Walt Disney World is known for being crowded. For years this has been a fact of life. In the wake of this unprecedented closure, we don’t know just how crowded the Parks will be in the future, but we like to prepare for anything.

So if you don’t like crowds, Disney World can be… problematic, to say the least. Fortunately, there are ways around the masses.

Here’s our guide to avoiding crowds during your next trip to Walt Disney World.

Know When To Go

Readers of this site will know that certain times of year tend to be busier than others. For instance, the holiday season is universally one of the busiest times of the year.

For other seasons, it varies. There are calendars that track park attendance, but over the years, Disney has had a vested interest in keeping the Parks as busy as possible. Therefore, every year brings a new wave of festivals, ride openings, and promotions designed to draw guests to the park. A quiet time one year could be insanely busy the next. For instance, September isn’t usually a very busy time for Disney World because of the start of school. However, last September was when Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge first opened, leading to a surge in attendance. It’s important to pay attention to what’s happening at the parks to predict how busy they’re likely to be.

On a smaller scale, it’s also important to know what day of the week, or even what time of day, to attend. Weekends and holidays will always be busier than weekdays, especially during the school year. Evenings also tend to be busier than mornings as a rule, but a morning rope-drop will expose you to the second biggest crowd of the day.

Finally, knowing where to go can be just as important as knowing when. As the original Disney park, the Magic Kingdom is almost always going to be more crowded than the others, making it wise to avoid on peak days. Parks undergoing heavy renovation, like Epcot, will be quieter unless they have a major event (like Food and Wine) or a new attraction.  Pay close attention to a trusted news source (like us!) to see what’s happening in the parks during a given season, and plan accordingly.

Plan Your Schedule

While the park definitely feels like a chaotic pulse of people, there’s actually a predictable ebb and flow to how the crowds will move, which varies from park to park. Usually, at opening, guests will rush toward the most popular attractions in the park, leaving less popular areas sparsely populated. At Animal Kingdom, for instance, guests will typically try to rush Pandora while leaving Dino-Land USA relatively deserted. After that initial rush ends, guests will begin spreading out more evenly, briefly concentrating for major shows like Festival of Fantasy at the Magic Kingdom. Finally, nearly every guest in the park will gather in the viewing area for the evening show, leaving the rest of the park sparsely populated until closing time.

For the canny planner, the optimal strategy is to realize where these surges are going to take place, and avoid them. Do you know that Festival of Fantasy will be starting soon near Frontierland? Head to Tomorrowland; the parade route doesn’t pass through that area. Is Epcot Forever starting soon? Focus on attractions in Future World, like Test Track and Spaceship Earth. As a frequent visitor, I usually leave before the fireworks to avoid the exit rush, which may or may not be a valid strategy for other guests.

On a smaller scale, this also works for meal times. Lunchtime at Disney parks tends to start around 11 and end around 3, but the lunch menu is served all day at many locations.  Squeezing in an early or late lunch will help you avoid the meal crowds. Just be aware that dinner goes from around 5:00 to when the parks close!

Look for Alternative Viewing Areas for Shows

Shows have clearly marked viewing areas that have been chosen because they provide an optimal viewing experience. You can see everything up close, hear the music, interact with performers, the whole experience. The problem? They’re crowded. As we mentioned above, these are where the big population surges tend to happen, so it’s best to avoid them. However, sometimes… you just want to see the show. So what do you do?

Well, while this isn’t true for all parades and evening shows, there are usually spots where you can enjoy the show without being up to your eyes in other guests. For instance, Tom Sawyer Island at the Magic Kingdom is a perfect place to watch Festival of Fantasy from afar, while Happily Ever After can be viewed from every monorail resort (the California Grill is a popular viewing spot).

However, sometimes there’s just not a convenient option. For Epcot Forever, since the viewing area is so huge, people naturally spread out around the World Showcase Lagoon. For Fantasmic!, finding an alternate viewing area isn’t even possible, since it’s all enclosed. In those cases, you might need to shell out a bit of money. A reservation at a restaurant near the viewing area can provide a good vantage point for the show, especially at Epcot. Spice Road Table and Toyko Dining are both popular choices for Epcot Forever (and will be popular for upcoming Harmonious).

Otherwise, you might need to buy a dining package. Most shows offer some sort of dining package or dessert party, which includes a guaranteed seat at most evening shows. Others offer a FastPass reservation, though this will take up your top-tier FastPass for the day.

Don’t Be Afraid To Get Wet

It rains a lot on Central Florida, especially during the Summer. This means, statistically, you’re likely to see some sort of inclement weather during your trip. Usually, this won’t be more than some rain, which leads us to an unorthodox tip. You see, many people come to Disney World without preparing for the eventuality of rain, which means they gravitate toward indoor attractions that allow them to avoid the rain. With a poncho and umbrella, that means you can navigate more open areas of the park freely. Some outdoor rides also tend to have lower attendance during rain.

Now, there is a big warning here. You should never do anything that would put yourself or anyone else in danger in order to avoid crowds. Disney tightly regulates things in the park, so if conditions become too dangerous for a ride to operate, it’ll close. There is still some opportunity here, as the ride will have a minimal queue once conditions improve enough for it to reopen… there’s just no guarantee of that happening in a timely fashion.

However, you should never risk going to the parks if you know that travelling could expose you to dangerous weather conditions. Go prepared for the possibility of rain and take advantage of it if it happens, but don’t start planning your trips to coincide with hurricanes. That’ll cause way more harm than good.

Take Advantage of Hard-Ticketed Events and Extra Magic Hours

If you’re staying on property, Disney will offer Extra Magic Hours either before or after normal park hours, allowing you to dodge most of the crowds. Events like Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party also have reduced crowds from a normal day, though they might also have limited attraction access. Is spending extra money on a hard ticket worth it for you? Well, that’s entirely up to you.

Most importantly, no matter how Park attendance is or is not regulated when they reopen, you’ll need to accept that sometimes, crowds are just unavoidable. While these strategies all help avoid crowds, none are guaranteed to work every time. Sometimes you’ll go on a weekday, only for there to be massive crowds of high schoolers around for a meet. Sometimes a part of the park will be closed, and crowd levels will be thrown off as a result. You just don’t know. Try not to stress over it. Crowds are part of the experience; you can’t be totally rid of them, so it’s best to try to accept them when they come up and try not to let them impede on the magic.

Did you find these tips helpful? Leave a comment below!