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Choosing when to visit Walt Disney World usually means consulting statistical crowd calendars, seasonal events schedules, park hours, and more. This guide the best & worst months in 2022 provides info & tips to help you choose, plus our top 3 weeks. (Updated December 22, 2021.)
Unfortunately, the closure and subsequent reopening of Walt Disney World has upended most crowd forecasting. Seasonal events, school breaks, and more have been cancelled, travel (both domestic and international) has plummeted, and people are trying to navigate this ‘temporary abnormal’ time.
Given that our 2022 Walt Disney World Crowd Calendars are less reliable, we’re recommending most readers consult this resource for the “broad strokes” on when to visit Walt Disney World. Accordingly, we’ve re-ranked the best and worst months to visit here based on a variety of mostly qualitative and some quantitative factors. This considers a variety of variables in conjunction with our expectations about Walt Disney World’s attendance for 2022…
If you’re still in ‘wait and see’ mode, determining when to book a Walt Disney World vacation between now and December 2022, one thing we’d recommend is following our regular updates from the parks and WDW news to track what’s changing–because a lot is changing.
This will give you a good idea of what things are like ‘on the ground’ at Walt Disney World, as well as what to expect in the future. We regularly share big updates, discounts that are released by Disney, crowd levels change, etc., we send out email notifications. To receive these, subscribe to our free email newsletter.
As noted above, we’re eschewing the typical Walt Disney World crowd calendar approach for these monthly rankings. Those have become less reliable in the last few years, and are now essentially pointless during Walt Disney World’s phased reopening. Quite simply, too much has changed–and will continue to change. Instead, we’ll use a more holistic approach that takes into account more than just crowds when choosing when to visit Walt Disney World.
Unfortunately, Walt Disney World crowd levels can vary, and can not be forecast with 100% accuracy. As such, you should choose when to visit based on other comfort and enjoyment factors in addition to Walt Disney World crowd projections. It’s more pragmatic to choose when you’ll visit based on a mix of attendance levels plus weather, seasonal entertainment, and special events!
Low crowds during a time when temperatures are sweltering, humidity is off the charts and there are no special events should not trump moderate crowds during a temperate time of year with a special event. Few people evaluate their vacation’s success by some statistical ‘fun quotient’, so why not do likewise when planning, and perform a qualitative analysis when choosing travel dates?
To cut to the chase, the point of this post is to rank every month of the year for visiting Walt Disney World in light of all variables that (we feel) are important with adjustments made for the ongoing reopening of the parks & resorts, operations scaling back up, capacity increasing, and entertainment returning.
On that note, we want to emphasize that it remains difficult to rank the first half of 2022. We already know many Walt Disney World hotels have limited availability through (at least) March 2022 and there’s almost no DVC availability through Summer 2022. This is mostly due to staffing shortages and not all offerings having returned. Consequently, the resorts and parks still are not firing on all cylinders and operating at 100%, which exacerbates “feels like” crowds even at times when overall attendance numbers are lower.
On top of that, there’s still a lot of pent-up demand. Due to postponed trips, a return of international travel, resumption of runDisney and youth sporting events, and people remembering how low crowds were early this year, there likely is more demand for at least the first quarter of 2022. The lack of discounts already suggests a mix of more demand/travel, and less supply/capacity.
How all of that will ultimately play out remains to be seen. If demand and supply start to balance out or if Disney is able to overcome its staffing shortages as the labor market normalizes, some of these issues might improve. Or, the aforementioned issues might extend through the entirety of 2022. Personally, I didn’t expect some of these problems to persist this long, so I’m hesitant about making predictions about when normalcy will fully return.
Honestly, even during entirely “normal times” this list is a challenging. Even months with significant and obvious downsides might have tremendous upside. Take August 2022, for example, which ranks #10. That’s not great, but summer vacation demand usually fizzles out mid-month, making the second half of the month much better than the first half.
