Walt Disney World · When to go
The Best Time to Visit Disney World, Month by Month
Twelve honest month verdicts. Crowds, heat, rain, real ticket prices, hurricane risk, ride closures and every seasonal event, plus a tool that picks your month for you.
Average high, 72 °F in January to 92 °F in July
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If you only read one thing
Four questions cover most trips. Pick the one that sounds like yours.
Best all-around
NovemberDriest month of the year, no real heat, and the full holiday slate is up by mid-month.
Read the verdictCheapest
SeptemberLowest airfare and room rates, tickets near their floor. Paid for in humidity and storm odds.
Read the verdictBest weather
FebruaryA 75-degree high, two inches of rain, nothing at 90. Disney prices it accordingly.
Read the verdictNo peak dates
JuneJune and August are the only months Disney flags nothing at all. June is the cooler of the two.
Read the verdictOne tracker's quietest month of the last five years was July, the hottest one. That is the shape of the whole decision. Cost, crowds, weather and what is actually running rarely point at the same month, so there is no best month, only a trade you will accept. The driest weeks are priced like it. The cheapest weeks are the ones where a headliner sits behind construction walls or the heat index hits 104 by lunchtime.
One column below does most of the work. Disney publishes which dates it blocks to its own passholders, which is the closest thing to Disney saying out loud when it expects a crowd. March carries nineteen. June and August carry none. Undecided between the coasts? Start with Disney World against Disneyland.
Who you travel with narrows this faster than any calendar. Families tied to a school break want the week of the Fourth over spring break, and should know Thanksgiving carries nine straight peak dates while the weeks either side carry none. Couples with no school calendar want November for Food and Wine, or the second week of January once Marathon Weekend clears. First-timers want long hours and everything open, which rules out January, February and late August. Budget travellers want late August or September, and should read the heat paragraph twice first. Anyone heat-sensitive has November through March, and should treat May as the outer edge.
One warning about crowd calendars, including the good ones. A low rating is a wait-time forecast, not an attendance count, and not the same thing as a shorter day. TouringPlans' own 2025 review found its predictions landed within one level only 44 percent of the time. Its own figures put the gap between crowd level 1 and crowd level 10 at 197 minutes across a whole touring day, about twenty minutes a level. Choose on cost, comfort and what is open, then let the crowd number break the tie.
The whole year at once
Four things that move every month
Price is the one-day adult Magic Kingdom ticket, averaged across the month from Disney's published pricing. Heat and rain are NOAA thirty-year normals. Peak dates are the ones Disney flags as busy.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain | Wet days | 1 day, adult | 4 days, family of 4 | Peak dates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 72 °F | 50 °F | 2.48 in | 7 | $202 | $2,695 | 5 |
| February | 75 °F | 52 °F | 2.04 in | 6 | $210 | $2,821 | 3 |
| March | 79 °F | 56 °F | 3.03 in | 7 | $212 | $2,859 | 19 |
| April | 84 °F | 61 °F | 2.58 in | 6 | $210 | $2,798 | 1 |
| May | 88 °F | 66 °F | 4.02 in | 8 | $202 | $2,679 | 3 |
| June | 91 °F | 72 °F | 8.05 in | 16 | $199 | $2,623 | 0 |
| July | 92 °F | 73 °F | 7.46 in | 17 | $196 | $2,560 | 4 |
| August | 92 °F | 74 °F | 7.69 in | 17 | $165 | $2,121 | 0 |
| September | 90 °F | 72 °F | 6.37 in | 14 | $159 | $2,122 | 3 |
| October | 85 °F | 66 °F | 3.46 in | 8 | $194 | $2,650 | 3 |
| November | 78 °F | 58 °F | 1.79 in | 6 | $199 | $2,724 | 9 |
| December | 74 °F | 53 °F | 2.48 in | 7 | $203 | $2,780 | 13 |
Every month in calendar order
Winter The cheapest rooms, the longest closure list.
January
The quietest weeks of the winter sit right behind one of the worst.
- Crowds
- Steady
- Heat
- None
- Storm risk
- None
- Closures
- Severe
- Park hours
- Short
January is two months pretending to be one. The 1st and 2nd carry a peak flag, with Christmas-week guests still on property and local passholders let back in. Then Marathon Weekend takes January 6 to 10, and MLK weekend, the 16th to the 18th, is flagged too. Around those, January 11 through February 3 is Disney's own value season for rooms.
