Best time to go to Disney World 2023

September 13, 2022

In this post, we provide an outlook on the next two years at Disney World, with the goal of helping to pick when to visit during that time. This post gets updated every few months, though in the interim you may see updates near the top that provide some additional information we haven’t yet built into the rest of the post.

We can’t see the future, but we do our best to [1] collect important dates that Disney has confirmed, [2] mention rumored dates that make sense, [3] give our total guesses for things that might happen. It always should be clear which of these categories a given date / prediction falls into.

This post is not a planning guide. We have a Walt Disney World planning guide. If you want a more specific look at different months, we have a collection of Disney World Month-by-Month posts.

This post is specifically concerned with “when to visit.” As of this September 2022 update, we are focused on visits occurring October 1, 2022 through September 31, 2024.

Other Factors to Consider

We’re going to do this backward. The bulk of this post is about major dates and changes at Disney World, but first—because I don’t want anyone to miss these—I want to mention three other factors that might impact when you want to visit Walt Disney World.

Should you wait and save for a better trip? Most of the time, if you can wait 6 months or a year and save enough to seriously upgrade your trip, I’d suggest doing it. Early May and early December are our favorite times to visit, and I’d happily push a trip from one to the other if it meant a serious upgrade [longer trip, upgrading to on-site hotel].

Are your kids growing? Check out our Disney World height requirements post. A kid who is on the cusp of 40 inches is set to gain nine rides including all stars like Rise of the Resistance and Tower of Terror. If you can wait until they hit that magic mark [for example] you’ll get more out of your trip.

Can you avoid being early adopter? In a broad sense, the worst time to go to Disney World is when anything changes. The first days or weeks that a ride debuts, or stops using a virtual queue, or goes between Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane—these are all difficult times to visit because we don’t yet know how it impacts touring strategy.

Major Dates Ahead at Disney World

This section is focused only on the most major events that we might plan trips around [mostly debuts of attractions or entertainment]. It doesn’t include holidays unless something specific is debuting / changing on those dates.

We have a Refurbishment and Events Calendar that is somewhat more extensive. I also recommend glancing at the Epcot Festival Calendar and Tips post if festivals are going to be a big part of your trip. We discuss these dates/estimates more immediately below.

• Spring 2023 - Debut of TRON coaster at Magic Kingdom

• April 1, 2023 [Estimated] - End of Disney Enchantment, return of Happily Every After fireworks to Magic Kingdom

• April 1, 2023 [Estimated] - End of Harmonious, debut of new Epcot nighttime show

• Unknown 2023 - Splash Mountain Closes

• Late 2023 - Debut of Moana Journey of Water at Epcot

• Late 2024 - Splash Mountain reopens as Tiana's Bayou Adventure

Pinpointing the TRON Opening Date

Disney has so far only confirmed that TRON will open in Spring 2023. This reasonably could include dates from February through June, though early March [before Spring Break crowds] through mid-April [after Spring Break / Easter crowds, before summer] seems most likely.

The later you plan your trip, the more likely the ride will be open. The best way to guarantee your visit includes TRON is simply to wait until Disney announces an opening date. If you have to book ahead [maybe because availability at your choice hotel is tough to come by], then look at July 2023 and later to [more or less] guarantee TRON will be open.

The Nighttime Show Changes

A lot is still unclear about this, but Disney announced at D23 that Happily Ever After will be returning [with some changes] in 2023. They also announced that Harmonious will be ending and a new Epcot nighttime show will debut in 2023.

In both cases its entirely unclear at this point whether there will be a clean break—one show ends one day and the next begins tomorrow—or whether the parks might show some combination of two shows for some weeks.

Harmonious [Epcot] and Disney Enchantment [Magic Kingdom] debuted as part of the 50th Anniversary Celebrations, which go through March 2023. That’s why we’re tentatively expecting a change on April 1, 2023. I think this timing is more likely to be correct at Magic Kingdom, while I could see Harmonious at Epcot lasting several more months.

Moana Journey of Water at Epcot Opening

Moana Journey of Water is currently set for a “late 2023” opening. With absolutely no guidance beyond that, you might use October 1, 2023 as an estimate for that.

Splash Mountain to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Conversion

This change comes with two questions:

1. When will Splash Mountain Close?

2. When will Tiana’s Bayou Adventure reopen?

It’s important to note this is more than a small change or overlay to Splash Mountain. The entire ride is being redone with a completely new story.

Splash Mountain typically closes in January for refurbishment [the ride isn’t as popular in the cold]. With that in mind, there are two reasonable timeframes the ride could close for good.

