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Best Days to Visit Each Disney Theme Park
(Updated 09 Mar 2006 - September EMH, Super Soap, Gay Days Update)
Note If you're trying to minimize the time you'll spend waiting in line, having a good touring plan is about five times more important than choosing the right day of the week. A one-year subscription to our touring plan service costs $6.95, and provides access to more than 85 different touring plans designed to cut down on waits at Disney World's most popular attractions. We offer a 30-day money-back guarantee. Click here for more details
How accurate are these predictions? Actual wait times are currently running +/- 8 minutes from our predicted range. We did pretty well predicting Jersey Week crowds last week. Read the Crowd Blog for more details.
Overview
Each year, we receive more than a thousand e-mails and letters inquiring about crowd conditions on specific dates throughout the year. Readers also want to know which park is best to visit on each day of their stay. To make things easier for you (and us!), we provide below a calendar covering all of 2006. For each date, we offer a crowd-level index based on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being least crowded conditions and 10 being most crowded. Our calendar takes into account all holidays, special events, and more, as described in the following sections.
How We Determine Crowd Levels and Best Days
A number of factors contribute to the models we use to predict both crowd levels and the best days to visit each theme park. Data we use to predict crowd levels include:
- Historical park hours from the same time period in previous years
- Disney's special events calendar (e.g., Grad Nights, Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, etc.)
- Legal holidays in the United States
- Public school schedules (including spring break schedules for the 50 largest public school districts east of the Mississippi, plus Massachusetts and Connecticut)
- Weekly historical occupancy rates for Orlando-area hotels
- Central Florida tourism demographics
Historical park hours include the actual park operating hours for all of 2004, 2005, and 2006 year-to-date. Special events include everything from official Disney-sanctioned events such as "grad nights" and Super Soap Weekend, to unsanctioned events like "Gay Days." Our hotel data contain weekly occupancy rates for seven different areas within the Orlando market, including the key Disney-area hotels in Lake Buena Vista and International Drive. Our Central Florida tourism demographics cover everything from which cities Orlando visitors come from and how long they stay, to how many people they bring and which theme parks they visit.
Data we use to determine the best days for each park include:
- Actual wait time statistics gathered in the parks
- Our own surveys of Disney guest touring habits
- Disney's Extra Magic Hours schedule
- Special events calendars
- U.S. legal holidays
- Outside sources (e.g., the U.S. Department of Transportation, Consumer Reports, etc.)
Some of these data, such as historical park hours, Disney's Extra Magic Hours schedule, and U.S. legal holidays, are widely available on the Internet. Other data, such as public school schedules, are available, but not from a single source (we had to look up each school's calendar individually). The more detailed data, including hotel occupancy rates and government statistics, require not only access, but fairly sophisticated analysis. And some data, such as wait times, we had to get ourselves.
Wait Times For our latest recommendations, our Orlando-based data collection team visited the parks at least seven straight days each month from January through October, 2005. Each day, the team wrote down the standby wait and FASTPASS distribution times for the park's most popular attractions, every 30 minutes, from park opening to park closing. In the Magic Kindgom, for example, the team collected statistics at the 27 most popular attractions. The team also stood in line at key rides to ensure the posted wait times corresponded to the actual wait times.
Guest Surveys In addition to wait times, the Unofficial Guide has surveyed more than 800 families about their park touring habits in Walt Disney World since January, 2005. Specifically, we asked each family which theme park(s) they either visited or planned to visit each day of the week. Their responses are shown below, and cover more than 2,900 "vacation days" in Disney World during 2005. The days at the top of the chart were given most frequently in guest responses.
Unofficial Guide Park Survey Results
| |
Magic Kingdom |
Epcot |
Disney-MGM |
Animal Kingdom |
Most Frequent
Response |
Thursday/Monday
(Tie-150 responses)
|
Tuesday
(119 responses) |
Friday
(111 responses) |
Tuesday
(97 responses) |
| |
Sunday |
Sunday |
Sunday |
| |
Wednesday |
Monday |
Thursday |
Monday |
| |
Friday/Sunday
(Tie)
|
Saturday |
Wednesday |
Saturday |
| |
Thursday |
Monday |
Thursday |
| |
Saturday |
Friday/Wednesday
(87 responses) |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Least Frequent
Response |
Tuesday
(102 responses)
|
Saturday
(54 responses) |
Friday
(59 responses) |
A couple of interesting things to note in the above graph: First, almost 50% more guests say they visit the Magic Kingdom on Thursday than Tuesday. And more guests visit any Disney theme park on Sunday than on Saturday. In fact, Saturday ranks no higher than fourth (Epcot) on the list of busiest days at each park, and Sunday was listed more frequently than Saturday for every Walt Disney World theme park. Why? Our theory is that Saturday is a travel day for many families, and most families (71% of Orlando visitors in 2003) drive to Walt Disney World.