The catch is what is shut. Heavy maintenance happens when nobody is watching, so the quietest weeks are exactly when a headliner goes behind walls. The Skyliner closes for its annual refurbishment most late Januaries, and is down January 24 to 30, 2027. Weather is the other gamble. Seven of the last seventeen winters produced at least one freezing night, and the coldest stretch of the normals falls January 11 to 19.
- Average high
- 72°Low of 50°F
- Rain
- 2.5 in7 wet days
- One-day adult
- $202$189 to $214
- Four-day family total
- $2,695Base tickets, before tax
On this month
- Marathon Weekend, January 6 to 10, 2027
- Festival of the Arts at EPCOT
- Decorations down early
Best for
- Walkers who hate sweat
- Runners
- Budget trips after the 18th
Avoid if
- You need every headliner
- The first week is yours
- A 40-degree morning matters
February
Florida's best walking weather, sold at peak-season rates anyway.
- Crowds
- Steady
- Heat
- None
- Storm risk
- None
- Closures
- High
- Park hours
- Short
For pure comfort, February wins. The normal high is 75, the low is 52, and 2.04 inches of rain makes it the second-driest month on the calendar. Not one February day in the normals reaches 90 degrees.
Disney knows. NerdWallet makes February the priciest month to fly to and to sleep in, and Disney prices its tickets two dollars under March's. Four days of tickets for two adults and two children average $2,821 here against $2,121 in August. The crowd shape is lopsided too. Disney flags only February 13 to 15, but New York and Boston schools are off the whole week of the 15th and metro Atlanta breaks the 12th to the 16th, turning a three-day holiday into a nine-day wave.
- Average high
- 75°Low of 52°F
- Rain
- 2.0 in6 wet days
- One-day adult
- $210$199 to $219
- Four-day family total
- $2,821Base tickets, before tax
On this month
- Festival of the Arts at EPCOT
- Princess Half, February 25 to March 1, 2027
- One water park open, not both
Best for
- Couples who walk for hours
- Heat-sensitive guests
- Multigenerational trips
Avoid if
- You are chasing a bargain
- Presidents Day week is yours
- You want a water park
March
Lovely weather, the highest prices on the calendar, and Disney is not guessing.
- Crowds
- Packed
- Heat
- Low
- Storm risk
- Low
- Closures
- Medium
- Park hours
- Medium
March is the most expensive month on Disney's calendar and the most heavily blocked. Nineteen dates carry a peak flag, running in one unbroken wall from the 13th through the 31st. That is Disney's own read, published before any crowd tracker weighs in.
Easter falls on March 28 in 2027, near the earliest date it can land, dragging spring break forward with it. Houston is out March 8 to 12, Orange County schools here in Orlando March 15 to 19, Chicago and Fairfax County March 22 to 26. The weather is the payoff, 79 and 56 with under a day at 90 degrees. If you want March, take the first twelve days. The EPCOT calendar fills from the 13th and never lets go.
- Average high
- 79°Low of 56°F
- Rain
- 3.0 in7 wet days
- One-day adult
- $212$199 to $219
- Four-day family total
- $2,859Base tickets, before tax
On this month
- Flower and Garden at EPCOT
- Garden Rocks
- Easter falls March 28, 2027
Best for
- Families locked to spring break
- Topiary people
- Mild air, long days
Avoid if
- You care what it costs
- Thin crowds matter
- You want a quiet EPCOT
Spring Nineteen peak dates in March alone.
April
A seven-day gap between two peaks, and hardly anyone books it.
- Crowds
- Busy
- Heat
- Low
- Storm risk
- Low
- Closures
- Low
- Park hours
- Medium
The standard advice is to go after Easter, once spring break is over. For 2027 that is wrong. Easter is March 28 and the first Passover seder is April 21, a 24-day gap, so demand that usually stacks into one window splits into two. Easter week runs through April 5, metro Atlanta breaks the 5th to the 9th, Springtime Surprise takes the 8th to the 11th, then Massachusetts breaks the 19th to the 23rd and New York the 22nd to the 30th.
What is left is April 12 through 18. Seven days between two peaks, with the EPCOT festival machinery running and none of the crowds attached to it. Disney flags one April date as peak. April also has the driest afternoon air of the year, 48 percent humidity.
- Average high
- 84°Low of 61°F
- Rain
- 2.6 in6 wet days
- One-day adult
- $210$199 to $219
- Four-day family total
- $2,798Base tickets, before tax
On this month
- Flower and Garden at EPCOT
- Springtime Surprise, April 8 to 11, 2027
- Earth Month at Animal Kingdom
Best for
- Free April 12 to 18
- Adults who want dry afternoons
- Photographers
Avoid if
- Your break is late
- You assume April is quiet
- You need a quiet Easter
May
Cheap and quiet, and hot enough to notice by two in the afternoon.
