Summer is not our favorite time to visit Walt Disney World. As much should be obvious from the fact that there’s an over 3 month gap after early May on our recommended side of our list of the 10 Best and 10 Worst Weeks to Visit Walt Disney World in 2025 & 2026.
The good news is that only a couple of weeks in summer make the worst list, too. As we’ve been pointing for years, and reiterated again in last year’s Summer (Still) Is NOT High Crowds Season at Walt Disney World, attendance has been trending down from June through August. There are a number of explanations for this, but even at its busiest, summer was never as bad as Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, or any other more consolidated school breaks. Having multiple months off always meant that crowds were more spread out.
During a recent panel at Walt Disney World, I heard from executives who corroborated this and indicated that the shift has been more pronounced in the last few years. As with so much else, the post-COVID period has changed travel patterns. More parents are willing to pull their kids out of school throughout the academic year, or are willing to take shorter trips throughout year. Winter has seen an increase in demand (a trend that predates “revenge travel”), and Walt Disney World reportedly recorded its highest resort occupancy levels over a 10-week stretch that ended in March.
Despite all of this, there is still the misconception that winter is off-season and summer is peak season. Even though the trendline has been changing for almost a decade at this point, vacation planners still base travel decisions on outdated information. It takes a while for ‘conventional wisdom’ to change.
Walt Disney World leadership essentially confirmed as much, revealing that their pre-visit surveys show that the belief among prospective guests is that crowds are highest in summer. Among actual Walt Disney World guests, surveys reveal that the perception of crowds in summer are the lowest. In other words, there’s a massive ‘expectations vs. reality’ chasm among those who visit versus those who do not. (No such data was shared for winter, probably because it’d be viewed as bad news, but I’m guessing it’s essentially the inverse.)
There are a number of potential mitigating factors and explanations for this. One would be that “summer” includes off-season dates through the technical end of the season in late September. Another would be that, from the perspective of consumer psychology, it’s better to be pleasantly surprised than disappointed. People in January expect lower crowds, so when they encounter higher ones than anticipated, it feels even worse. By contrast, summer visitors go in expecting the worst, and are pleased when wait times are lower than feared.
In any case, I thought that was interesting and it corroborates what we’ve been saying here for a while, so it seemed worth sharing. The point is that summer can be an expectations-exceeding time to visit, and this year has its own selling points. There’s also the reality that many families can only visit during school breaks, and not-so-coincidentally, none of the best weeks of the year on our list above occur when school is out of session.
With all of that in mind, here are a few weeks we recommend visiting Walt Disney World during Summer 2025:
- June 1-7, 2025
- August 3-9, 2025
- August 10-16, 2025
The last set of dates is our favorite, but all are good options for different reasons, as we’ll lay out below.
Let’s start by talking crowds. There really isn’t a tremendous amount of variance in summer crowds, and to the extent there has been over the last few years, it hasn’t been consistent. Usually, there are a variety of factors explaining anomalies, from spikes in gas prices to weather to discounts, blockout dates, etc. All of this is why we’ve described summer crowd calendars as snake oil.
Conventional wisdom used to be that the weeks around Fourth of July were the peaks, with crowds steadily building to that and declining after. That hasn’t been the case in a while, though, In each of the last two years, the Independence Day holiday was among the slowest stretches of summer. I wouldn’t necessarily bet on a repeat of that this year, but I also wouldn’t bet against it. Higher airfare along with ticket and resort rates could keep people away.
To the extent that there has been a trend, it’s that there are typically twin peaks in summer. One around the halfway point, and one that we’ve described as a “last hurrah” as travelers scramble to take trips before school going back into session. These peaks aren’t completely consistent, but have more or less been the end of June and end of July, with Mondays and Tuesdays being especially bad.
If you can travel before summer crowds start building or after the last hurrah–families don’t normally go on vacation the week after their kids get out of school, or the week before they go back into session–you’ll be in the best shape. Hence the above recommendations.