January 2023 leaves about 18 months to 2 years for construction. This would be less than the 31 months between the closure of The Great Movie Ride and the opening of Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, the last major conversion at Walt Disney World. A late 2023 [post-summer] closure would leave only about a year for the conversion, though a “late 2024” estimate given in 2022 could easily be pushed to 2025 if Disney felt the attraction needed one last summer.

Being the cautious planners that we are, we’d assume Splash Mountain will close for good in January 2023.

As for the opening of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, late 2024 is pretty vague and far away. If this ride is important to you at this point, you need to be waiting for more information and probably planning a 2025 trip.

Visiting Disney World Through March 2023

March 2023 is the final month of the Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary Celebrations. For the purposes of planning, we’re assuming this will be the last time you can catch Disney Enchantment and Harmonious the new nighttime shows at Magic Kingdom and Epcot.

We don’t consider either of these shows to be worth planning a trip around. If you’re looking at a once-in-a-lifetime [or longtime] trip, we’d pass on the opportunity to see these in favor of visiting once TRON has opened. On a shorter timeframe, you might visit before the end of March 2023 and next after Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opens in late 2024.

Besides the ongoing 50th Anniversary Celebrations, we’ve got holiday season at Walt Disney World upcoming. Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party will begin November 8, and you can expect holidays at the resort to be in full swing by about November 15.

Our favorite time of year to visit is the first week of December. This is after the Thanksgiving crowd surge but before the winter break crowd surge, and you’ll have all the festivity of a holiday season visit. If you’re looking for a time to visit before the end of the 50th Anniversary Celebrations, the week of December 4, 2022 is our pick.

As discussed above, we assume Splash Mountain will permanently close in 2022, reopening as Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in late 2024. If you want to experience the old ride, you’ll need to visit sooner rather than later.

Beyond that, January is an overall quiet month. February 2022 continued a recent trend of very high crowds, so we don’t advise visiting during February through April 2023 unless Spring Break is the only time your family can plan a trip.

Visiting Disney World April - December 2023

While the end of the 50th Anniversary and presumptive change of nighttime shows locks in April 1, 2023 as a pivotal date, the Spring 2023 date that matters most is the opening of TRON.

Until a specific date is set, it’s conceivable the ride could debut anywhere from the start of February through the end of June. If you want a better chance at riding it, you’ll need to plan your trip for later or, better yet, just wait until a date is announced.

The other major debut in this timeframe is Moana Journey of Water, set to debut at Epcot in late 2023.

Our favorite times of year to visit Disney World are the beginning of May and the beginning of December. Coincidentally, those time also happen to be good to start looking at if you want to catch the new attractions. We expect TRON to be open by the beginning of May, and we expect Moana Journey of Water to be open by the beginning of December.

Visiting Disney World in 2024

If you’re looking ahead to a 2024 visit, good for you for being an early planner. Of course we don’t expect January through August 2024 to be completely boring at Walt Disney World, but nothing major has been announced yet. So far, we just know that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is expected to open “Late 2024.”

If someone told me they were looking at a 2024 trip, it’s easy to point to the holiday season as the time to be thinking about. It’s farther away [which means you can save more money for you trip] and fits within the expected timeframe for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure to be open.

All Your Other Disney World Planning Questions Answered

Don't be overwhelmed by Disney World planning! Take a second to check out our most important content and you'll not only be an expert, but you'll save big $$$ along the way.

Just starting out? Check out our Walt Disney World planning guide! If you're still picking dates, we've got everything you need to know about Disney World crowd calendars. For picking your hotel, check out our Walt Disney World hotels guide.

When it comes time to book we’ll help you find discount Disney World tickets. Decide whether you need a dining plan in our Complete Guide to Disney World Dining Plans! And don't forget to book those Disney World Advance Dining Reservations!

Don't forget to master your Disney World Genie+ and Lightning Lane strategy a few months in advance. We'll keep you out of long lines so you can maximize the magical time in the parks! We've got park-specific guides as well: Magic Kingdom Genie+ and Lightning Lanes, Epcot Genie+ and Lightning Lanes, Animal Kingdom Genie+ and Lightning Lanes, and Hollywood Studios Genie+ and Lightning Lanes.

Know what to ride with our guides to: Magic Kingdom rides, Hollywood Studios rides, Epcot rides, and Animal Kingdom rides! Plus learn about the water parks with our guide to Blizzard Beach and our guide to Typhoon Lagoon! And for some some fun prep, check out our Ranking of Every Ride at Walt Disney World.

Finally, before you head out, be sure to check out our to-the-point packing list, 10 essentials you forget to pack for every Disney trip. And if you're interested in saving, there's no better list than our 53 Ways to Save on your Disney trip from start to finish.