Welcome to The Disney Experience, a new monthly blog designed to educate you Music City Moms about the Happiest Place on Earth! In this space, we’ll explore ways to create a magical Walt Disney World vacation for your family. We’ll also venture to other wonderful Disney Destinations, including Disneyland in California, the Disney Cruise Line, Adventures by Disney and Aulani, Disney’s Resort in Hawaii.
I want to share my love of Disney with all of you. I have so much to tell you; it’s hard to decide where to begin! Let’s start, though, at the beginning with the wish that eventually pops into all of our minds. It’s the first question many people ask me. WHEN should we go to Disney World?
Well, there’s never a BAD time to go to Walt Disney World, but the best time for your family can depend on several factors. The first considerations for most families revolve around two important budgets: time and cost. Like most resorts, Walt Disney World Resort has summer, peak, holiday, regular and value seasons and your dollars will go further if you can take advantage of one of the less-busy times of the year! Of course, many families are locked into school holiday vacations, but the very BEST time to go to Disney World is when everyone else is in school! Whoops! I probably just made myself very unpopular with some principals and teachers! It’s true that the higher seasons usually coincide with school holidays, so some of my families with school age children choose to take their children out of school to go to Disney World. Of course, if you have preschoolers, this is almost a no-brainer. Disney’s lowest crowds and resort rates fall in September (the very best month to go), early November, January/February, and even late April/early May. During these seasons you’ll not only find lower crowds on property, but also Disney promotions and discounts. Some discounts actually do extend into school holidays, especially Nashville area spring and fall breaks!
What about those discounts? While I do recommend booking your resort reservation as far in advance as possible so that we can find you the most availability AND be able to book those all-important dining reservations up to 180 days out, Disney may offer deals on unsold rooms as your vacation date approaches. If that happens, a good travel agent will contact Disney right away and convert your reservation to that new rate! That’s one of my favorite parts of my job!
When To Go may mean something entirely different to you. Walt Disney World has so many seasonal events; I could never choose a favorite! Do you dream of seeing an ice-covered Castle? Would you love to eat your way around Epcot’s World Showcase during the International Food and Wine Festival? Have you heard about the fantastic HalloWishes fireworks during Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party? Maybe you would like to spend Mother’s Day embracing the glory that is Epcot’s International Flower and Garden Show. If you are a runner or walker, Disney has many sports races from 5Ks to marathons!
As you can see, there is a lot to consider when picking your Disney World vacation dates! Let’s get started. I am here to help you with all things Disney. I hope you’ll email me with your general questions about any Disney Destination. I’d love to write about what interests you and answer your questions here!