There are similar stories throughout the list. November and December have become progressively busier over the last several years, but these are such qualititatively pleasant and fun months that we’re hard pressed to rank them poorly even given the higher crowds than August or May. You’ll have to decide for yourself how you weigh those countervailing factors–we’re just giving you some insight into our thinking and methodology.
Anyway, here is our personal assessment of the best and worst months to visit Walt Disney World in 2022. We’d recommend reading the description of each month carefully to make an informed decision about which timeframes are best and worst for you…
12. July – This month ranks dead last due to uncertainty and upside, or lack thereof. This year, July was the busiest month of the year at Walt Disney World. That’s not normal–in recent years, summer had ceased to be peak season at Walt Disney World.
However, Americans made up for lost time during summer vacation, and Florida was one of the top destinations. Our expectation is that pent-up demand won’t be nearly as strong in July 2022, but there will still be an element of it as more Americans take “make-up” vacations–and international travel resumes in full force.
Beyond that, July is not a good month to visit if only because of heat and humidity. The near-certainty of poor weather plus the uncertainty of heavy crowds puts July 2022 in last place. With that said, once you plan for the realities of a summer trip, remember: “even a rainy, potentially crowded day at Walt Disney World is better than a perfect day at home.” Don’t get too down on trip–it’ll still be a great time so long as you go in with good strategy and realistic expectations.
11. April – James Franco could make a sequel to Spring Breakers set at Walt Disney World, and it would make the events of the original film seem perfectly tame. Okay, maybe not, but that doesn’t change the fact that Spring Break at Walt Disney World is a time to be avoided if you can. Ranking April 2022 is tricky.
Given that Easter will be in April every year until 2024, it’s a month that we recommend avoiding if you don’t like long lines. The entire month will be above average, but the weeks abutting Easter will be DEFCON 1. You’d better have some fast fingers (and a fast internet connection!) when trying to book a Lightning Lane for Slinky Dog Dash!
10. August – Feel like Mission: Space is insufficient at simulating a visit to outer space? Then you’ll love August in Walt Disney World, when every day feels like a veritable trip to Venus or Mercury! August sees the mercury rising in Central Florida, and that hot, humid, and rainy weather alone makes August among the worst months to visit.
August is qualitatively the worst month to visit Walt Disney World. Quantitatively, it’s harder to say. August marks the end of “Peak Season” ticket prices, meaning people who postponed their visits to save money will start heading to the parks. On top of that, Annual Passholder blockouts lift in August, causing a spike of locals.
Conversely, summer vacation demand should start to burn out by mid-August as families prepare to head back to (largely in-person) school schedules. This results in an overall drop-off in attendance and a lull in crowds from late August through the end of September. On balance, August is a tale of two months–very busy with “growing pains” the first half, and significantly better during the second half.
9. June – Our expectation is that things are largely back to normal at Walt Disney World by June 2022. This means an ordinary summer season, which has become a moderately crowded time of year to visit. With that said, we do expect a slight spike over normal driven by a return of international tourism, the ongoing 50th Anniversary celebration, and likelihood that Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind will debut in or around June 2022.
Another normal downside to June is the weather. Obviously, it’s a hot month, and the average monthly rainfall in June at Walt Disney World is over 8+ inches, and the probability of rain on any given day is above 50%. The upside to June is that it’s typically the less busy of the summer months, with most summer vacations happening in July or early August.
8. March – Usually, early March is one of our “sleeper picks” for low crowds. Unfortunately, Mardi Gras occurs at the beginning of the month in 2022, and that will cause a spike in crowds. After that, there should be a brief respite before spring break, but not long enough for March 2022 to rank highly.
On the plus side, weather is typically temperate by March, as evidenced by the start of Epcot’s International Flower & Garden Festival at the beginning of the month. Regardless of the year, we are fans of March dates as a great time for cool weather, moderate crowds, and Epcot coming into bloom. For March 2022, we’d move our travel dates to the second week of the month–trying to avoid Orange County’s spring break (March 11-18, 2022) to the greatest extent possible.
