When to Go

Figuring out when you want to visit Disney is the most important factor in planning your vacation.

Do you want to attend during special ticketed events?
How do you feel about crowds?
Do you love to go during certain festivals, like Food & Wine?
Are you trying to travel for a certain ride/land opening?
Do you want to go while your kids are on holiday from school?

I always like to gather information from numerous sources in order to plan my own trips. I have tried to save you a ton of work by combining as much information as I can so that everything is available in one location.

Crowd Calendars

I always like to look at TouringPlans.com in order to find my Crowd Calendar information. This group researches Disney and tries to help identify through previous data when and where to go on your trip.

Events

Disney World has some amazing events throughout the year. Here is a great list with the help of Undercover Tourist

Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend — Jan. 8-12, 2020
Epcot International Festival of the Arts — Jan. 17 - Feb. 24, 2020
Disney Villains After Hours (Magic Kingdom) — Select nights from Feb. 7, 2020, until July 2020
Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend — Feb. 20-23, 2020
Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival — March 4 - June 1, 2020
Star Wars Rival Run Half Marathon Weekend — April 16-19, 2020
Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party (Magic Kingdom) — Select nights from August to October 2020
Epcot International Food & Wine Festival — August to November 2020
Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend — Nov. 5-8, 2020
Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party (Magic Kingdom) — Select nights from November to December 2020
Epcot International Festival of the Holidays (Epcot) — November to December 2020
Holiday Celebrations at Disney's Animal Kingdom — November to December 2020
Holiday Celebrations at Disney's Hollywood Studios — November to December 2020
Holiday Celebrations at Disney Springs — November to December 2020

Attraction Opening List

Are you waiting to make sure that you get to travel for the opening of any new rides? I myself have started making plans to return for the opening of Tron's Lightcycle. While these dates are subject to change...here is a compilation with the help of Theme Park Tourist

Magic Kingdom

Tron Lightcycle Power Run...May 1, 2021

Epcot

Awesome Planet...Jan 17, 2020
Beauty and the Beast Singalong...Jan 17, 2020
Canada Far and Wide...Jan 17, 2020
Mickey Mouse Imagination meet and greet...Feb 1, 2020
Harmonious...May 1, 2020
Wondrous China...Jun 6, 2020
Remy's Ratatouille Adventure...Jul 1, 2020
A Celebration of Disney Music...Aug 1, 2020
"Play" Pavilion...May 1, 2021
Journey of Water: Inspired by Moana...May 1, 2021
Mary Poppins Attraction...May 1, 2021
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind...Jun 5, 2021
Permanent Festival Center...Jul 1, 2021

Hollywood Studios

Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance...Dec 5, 2019
Mickey and Minnies Runaway Railway...Mar 4, 2020
Mickey Shorts Theatre...Mar 21, 2020

Figure out When to go

Personally, I plan my vacations based on crowd attendance. I hate waiting in lines for long periods of time, especially with the 3 kids. I normally love people but it turns out I love everything that Walt Disney created more. That was probably a good sign that I needed to be a Disney planner. The majority of my planning revolves around when "off-season" is so that I can maximize my day and my vacation plan.

So when do you want to go to Disney?
Date range
Festivals
Crowd Calendar
Which leaves you with a perfect week for your vacation trip

Example: I want to travel in during off-season during the fall

November 1-2, 5-8, 12-15, and 17-22 all have crowd levels below half full
The Food & Wine Festival is occurring from November 1 to 23
Christmas Parties occur sporadically November 8-24
Dapper Day occurs November 16-17
For this example, November 17-22 would be a great trip that allows us to enjoy the most events possible.