Cheapest Times of the Year to Visit Walt Disney World!

Who doesn't love a magical vacation to Walt Disney World? The resorts, the rides, and the food all sound great until you see the final price! Indeed, a Walt Disney World Resort vacation isn't always cheap. However, did you know there are certain times of the year when it's cheaper to visit Walt Disney World? It's not always the times you may be thinking. You'll also need to consider the new ticket pricing system!

Deciding when it's cheapest to go on your Disney vacation isn't always easy. However, we have you covered! Our guide on the cheapest time to visit Walt Disney World is going to give you everything you need to know to decide when it's best for your family (and your budget!) to visit Walt Disney World! We'll even give you the pros and cons of each time of year.

We'll also share some extra tips to make sure you stretch your Disney dollars as far as they'll go.

Keep reading our guide on the cheapest time to visit Walt Disney World to learn more!

Cheapest Time to Visit Walt Disney World: Pricing Seasons

To understand the cost of a Walt Disney World vacation, it's important to understand the different pricing seasons that largely dictate the pricing of hotel stays and theme park tickets. These seasons are pretty straightforward based on typical major calendar events, but there's even more to it than that.

Once upon a time, Disney used to publish their pricing seasons making it incredibly simple to see when it was the cheapest time to visit Walt Disney World. Today, however, these seasons are no longer advertised and you'll need to do some homework to understand the different price points throughout the year. Lucky for you, your homework is simply reading our guide to understand more! We've taken care of all the details you need to know.

The best way to save on your Walt Disney World vacation is by utilizing the services of a Disney-approved travel reseller. Disney pays the travel company so you don't have to. We highly recommend working with Get Away Today. They have worked with Disney for 33+ years and have an entire team of Walt Disney World concierge experts. Request a FREE Walt Disney World quote here>

Hotel Season Categories

To make this guide as simple as possible, we're going to break down the seasonal categories into three: value, summer, and holiday. You could easily break down the year into even more seasons, but we think these top three will give you the estimates you'll need to compare when it's cheapest to visit Mickey.

Also read: Walt Disney World Food Budget Tips!

It's also important to remember that Disney has three categories of hotels: value resorts, moderate resorts, and deluxe resorts. This will also impact the cost of your vacation so you'll want to choose your hotel wisely as you consider your budget.

Value

The value season is going to focus on times of the year that are not typically considered touristy and therefore also tend to have fewer crowds as a bonus.

Summer

The summer season is exactly what you're thinking. Sun, no school, and lots of pool time! This is when crowds are steady and you can expect to see lots of visitors to Walt Disney World.

Holiday

The holiday category represents special times of year that surround major holidays. This doesn't just mean winter holidays. This season can include long weekends and even special Disney events such as the popular runDisney marathons.

Theme Park Ticket Pricing

The other consideration when deciding when is the cheapest time to visit Walt Disney World is the price of theme park tickets. Beginning in December 2022, the price of single-day tickets now fluctuates depending on the park you're wanting to visit. The main driver for these ticket prices is again the time of year you visit. So, you'll need to consider this as well when thinking about the cheapest time to visit.

With all of this in mind, let's jump into the value season and see what that looks like!

Cheapest Time to Visit Walt Disney World: Value Season

The value season is a great option if you're looking to save money on your Walt Disney World Vacation. Except for holidays or special Disney events, this is a time of year that sees fewer crowds given that they tend to fall on times when school is in session.

Generally speaking, the value season begins in early January and through President's Day weekend in February. From there, we're also talking about late August through September. Lastly, you can get value pricing in early November, but this isn't as consistent as other times of the year.

For our guide on the cheapest time to visit Walt Disney World, we're going to look at three examples in each of the three categories representing stays at a value, moderate, and deluxe Disney resort. We'll pick a date range that is representative of the average cost we've seen lately. This will give you a pretty solid estimate of what to expect in terms of cost. In the end, we'll put it all together so you can see when it's cheapest to visit Walt Disney World!

