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What’s coming up in 2019 at WDW

2019 brings some new events at all four parks at Walt Disney World. So what is coming up?

Magic Kingdom

Starting on 18th January Magic Kingdom will be hosting ‘Mickey and Minnie’s Surprise Celebration’ to honour these staple Disney characters. New merchandise, events, and foods will be available. There will be a new version of popular dance parade called ‘Move it! Shake it! MouskeDance it! Street Party’. The Dapper Dan’s and the Casey’s Corner pianist will also add some new Mickey and Minnie magic to their repertoire from 18th Jan to 30th Sept.

Epcot

The Epcot International Festival of Arts is in its 3rd year now and runs from 18th Jan – 25 Feb. We were lucky enough to visit this during its first year in 2017. Amongst other events the Disney on Broadway concert series returns to the America Garden’s Theatre in the world showcase, this year expanding to 7 days a week.

The theatre will also be in use during the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival from 6th March to 3rd June. The Gardn Rocks Concert Series will also expand to 7 days a week during this time.

The biggest event for Epcot in 2019 is probably the end of Illuminations: Reflections of Earth. This 20 year old nighttime firework and music display will come to an end in the second half of 2019. Stay tuned for more news of its replacement!

Hollywood Studios

2018 was a big year for this park with the opening of Toy Story Land in June, but it looks like 2019 will be even bigger! Of course the big event is the opening of ‘Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge’ in late autumn, but that is not all.

The park itself has its 30th anniversary on 30th May (having originally opened under the name MGM Studios) and Pixar will be a big theme this year. Pixar Place is now transformed into a Metroville city block from ‘The Incredibles’ films. Here you can meet Edna Mode, look out for clues as to the whereabouts of Jack-Jack, join in with a lively party and catch Mr Incredible, Mrs Incredible, and Frozone at various points during the day.

When Disney started building both Toy Story Land and Galaxy’s Edge, large sections towards the back of the park were closed. One of the casualties of this was the Mike and Sulley meet and greet. The good news is that these popular characters are now back and can be seen inside the Walt Disney Presents Theatre.

The new park expansion also saw the end of the Cars related experiences including a Lightning McQueen meet and greet. Later on in the Spring, Lightning McQueen returns with a new show experience telling the untold story of Lightning McQueen.

Animal Kingdom

This park celebrated its 25th anniversary last year and this year from 18th Jan – 30th September it will mark the 25th anniversary of ‘The Lion King’. A ‘Hakuna Matata Time Dance Party’ will see Timon and Rafiki dance with live musicians celebrating music around the world. Immersive 3D photo opportunities will also be available with more celebrations yet to be announced.

So make 2019 your year to visit Walt Disney World!

 

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When should you go to WDW?

This is a question that is often asked – when is the best time of year to go. Unfortunately there is no simple answer, but I shall try and give some general advice here. There are a number of things to take into account.

The weather

This is the big one with Florida. It’s hot! Even in winter time it is in the low to mid 20s – what we would call a nice comfortable summer over here. The downside of all of this is that June-August is VERY hot. It is worth bearing in mind that unlike the UK there is air-con everywhere, and most rides have indoor queues, but despite this it can feel very hot walking around. To add to this you have hurricane season. Only once in recent years has Disney actually closed due to weather (Hurricane Matthew in 2016) but for some people this is a concern.

Crowd levels

Okay, so the bad news here is that there is really no quiet time at Disney anymore. Queues are to be expected all year round, but they can vary. The two busiest times are Christmas and Easter (Spring Break in the US). They are so busy that when free dining is released, those dates are the only ones excluded from the offer – no need to give an incentive. Of course Christmas can be a magical time to be at Disney, but when you can hardly move it’s not so magical. You can also sometimes get park closures at these times where they start restricting entrance to the parks due to the volume of guests. 4th July can also see this happen.

School holiday options

Of course, coming from the UK we like to visit for two weeks or more, which can rule out half-terms unless you are prepared to pull your kids out of school. So, looking at crowd levels/weather and school holidays, when are best.

  • Febuary half term is lovely weather wise, but can clash with President’s weekend (it did in 2017 for example) which leads to a spike in crowd levels. Also quite nice now that the Arts Festival has been introduced at Epcot. Towards the end of February is usually the Princess Half-Marathon which is popular.
  • Easter is busy, as previously mentioned and you won’t get any free dining offers. However the Flower and Garden Festival is running at Epcot (usually March-June) which is lovely. Spring Break is a much shorter period of time compared to our Easter holidays so it is worth checking the dates for the year you are planning on going.
  • May half-term is a popular one for people willing to take their kids out of school. The weather is starting to heat up but it hasn’t hit the real highs of summer. Do be aware that it often covers Memorial Day weekend which sees a spike in crowds.
  • Summer holidays are busy as kids all over the US are off school. If this is the best time for you then try to go the last two weeks of August. Yes it will be hot (and is still in hurricane season) but US schools start to go back mid-August so crowds will die down. If you are lucky you can also catch the early Halloween parties at Magic Kingdom (in 2018 the first one was the 17th August).
  • October half term is one of our favourite times to go. The weather is lovely and the crowds are not too bad. Halloween is in full swing with parties on selected evenings and Halloween/Autumn decor all over Magic Kingdom. Epcot also has the Food and Wine Festival which is very popular with tourists and locals (some people recommend avoiding Epcot at the weekends during this time).
  • Christmas is obviously extra magical at Disney but peak crowds kick in around the 20th December. New Year is also peak crowds – everyone seems to want to watch the Magic Kingdom or Epcot fireworks on 31st December.
Wait times on the MDE app

So how do you decide?

It depends what you want. Is it a quieter park? Is it cooler or hotter weather? Is it one of the festivals at Epcot? Or the magic of the festive season? Only you can answer that but there are things that can help you make your decision. Highly recommended is the WDW Prep School Crowd Calendar. This is published for the year in advance from September to August. Another fun way is to check the MDE app (My Disney Experience) a the time of year you are interested in going to see what the wait times are like. The higher the wait time, the busier it is!

And of course, lots of us like checking the app just to imagine we are there 🙂

Ultimately, the best time to go to Disney is whenever you can! It is just best to be prepared for crowds and heat.

When is your favourite time to go? Let us know below.