Hello! My family is planning a trip to Disney World well in advance (2020). we are going to be a larger group of 6 adults and four children. We are coming from Canada and trying to decide if we should visit the end of November/first of December after Thanksgiving. This would be nice as we would get to see the Christmas decorations?! Our other option was mid February sometime before President’s Day to avoid that rush. We would like to visit during a down time as we have young kids and want as little lines as possible 
i am looking for any suggestions or opinions as to when we should go! Thank you!!
I’m planning on going the week after Thanksgiving in 2020 as well, so just don’t cut in front of me in any lines and everything will be fine.
Seriously, though, I just took a trip in September and the crowds probably don’t get much lower than that, but the heat is terrible. I went at the end of January 2016, and the weather was great, but the crowds were a bit higher, but the cool temps made it easier to deal with crowds and a little longer lines. I have never been there with the Christmas decorations up, which is why we are going the week after Thanksgiving next time. The weather should be great, and based on past crowds, I think the crowds will be similar to the January/February time. I expect the weekends to be a little busy but the weekdays should be light.
Truthfully, I don’t think you can go wrong with either of those choices. My only word of caution is to watch your expectations. People say time and again that there is no slow time at Disney World anymore and they’re right. During “lower crowd” times, you should still expect a 30-60 minute wait for headliners (excluding FOP and Slinky Dog - they’ll be longer). Plus, who knows what will happen to crowd levels after Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge opens next year. I think as long as you go into it with realistic expectations and a good plan, you’ll have a blast no matter what the crowds are.
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Great thank you for you both for your responses!
The weather was another reason why we choose those times of year compared to September. We were in Florida last year in April (in Tampa) and did Busch Gardens one day and it was not enjoyable due to the extreme heat. We would rather see Disney in more mild weather less chance of cranky kids (and parents!) that way!!
Another thing to consider are the park hours. I don’t know if they’re the same during those two timeframes or not; I do know that park hours are shorter during less crowded times of year than during peak times. Also, there are the Christmas parties to potentially consider. I don’t know much about them, but they can cause some parks to close extra early. (On the flip side, it’s a relatively unique thing to do, if you’re interested.) Basically, I’m not much help but those are some things worth looking into.
Thank you Beth! That is a great point about the Christmas season and hours in general! I will take a look at that a for sure! Thanks for three help!!
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Between Thanksgiving and Christmas is my favorite time to go. I LOVE all of the decorations and holiday activities, the crowds are “typically” lower, and the weather is my ideal for WDW. If the decorations are not important to you, Feb would be just as nice (although there may be more refurbs going on).
Thank you! Seeing all the decorations would be an added bonus for sure I would think and would make it extra special I think this sounds like a great time of year! I also wasn’t thinking about refurbishments being higher in February compared to this time…so that is a great point as well thank you!!
I have been there both right after Thanksgiving and early feb (gone before presidents day crowds). Both were light crowds - very. Nov trip had cold snap with 30degree nights and never needed more than a sweatshirt on our Feb trips - so you never know what the weather would bring. We prefer going in Feb to leave the cold NJ weather behind. Also always so busy in the fall that we miss out on too many fun holiday activities. But do have to say it was incredible to see the Christmas decorations.