Families Are SKIPPING Disney World This Summer — Here’s Why

For many families, summer is the most logical time to go on vacation. School’s out, the weather is nice, and those holiday weekends make it easier to take off work. Often, Disney World sees a spike in park attendance come summer, so it’s no surprise that many families plan to visit Orlando between June and August. 

EPCOT

Although summer is a popular time of year for Disney World, some may be questioning their summer plans in the parks this year. Let’s talk about it.

1. Rising Cost of Genie+

This April, Genie+ (Disney’s FastPass+ replacement) cost as much as $35 per person, per day. Ever since Disney introduced surge pricing for Genie+, we’ve seen the cost of Genie+ vary from $15 to $35 depending on the crowd level and time of year.

And that’s not even including Individual Lightning Lanes, which require an extra, separate fee to skip the line for Disney’s most popular attractions!

Genie+

Many guests may be hesitant to visit the Disney parks this summer, given Disney’s history of raising the price of Genie+ during the busy times of the year. Could the price of Genie+ exceed $35? We don’t know! With such a high added cost to contend with, larger families may choose not to visit Disney World this year. 

2. Disney’s Park Pass Reservation System

The Park Pass Reservation System has been a divisive topic of conversation for many Disney fans. In short, the system requires guests to make a reservation before entering a specific park, and guests must visit that same park before being able to park hop starting at 2PM.

Magic Kingdom entrance

Recently, Disney announced that the Park Pass Reservation System will be going away for those who have date-based park tickets. This means that people who buy theme park tickets that are linked to a specific date (or set of dates) will no longer need park passes to get into the parks. The thing is, this rule change will not start until January 9th, 2024.

Entrance to Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Because of this news, some travelers may decide to wait until 2024 to visit Disney World. If your family visits Disney World once every few years (and does not like using the Park Pass Reservation System), it might make sense to wait until 2024 for that big vacation.

Click here to see the full details of Disney’s new Park Pass Reservation rule change

3. No Disney Dining Plan This Summer

The Disney Dining Plan has not been available for a long time — it’s been YEARS since guests have been able to pre-pay for their Disney meals and take advantage of the Dining Plan service.

Dole Whip

If you’re unfamiliar, the Disney Dining Plan is a pre-purchased expense that is added onto a Disney Vacation Package (note that you must be staying at a Disney-owned-and-operated hotel and have purchased at least one park ticket per person). Then, during your vacation, all you have to do is head to a restaurant on the DDP list, eat, and scan your card! 

A top-tier snack

Now, we FINALLY have a return date! January 9th, 2024 marks the day that the Disney Dining Plan will officially return. 

Skipper Canteen

According to Disney, both the Quick Service and Standard Disney Dining Plans will be the only options to return (for now), and these plans must be booked as part of a Disney hotel package.

Ocean Moon Bowl at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

For those that are HUGE fans of the Disney Dining Plan, it might make the most financial sense to postpone a summer vacation until 2024, when the Dining Plan is back in action. If you and your family miss being able to scan that Disney Dining Plan card, you might want to skip that 2023 trip and start planning a vacation for next year!

Click here for the full details of the Disney Dining Plan

4. Too Crowded

Let’s face it: Disney World is not your local run-of-the-mill amusement park. It’s one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world! With such a famous reputation, it’s been BUSY in the parks and resorts lately. 

It can get CROWDED in the parks!

Some may chalk those extra crowds up to the collective need to travel after the pandemic, while others may attribute the crowds to all of Disney’s new attractions and offerings. No matter what the case is for all those extra people in Disney World, it’s safe to say that the parks have seen some big crowds lately.

Look at all those people!

Families that want to avoid crowds may opt to visit Disney World during a slower time of year, like January or February. We typically recommend avoiding holidays if you want to keep the crowds at bay. With that in mind, some may be reconsidering a trip to Disney World around the Fourth of July this year. 

5. It’s Hot. 

Finally, we’ll end with an obvious one. Many people avoid Central Florida altogether in the summer due to the HEAT! If you don’t enjoy sweating, baking in the sun, or burning your skin on hot pavement, you should stay far away from Disney World in the summer.

Or you could just stay in the pool the whole time!

On any given day in the summer, the temperature can exceed 100° — and that’s not even factoring in the humidity! Take it from us. The Florida sun can be brutal, especially if you’re not used to it. If hot, hot weather isn’t your thing, you might want to consider a trip to Disney World in the fall instead.

Those pool chairs fill UP in the summer!

Disney travelers have TONS of different reasons for booking their trips to Orlando, and no two families have the same ideas about what’s best! If you’re planning a trip to Disney World this year, you might want to think carefully about what time of year works best for you and your family. In the meantime, we’re always on the lookout for the latest Disney news, so stay tuned for more!

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Oh boy, planning a Disney trip can be quite the adventure, and we totally get it! But fear not, dear friends, we compiled EVERYTHING you need (and the things to avoid!) to plan the ULTIMATE Disney vacation.

Whether you're a rookie or a seasoned pro, our insider tips and tricks will have you exploring the parks like never before. So come along with us, and get planning your most magical vacation ever!

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Are you planning a trip to Disney World this year? Let us know in the comments!

The post Families Are SKIPPING Disney World This Summer -- Here's Why first appeared on the disney food blog.

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