- Crowds
- Steady
- Heat
- Medium
- Storm risk
- Medium
- Closures
- Low
- Park hours
- Long
May is where the year turns. Days at 90 degrees jump from 3.6 in April to 13.6, thunderstorm days from 3.5 to 7.2, and rain climbs to 4.02 inches. None of that is summer yet, but you can feel it coming, and the mornings are still genuinely pleasant.
The crowd shape helps. Southern school years end just before Memorial Day, Orange County and metro Atlanta on the 26th and Houston on the 28th, while the Northeast stays in class into late June. That makes the last full week the month's quietest, and Disney blocks only May 29 to 31. Hours are near their summer length, which matters more than people expect. A 9am to 10pm day buys a real evening after a midday break, and in May the evening is the good part.
- Average high
- 88°Low of 66°F
- Rain
- 4.0 in8 wet days
- One-day adult
- $202$194 to $214
- Four-day family total
- $2,679Base tickets, before tax
On this month
- Flower and Garden closes at EPCOT
- Water parks open for the season
- Memorial Day falls May 31, 2027
Best for
- Preschoolers, no school to dodge
- Long days, less heat
- Water park people
Avoid if
- Afternoon heat is a dealbreaker
- Memorial Day weekend travel
- You want festival food
June
The wettest month of the year, and not one peak date on it.
- Crowds
- Steady
- Heat
- High
- Storm risk
- High
- Closures
- Low
- Park hours
- Longest
June is the wettest month in the Orlando area, 8.05 inches over 16 rain days with 15 thunderstorm days, and the number frightens people more than it should. These are convective storms driven by afternoon heating, and a single-cell storm dies inside an hour. Locals ride in the morning, swim through the middle of the day, and come back out at seven.
The crowds are the surprise. Disney flags no June date as peak, and Northeast school years hold the first three weeks down, with Chicago out June 11, Boston the 21st and New York the 28th. June also delivers the longest park hours outside July, which is the real reason to take it. Both water parks are open, and EPCOT sits between festivals from June 2 to August 26, so the food booths are not there.
- Average high
- 91°Low of 72°F
- Rain
- 8.1 in16 wet days
- One-day adult
- $199$189 to $204
- Four-day family total
- $2,623Base tickets, before tax
On this month
- No EPCOT festival, June 2 to August 26, 2026
- Both water parks open through September 8, 2026
- Hurricane season opens June 1
Best for
- Maximum hours per ticket
- Families tied to summer
- Late risers
Avoid if
- You want festival food
- Sixteen rain days sounds grim
- Someone wilts above 90
Summer A heat index of 104 by lunchtime.
July
The hottest month on the calendar, and lately one of the emptiest.
- Crowds
- Steady
- Heat
- Severe
- Storm risk
- High
- Closures
- Low
- Park hours
- Longest
July is the hottest month in the normals, 92 and 73, with 25 days at 90 or above and 18.8 thunderstorm days. Run the normal high against the normal afternoon humidity and the heat index works out to about 104. The weather service issues a heat advisory at 108, and notes that a heat index assumes shade, with full sun adding up to 15 degrees. Queue lines are not shade.
And yet Disney Tourist Blog documented July 2026 as the least busy month here since September 2021, with July 2 to 5 rating 1 out of 10 and July 5 averaging 19-minute waits. Passholder blockouts, Floridians refusing to come out in the heat, and premium holiday pricing did it between them. If your group tolerates heat, July hands you the longest park days of the year.
- Average high
- 92°Low of 73°F
- Rain
- 7.5 in17 wet days
- One-day adult
- $196$184 to $209
- Four-day family total
- $2,560Base tickets, before tax
On this month
- Independence Day falls Sunday, July 4, 2027
- Water park lineup changes, check first
- No EPCOT festival
Best for
- Families with no option
- Night owls, for late closes
- The longest park day
Avoid if
- Heat is a health concern
- A midday break is impossible
- Storms would derail it
August
The cheapest tickets of the year, sold at the price of your comfort.
- Crowds
- Calm
- Heat
- Severe
- Storm risk
- Severe
- Closures
- Low
- Park hours
- Long
The cheapest one-day Magic Kingdom ticket anywhere on the calendar is $139, and exactly four dates on the whole selling calendar carry it, every one in August. Four days for a family of four average $2,121, the lowest of the year and $738 below March. Disney flags no August date as peak at all.
