowd levels we’re used to seeing over the summer.

In our experience, September tends to be one of Disney’s slower times (except around Labor Day). But, with lower crowds sometimes comes shorter park hours, so that is something to be aware of.

When it comes to the holidays, you can generally expect crowds to be at their peak from Thanksgiving time all the way through the New Year. For example, in 2021, we did see some pretty high crowd levels during the week of Thanksgiving and the crowds around Christmas Eve and during the December holidays were pretty large as well.

While it can be pretty easy to predict the ebb and flow of crowds in Disney World over the year, the crowds have surprised us from time to time. While we saw pretty big spring break crowds in early March last year, in mid-March things weren’t quite as busy as we expected. We’ve also experienced days where the parks were at capacity but they definitely didn’t look or feel like they were.

Basically, what we’re saying is that crowd levels can vary almost any time that you visit Disney. Even during “busier” seasons, you may find pockets of days where the crowds are surprisingly low. But, during Disney’s traditionally busier seasons — on holidays, during spring break, and during the summer — you’ll generally find larger crowds.

Click here to see our list of the 10 times you do NOT want to be in Disney World!

Seasonal Offerings

In terms of seasonal offerings, it definitely DOES matter when you visit Disney World. If you visit Disney World during Halloween, Christmas, Mother’s Day, Easter, or other holiday seasons, you’ll find snacks, merchandise, and other things specific to the holidays available in the parks and hotels that you won’t find during other times of the year.

What you do have to keep in mind though is that for most holidays — or at least the major ones — these celebrations, special treats, etc. last for a pretty significant amount of time. So, generally, you don’t have to go to Disney World ON Halloween or even in October to experience a bit of spookiness. Halloween festivities usually begin in August/early September and last all the way through Halloween.

And, it’s not just the treats that you can take advantage of well before the holiday season actually arrives — in 2021 Disney’s new Halloween After Hours even (BOO Bash) began in August. So, this meant that guests visiting during the “slower” September months still could take advantage of the holiday event without having to face the holiday crowds.

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party will be returning to Disney World in 2022, with party dates starting on August 12th. With the return of this event, we could see bigger crowds even in September as guests return to welcome back the fan-favorite party.

The same goes for Christmas when most of the treats, decorations, and more are typically available for quite an extended time. And, in 2020, the holiday cavalcades even started in early November!

For these major holidays, you’ll have a much larger window to enjoy all of the special offerings. But, for things like Easter or Mother’s Day, your time frame may be a bit more limited. So, just keep that in mind when you’re deciding when to visit!

All of this is to say, if you want to see seasonal parades (or cavalcades while they’re still around), eat seasonal-specific treats, go to seasonal-specific ticketed events (like the Disney Very Merriest After Hours event), or get seasonal-specific merchandise, then you need to go around the time of that season. You may have a large window of time to enjoy the festivities (like for Halloween or Christmas), but your time may be more limited for smaller holidays.

The same rules apply for the festivals at EPCOT. If you want to go to the International Food & Wine Festival for example, then you need to visit EPCOT during that time. The good thing though is that EPCOT’s festivals last for quite some time — generally a number of weeks at least, but more typically a number of MONTHS. So you don’t necessarily need to be there on the first day of the festival in order to enjoy all of its offerings.

You’ll be hard-pressed to find too much time in EPCOT when a festival is NOT going on. The park now quickly transitions between its festivities, meaning you’ll almost always encounter some kind of festival or special offering going on.

So, between the holidays, EPCOT festivals, and more it’s just a matter of figuring out whether whatever is going on is what you want to see at this point!

Click here to see how to tackle a holiday trip to Disney World like a pro!

Overall

So, does it matter WHEN you visit Disney World? It looks like the answer to that is “yes!” From what we saw, ticket prices and hotel prices can vary by a significant amount depending on when you choose to visit. Plus, you will also likely encounter different crowd levels depending on when you go. And if you MUST get specific holiday items or experience a particular EPCOT Festival, then when you visit Disney World will matter a lot.

Keep in mind though, this is all based on estimates of what we’ve seen so far. Things are ALWAYS subject to change.

Yes, you will find days during the “busy” season that are pretty empty. And yes, you might find days during the “slower” season that are packed (particularly if you go on a weekend or if there’s a festival going on or some other limited-time deal). But, generally speaking, pricing, crowds, and more can vary A LOT depending on when you visit the parks.

You’ve just got to price out the trips you’re looking at, see what offerings will be available during that time, and see what’s best for you!

We touched a little on the weather and how that can impact your trip (hello, Florida “winter”), but that can be a HUGE consideration for when you choose to visit Disney World as well. For example, if heat and hurricanes are a concern, then you’ll generally want to avoid the late summer and early fall months.

Think this is ALL too much planning work to figure out? You could always work with our friends over at Small World Vacations to plan your next trip! The people over at Small World Vacations have a ton of experience planning Disney trips and they can make sure you’re getting the very best deals and discounts, answer your Disney World planning questions, and make some great suggestions. Plus their services are totally FREE!! You’ll find all of their contact info below — be sure to tell them that all of us from DFB say “hello”!

Of course, we’ll continue to keep an eye out for updates on crowd level and price changes in Disney World to help you choose the BEST time to plan your upcoming trip, so be sure to stay tuned to DFB for the latest!