7. February – For the last few years, February has seen atypically high crowds at Walt Disney World. Aside from the week of Presidents’ Day, this would not “naturally” happen–it’s Florida’s off-season. However, Walt Disney World leverages special and sporting events to boost crowd numbers. These are again returning for February 2022, spiking the year over year average attendance levels.
With that said, whether January or February 2022 is “better” really depends upon the week you choose. If you can avoid the dates around holidays, February is still a decent time to visit–it just sees overall crowd levels that are slightly elevated. The first week of February is definitely the best of both worlds, so if you’re planning a visit in February 2022, that’s the week to choose. (The very last week of the month won’t be attractive since it’ll overlap with Mardi Gras in 2022 and is when the Princess Half Marathon happens.)
6. May – After our descriptions for June, July, and August that weren’t exactly ringing endorsements, you might have similar worries about May. Fortunately, it is a significantly better month to visit. This is mostly because the entirety of the month falls before summer tourist season. In fact, there’s a decent amount of upside as May marks the start of summer, with park hours becoming longer and whatever new entertainment is on-tap for summer typically debuting by or before Memorial Day.
Our big expectation for May 2022 is it’s entirely back to normal. (With any luck, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind will open by late May 2022.) Even with Memorial Day weekend factored into the mix, crowds are typically below average in May. In fact, the week before that–May 22-27, 2022–ranks pretty highly for us, and is our top week of the summer season.
The main downside to May is that heat and humidity can really start intensifying in May, but still not as bad as the summer months that follow. However, May is the first month of the year during which it’s not uncommon to see the temperatures broach 90-degrees and the humidity reach high levels.
5. January – This is the “holiday hangover” at Walt Disney World. It’s sort of like Walt Disney World ate too many Christmas cookies and is too lazy to get off the couch and take down the decorations, with this mentality continuing long after the tree is dead to the point where its wife is embarrassed when it finally throws out the tree. (Not that I know from experience or anything.) On the plus side, January offers mild weather and the Epcot Festival of the Arts is fantastic.
When it comes to crowds, January 2022 is a wildcard. This past January was dead, but for reasons that are probably unlikely to repeat themselves. By contrast, January 2020 was absolutely bonkers. Our expectation is something somewhere in between. Regardless, avoid Orange County’s Christmas break, the MLK Day holiday, and 2022 Walt Disney World Marathon. Basically, target the week of January 23, 2022–hopefully, that will see moderate or even low crowds. (Normally, that would be the #4 week on our list below, but I’m slightly skeptical of it this coming year.)
4. December – If Disney Vacation Club is the “Best Kept Secret,” the beginning of December being the best time to visit is “Disney’s Second Best Kept Secret.” Unfortunately, there’s just a pinch of sarcasm here. It’s as if the both ‘secrets’ were entrusted to Harvey Levin, and have been plastered everywhere.
The secret has gotten out about early December, and that coupled with Disney’s more strategic use of blockout dates and dynamic ticket pricing has shifted attendance somewhat. Crowds are still not as bad as other peak seasons, but it’s no longer the ghost town that it once was. We still view the first two weeks of the month as desirable times to visit, even despite being about as “secret” as the In-N-Out Secret Menu.
Pleasant weather plus Christmas decorations & entertainment are the big highlights here. It also helps that Pop Warner has moved to Universal, so that won’t contribute to crowds. However, a lot of Walt Disney World fans delayed annual holiday visits last year, and that plus it being one of the first few months of the 50th Anniversary could lead to a December that’s well above-average.
3. October – For the last several years, October had been dropping. Thanks to a variety of holidays, school breaks, conventions, and other events, October had become one of the busiest months of the year at Walt Disney World in terms of average wait times.