The absolute best of the bunch will be August 10-16, which is after Central Florida schools go back into session. There will be a very predictable drop that occurs that week, with the only slight potential problem being that your kids might also go back to school that week. That’s why we’ve included both of those two weeks.
Back in the day, this used to be one of our absolute favorite weeks to visit. Walt Disney World still ran summer hours despite the falling crowds, so it was really the best of both worlds. I remember almost empty second-showings of SpectroMagic and Magic Kingdom closing at midnight in low to moderate crowd levels.
Walt Disney World has gotten better at attendance projections and doesn’t extend hours nearly as early as they used to, so that hasn’t been the case for the last several years. Still, maybe Magic Kingdom will stay open until 11 p.m. that week? And perhaps we’ll see two performances of Starlight at a time when only one is needed? That does happen with Fantasmic from time to time–entertainment changes are more reactionary for whatever reason.
Despite those August weeks being back to back, there are actually a couple of differences between them beyond just the crowds.
Walt Disney World has not yet announced the dates of Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, but the odds-on favorite start is Friday, August 8, 2025. Thursday is also a possibility; past precedent supports either.
In all likelihood, that first week will only have one MNSSHP date, whereas the next week will have two. (Never rule out the possibility of Walt Disney World cramming more parties into the schedule, especially since these events have sold so well in the last few years. It seems like only a matter of time before August gets more event dates.)
The wild card this year with the Halloween and Christmas parties is going to be Disney Starlight Night Parade. You know how crowds have gotten crazy for Happily Ever After on non-party nights from August through December? Expect that to be much worse with a brand-new night parade. Everyone wanting to see Starlight–which is many guests–will be consolidated into fewer opportunities per week.
Honestly, I’m not 100% sure what to expect from this–both in terms of the size of the monkey wrench Starlight could throw into attendance dynamics and what, if anything, Walt Disney World will do to mitigate. It’s to the point that I’m almost hesitant about making Party Season recommendations until we know more, as Disney could make major operational adjustments (e.g. Boo Bash) or none at all (odds-on favorite). But that range of possibilities is probably another topic for another day.
The good news, though, is that mid-August is sufficiently early in the Party Season (fewer events per week) and at a time when crowds are lower that, whatever does happen, it shouldn’t make much of a difference. It’ll be minimally disruptive to planners. Presumably, these August weeks will also occur after the Disney Starlight Night Parade has been running for a bit, so initial demand will have died down. In a perfect world, this would be the ‘sweet spot’ between periods of massive parade crowds.
This is “in a perfect world” because there’s still no date for Starlight’s debut. That’s another reason we’re hesitant to recommend dates earlier in the summer.
Even if I thought Independence Day or the week thereafter was likely to see a dip based on recent precedent–and that plus the prospect of enhanced entertainment and longer hours made it appealing–I’d be hesitant to recommend dates around the Fourth of July. The new parade very well might end up debuting that week, and precedent would be irrelevant. It’d be very busy. Or Starlight might also miss that week, in which case it would be a bad pick for parade fans.
Later in summer increases the odds not only of Disney Starlight Night Parade’s debut, but also its initial demand to have died down. If we had to make a shot in the dark guess, we’d say there’s an above 50% chance the new nighttime parade will debut in the second half of June. But that’s not 100%, and there’s still a chance it slips to July. (As mentioned previously, we aren’t booking our own travel until a date is announced for Starlight.)
It’s a similar story with Test Track 3.0. Officially, this is slated to open in late Summer 2025, which should mean July. But Walt Disney World has been pretty bad at meeting deadlines lately, so I’m taking that with a grain of salt.
Personally, if Test Track were my must-see, I’d plan a visit in early October 2025. Test Track is not my must-see, so I’m assuming it won’t be open during our summer trip and will be pleasantly surprised if it is. Nevertheless, an August visit increases the odds of getting to experience that.
At the intersection of new things and crowds is Universal’s Epic Universe. Our expectation is that this new park is going to have an initial rush for its first couple of weeks, during which it is very busy. But after that?