The reason is not generosity. August has the warmest nights of the year at 73.7, the highest dew point at 74.7, and the most rain days of any month at 17.2. Mid-August to mid-October also carries 96 percent of the Atlantic's major-hurricane days. The lull is a school-calendar artifact, since the Sunbelt markets that fill Orlando go back early, metro Atlanta on August 4 in 2027 and South Florida on the 10th. Disney Tourist Blog has reversed its own recommendation of this stretch and now names first-timers, families with young children and heat-sensitive guests as people who should stay away. If you come anyway, dress for it.
- Average high
- 92°Low of 74°F
- Rain
- 7.7 in17 wet days
- One-day adult
- $165$139 to $184
- Four-day family total
- $2,121Base tickets, before tax
On this month
- Not-So-Scary Halloween Party from August 7, 2026
- Food and Wine Festival from August 27, 2026
- Hurricane season peaking
Best for
- Money is the only limit
- Adults free late in August
- Cheap party-adjacent days
Avoid if
- A first Disney trip
- You have small children
- Someone struggles with heat
September
The cheapest, quietest weeks of the year, sat on the hurricane peak.
- Crowds
- Calm
- Heat
- High
- Storm risk
- Severe
- Closures
- Medium
- Park hours
- Medium
September is the cheapest month to travel in. NerdWallet puts round-trip airfare to Orlando at $199 against $248 in February, and a hotel room at $126 a night against $198. Lightning Lane sits at its floor on September weekdays. Crowds stay thin until the last full week, when Florida resident deals expire and the Saturdays fill. Animal Kingdom closes at 6pm most days.
Then the storm question, which deserves a straight answer rather than reassurance. The Atlantic season peaks on September 10, and 36 of the 81 Florida hurricane landfalls in NOAA's record since 1900 fell in this month. Against that, only Irma and Ian have ever closed all four parks for two full days. Disney waives its own change fees if a hurricane warning is issued for the Orlando area or your home within seven days of arrival, on bookings made directly with Disney. A watch does not count.
- Average high
- 90°Low of 72°F
- Rain
- 6.4 in14 wet days
- One-day adult
- $159$149 to $184
- Four-day family total
- $2,122Base tickets, before tax
On this month
- Not-So-Scary Halloween Party most weeks
- Food and Wine Festival at EPCOT
- Typhoon Lagoon closed from September 9, 2026
Best for
- Couples, no school calendar
- Cost and quiet above all
- Food and Wine regulars
Avoid if
- A cancelled trip ruins you
- You want long hours
- Muggy afternoons
Autumn The driest month of the year, a party most nights.
October
Excellent weather, a party most nights, a Magic Kingdom that shuts at six.
- Crowds
- Busy
- Heat
- Low
- Storm risk
- High
- Closures
- Low
- Park hours
- Medium
On paper October has the best weather-to-crowds ratio of the year. Rain drops from September's 6.37 inches to 3.46, thunderstorm days from 10.4 to 2.6, and the normal high settles at 85. Then look at the evenings. Sixteen of October's thirty-one nights were Halloween party nights in 2026, and on those Magic Kingdom closes at 6pm to anyone without a party ticket.
The counterintuitive part is that party days are the best daytime at Magic Kingdom all season, because the park empties in anticipation. Disney Tourist Blog puts party-day daytime crowds at 1 to 3 out of 10 against 7 to 9 either side. Otherwise October has stopped being a shoulder month. Columbus Day week ranks among the busiest of the year, and October still holds 24 of those 81 Florida landfalls.
- Average high
- 85°Low of 66°F
- Rain
- 3.5 in8 wet days
- One-day adult
- $194$184 to $199
- Four-day family total
- $2,650Base tickets, before tax
On this month
- Not-So-Scary through October 31, 2026
- Food and Wine Festival at EPCOT
- Wine and Dine weekend, late October
Best for
- Halloween people
- October air, long EPCOT evenings
- Adults who will buy a party ticket
Avoid if
- You will not buy an event ticket
- Columbus Day week is yours
- You think October is quiet
November
The driest month of the year, with the Christmas decorations already up.
- Crowds
- Busy
- Heat
- None
- Storm risk
- Low
- Closures
- Low
- Park hours
- Medium
November is the driest month in the Orlando area, 1.79 inches over six rain days, about a quarter of June's rainfall and the fewest wet days of any month. One thunderstorm day. Effectively nothing at 90 degrees. On rain alone, with no Disney calendar in front of you, November wins.