This theory gets some support from the Department of Transportation's National Household Travel Survey (NHTS). The NHTS data show Saturday and Sunday as the most frequent days to begin travel for one-way trips of less than 500 miles, and Friday as the most frequent day to begin travel for one-way trips of 500 to 1,000 miles. Assuming those longer trips take two days - a relatively safe assumption - then Saturday is the most frequent day of travel. To verify this, we called several Disney-area hotels, who confirmed that Saturday is usually their busiest night of the week. (Thanks to Consumer Reports for this article that tipped us off, and to Mary Waring of Mousesavers.com for checking with her hotel contacts to confirm this.)
What about the impact of Central Florida-area residents, you ask? Good question. We've often heard that "locals" tend to swamp the parks on weekends, especially at the Magic Kingdom. We're not yet convinced this is true, for a couple of reasons. For one, their numbers don't appear to be that large: in 2003, only 11% of domestic leisure visitors in Orlando came from Orlando. Second, more Floridians said they visited Orlando as part of a general vacation than a "getaway weekend," meaning their influence is more likely spread out over several days, rather than just Saturday or Sunday. Third, families from Florida visiting Orlando tend to be slightly smaller (2.7 people) than non-Florida families (3.1 people), further diluting their impact.
Why Do Some of These Recommendations Contradict Other Advice in the Book?
You'll occasionally see a particular recommendation here that contradicts the general advice given in the printed Unofficial Guide. As an example, the Unofficial Guide generally recommends avoiding any park on its Extra Magic Hour days. We do recommend Epcot on Monday, July 4th, however, even though Monday is typically Epcot's Extra Magic Hour Morning (that might change for the holiday, too). Why do we make this recommendation? Because Epcot's the best park to be in when crowds are large, such as on July 4th. And the incremental crowds from Epcot's Extra Magic Hour Morning will pale in comparison to the effects felt from the crowds in the other parks, especially the Magic Kingdom. In this case, Epcot's not so much a "good" choice as it is the "least bad."
Likewise, we'll occasionally recommend the Magic Kingdom on a Thursday or Monday, especially during the slower months, even if there's a special event like Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party scheduled there. This is because we're trying to recommend each park at least once in any seven-day period, so that families taking a weeklong vacation can be sure to visit each park on a reasonably good day. When all of the other rules used don't fulfill this requirement, we're forced to make other "least bad" recommendations, similar to that explained above. The next section tells why the potential negative impact of these "least bad" recommendations isn't generally much to get concerned over.
How Important Is Choosing the Right Day?
Worrying about the day of the week before you have a good touring plan is like ordering two triple cheeseburgers with fries, then wondering whether the restaurant has Diet Coke. Things like the predicted crowd level, the time of day, and the attractions that you wish to visit will all affect how long you have to stand in line, and in general how crowded a park will be. Other factors, such as day of the week and whether it's a holiday can affect the crowd levels too. Our research team measures all of these factors to develop a model that will predict the amount of time you'll spend waiting in line. The following table shows how important these factors are in determining how long you wait. An importance level of 10 means that a variable has a huge effect; while a level of 1 means that it has virtually no effect at all.
Variable |
Importance |
| Attractions |
10 |
| Time of Day |
10 |
| Crowd Level Index |
9 |
| Holiday |
8 |
| Early Entry Morning |
5 |
| Day of the Week |
2 |
| Weather |
1 |
So what does this tell us? According to our data, the attractions you visit and the time of day at which you visit them will have the greatest influence on how long you wait. On the other hand, the day of week and the weather will play only a small role. Statistically speaking, the time of day is 5 times more important than the day of the week.
Put another way, a good touring plan is much more important than choosing the right day to visit the parks. If you followed the Unofficial Guide's Magic Kingdom One-Day Touring Plan for Adults on a typical slow Tuesday and a typical busy Thursday, you'd only wait in line about 20 more minutes on Thursday - a little less than one incremental minute of wait time per attraction. In contrast, that same touring plan can save up to four hours of standing in line when compared to not following a plan.
