Start Disney vacation midweek?

[WDWSaxonEducation]

Hello!
Is there any advantage in starting a Disney World vacation on the weekend versus midweek? The last two years we've taken Disney World vacations and arrived on a Wednesday both years. We went two years ago for the first time as adults, just my wife and I. In our ten years of being in a relationship at that point we had never gone on vacation, not even a honeymoon when we got married. So we actually just went as a couple. Our boys were only two and four, the older is on the autism spectrum and didn't feel they were ready yet due to their age and still feeling out how our older son would react to all the sensory stimulation at Disney. After our first trip, we immediately wanted to go back with our children lol. We felt a little guilty going without, but it was out first vacation and felt we needed to do it as a couple. We went back this year with the kids who loved the vacation and arrived on a Wednesday again. In the stages of planning another Disney vacation and wanted to see if anyone recommends starting their vacations on specific days and why.

 

[KJeff90]

I feel that the best rates for airfare are cheapest for me on midweek dates from LAX to MCO. I'm sure you may have a different way of getting there, so this may or may not apply to you. We also usually go on week long trips: so having a trip start in the middle of the week is like having the weekend start earlier, and then when we arrive the next weekend isn't too far away.

 

[WDWSaxonEducation]

I feel that the best rates for airfare are cheapest for me on midweek dates from LAX to MCO. I'm sure you may have a different way of getting there, so this may or may not apply to you. We also usually go on week long trips: so having a trip start in the middle of the week is like having the weekend start earlier, and then when we arrive the next weekend isn't too far away.

We always did Wednesday because airfare is cheaper and both happened to have Wednesdays off of work at the time. We always go for a full seven days. I was thinking maybe Disney resorts would charge more since most people probably start on the weekend but now that I have thought about it more, I doubt it

 

[fla4fun]

My days off are Wed-Fri, so I always check in Tuesday night and end my vacation on Saturday morning when I head back to work. I don't notice an appreciable difference than when I used to be off traditional weekends and checked in on Friday night and out on a Monday morning ten days later. So I don't think the hotel part will be much different. The only thing I can think of is that some of the promotional rates exclude the weekend nights, so if you are going mid-week to mid-week, you only have one weekend at possibly higher rates instead of two. However, there are big differences in airfare flying midweek, so if you fly that is definitely something to take into consideration.

 

[unrequited23]

The advantages and disadvantages are going to be personal to your situation. Which days do airlines in your airport fly non-stop to Orlando? Are flight times the same every day? Do you want to minimize time off of school/work? Will you go to a park on travel days? Do you work a traditional M-F work week?

We started our trip on a Saturday. Since that day tends to be an overall busy day for all the parks, but especially MK, we chose to use it as a travel day. We wanted to minimize vacation days and time out of school, so we had a 9 day Saturday-Sunday trip with 5 day tickets and 2 rest days. The agency we used offered the same rate for weekends as weekdays so that wasn't a factor for us.

Any day the has flights that work with your kids current schedule are great days to start a vacation.

 

[caliope]

We typically travel mid-week. I work part-time with flexible days and by traveling Wednesday to Tuesday, for example, I am able to get in work days during both weeks, with a nice vacation in between. DH also appreciates not missing an entire week from his office. We've found airfare to generally be cheaper, or at least the same, as traveling weekends.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

If it’s a summer trip we start midweek. We save money on flights and on higher weekend room rates.

If we do Wednesday to following Thursday it’s 9 days and we’re only paying higher fee of Friday and Saturday nights.

If we did Saturday to following Sunday we would pay higher weekend fees for Saturday night and the following Friday and Saturday nights.

 

[Disneylover99]

I think we've probably checked into a DW resort on every day of the week multiple times. It's pretty random for us. We've always had a great trip!

 

[no one]

We are arriving on a Wednesday in April. School vacation starts the following Sat in NE. Two years ago we went on a Sat that week and the airfares were insane. So this year much more reasonable on a Wednesday. An added bonus is that you get your FP and dining window before all those people going the vacation week. Of course depends on when you are going as to whether that will be much of an advantage.

 

[hllb]

The advantages and disadvantages are going to be personal to your situation. Which days do airlines in your airport fly non-stop to Orlando? Are flight times the same every day? Do you want to minimize time off of school/work? Will you go to a park on travel days? Do you work a traditional M-F work week?

We started our trip on a Saturday. Since that day tends to be an overall busy day for all the parks, but especially MK, we chose to use it as a travel day. We wanted to minimize vacation days and time out of school, so we had a 9 day Saturday-Sunday trip with 5 day tickets and 2 rest days. The agency we used offered the same rate for weekends as weekdays so that wasn't a factor for us.

Any day the has flights that work with your kids current schedule are great days to start a vacation.

We tend to do Saturday to Saturday as well. I don’t like crowds so don’t want to be in the parks on a Saturday. If you are there over a weekend, and want a resort day, do that on Saturday!

 

[Action City]

We always did Wednesday because airfare is cheaper and both happened to have Wednesdays off of work at the time. We always go for a full seven days. I was thinking maybe Disney resorts would charge more since most people probably start on the weekend but now that I have thought about it more, I doubt it

Weekend rates are Thurs, Fri, Sat and Sunday nights.

 

[AngiTN]

Nope, day you arrive makes no difference to anyone but you and your own personal plans and schedules. Like PP, we've arrived every single day of the week, and departed every single day of the week. Makes no difference. Disney is so busy with people arriving from all over the world, 24 hours of the day, 7 days a week. It's non-stop. No one day is more popular by any significant amount.

 

[1911]

I feel that the best rates for airfare are cheapest for me on midweek dates from LAX to MCO. I'm sure you may have a different way of getting there, so this may or may not apply to you. We also usually go on week long trips: so having a trip start in the middle of the week is like having the weekend start earlier, and then when we arrive the next weekend isn't too far away.

This is the only real reason I can see for starting midweek,airfare is such a large expense that saving money on it can allow for upgrades in other areas of your trip or may mean the difference in going or not going for some families. Tuesday and Wednesday typically are cheapest followed by Saturday.
We travel on Friday or Saturday only because we use the weekends to bookend our time off to maximize our time at our destination.

 

[kwdw]

This is all a personal thing. Cost of plane tickets and hotel rooms can factor into a decision, as can the number of vacation days someone has or someone's work schedule. I don't think it matters in terms of the quality of the experience you can have at Disney.

 

[WDWSaxonEducation]

Thanks for all of the responses! Arriving on a Saturday does seem like a good idea since we never go to the parks on our travel day. Good way to avoid the crowds, but we always use Saturday as a resort day for the same reason. We usually get in around 4pm, so we always visit Disney Springs the day we arrive. Definitely going to take everyone's advice before making a decision on what day to start.