As a travel agent, I am frequently asked, “When is the best time to travel to Disney World?” Any fan of the “The Most Magical Place on Earth” will say that ANY time is a great time to go to Disney. But there are a few factors that will affect your experience at Disney World that should be considered.

The first is weather. Central Florida has a humid, subtropical climate, meaning hot, humid summers and mild, comfortable winters. The hot and humid pattern usually runs from mid-May to mid-October, with high temperatures in the upper 80’s to low 90’s. The rest of the year, temperatures in the 70’s and 80’s can be expected, with the occasional cold front dropping high temperatures into the 60’s.

The Orlando area averages 52 inches of rain annually, with summer thunderstorms contributing to make June, July August and September the rainiest months. These months account for more than half (29 inches) of that rainfall. In fact, you can almost always expect a late afternoon, early evening thunderstorm daily.

The second biggest factor is crowd size. Using the Crowd Calendar feature at www.touringplans.com, we can see when Disney World is the most and least crowded. The site looks at crowds from a level of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most crowded. In fact, Touring Plans explains “You can get a good sense of how the parks will feel to you based on our wait times pages. For example, a 70-minute average wait at Space Mountain is a ‘7’ on our scale. If a 70-minute average wait seems reasonable to you, you should feel comfortable at a ‘7’ or ‘8’ day. If it makes you shudder in anguish then stick to the ‘5’s or lower, when the wait is more like 45 minutes.”

So let’s look at a few different time frames, just to give you a point of reference:

January 18 – 23, 2017 – Right after the Martin Luther King holiday, crowd levels are expected to be, on average, 6 out of 10. The weather would be comfortable, but there could be a couple of cool days that time of year.

July 19 – 24, 2017 – Crowd levels are expected to be, on average, 8 out of 10. Expect hot, humid weather with temperatures in the 90’s and a thunderstorm or two.

September 6 – 11, 2017 – Crowd levels are expected to be, on average, 2 out of 10. Expect hot, humid weather with temperatures in the 90’s and a thunderstorm or two.

November 8 – 13, 2017 – Crowd levels are expected to be, on average, 5 out of 10. Expect, sunny, comfortable weather, with temperatures in the mid to upper 70’s.

December 24 – 31, 2017 – Crowd levels are expected to be 10 out of 10. Expect temperatures around 70 degrees.

As you can imagine, the cost of your Disney World trip is based on the time of year you go. Expect to pay premium prices during spring break weeks, holiday weekends, summer months, and between Christmas and New Year’s Day.

If you are looking to optimize your Disney World experience, I recommend to clients that if possible, they should consider going to Disney in the fall. The weather is great, the crowds are manageable and prices are reasonable.