What Were You Thinking on March 30, 2005?
In early April, 2005, we compared our predicted crowd levels with actual in-park wait time measurements for the year to date. In general, we didn't do too bad, with our predicted crowd level within +/- 1 of the measured crowd level around 70% of the time. Weather played a factor in some of the remainder, and we just flat out got a few days wrong.
Some things are exceedingly difficult to explain, especially in hindsight: those Flashdance-inspired outfits worn in the 80's, for example, or any haircut based on Flock of Seagulls. Similarly, there were about twelve days that we got completely wrong in the first version of this calendar. The most blatant example was our crowd level prediction of 3 on March 30, 2005, when so many guests visited the Magic Kingdom that alternate parking lots had to be used.
In analyzing that mistake, we noticed we'd inexplicably failed to heed a number of historical indicators for the week after Easter, including Magic Kingdom park hours and hotel occupancy rates, to name two. A complete revision of the calendar ensued, with the data collection team re-checking calculations, correlating new data, and verifying conclusions with other research groups in the travel industry. While we can't predict the future, we think the new versions of the calendar are both asignificant improvement and the best available.
Click here for exceptions to the Extra Magic Hour schedule
Date |
Crowd Level |
Best Park(s) |
Park(s) to Avoid |
Notes |
| Wednesday, March 01, 2006 | 5 | DS | AK | Ash Wednesday |
| Thursday, March 02, 2006 | 6 | EP AK | MK | |
| Friday, March 03, 2006 | 5 | AK | EP DS | |
| Saturday, March 04, 2006 | 7 | MK EP | DS AK | |
| Sunday, March 05, 2006 | 7 | AK | MK DS | |
| Monday, March 06, 2006 | 8 | DS | EP AK | |
| Tuesday, March 07, 2006 | 7 | MK | EP DS AK | |
| Wednesday, March 08, 2006 | 7 | DS | AK | |
| Thursday, March 09, 2006 | 7 | EP AK | MK | |
| Friday, March 10, 2006 | 8 | AK | EP DS | |
| Saturday, March 11, 2006 | 8 | MK EP | DS AK | |
| Sunday, March 12, 2006 | 7 | AK | MK | |
| Monday, March 13, 2006 | 7 | DS | EP AK | |
| Tuesday, March 14, 2006 | 7 | MK | EP DS AK | |
| Wednesday, March 15, 2006 | 7 | DS | AK | |
| Thursday, March 16, 2006 | 6 | EP AK | MK | |
| Friday, March 17, 2006 | 7 | AK | EP DS | |
| Saturday, March 18, 2006 | 7 | MK EP | DS AK | |
| Sunday, March 19, 2006 | 7 | AK | MK | |
| Monday, March 20, 2006 | 8 | DS | EP AK | |
| Tuesday, March 21, 2006 | 7 | MK | EP DS AK | |
| Wednesday, March 22, 2006 | 7 | DS | AK | |
| Thursday, March 23, 2006 | 7 | EP AK | MK | |
| Friday, March 24, 2006 | 7 | AK | EP DS | |
| Saturday, March 25, 2006 | 7 | MK EP | DS AK | |
| Sunday, March 26, 2006 | 8 | AK | MK | |
| Monday, March 27, 2006 | 8 | DS | EP AK | |
| Tuesday, March 28, 2006 | 7 | MK | EP DS AK | |
| Wednesday, March 29, 2006 | 7 | DS | AK | |
| Thursday, March 30, 2006 | 7 | EP AK | MK | |
| Friday, March 31, 2006 | 7 | AK | EP DS | |
| Saturday, April 01, 2006 | 7 | MK EP | DS AK | |
| Sunday, April 02, 2006 | 8 | DS AK | MK | |