We're going to assume that a family of four is planning a trip to Walt Disney World and considering one of the three seasons we've mentioned above. They'll be staying five nights and visiting the park for three days. The family is opting out of the park-hopper option and isn't interested in any Genie+ service. They will be purchasing two adult tickets and two child tickets.

It should be noted that this does not include the price of meals, transportation, or souvenirs. For a complete look at an all-inclusive cost, be sure to check out our guide on How Much Does it Costs to go to Walt Disney World!

Value Season Example

Let's take the value season dates of January 23rd through the 28th, 2023. If we price out a stay at a value, moderate, and deluxe resort during this time, we see the following average nightly rates:

Value Resort: Disney's All-Star Movies

Average Nightly Rate: $147 

Average 3-day ticket price: Single Adult Ticket – $407 /Single Child Ticket – $393

Total Average Value Resort Cost: $2335

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Moderate Resort: Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort (standard view room)

Average Nightly Rate: $266 

Average 3-day ticket price: Single Adult Ticket – $407 /Single Child Ticket – $393

Total Average Value Resort Cost: $2930 

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Deluxe Resort: Disney's Contemporary Resort (main tower theme park view room)

Average Nightly Rate: $854

Average 3-day ticket price: Single Adult Ticket – $407 /Single Child Ticket – $393

Total Average Value Resort Cost: $5870  

As you can see, it's always going to be cheaper to stay at a value resort as the price will increase drastically when you move towards the deluxe resorts. This at least gives you an idea of what a vacation could cost you, excluding meals, transportation, and souvenirs, during what we're calling the value season at Walt Disney World.

Value Season 

Pros: The great thing about visiting Walt Disney World during the value season is that the crowds tend to be a lot lighter. In early January the holiday crowds have ended since kids are heading back to school. Similarly, in late August, once school is back in session, you'll see families avoiding this time of year.

Cons: The downside of these times of the year can be weather related since in January you might get colder weather. It's still Florida so you won't get too cold, but if you're looking for pool days, this might not be the best time to visit. The other downside of this season is that you likely will have come off of holiday vacations and you'll want to consider whether it's feasible to take a vacation from work as that can also have financial impacts.

Next, let's take a look at the cost of a vacation during the summer season!

Cheapest Time to Visit Walt Disney World: Summer Season

The summer season is always a popular time to visit the Walt Disney World Resort. With temperatures hitting the high 90s, it's the perfect time to enjoy some long pool days and maybe even that poolside cocktail! However, the summer heat also means it can be incredibly muggy and wet. It's almost a guarantee that if you visit during the summer months you will get rained on at least once. This is something you'll want to think about when considering the summer season.

Generally speaking, the summer season typically begins on Memorial Day Weekend and runs through early August. As you can already see, it follows a typical school's summer break.

Let's take a look at our family's scenario during this busy time of year! For this visit, we're going to look at the dates of June 19th through the 24th, 2023.

Value Resort: Disney's All-Star Movies

Average Nightly Rate: $192

Average 3-day ticket price: Single Adult Ticket – $401 /Single Child Ticket – $387

Total Average Value Resort Cost: $2536

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Moderate Resort: Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort (standard view room)

Average Nightly Rate: $319

Average 3-day ticket price: Single Adult Ticket – $401 /Single Child Ticket – $387

Total Average Value Resort Cost: $3171 

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Deluxe Resort: Disney's Contemporary Resort (main tower theme park view room)

Average Nightly Rate: $834

Average 3-day ticket price: Single Adult Ticket – $401 /Single Child Ticket – $387

Total Average Value Resort Cost: $5746

The interesting thing in this scenario is that even though the park tickets are slightly cheaper than in the value season, you're still looking at a higher overall cost given that the hotel prices increase significantly. The exception here goes to the Contemporary resort coming slightly under the cost of the value scenario. As we mentioned, it can get tricky when it comes to pricing!

Summer Season 

Pros: The nice thing about a summer visit to Walt Disney World is that you'll get plenty of sunshine and pool weather, even if you get the occasional rain shower. This is also when you'll see fewer ride refurbishments! Since kids are typically out of school, you also won't have to worry about pulling them from any classes.

