ALERT! You May Want to CHANGE Your 2026 Disney World Vacation Dates

Are you planning a trip to Disney World in 2026? We know a LOT of folks have started planning trips now that Disney has released all those great deals and discounts! But have you thought about WHEN you’ll visit Disney World?

If you’ve already planned on certain dates for your trip, you may want to rethink them. That’s because there are going to be some dates that will be very crowded, and we wanted to warn you in advance before you ever set foot in Orlando. So let’s talk about the Disney World dates you should try to avoid.

If you’re planning a trip to Disney World on the following dates, we’re warning you now…you may want to change those dates.

Holidays and Holiday Weekends

It’s not a big secret that holidays and holiday weekends are always going to be pretty crowded in Disney World. If you’re wondering when those dates fall in 2026, we’ve got you covered. Avoid these dates, if you can:

- President’s Day Weekend (February 13th-16th)
- Easter Weekend (April 3rd-5th)
- Memorial Day Weekend (May 22nd-25th)
- July 4th Weekend (July 3rd-5th)
- Labor Day Weekend (September 4th-7th)
- Thanksgiving Weekend (November 26th-29th)
- Christmas Eve, Christmas, and Christmas Weekend (December 24th-27th)
- New Year’s Eve (December 31st)

These are the times when we generally see the most crowds in Disney World with high wait times for rides, entertainment, and even food.

Spring Break

The busy Spring Break travel period is expected this year from early March through early April. This is when we see crowds go up in Disney World because kids and college students are out of school for an entire week.

Sure, it might seem like a good idea to visit Disney World during Spring Break, but everyone else has that idea, too, so you’ll be battling the crowds and chaos.

runDisney Weekends

If there’s a runDisney event happening on a specific weekend of your trip, you’ll see more people in the parks than normal. Runners come from all over the world to participate in these events, and that means that they’re also going to be spending time in the parks. Here are all the runDisney events you’ll need to know about in 2026:

- Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend (February 26th-March 2nd)
- Springtime Surprise Weekend( April 16th-19th)
- Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend (October 22nd-25th)

Unless you’re a runner who’s participating, you might want to stay away from Disney World on those weekends.

Cheer and Dance Team Competitions

Cheer and dance team competitions that take place at Disney World also bring a LOT of people to the resort. You won’t just have to worry about crowds at the parks, though. You’ll also have to deal with crowds at some of the value resorts, where many of the competitors stay during this time. Here’s the schedule for 2026:

- National School Spirit Championship DI (February 6th-February 8th)
- UDA All Star National Championship and The Quest Recreational Championship (March 13th-14th)
- UCA All Star National Championship (March 14th-15th)
- Junior World & World Cheerleading Championships (April 22nd-April 24th)
- The Cheerleading Worlds (April 24th-27th)
- The Summit Championship (April 30th-May 3rd)
- The D2 Summit (May 8th-May 10th)

The competitors often spend their downtime at the parks, but if you’re staying at a value resort where they’re staying, you’ll also be hearing them early in the morning practicing their routines.

Reopening of rides and lands

A lot of Disney World is under construction right now, but 2026 will see one new reimagined area of the parks reopen, as well as some ride reopenings. Here’s what we know so far:

- Animation Courtyard in Disney’s Hollywood Studios is being reimagined at The Walt Disney Studios and is expected to open in late summer.
- Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster is getting a new Muppets theme, with the new ride expected to open in the summer.
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in Magic Kingdom is getting a major overhaul, with the ride closing on March 2nd and reopening in the spring.
- Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin is also getting a huge update and is expected to reopen in the spring

These reopenings are likely to bring BIG crowds to the parks to check out what’s new with this land and rides. We’d suggest staying away if you can.

Summer

The summer, in general, is going to be HUGE in Disney World, thanks in part to all of those reopenings. Summer can also be miserably hot and humid, so you’ll also have to deal with the weather. And, oh, did we mention it’s also hurricane season? So booking a trip in the summer could also mean issues with hurricane-related closures, if and when they happen.

If you can avoid visiting Disney World in the summer, you’ll avoid the worst of the hot weather and the chance of severe storms.

So if you can plan your trip for any other dates throughout the year, that’s what you should do. Now, we know that just may not be an option for you, and if that’s the case, we’ll keep giving you our best tips to deal with Disney World crowds and heat. So check back with AllEars again soon for more.