| Monday, April 03, 2006 | 8 | EP | DS AK | |
| Tuesday, April 04, 2006 | 7 | MK | EP DS AK | |
| Wednesday, April 05, 2006 | 7 | DS | AK | |
| Thursday, April 06, 2006 | 7 | EP AK | MK | |
| Friday, April 07, 2006 | 8 | AK | EP DS | |
| Saturday, April 08, 2006 | 8 | MK EP | DS AK | |
| Sunday, April 09, 2006 | 10 | DS AK | MK EP | |
| Monday, April 10, 2006 | 10 | EP | MK DS AK | |
| Tuesday, April 11, 2006 | 10 | MK | EP DS AK | |
| Wednesday, April 12, 2006 | 10 | MK EP | DS AK | |
| Thursday, April 13, 2006 | 10 | AK | MK EP | |
| Friday, April 14, 2006 | 10 | EP AK | MK DS | Good Friday |
| Saturday, April 15, 2006 | 10 | EP DS | MK AK | |
| Sunday, April 16, 2006 | 10 | EP AK | MK | Easter |
| Monday, April 17, 2006 | 10 | EP | MK DS AK | |
| Tuesday, April 18, 2006 | 10 | MK | EP DS AK | |
| Wednesday, April 19, 2006 | 10 | MK EP | DS AK | |
| Thursday, April 20, 2006 | 10 | DS AK | MK EP | |
| Friday, April 21, 2006 | 10 | EP AK | MK DS | |
| Saturday, April 22, 2006 | 9 | EP DS | MK AK | |
| Sunday, April 23, 2006 | 8 | AK | MK | |
| Monday, April 24, 2006 | 8 | EP | DS AK | |
| Tuesday, April 25, 2006 | 7 | MK | EP DS AK | |
| Wednesday, April 26, 2006 | 7 | DS | AK | |
| Thursday, April 27, 2006 | 8 | EP AK | MK | |
| Friday, April 28, 2006 | 6 | AK | MK EP DS | Grad Night |
| Saturday, April 29, 2006 | 6 | MK EP | DS AK | Grad Night |
| Sunday, April 30, 2006 | 6 | AK | MK | |
| Monday, May 01, 2006 | 7 | DS | EP AK | |
| Tuesday, May 02, 2006 | 6 | MK | EP DS AK | |
| Wednesday, May 03, 2006 | 6 | MK DS | AK | |
| Thursday, May 04, 2006 | 7 | EP AK | MK | |
| Friday, May 05, 2006 | 6 | AK | MK EP DS | Grad Night |
| Saturday, May 06, 2006 | 6 | EP | MK DS AK | Grad Night |
| Sunday, May 07, 2006 | 6 | DS AK | MK | |
| Monday, May 08, 2006 | 6 | EP | DS AK | |
| Tuesday, May 09, 2006 | 6 | MK | EP DS AK | |
| Wednesday, May 10, 2006 | 6 | DS AK | EP | |
| Thursday, May 11, 2006 | 6 | EP | MK AK | |
| Friday, May 12, 2006 | 7 | AK | EP DS | |
| Saturday, May 13, 2006 | 7 | MK EP | DS AK | |
| Sunday, May 14, 2006 | 7 | DS AK | MK | |
| Monday, May 15, 2006 | 7 | DS | EP AK | |
| Tuesday, May 16, 2006 | 7 | MK | EP DS AK | |
| Wednesday, May 17, 2006 | 7 | DS | AK | |
| Thursday, May 18, 2006 | 7 | EP AK | MK | |
| Friday, May 19, 2006 | 7 | AK | EP DS | |
| Saturday, May 20, 2006 | 8 | MK EP | DS AK | |
| Sunday, May 21, 2006 | 8 | AK | MK EP | |
| Monday, May 22, 2006 | 8 | EP | DS AK | |
| Tuesday, May 23, 2006 | 8 | DS | MK EP AK | |
| Wednesday, May 24, 2006 | 8 | MK | DS AK | |
| Thursday, May 25, 2006 | 8 | AK | MK EP | |
| Friday, May 26, 2006 | 9 | EP AK | MK DS | |
| Saturday, May 27, 2006 | 9 | MK EP DS | AK | |
| Sunday, May 28, 2006 | 8 | AK | MK EP | |
| Monday, May 29, 2006 | 7 | MK DS | EP AK | |
| Tuesday, May 30, 2006 | 7 | DS | MK EP AK | |
| Wednesday, May 31, 2006 | 7 | EP DS | AK | |
| Thursday, June 01, 2006 | 7 | DS | MK EP AK | Gay Days |
| Friday, June 02, 2006 | 7 | EP AK | MK DS | Gay Days |
| Saturday, June 03, 2006 | 7 | EP DS | MK AK | Gay Days |
| Sunday, June 04, 2006 | 8 | MK AK | EP | Gay Days |
