Walt Disney World is busiest Christmas Day through the first few days of January. Next busiest is the spring-break period from mid-March through the week of Easter, then Thanksgiving week. Following those are the first few weeks of June, when summer vacation starts, and the week of Presidents Day.

The least busy time is from Labor Day in September through the beginning of October. Next slowest are the weeks in mid-January after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend up to Presidents Day in February (except when the Walt Disney World Marathon runs after MLK Day). The weeks after Thanksgiving and before Christmas are less crowded than average, as is mid-April-mid-May, after spring break and before Memorial Day.

Late February, March, and early April are dicey. Crowds ebb and flow according to spring-break schedules and the timing of Presidents Day weekend. Besides being asphalt-melting hot, July brings throngs of South American tourists on their winter holiday.

We define theme park crowds by looking at average posted wait time for the park's most important attractions, between the hours of 10:00 am and 5:00 pm. We selected this definition for many reasons:

• It is data-driven, using data that we can collect
• It has fixed park hours to make fair comparisons between parks
• It can be objectively evaluated for accuracy

That last one is important. Two guests who tour Magic Kingdom on the same day may not agree on how the crowd felt. It will depend greatly on their personal perspective: what time of year they usually visit, how experienced they are, whether they used a touring plan, and more. However, everyone should be able to agree on what the average posted wait time was between 10:00 am and 5:00 pm.

See our Magic Kingdom Crowd Levels page to get a sense of wait times at popular attractions for different crowd levels.

Other Tips

1. Using a Touring Plan is 5 times more important than which park to visit

The best way to avoid waiting in line is to use a Disney World Touring Plan. You will tour more efficiently with a touring plan at a park at level '8' then you will without a touring plan at a park at level '4'.

2. Lower crowds mean it's less important to choose a specific park to visit

If the crowd calendar level is a '4' or lower, picking which park to visit will matter less. Use the crowd calendar to choose a week with lower crowds, then visit whichever park you wish.

3. Use Extra Magic Hours Wisely

If you're staying at a Disney hotel with Extra Magic Hours, then take advantage of that perk. Morning Extra Magic Hour is the most effective for seeing rides without long waits in line. Just make sure you can arrive before Morning Extra Magic Hour begins.