Best Days to Visit Each Park at Disney World

Want to wait in as few lines as possible?

You’ll need to be strategic about which park you visit each day of your trip.

And while it isn’t an exact science, there are some things you can do to ensure you’re visiting each park on the best days of the week (and avoiding the busiest).

Here’s what you need to know…

Best Days to Visit Disney World for the Lowest Crowds

First things first, let’s talk about overall Disney World crowd levels—just like any travel destination, selecting less-busy times of the year to visit, can help you avoid the heaviest crowds and the longest lines.

But even during the busiest times of the year, if you are strategic in planning out your days, you’ll still be able to maximize your time in the parks (and minimize your waits).

We use a lot of info to put together these recommendations, including years and years of park visits plus data from sources like Thrill Data.

In general, here’s your best bets by day. As you can see by the list, the weekends are not typically ideal, but if you must visit a park on the weekend, we recommend either Animal Kingdom or Hollywood Studios:

• Sunday: All parks will be at their busiest
• Monday: Epcot, Animal Kingdom
• Tuesday: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom
• Wednesday: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom
• Thursday: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom
• Friday: Animal Kingdom
• Saturday: All parks will be at their busiest

Best Days of the Week to visit Magic Kingdom

Year after year, Magic Kingdom remains the most popular theme park in the world.

Many people like to start or end their vacations with a day here. And, if your trip is long enough, you may be able to do both.

Here’s what you should try to do:

• Avoid the Weekends: Magic Kingdom is the most iconic park and often the first stop for many visitors, leading to higher crowds on weekends.
• Avoid Mondays: Many visitors start their vacations at Magic Kingdom, leading to increased crowds at the beginning of the week.
• Mid-Week Sweet Spot: Mid-week days tend to be less crowded as many vacationers split their time between the four parks.

For the shortest waits at Magic Kingdom, aim to visit these days:

• Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
• Any day there is a party like Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party or Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (But please note that the park will close earlier on those days and you won’t be able to see the fireworks, but the overall crowds throughout the day will be significantly less than days without a party.)

Worst days to visit Magic Kingdom

If you want to avoid the highest crowds, skip Magic Kingdom on these days:

• All Saturdays
• Major holidays (Christmas, Easter, New Years, 4th of July)
• 1st day anything new opens up in the park (or something old is scheduled to close)

Best Days to visit Epcot

Epcot is a huge park, but some days are still better than others.

Here’s what you should try to do:

• Avoid Weekends During Festivals: Epcot hosts various festivals (Food & Wine, Flower & Garden), and weekends attract locals and tourists alike.
• Mid-Week for Lesser Crowds: Mid-week visits generally see fewer guests, especially during non-festival periods.
• Monday’s a Good Start: Many guests often start their week at Magic Kingdom, leaving Epcot less crowded on Mondays.

For the shortest waits at Epcot, aim to visit these days:

• Tuesdays and Wednesdays (top pick)
• Mondays and Thursdays (second best, however Thursday evenings can sometimes be a little rowdy)

Worst days to visit Epcot

With Epcot operating with nearly year-round festivals, the weekends here can be quite busy as local Annual Passholders enjoy the treats the food booths offer.

To minimize your chances of running into too many guests that have over-indulged on the adult beverages, avoid Epcot on:

• Friday nights
• Saturdays (and to a lesser extent, Sundays)
• Anytime something new is scheduled to open (or something old is scheduled to close)
• Opening day of a festival (Festival of the Arts, Flower and Garden Festival, Food and Wine Festival, Festival of the Holidays)

Best Days to Visit Hollywood Studios

Hollywood Studios has increased dramatically in popularity, so finding the best days to visit can really help keep those waits to a minimum.

Here’s what you should try to do:

• Avoid Weekends and Fridays: Hollywood Studios has become more popular with the addition of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and other attractions, leading to larger crowds on weekends.
• Monday and Thursday Overflow: Many visitors may visit Hollywood Studios on these days as part of longer vacations.
• Mid-Week Advantage: Tuesday and Wednesday are typically quieter, providing a better chance to enjoy attractions with shorter waits.

For the shortest waits at Hollywood Studios, aim to visit these days:

• Tuesday and Wednesday

Worst days to visit Hollywood Studios

Hollywood Studios remains popular with local Passholders, too, that means the weekends stay busy.

With that in mind, we recommend you try to avoid Hollywood Studios on:

• Saturdays and Sundays
• May the Fourth
• Anytime something new opens (or something old is scheduled to close)

Best Days to visit Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom remains one of the easiest parks to fit into a Disney World vacation.

Here’s what you should try to do:

• Avoid Weekends: As with other parks, weekends are busier due to locals and tourists alike.
• Early Week Visits: Early in the week tends to be less crowded, making it easier to enjoy popular attractions like Avatar Flight of Passage.

For the shortest waits, aim to visit these days:

• Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

Worst Days to visit Animal Kingdom

There really aren’t any “bad” days to visit Animal Kingdom.

But, for the lowest wait times, skip Animal Kingdom on:

• Saturdays and Sundays
• Earth Day
• Anytime something new opens (or something old closes)

Monthly Calendars

Now that you know which days are the best for each park at Disney World, head over to the Monthly Calendars for detailed information for your travel dates.

There you will find the park hours for each park, scheduled refurbishments, and any special events that are planned.

Piece that information together with the tips we shared above to map out your dream Disney World itinerary.