The days of Disney World having an “off season” are OVER.
Disney World can be a crowded place!
For decades, there was prevailing wisdom that Disney World had “on” and “off” seasons, with some periods of the year being much busier than others. However, in recent years, the whole concept of the “off season” has seemingly disappeared, as the parks remain crowded, yet consistent almost year-round. According to one of Disney’s highest-ranking executives, that’s on purpose.
Recently, Chairman of Disney Experiences Josh D’Amaro appeared at a question-and-answer session at the MoffettNathanson Media Internet & Communications Conference, and spoke about how Disney has actively attempted to spread out guests over the year using dynamic pricing methods.
IE, times and dates that are traditionally more popular have higher prices, while those that were part of the traditional “off season” have prices on the lower end of Disney’s price range.
Josh D’Amaro at Destination D23, 2023 ©Disney
D’Amaro said, “One of the things that I think we’ve done very well through our pricing strategies is we’ve taken seasonality, which used to look like a heart rate monitor, and we’ve flattened that out. So in periods of lower demand, we’ve offered more flexible pricing to again invite those families in and fill the demand up. And in periods where we have an incredible amount of demand coming at one specific day, we obviously use pricing levers to maximize the value for that day and also control crowding.”
Holiday crowds at Hollywood Studios
This flattening has led to busy times like the Holiday season, Spring Break, and the early summer — while still crowded — to be more manageable, while bringing more guests during periods including the late summer, and post-Holiday/pre-Spring Break weeks.
Crowds at Cosmic Rewind
The days of Disney World having a defined “off season” are a thing of the past, and according to Josh D’Amaro, that has been an intentional move on Disney’s part. Stay tuned to DFB for more on Disney’s crowd patterns.
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I’ve been saying this for years. WDW is always crowded, now it’s just a matter of degrees of intensity.
It’s still less crowded and less crazy in the traditional ‘off’ times. It’s why Disney continues to offer discounts, sometimes very big discounts, for those times. It’s still worth planning to visit at less crowded times, if that’s something that is possible and important for you. For those who can remember when you could go almost any time of the year but summer and basically walk on to almost any ride, yes, those days are gone. But if crowds matter to you, it’s still possible to plan to minimize them.