| Monday, June 05, 2006 | 8 | DS | EP AK | |
| Tuesday, June 06, 2006 | 8 | DS | MK EP AK | |
| Wednesday, June 07, 2006 | 8 | EP | DS AK | |
| Thursday, June 08, 2006 | 8 | AK | MK EP | |
| Friday, June 09, 2006 | 8 | EP AK | MK DS | |
| Saturday, June 10, 2006 | 7 | MK EP DS | AK | |
| Sunday, June 11, 2006 | 8 | AK | MK EP | |
| Monday, June 12, 2006 | 8 | MK | EP DS AK | |
| Tuesday, June 13, 2006 | 8 | DS | MK EP AK | |
| Wednesday, June 14, 2006 | 8 | MK | DS AK | |
| Thursday, June 15, 2006 | 8 | AK | MK EP | |
| Friday, June 16, 2006 | 8 | EP AK | MK DS | |
| Saturday, June 17, 2006 | 8 | MK EP DS | AK | |
| Sunday, June 18, 2006 | 8 | AK | MK EP | |
| Monday, June 19, 2006 | 8 | EP | DS AK | |
| Tuesday, June 20, 2006 | 7 | DS | MK EP AK | |
| Wednesday, June 21, 2006 | 7 | MK | DS AK | |
| Thursday, June 22, 2006 | 8 | AK | MK EP | |
| Friday, June 23, 2006 | 8 | EP AK | MK DS | |
| Saturday, June 24, 2006 | 8 | MK EP DS | AK | |
| Sunday, June 25, 2006 | 8 | AK | MK EP | |
| Monday, June 26, 2006 | 8 | EP | DS AK | |
| Tuesday, June 27, 2006 | 8 | DS | MK EP AK | |
| Wednesday, June 28, 2006 | 8 | MK | DS AK | |
| Thursday, June 29, 2006 | 8 | AK | MK EP | |
| Friday, June 30, 2006 | 8 | EP AK | MK DS | |
| Saturday, July 01, 2006 | 9 | MK EP DS | AK | |
| Sunday, July 02, 2006 | 9 | AK | MK EP | |
| Monday, July 03, 2006 | 9 | DS | EP AK | |
| Tuesday, July 04, 2006 | 8 | EP | MK DS AK | Independence Day (US) |
| Wednesday, July 05, 2006 | 8 | MK | DS AK | |
| Thursday, July 06, 2006 | 8 | AK | MK EP | |
| Friday, July 07, 2006 | 8 | EP AK | MK DS | |
| Saturday, July 08, 2006 | 8 | MK EP DS | AK | |
| Sunday, July 09, 2006 | 8 | AK | MK EP | |
| Monday, July 10, 2006 | 8 | DS | EP AK | |
| Tuesday, July 11, 2006 | 8 | DS | MK EP AK | |
| Wednesday, July 12, 2006 | 8 | MK | DS AK | |
| Thursday, July 13, 2006 | 8 | DS AK | MK EP | |
| Friday, July 14, 2006 | 8 | EP AK | MK DS | |
| Saturday, July 15, 2006 | 8 | MK EP DS | AK | |
| Sunday, July 16, 2006 | 8 | AK | MK EP | |
| Monday, July 17, 2006 | 8 | EP | DS AK | |
| Tuesday, July 18, 2006 | 8 | DS | MK EP AK | |
| Wednesday, July 19, 2006 | 8 | MK | DS AK | |
| Thursday, July 20, 2006 | 8 | AK | MK EP | |
| Friday, July 21, 2006 | 8 | EP AK | MK DS | |
| Saturday, July 22, 2006 | 8 | MK EP DS | AK | |
| Sunday, July 23, 2006 | 8 | AK | MK EP | |
| Monday, July 24, 2006 | 8 | MK | EP DS AK | |
| Tuesday, July 25, 2006 | 8 | MK DS | EP AK | |
| Wednesday, July 26, 2006 | 8 | EP | DS AK | |
| Thursday, July 27, 2006 | 8 | AK | MK EP | |
| Friday, July 28, 2006 | 8 | EP AK | MK DS | |
| Saturday, July 29, 2006 | 8 | MK EP DS | AK | |
| Sunday, July 30, 2006 | 8 | AK | MK EP | |
| Monday, July 31, 2006 | 9 | MK | EP DS AK | |
| Tuesday, August 01, 2006 | 8 | DS | MK EP AK | |
| Wednesday, August 02, 2006 | 8 | MK | DS AK | |
| Thursday, August 03, 2006 | 9 | AK | MK EP | |
| Friday, August 04, 2006 | 9 | EP AK | MK DS | |
| Saturday, August 05, 2006 | 9 | MK EP DS | AK | |
| Sunday, August 06, 2006 | 9 | AK | MK EP | |
