Main Street Wishes: Weekly Tip #6

Off Peak Travel: Why it is Worth it to Go During Low Periods

I am not a person who enjoys crowds. My friend and I once spent the day in New York City tracking down the building that was used in the opening shot of the show "Friends" (another obsession of mine) and somehow we ended up near the Rockefeller tree. If you have never been to see the tree, let me tell you that the crowds are insane! It was awful and all I wanted to do was get away from the huge crowd of people who were pushing their way past us to get to the tree. It was a mess, I just don't like being in a huge crowd like that. People will inevitably start to shove and push their way to where they want to go, then you end up pushing and shoving back, and it just doesn't make for a happy time. Luckily we found the building we were looking for before all the pushing and shoving.

The "Friends" Building

(Sorry for the quality of the photos.

This was before smartphones)

"I'll Be There For You"

The Street Sign

(In case you want to find it)

Okay, sorry, back on track. Sometimes "Friends" can make me get as sidetracked as Disney. My point with all of that is...I don't like crowds. So, when we make Disney plans, the crowd levels are what help us decide when to go. Our last trip was in January 2014 around marathon time. We had two friends running the Goofy, so we got there the Thursday before the races and stayed until the following Thursday. The crowd levels were definitely low after the races. We didn't do any parks the weekend of the races, because (1.) our friends were wiped after running a half and full marathon back-to-back and (2.) weekends tend to be a little busier.

The first thing I will do is buy The Unofficial Guide to Disney World. They have crowd calendars and use research and statistics to write these books every year. I have found them to be pretty reliable. No one can be 100% right when you are trying to predict something, but if it is close then that's good. When we went in January the crowds were predicted to be low and they were low, so our group was pretty happy.

Image from Amazon

The Pros

If you go at an off peak time everything is much easier. The lines for the rides are shorter, so you can get more rides in during your visit. Plus, if it's a low time and you go when the park opens you will feel like the park is empty. It's great!

Dining reservations are also easier to get if you go during off peak times. Some restaurants (e.g. Be Our Guest and Cinderella's Royal Table) will be hard to get a reservation for no matter what time you go, but your chances of securing a reservation time will increase greatly if you go during an off peak time. Another dining bonus for low crowd times? It is easier to just walk up to restaurants and not have a ridiculously long wait. Again, some restaurants will be a long wait or not excepting walk-ups at all no matter what time you go, but it is easier to be a little more "go with the flow" during an off peak time.

Be Our Guest Restaurant

(Image from Disney)

Cinderella's Royal Table

(Image from Disney)

During low crowd times your chances of a room upgrade may increase as well. There is no rhyme or reason as to why some people get upgrades and others don't. I would assume it depends on how many extra rooms are available, the mood of the cast member, and the attitude of the guest. It just makes sense that your chances would increase during an off peak time, because there will be more empty rooms than during busier times. People have been upgraded to presidential suites at Disney. That's some serious pixie dust!

The biggest bonus for me is just the low crowds. Even if nothing else comes from the low crowds (no shorter lines, no walk-ups to restaurants, and no upgrades) I am still happy about the low crowds. This means you don't have to fight your way through the crowds in the parks and you don't feel like you are going to get run over if you are not walking as fast as the person behind you. Plus, if you go to the food court or cafeteria in your hotel, the crowds will be less there and it will be easier to find a table. If you need a wheelchair, scooter, or stroller, the low crowd times make it so much easier to maneuver around the parks. Not having to worry about being in huge crowd of people is a major bonus for me.

Low crowd levels will also make it easier for you to get Fastpasses, because the lines at the kiosks won't be as long. Some rides will have long waits no mater what time of year (e.g. Soarin', Peter Pan's Flight, Toy Story Midway Mania!), so it is good to know that you actually have a chance to get a Fastpass for these rides.

Toy Story Midway Mania!

Even if you go during an off peak time, you can still enjoy some of the extras that are associated with busier times. For instance, Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) started on September 1 this year and the Food and Wine Festival started on September 19. So if you planned your trip right when the Food and Wine Festival began, the crowds will probably be lower than once you get farther into October closer to November, and you will still be able to experience both MNSSHP and Food and Wine Festival. Though I did hear that this year the crowds were much busier than usual, they are still lower than the crowds will be later this month and into December. It is possible to enjoy some of the special events Disney offers without having to go during the busy times.

The Cons

When you go during an off peak time you will have to expect that there will be some rides and attractions down for refurbishment. When we went in January, my favorite ride (Splash Mountain) was down the whole time we were there. I checked a refurbishment list before we left for the trip, that way I wouldn't be disappointed by any surprises when we got there. The water parks will close down (one at a time) for a couple of months at a time during the winter for refurbishment. So if you go in the winter, expect one of the water parks to be out of commission. Definitely check the refurbishment schedule before you leave for your trip, because at least you will have a warning if a favorite ride won't be open when you are there.

During the busy times Disney has more events taking place. If you go during low crowd times, while you can still work it so you can attend the events, it will take more planning on your part to be in Disney during a low crowd time while the event is being offered. If you do work in an event during a low crowd time, there may not be as many extras offered at the event during an off peak time. Just make sure to do your research if things like that are important and a must-do for your trip.

If you have kids, a big con might be the fact that you will have to take them out of school to go during an off peak time. Everyone has their own views on this, but if you don't mind taking them out of school for the trip just make sure you communicate with the teachers. We have a lot of friends who are teachers and some family members that are teachers and most of them feel the same way. They don't mind if you take the kids out, just work with them and let them know the details of how long the student will be gone as far in advance as you can. This will give the teacher plenty of time to work with you and come up with schoolwork the student should be doing while on vacation. Don't leave it all up to the teacher, work with them. If you tell them five months in advance, that's great (and the advanced notice is preferable), but they won't be able to tell you right then and there what will be covered the week the student is gone. So, just make sure to have communication with the teacher about the trip and work with them. They will appreciate it and it will help the child as well. If you don't want to take your child out of school, then don't worry about any of that :-) Just be prepared for big crowds.

Another downside to traveling during the off peak time could be the weather. If you like the Florida heat then you might not want to travel in the winter months. The winter months can be a toss up between warmish weather and cold weather. We had highs in the 80s when we were there in January, but our last day went down to 55. Even though we are from an area that experiences pretty cold temps in the winter, we felt cold during that 55 degree day because we had become used to the 80 degree weather. If pool time is important to you that may outweigh the advantage of the low crowds in the winter months. Again, the warm weather is a toss up, so you might not get as much pool time as you would like.

Something else that might be hard to take advantage of if you go during off peak times is the Christmas decorations. There are ways to see some of the decorations without big crowds, because Disney usually leaves them up into the first week of January. However, even though they leave the decorations up, all of the special shows and activities that come along with Christmas/Holiday times at Disney will not be offered.

Icicle Castle from 2007

Christmas Decorations from 2007

There are so many factors when you are deciding what time of year to go to Disney. Off peak is usually the first factor for me. Our kids are still small, so taking our daughter out of school is not as big of a deal as it might be when she gets older. I can deal with having to make dining reservations so far in advance and I can deal with rides and attractions being down for refurbishment when we are there, if it means low crowds. I find the low crowds to help with a relaxing, but fun vacation. You don't feel as rushed and busy, because you are not trying to be the crowds. Everyone has their own feelings on when is the best time to travel. For me, low crowds trump pretty much every con (though I'm hoping for warmer weather on the next trip for more pool time). If you are not sure, I would sit down and just make a pros and cons list. It helps, trust me! :-)

Thanks for reading!

Liz ⁰O⁰

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