Early ticketing policies, a lack of Annual Passes, and locals getting first visits out of their system (average Floridians and existing UOAPs aren’t going to buy several single day tickets–they’ll make a visit or two, and then wait for deals or APs) might result in a slower than expected summer. That could reach a crescendo in August as school goes back into session and tourists wait for Halloween Horror Nights season to start.
So why the June dates at all? For people who don’t care about any of that.
If I were not a fan of night parades, it would behoove me to visit Walt Disney World this summer before Starlight starts. We don’t know when, exactly, that’ll be, but it’s almost certainly not starting within a week of Memorial Day. And even if it does, the ship is starting to sail on capturing visits since Walt Disney World already announced the summer kickoff slate and it wasn’t included.
As noted above, going before summer crowds start to build or after the last hurrah is optimal. The August dates cover the latter. The June dates cover the former. Early June is also, on average, the least hot time of summer. June 1-7 has an average daily low of 72° and average high of 89°. By contrast, the August dates average a low of 76° and 91° on the high end of the spectrum.
Obviously, these are averages and they’re close enough that you could end up having worse weather in early June than mid-August. But as someone who lived in Central Florida for several years and has visited even longer, I’ll roll the dice on early June over mid-August. Without looking up the stats, I would’ve guessed there was a much bigger spread. (My perception is that June has nicer mornings and evenings, whereas August is miserable from the time you wake up until you go to sleep, with only a slight reprieve when the sun goes down. YMMV.)
Weather is worth underscoring. Greater “awareness” of Florida’s oppressively hot and humid temperatures is likely one big reason why summer has been slower in recent years. Even if my perception is that crowds are now lower in the summer than winter, I’d still take the latter with higher wait times but a qualitatively better experience.
The fact is that heat, humidity, and hurricanes are a gamble anytime from June through October. We don’t want to belabor the point, so if you’re on the fence about this tradeoff, see Is It Still Worth Visiting During the Early Fall Offseason at Walt Disney World? for a greater discussion of weather vs. crowds.
One final factor that’s worth mentioning is that all three of these weeks will be among the cheapest of summer at Walt Disney World.
Rack rates at the resorts are pretty much the same from late May through early August (with a spike around Independence Day), so the June set of dates isn’t any cheaper on the hotel side than any weeks that follow. However, both sets of August dates are cheaper. (The week after both is even less expensive, but that’s after most schools go back into session, and we’re trying to make recommendations for families.)
More importantly, all three sets of dates are going to be the best from the perspective of discounts. If you want to take advantage of either ticket deals, these dates will be cheaper than the rest of summer. From what we can see, you’ll also have more options on the room discount side of things. Free Dining is no longer available for the June dates, but we’re talking saving money–not spending more of it!
Ultimately, that’s our thought process on the best weeks for families to visit Walt Disney World in Summer 2025. Again, the whole point of this is recommendations for planners with kids in school who have to work around those schedules. If you don’t, either go a week or two later or even earlier (if you don’t care about Starlight).
Shoulder season should be a great time for lower crowds, as it’ll be the calm before the storm (if there is a storm) with Epic Universe and Walt Disney World’s summer additions. The late August and September off-season is reliably uncrowded, and this year should be no different, with the possible exception of whatever happens with Starlight during Party Season.
If you’re a family planning a summer vacation to Walt Disney World and none of these dates work, the logic should still apply so you can narrow down dates that work best for you. Outside of these weeks, it’s impossible to predict differences in crowd levels, so you shouldn’t even bother (unless you wait to book until after Starlight’s debut date is announced). Beyond that, the biggest factor in summer trips is weather, and that’s always going be a wildcard.
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
If you’ve done Walt Disney World in mid-August, what was your experience? Was it worth hitting the cheaper dates and lower crowds, or was the weather too hot and humid? Expectations about Starlight during Party Season? Thoughts about anything else covered here? If you’re a frequent visitor during this timeframe, what’s your take on crowds, wait times, seasonal offerings, weather, etc? Agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!