| Monday, August 07, 2006 | 9 | DS | EP AK | |
| Tuesday, August 08, 2006 | 8 | DS | MK EP AK | |
| Wednesday, August 09, 2006 | 8 | MK | DS AK | |
| Thursday, August 10, 2006 | 9 | AK | MK EP | |
| Friday, August 11, 2006 | 9 | EP AK | MK DS | |
| Saturday, August 12, 2006 | 8 | MK EP DS | AK | |
| Sunday, August 13, 2006 | 7 | AK | MK | |
| Monday, August 14, 2006 | 8 | MK | EP DS AK | |
| Tuesday, August 15, 2006 | 7 | MK | EP DS AK | |
| Wednesday, August 16, 2006 | 7 | DS | AK | |
| Thursday, August 17, 2006 | 7 | EP AK | MK | |
| Friday, August 18, 2006 | 7 | AK | EP DS | |
| Saturday, August 19, 2006 | 7 | MK EP | DS AK | |
| Sunday, August 20, 2006 | 7 | DS AK | MK | |
| Monday, August 21, 2006 | 7 | EP | DS AK | |
| Tuesday, August 22, 2006 | 7 | MK | EP DS AK | |
| Wednesday, August 23, 2006 | 7 | DS | AK | |
| Thursday, August 24, 2006 | 7 | EP AK | MK | |
| Friday, August 25, 2006 | 7 | DS AK | EP | |
| Saturday, August 26, 2006 | 6 | MK EP | DS AK | |
| Sunday, August 27, 2006 | 6 | AK | MK | |
| Monday, August 28, 2006 | 6 | EP | EP DS AK | |
| Tuesday, August 29, 2006 | 6 | MK | EP DS AK | |
| Wednesday, August 30, 2006 | 6 | DS | AK | |
| Thursday, August 31, 2006 | 6 | EP AK | MK | |
| Friday, September 01, 2006 | 6 | AK | EP DS | |
| Saturday, September 02, 2006 | 6 | MK EP | DS AK | |
| Sunday, September 03, 2006 | 5 | DS AK | MK | |
| Monday, September 04, 2006 | 4 | EP | DS AK | Labor Day |
| Tuesday, September 05, 2006 | 4 | MK | EP DS AK | |
| Wednesday, September 06, 2006 | 4 | DS | AK | |
| Thursday, September 07, 2006 | 4 | EP AK | MK | |
| Friday, September 08, 2006 | 4 | AK | MK EP DS | Night of Joy |
| Saturday, September 09, 2006 | 4 | MK EP | DS AK | Night of Joy |
| Sunday, September 10, 2006 | 4 | AK | MK | |
| Monday, September 11, 2006 | 4 | DS | EP AK | |
| Tuesday, September 12, 2006 | 4 | MK | EP DS AK | |
| Wednesday, September 13, 2006 | 4 | DS AK | EP | |
| Thursday, September 14, 2006 | 4 | EP AK | MK | |
| Friday, September 15, 2006 | 5 | EP | DS AK | |
| Saturday, September 16, 2006 | 4 | MK EP | DS AK | |
| Sunday, September 17, 2006 | 5 | DS AK | MK | |
| Monday, September 18, 2006 | 5 | EP | DS AK | |
| Tuesday, September 19, 2006 | 4 | MK | EP DS AK | |
| Wednesday, September 20, 2006 | 5 | DS | AK | |
| Thursday, September 21, 2006 | 5 | EP AK | MK | |
| Friday, September 22, 2006 | 6 | AK | EP DS | |
| Saturday, September 23, 2006 | 5 | MK EP | DS AK | |
| Sunday, September 24, 2006 | 4 | DS AK | MK | |
| Monday, September 25, 2006 | 5 | EP | DS AK | |
| Tuesday, September 26, 2006 | 4 | MK | EP DS AK | |
| Wednesday, September 27, 2006 | 4 | DS | AK | |
| Thursday, September 28, 2006 | 4 | EP AK | MK | |
| Friday, September 29, 2006 | 5 | AK | EP DS | |
| Saturday, September 30, 2006 | 4 | MK EP | DS AK | |
| Sunday, October 01, 2006 | 5 | AK | MK | MNSSHP |
| Monday, October 02, 2006 | 5 | DS | EP AK | |
| Tuesday, October 03, 2006 | 5 | MK | EP DS AK | |
| Wednesday, October 04, 2006 | 5 | DS | AK | |
| Thursday, October 05, 2006 | 5 | EP AK | MK | MNSSHP |
| Friday, October 06, 2006 | 7 | AK | MK EP DS | MNSSHP |
