I’m back with my 2013 version of the Disney World crowd calendar. Again this year I’ve done Saturday – Saturday crowd levels as well as Friday – Sunday crowd levels.
A couple things to keep in mind: Data is subject to change, by that I mean it will change. Individual day estimates do get updated as they get closer but in general this does not change the cumulative data for the weeks shown nor does it impact the relative crowd levels for any given week. So even though I won’t be updating these charts every time there is an update to the numbers the data remains reliable.
Additionally – crowds levels are relative. That’s important to keep in mind. Walt Disney World is always busy. It’s just less busy at some times versus other times. So if crowd levels are an important aspect to your trip planning and deciding when the best time to go to Walt Disney World is then you should keep this data in mind when planning. There are of course MANY other factors to determining the best time to go. I won’t try to cover them all, but do have this post on WDW trip planning that helps a bit, I’ll stick to crowd levels in this post. This data is based on wait times for all attractions from TouringPlans.com – a GREAT source for much, much more than these charts can provide, I highly recommend checking them out if you haven’t already.
But, I will admit that lately another site has proven to be a bit more accurate at times on a day-to-day basis when predicting crowds in the parks, make sure you visit EasyWDW before you finalize your daily plans. Another great resource.
Last but not least the most important thing you can do to minimize your wait times on rides at Walt Disney World no matter what time of year you attend the parks is to have a touring plan!! And any good touring plan starts with arriving at the parks FIRST THING IN THE MORNING! People know my family is Disney Parks crazy and I’m a bit of a planning nerd (but nowhere near the level of many) so I get asked about planning a Walt Disney vacation a lot – and my 1 tip (although I never stop at just 1 tip) is always simple – get to the parks EARLY. And I don’t mean 15 minutes after the scheduled opening time, I mean 30 minutes before opening time. The difference in wait times you’ll experience is amazing. Again, I’ll stick to crowd calendars here as there are a great number of sources that attest to how important arriving early really is for low wait times. And this applies no matter what the crowds are for that day or week. Even Christmas week is enjoyable if you arrive early and have a plan. As for the plan, I don’t necessarily believe in the step-by-step minute-by-minute type plan (however – they work great) but you must have some idea of where you’re going in the park and what you want to accomplish.
Okay, on to the crowd calendars. First is a look at the cumulative estimated crowd levels for an 8 day week (Sat – Sat) in 2013. As always, September has the lowest crowds – by far.
Now the same data, in a line chart (Saturday – Saturday) crowd levels in 2013 at Walt Disney World
I think the above chart shows most clearly the HUGE difference in crowd levels in Sept vs the rest of the year and illustrates very well how crowded the summer is at WDW.
Next is the SAME chart as above, just a different format:
And last but not least, because if you’re like me Saturday – Saturday isn’t long enough at Walt Disney World I created the same data (cumulative crowd levels) for Friday – Sunday’s throughout 2013:
And just in case you want it, here is the Fri – Sun accompanying data that creates the chart:
So there you have it for another year, my look at the crowd levels at Walt Disney World for 2013, I hope this helps you plan your next trip if crowd levels are an important factor when determining the best time to go to Disney World.
I welcome comments and questions below! Thanks!
