Best and Worst Days To Visit Each Disney World Park

One of the first decisions you have to make when planning a Disney World trip is choosing WHEN to visit!

Magic Kingdom

Throughout the year, there are some days, weeks, and months that are much busier than others, and if you want to have a more chill experience, you’ll want to try to avoid those crowded times. But how do you know what those days are? Well today, we’re breaking down the best and worst days to visit each Disney World park.

We’ve shared tips in the past about which time of year is best to visit the parks, but now we’re taking this even further — which day of the WEEK should you visit EACH park? We visit Disney World every day and we’ve got a pretty good handle on what the crowd situation is like. Here’s what we’ve found!

EPCOT

Before we dive into each park individually, we have to mention that the crowds will almost always be the worst on the weekends. Many out-of-town guests find it easier to travel on the weekends, and many locals will visit Disney World on their weekend days off. So if possible, it’s best to plan your park days during the Monday-Friday timeframe.

Crowds in Toy Story Land

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk specifics!

Magic Kingdom

Starting out at the OG Disney World park, we’re here to tell you that the worst day to visit is Friday! In our experience, this tends to be a popular day because it’s either when people arrive for their vacations (and plan to hit Magic Kingdom first) or the last day of their trip (and they plan to hit Magic Kingdom last). Sometimes, Fridays are even busier than Saturdays!

Cinderella Castle

But if you want that lower-crowd experience, just swap your Magic Kingdom park day to a Tuesday. Since it’s toward the middle of the week, it tends to be less busy and you might be able to hop on your favorite rides with shorter wait times. There’s nothing quite like a calm, relaxing Tuesday morning in Magic Kingdom!

Tomorrowland

This is one of the parks that feels the weekend strain the heaviest, considering it’s the original park and therefore the most popular. If people only have one day on the weekend to visit, then they will likely choose to go to Magic Kingdom.

EPCOT

Now it’s time to hop on the monorail and head over to EPCOT! This park is known for its delicious festival eats and stunning World Showcase pavilions, so it’s no surprise that the worst day to visit is a Saturday. During festivals, locals like to visit and try the limited-time eats, which means that the park gets most crowded at night and on the weekends. We can’t blame them — spending a Saturday strolling around the World Showcase sounds divine!

Spaceship Earth

So when should you visit for the lowest crowds, generally? Go on a Wednesday! Fewer guests head to EPCOT mid-week and you can hopefully then walk up to the festival booths without having to wait in long lines.

EPCOT’s World Showcase

As a bonus tip — make sure to visit the festival booths early in the day. The lines for those get longer as you get closer to dinner time!

Hollywood Studios

At Hollywood Studios, things are a little bit backward. The worst day of the week to visit has historically been Monday! Perhaps it’s because people expect the weekends to be the busiest, so they go with a weekday instead. Nonetheless, Monday wait times might be a bit higher than you’d want.

Hollywood Studios

Instead, you should actually go against your gut and plan your trip to Hollywood Studios on a Sunday! Sundays here are less busy than Saturdays and Mondays, so you might be able to get more accomplished. And at Hollywood Studios, visiting on a less crowded day is important if you want to secure the most popular Lightning Lanes!

Slinky Dog Dash

On those super crowded days, rides like Slinky Dog Dash, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, and Tower of Terror book up on Genie+ fast. Visiting during a quieter time will help ensure that you get the most bang for your buck with Genie+!

Animal Kingdom

And finally, we come to Animal Kingdom! At this park, the predictably busy day is Saturday. That’s when you’ll find the longest lines for the rides and the shows with full auditoriums. Do yourself a favor and plan to visit on a different day.

Tree of Life in Animal Kingdom

Which day? Well, according to our experience, we recommend Thursdays. Due to its relaxing nature, Animal Kingdom is a park that’s at its best when there are fewer people, and on Thursdays and middle-of-the-week days, your chances are higher of that being the case.

Pathways in Pandora

We’re just big fans of strolling the animal trails on a quiet morning or hopping on Kilimanjaro Safaris without waiting in a long line. It’s the best way to do the park!

So there you go — those are our recommendations for which day to visit each Disney World park. These aren’t hard and fast rules, and your results may vary depending on the time of year and what events are taking place at that time — remember that all bets are usually off during crowded times like Spring Break and the week between Christmas and New Year’s. So if you want to stay up to date with everything happening in Disney World that might affect your vacation, keep following DFB!

What is the Best Time of Year to Go to Disney World? Click Here!

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