I remember when Chris and I first met, I told him I wanted to go to Disney World with him. He told me he’d gone once when he was a kid and he wasn’t really a fan. I was completely baffled by this! How on earth could he not love my favorite place in the whole world?!
When I asked him to explain why, I quickly realized it wasn’t that he didn’t like Disney World. It was that he made the mistake of going at the wrong time.
Yes, there is a wrong time to go to Disney. There are actually several wrong times to go throughout the year. Let me clarify real quick, what exactly I mean when I say “wrong time”. I mean, that if you are going to go during this time, you are going to feel completely claustrophobic and frustrated, and you likely will only be able to see half of what you want to see because the lines will be longer than you could even imagine!
Just forget about going to Disney during the Holiday Season. Literally everyone and their mother will be there. While you’re at it, forget about any school vacations (including Spring Break for college students). When students are out of school is when families take vacations.
When Chris went as a kid, he went during summer vacation. Which means that, in addition to the wait times for each ride, he also had to deal with the sweltering heat. I can completely understand why this wasn’t a great experience for him.
See, growing up my parents took me to Disney every year. Except we always took off to Florida during Disney’s slow season. The perfect time to go down there is right after Christmas, but before February vacation. The last week of January was a popular time for us.
The wait times are half of what they are in the summer! And it’s a very comfortable 65-75 degrees Fahrenheit(18.3-23.8 Celsius). Not necessarily beach weather, but much warmer than it is in New England that time of year. Also hotel prices are a little cheaper this time of year because there is less demand for them.
Just because you won’t come home with a tan or go to the pool every day, doesn’t mean you won’t have an amazing time! This applies to any high traffic vacation destination. Before you book your next trip, do some research on their “peak season”, so that you can avoid it. It will make your experience infinitely more enjoyable!
Happy travels!
Your money will return, your time won’t
Travel When You’re Young 