| Saturday, October 07, 2006 | 5 | MK EP | DS AK | |
| Sunday, October 08, 2006 | 6 | AK | MK | |
| Monday, October 09, 2006 | 5 | DS | EP AK | Columbus Day |
| Tuesday, October 10, 2006 | 5 | MK | EP DS AK | MNSSHP |
| Wednesday, October 11, 2006 | 5 | DS | AK | |
| Thursday, October 12, 2006 | 6 | EP AK | MK | MNSSHP |
| Friday, October 13, 2006 | 7 | AK | EP DS | |
| Saturday, October 14, 2006 | 5 | MK EP | DS AK | |
| Sunday, October 15, 2006 | 6 | AK | MK | MNSSHP |
| Monday, October 16, 2006 | 6 | DS | EP AK | |
| Tuesday, October 17, 2006 | 5 | MK | EP DS AK | |
| Wednesday, October 18, 2006 | 5 | DS | AK | |
| Thursday, October 19, 2006 | 6 | EP AK | MK | MNSSHP |
| Friday, October 20, 2006 | 7 | AK | MK EP DS | MNSSHP |
| Saturday, October 21, 2006 | 5 | MK EP | DS AK | |
| Sunday, October 22, 2006 | 5 | AK | MK | MNSSHP |
| Monday, October 23, 2006 | 5 | DS | EP AK | |
| Tuesday, October 24, 2006 | 5 | MK | EP DS AK | MNSSHP |
| Wednesday, October 25, 2006 | 5 | DS | AK | |
| Thursday, October 26, 2006 | 5 | EP AK | MK | MNSSHP |
| Friday, October 27, 2006 | 6 | AK | MK EP DS | MNSSHP |
| Saturday, October 28, 2006 | 5 | MK EP | DS AK | |
| Sunday, October 29, 2006 | 4 | AK | MK | MNSSHP |
| Monday, October 30, 2006 | 4 | DS | EP AK | |
| Tuesday, October 31, 2006 | 4 | MK | EP DS AK | Halloween |
| Wednesday, November 01, 2006 | 4 | DS | AK | |
| Thursday, November 02, 2006 | 4 | EP AK | MK | |
| Friday, November 03, 2006 | 6 | AK | EP DS | |
| Saturday, November 04, 2006 | 4 | MK EP | DS AK | |
| Sunday, November 05, 2006 | 5 | AK | MK | |
| Monday, November 06, 2006 | 8 | DS | EP AK | |
| Tuesday, November 07, 2006 | 5 | MK | EP DS AK | |
| Wednesday, November 08, 2006 | 6 | DS | AK | |
| Thursday, November 09, 2006 | 7 | EP AK | MK | Jersey Week |
| Friday, November 10, 2006 | 8 | AK | EP DS | Jersey Week |
| Saturday, November 11, 2006 | 7 | MK EP | DS AK | Super Soap Weekend @ MGM |
| Sunday, November 12, 2006 | 5 | AK | MK DS | Super Soap Weekend @ MGM |
| Monday, November 13, 2006 | 5 | DS | EP AK | |
| Tuesday, November 14, 2006 | 5 | MK | EP DS AK | |
| Wednesday, November 15, 2006 | 5 | DS | AK | |
| Thursday, November 16, 2006 | 5 | EP AK | MK | |
| Friday, November 17, 2006 | 6 | AK | EP DS | |
| Saturday, November 18, 2006 | 6 | MK EP | DS AK | |
| Sunday, November 19, 2006 | 7 | AK | MK | |
| Monday, November 20, 2006 | 7 | DS | EP AK | |
| Tuesday, November 21, 2006 | 6 | MK | EP DS AK | |
| Wednesday, November 22, 2006 | 7 | DS | AK | |
| Thursday, November 23, 2006 | 8 | EP AK | MK | Thanksgiving |
| Friday, November 24, 2006 | 7 | AK | EP DS | |
| Saturday, November 25, 2006 | 6 | MK EP | DS AK | |
| Sunday, November 26, 2006 | 5 | AK | MK | |
| Monday, November 27, 2006 | 5 | DS | EP AK | |
| Tuesday, November 28, 2006 | 4 | MK | EP DS AK | |
| Wednesday, November 29, 2006 | 5 | DS | AK | |
| Thursday, November 30, 2006 | 4 | EP AK | MK | MVMCP |
| Friday, December 01, 2006 | 4 | AK | MK EP DS | MVMCP |
| Saturday, December 02, 2006 | 6 | MK EP | DS AK | |