Cons: The same pro is also the con: weather. If you don't like to be in the heat, you won't like to visit this time of year. The humidity is high and can make for some pretty lousy days if you don't like to be outside. The other con is travel. Summer is always a more expensive time to buy plane tickets or fill up that tank of gas!

Cheapest Time to Visit Walt Disney World: Holiday Season

Any time you visit Walt Disney World during a holiday, you should expect to pay a hefty premium. Remember, we mentioned that holiday pricing isn't just Thanksgiving or Christmas, it can also apply to long weekends and other single-day holidays.

To that end, holiday pricing exists throughout the year at various points. For this scenario, let's consider that our family of four wants a mini getaway to take advantage of the Columbus Day long weekend. They will travel from October 5th through the 10th, 2023.

Value Resort: Disney's All-Star Movies

Average Nightly Rate: $225

Average 3-day ticket price: Single Adult Ticket – $452 /Single Child Ticket – $438

Total Average Value Resort Cost: $2905

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Moderate Resort: Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort (standard view room)

Average Nightly Rate: $361

Average 3-day ticket price: Single Adult Ticket – $452 /Single Child Ticket – $438

Total Average Value Resort Cost: $3585

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Deluxe Resort: Disney's Contemporary Resort (main tower theme park view room)

Average Nightly Rate: $932

Average 3-day ticket price: Single Adult Ticket – $452 /Single Child Ticket – $438

Total Average Value Resort Cost: $6442

As expected, this season is not cheap. Prices have all jumped up significantly and you're paying that premium for visiting during a special time of year. We should say, too, that if we went into the Christmas holiday season, these prices would go up even more!

Holiday Season 

Pros: The biggest pro of traveling to Walt Disney World during a holiday is that you get to spend special days at Disney. For some holidays, you may even get special perks in the parks such as special buttons or exclusive menus at select restaurants. All in all, it's always a magical time, but holidays have an extra special touch.

Cons: The biggest con has to be the price. Even though it could be really fun to see those 4th of July fireworks, you need to consider whether it's worth the premium price tag.

Cheapest Time to Visit Walt Disney World: Money-Saving Tips

Before we give you our final verdict, it's worth sharing the following tips to help save you money on your next Disney vacation regardless of the time of year when you visit!

The best money-saving tip we can always provide is to book your next magical Disney vacation with our friends at Get Away Today. No matter the time of visit or the size of your trip, Get Away Today can help you plan the perfect Disney vacation and take care of all the details you won't want to miss. They will get to know you and your family and from there put together a tailored vacation suited to your budget!

Disney Vacation Club Rentals

Another way to save money any time of the year is by renting Disney Vacation Club (DVC) points to save on deluxe villa accommodations. These rooms are all typically larger than standard hotel rooms with kitchenette or full kitchen amenities! Plus, they come with the same perks as Disney hotel rooms such as Early Theme Park Entry. If you're curious about the different DVC resorts, check out our complete guide to learn more!

Cheapest Time to Visit Walt Disney World: Final Verdict

And now for the final verdict! After looking at the various scenarios for value, moderate and deluxe accommodations, we have a clear winner. The cheapest overall time to visit Walt Disney World is early January through President's Day weekend. There are indeed other value seasons to take advantage of throughout the year, but this is consistently the cheapest time to visit the Walt Disney World Disney resort.

Not only will you see fewer crowds, but you'll also score cheaper accommodations. This means you can spend a few extra dollars on those Mickey pretzels! Again, the weather can be hit or miss in January, but overall it will be the most cost-effective time to visit.

Plan your next Disney vacation!

If our guide has you dreaming about that next Disney trip, let us help you make that dream become a reality! We guarantee to find you all of the discounts out there so you don't have to worry about missing out on anything! Plus, we can prepare a wonderful vacation that includes all the best tips and tricks to maximize your stay depending on your unique interests and requests. If you're not subscribed to our FREE newsletter, you're missing out on all of this at no cost!

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