When?

Probably one of the most frequent questions I hear is "When is the best time to go to Disney?"  Well, it depends on your needs. Do you want smaller crowds? Do you want to attend a special event? Do you want to make sure your kids don't miss any school? Do want to avoid the heat if possible?  All of the above?  There are a lot of factors that you need to consider when deciding when is the best time.

One of the things you might want to consider is crowd level. You can utilize sites like touringplans.com and easywdw.com to help you decide which is a low crowd time to go to Disney World. Touring Plans even has a link to Disneyland for assistance there. As far as Adventures by Disney, Disney Cruise Line or Aulani, there really isn't a more or less crowded time to worry about. Crowds really only come into play at the parks themselves.

Personally, I like November or December, but not during Thanksgiving or Christmas - New Years. The week after Thanksgiving and the first week in December are usually the least crowded. The weather is also great, but a little unpredictable. During this time, we do have to pull the kids out of school, but until DS enters middle school (he's the oldest) we are okay with doing so.

For some of the busy times, the month of March is busy with spring break vacationers. The week of Thanksgiving and the weeks of Christmas and New Year's are really busy. In fact, during the holidays, it is also the most expensive time to go to the Disney parks.  Again, Easy WDW and Touring Plans have a lot of information about crowds.

As far as special events, there are a ton. There are various marathons, special parties like Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, the Candlelight Processional, Star Wars weekends, etc. Many of my clients like to book their trips around a particular event. In fact, my upcoming trip is a "Christmas" trip. While we aren't going at Christmas, we are going at a time where we can enjoy all of the Christmas events like Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, the Candlelight Processional, Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights, and all of the resort decorations.

When it comes to kids missing school, I know that there are varying opinions. I don't mind if my children miss school as long as their school approves. I also realize that once my son hits middle school and high school, we can forget pulling him out for a week or more. Some parents are opposed to missing school, that's what summers and long vacations like spring break are for. This is one of the factors that is parent specific.

Florida and California weather varies. Typically in Florida it is hot an humid with rain, but it can get cold during the winter months. California is the same way, with less humidity. Your best bet when trying to decide based on weather is to research sites like weather.com or intellicast.com for help deciding when you would rather go based on the weather you'd like.

For a cruise, I'd avoid the hurricane season which is June 1st - November 30th for the Atlantic and May 15th - November 30th for the Eastern Pacific.  There are still cruises if you'd like to risk it. If you want to try your luck, then I'd recommend travel insurance in case your cruise is canceled or postponed.

For Aulani, the weather in Hawaii rarely changes due to the seasons so you'll be fine whenever you choose to go. Although there tends to be less rain May - September so you might want to consider a less rainy time if rain might bother you. For Adventures by Disney, you will need to keep in mind the weather when you are trying to decide where to go. Each area is different.  For example, you will likely have snow during the winter in Germany while if you go to Australia, you don't have to worry about winter weather even during Winter.

I realize that I may have not answered the When question, but it's only because there are too many factors to consider in order to answer that question.  I do think that any time you go to Disney is the right time. I mean, come on y'all, it's Disney!

See y'all real soon,

Wyndie