It’s unclear how much of that will occur in October 2022. This last October wasn’t bad at all, but there’s reason to believe it was an anomaly, with spiking case numbers driven by Delta and fears of the 50th Anniversary driving record attendance causing cancellations. Whether October 2022 is a return to normal or essentially a more pleasant version of September depends in large part upon third party special events and conventions return. Will those return in full force? That remains to be seen. It’s impossible to predict at this point, but we’d expect October 2022 to be worse than 2021 but better than 2019.
2. November – Save for Thanksgiving and Veterans Day weeks, neither of which are as bad as the Christmas and New Year’s holiday weeks in terms of crowds, November is similar to December. Mid-November is usually a decent time to visit Walt Disney World, and the week after Thanksgiving is exceptional if you don’t mind elevated attendance.
The upside to November are that the weather is generally more temperate. The downside is that not all Christmas entertainment starts until after Thanksgiving (specifically at Epcot), and some resort hotel decorations are not up during the first half of the month. However, in the last few years crowds have spiked significantly in December, making November 2022 an overall superior pick so long as you about the aforementioned holiday weeks. Essentially, the 1st, 3rd, and final weeks of November 2022 are all solid times to visit, whereas only the first week or so of December 2022 will be good.
1. September – Every single month that was once the off-season has seen soaring crowds at Walt Disney World in recent years, with one exception: September. Nothing has moved the needle on fall off-season crowds–not the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, not the anticipated pre-50th Anniversary lull, and not perpetual picks by crowd calendars that September would be the slowest month of the year.
When judged solely on the basis of crowds, September is always the best month of the year. Aside from Labor Day weekend, September is relatively slow, especially earlier in the month. While Walt Disney World has been able to manipulate crowd levels in other off-season months, that has not happened with September. After Labor Day, the entire month is off-season, with the lowest crowd levels of the year.
September remains resilient and “crowd-proof” because most people simply cannot visit during the month due to school going back into session, or don’t want to do so because of the weather. Speaking of which, heat and humidity make being outdoors unpleasant during September, and it’s a high point in the storm season. Despite that, it’s absolutely worth bearing with the weather to take advantage of those low crowds, especially later in the month. Even in the current era of unpredictable crowds, September 2022 should be relatively reliable.
The culmination of all of this? That our favorite week to visit Walt Disney World is the Sunday after Thanksgiving through the first Saturday of December. For this year, that means arriving on November 27, 2022. We think that’s the sweet spot for the best prospects of good weather, moderate crowds, and experiencing all of the Christmas festivities.
Note that crowds will not be low during this week. At best, you’re looking at numbers in the 7/10 range. If lower crowds are of paramount importance, instead target November 13-18, 2022. That week should be slightly less crowded and offer most Christmas entertainment, outside of Epcot.
For week #2, I’d look look to the nearer future: the second week of March 2022. This would hit the start of the 2022 Epcot Flower & Garden Festival, which is a lovely event. It also hits the gap between Mardi Gras and spring break season, which should be advantageous from a crowd perspective. (If you’re primarily concerned with crowds or weather, consider the last full week of January 2022 instead.)
Most importantly, it’s a time when pretty much everything should be back to normal at Walt Disney World. Hopefully, no health safety protocol and all entertainment restored (that’s going to be restored). The sea of construction walls in EPCOT should also be starting to part by then, and Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary celebration will still be in full swing.
I would plan trip #3 during the last week in September 2022. This starts September 25, 2022 and capitalizes on the lower crowds of September while also increasing the odds of milder and hurricane-free weather. This also hits both Halloween and Food & Wine seasons.
While we don’t expect anything special for it, October 1, 2022 is Walt Disney World’s 51st Anniversary and Epcot’s 40th Anniversary. There’s an outside chance TRON Lightcycle Run will debut on that date, along with other entertainment, and perhaps a small celebration. Don’t count on any of that, though.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
Do you agree or disagree with our 2022 Walt Disney World month by month rankings? Are there any months you think are better or worse than we have them ranked? Any specific ideal weeks that you’d recommend people visit Walt Disney World? Any questions? Hearing your feedback—even when you disagree with us—is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
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