| Sunday, December 03, 2006 | 5 | AK | MK | MVMCP |
| Monday, December 04, 2006 | 5 | DS | EP AK | |
| Tuesday, December 05, 2006 | 4 | MK | EP DS AK | MVMCP |
| Wednesday, December 06, 2006 | 5 | DS | AK | |
| Thursday, December 07, 2006 | 5 | EP AK | MK | MVMCP |
| Friday, December 08, 2006 | 4 | AK | MK EP DS | MVMCP |
| Saturday, December 09, 2006 | 6 | MK EP | DS AK | |
| Sunday, December 10, 2006 | 4 | AK | MK | MVMCP |
| Monday, December 11, 2006 | 4 | DS | EP AK | |
| Tuesday, December 12, 2006 | 4 | MK | EP DS AK | MVMCP |
| Wednesday, December 13, 2006 | 4 | DS | AK | |
| Thursday, December 14, 2006 | 4 | EP AK | MK | MVMCP |
| Friday, December 15, 2006 | 4 | AK | MK EP DS | MVMCP |
| Saturday, December 16, 2006 | 5 | MK EP | DS AK | |
| Sunday, December 17, 2006 | 6 | AK | MK | MVMCP |
| Monday, December 18, 2006 | 6 | DS | EP AK | |
| Tuesday, December 19, 2006 | 6 | MK | EP DS AK | MVMCP |
| Wednesday, December 20, 2006 | 6 | DS | AK | |
| Thursday, December 21, 2006 | 6 | EP AK | MK | |
| Friday, December 22, 2006 | 7 | AK | EP DS | |
| Saturday, December 23, 2006 | 6 | MK EP | DS AK | |
| Sunday, December 24, 2006 | 10 | AK | MK | |
| Monday, December 25, 2006 | 10 | DS | EP AK | Christmas |
| Tuesday, December 26, 2006 | 10 | MK | EP DS AK | |
| Wednesday, December 27, 2006 | 10 | DS | AK | |
| Thursday, December 28, 2006 | 10 | EP AK | MK | |
| Friday, December 29, 2006 | 10 | AK | EP DS | |
| Saturday, December 30, 2006 | 10 | MK EP | DS AK | |
| Sunday, December 31, 2006 | 10 | AK | MK | |
Abbreviations: MK=Magic Kingdom, EP=Epcot, DS=Disney-MGM Studios, AK=Animal Kingdom
The Crowd Level column is based on a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being least crowded conditions and 10 being most crowded. The scale measures the peak wait time at the Magic Kingdom's three headliner attractions (Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad). Thus, the Crowd Level is a "worst case" scenario, predicting the longest wait at any of these three attractions on a particular day.
1 = Peak wait times of 14 minutes or less
2 = Peak waits of 15 - 24 minutes
3 = Peak waits of 35 - 34 minutes
4 = Peak waits of 35 - 44 minutes
5 = Peak waits of 45 - 54 minutes
6 = Peak waits of 55 - 64 minutes
7 = Peak waits of 65 - 74 minutes
8 = Peak waits of 75 - 84 minutes
9 = Peak waits of 85 - 94 minutes
10 = Peak waits of 95 minutes or more
Special Thanks
Special thanks to the research staff of the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, who provided the detailed demographic data on Orlando visitors we used in this calendar. We're indebted (as always) to statistician Fred Hazelton, for putting the "best days" recommendations into context, and for endless revisions to the data. A shout out goes to the "Theme Parks Attractions and Strategies" readers of Disboards.com, for pointing out that many public schools in New England have the same week of for Spring Break, and for putting up with Len's "Tuesday's Good! Wait, Tuesday's Bad!" posts. People who love sausage...
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