It also stacks the most entertainment. In 2026 Food and Wine ran to November 21, the resort holiday season opened on the 13th, Very Merry began on the 8th, Jollywood Nights opened at Hollywood Studios, and Festival of the Holidays started the day after Thanksgiving. The crowd shape is lumpy. New Jersey's teacher convention empties that state's schools in the first week, Veterans Day lifts the middle, and Thanksgiving is brutal, with nine consecutive peak dates from the 20th. The week you want is the one straight after it, with every decoration up and nobody left to look at them.
- Average high
- 78°Low of 58°F
- Rain
- 1.8 in6 wet days
- One-day adult
- $199$184 to $209
- Four-day family total
- $2,724Base tickets, before tax
On this month
- Very Merry Christmas Party from November 8, 2026
- Jollywood Nights at Hollywood Studios
- Festival of the Holidays from November 27, 2026
Best for
- One month to do everything
- Couples doing Food and Wine right
- Christmas without the crowds
Avoid if
- Thanksgiving week is your only one
- You need every Magic Kingdom night
- You travel week one
December
Two completely different months wearing the same decorations.
- Crowds
- Packed
- Heat
- None
- Storm risk
- None
- Closures
- Low
- Park hours
- Long
The week after Thanksgiving is, by a wide margin, the best week of the Disney World year. Every decoration is up, Festival of the Holidays is running, the Candlelight Processional performs three times a night, and the crowds have gone home. Disney Tourist Blog ranks it first out of fifty-two. The week after is nearly as good, though room rates climb 15 to 25 percent across it.
Then December stops being that month. Thirteen dates carry a peak flag, all from the 19th, and the block runs through New Year's Day. Christmas Day 2027 falls on a Saturday, so December 26 to January 1 runs Sunday to Saturday with no midweek relief in it anywhere. Hours are the compensation. Magic Kingdom ran 8am to 11pm every day from December 22 to 29 in 2025, and 8am to 1am on New Year's Eve.
- Average high
- 74°Low of 53°F
- Rain
- 2.5 in7 wet days
- One-day adult
- $203$194 to $209
- Four-day family total
- $2,780Base tickets, before tax
On this month
- Festival of the Holidays and Candlelight
- Very Merry through December 22, 2026
- Jingle Cruise and holiday overlays
Best for
- Anyone free before December 13
- Holiday people with flexible dates
- Decorations without the queue
Avoid if
- Dates locked to Christmas
- A first trip with toddlers
- You need any value
The decision
Tell it what matters and it will rank the year
Nothing here is weighted for you. Check what you care about and the year re-sorts on the figures behind it, Disney's ticket pricing, Disney's own peak dates, the NOAA normals. Check nothing and everything counts equally.
Your year, ranked
Nothing checked, so every measure counts equally and August wins on cost. Tick what matters.
Loose ends
Questions that decide trips
What is the cheapest time to visit Disney World
Late August and mid-September. The lowest one-day adult Magic Kingdom ticket on Disney's calendar is $139, and four dates carry it, all in August. Four days of tickets for two adults and two children average $2,121 in August against $2,859 in March. You pay in heat, humidity and storm season.
What is the least crowded month at Disney World
It moved. September held the title for years, then July 2026 came in as the quietest month since September 2021. The reliable answer is a set of windows rather than a month. The second week of January, April 12 to 18 in 2027, the last week of May, late August, and the week after Thanksgiving.
Is it worth going during hurricane season
Usually, with your eyes open. Eleven named storms have closed the parks for part of a day since 1999, and only Irma and Ian closed all four for two full days. Disney waives its own change fees when a hurricane warning covers the Orlando area or your home within seven days of arrival, on bookings made directly with Disney. Settle insurance before a storm has a name.
We can only travel on school breaks, which one is least bad
Thanksgiving, and arrive on the Wednesday. Disney Tourist Blog reads the crush as landing Sunday through Tuesday, with Thanksgiving Day and the weekend after running lighter, and the full Christmas slate already up. The week of the Fourth is next best. Avoid the week before Easter, routinely the worst week between January and October.
When are the rides most likely to be closed
January and February. Disney schedules heavy maintenance when attendance is lowest, which is the window people pick for thin crowds. Kali River Rapids and Jungle Cruise are the usual January names, and the Skyliner is down January 24 to 30, 2027. The water parks take turns, and Typhoon Lagoon closes September 9, 2026 with no reopening date announced.
Does it matter which month if I own DVC points
More than for cash guests, because the point charts have their own seasons and they do not match the cash calendar. The same studio can cost twice as many points at Christmas as in early December. Check the point charts by season first.