If you want to have the best Disney World vacation possible, the trick is to be prepared! And that process starts months before your trip.

You’ll need to think in advance about where you want to stay and book your hotel quickly before the rooms fill up. You’ll want to make your dining reservations as soon as you hit that 60-day mark so you get the best options. But perhaps most importantly of all — you need to make your Disney Park Passes in advance so you can actually get into the theme parks!

There’s a lot going on at Disney World in 2023, which means that there will be some days when the parks are VERY crowded. To make sure you can get into the parks on those days, it’s a good idea to make your reservations as far in advance as possible. So today we’re breaking down the dates you need to go ahead and book your Disney Park Passes for now!

Major Holidays

The first category that you need to book Park Passes in advance for is probably one that you guessed — major holidays! Dates like Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Year’s Eve, and 4th of July often fill up weeks or months in advance, especially for Magic Kingdom.

On those holidays, Disney often offers special celebrations in the parks, whether that be fireworks, parades, snacks, or character meets. And there are thousands of people interested in visiting to check them out! So if you’re planning on visiting during one of those holidays, make your Park Passes as soon as you possibly can.

It’s also a good practice to reserve the days surrounding those holidays in advance. If people are planning on visiting on 4th of July, then it stands to reason that there will be more people than usual in the parks on the 3rd and 5th of July as well! The week between Christmas and New Year is often the busiest week of the year, so you’ll want to treat those days the same as you would the actual holidays.

Long Weekends

We already discussed the major holidays, but we also have to mention the “smaller” ones! This is the category of holidays that usually end with a long weekend off of work or school for most people. Things like Memorial Day, Labor Day, Columbus/Indigenous People’s Day, and the like. Basically, if it’s a holiday that they automatically print in calendars or load into your phone, be prepared for crowds in the parks.

Anytime there’s a 3-day or 4-day weekend available, Disney World will be significantly busier than usual. Earlier in 2023, we hit some record crowds and Genie+ pricing during Presidents Day weekend. And Park Passes were pretty hard to come by from Friday-Monday.

If you’re not in school and you don’t have a job that halts for government holidays, then you might forget about these key dates. We recommend taking a glance at the calendar when planning your trip to see if any long weekends fall during your vacation. If they do, make sure to get those Park Passes ASAP.

Opening Dates

In 2023, there are several new additions coming to Disney World, which means that you’ll need to prepare for opening dates! We saw Magic Kingdom fill up FAST for TRON Lightcycle / Run’s opening day, and Hollywood Studios was rather busy on the day that Roundup Rodeo BBQ first opened. Any time a new ride, attraction, or restaurant is introduced to the parks…expect things to be crowded.

Later this year, the EPCOT transformation will be completed with the addition of Journey of Water — Inspired by Moana, CommuniCore Hall, CommuniCore Plaza, and the middle of World Celebration. Disney hasn’t announced an opening date for this yet, but EPCOT Park Passes will be in high demand when they do!

Disney Holidays

Besides the official holidays, there are also Disney holidays that tend to make the parks more crowded. This was definitely the case when Disney World celebrated its 50th Anniversary on October 1st, 2021, and we’re already wondering if things will be the same for the big 100th Anniversary this year.

On October 16th, 2023, The Walt Disney Company as a whole celebrates its 100th Anniversary. Celebrations began at Disneyland Resort at the beginning of the year, but we know that there will eventually be more offerings on the east coast as well (like a NEW fireworks show at EPCOT). Whenever those celebrations kick off, you’ll want to go ahead and snag a reservation to whichever park you want to visit.

Festival Opening Weekends

One of our favorite events to check out on opening day is the EPCOT festivals! There are four different ones throughout the year and we’re usually there on day 1 to eat ALL the new food and share the excitement live. But we’re not the only ones — EPCOT is pretty popular when a festival kicks off!

If you want to visit EPCOT on the opening day or opening weekend of a festival, you might want to reserve your Park Pass well in advance. There’s a chance that the park could fill up with lots of hungry guests! People who live near Disney World especially like to head to EPCOT on the opening weekend of festivals to try all the new food!

runDisney Race Weekends

Have you ever been to Disney World during a runDisney race weekend? It can be absolute mania! Thousands of people travel from near and far to compete in these races, and they often bring their families with them so that they can visit the parks afterward.

There are multiple runDisney events throughout the year, including the Springtime Surprise in April, the Wine & Dine Half Marathon in November, the Walt Disney World Marathon in January, and the Princess Half Marathon in February. Take a look at the dates for these races when planning your trip and see if they coincide with your travels.

Non-Disney Events

There are many non-Disney events that can affect your experience in the parks, and those crowds are often the thing that catches visitors most off-guard during their vacation. Cheerleading competitions are a major example of this — usually drawing in teams from all around the country to compete at nearby convention centers. During this time, you’ll see the parks flooded with teens in matching outfits.

Other great examples are events organized by Disney fans like Dapper Days or Gay Days. These aren’t officially sponsored by Disney, but they have their own websites with schedules for when they’ll be celebrating in the parks. If you’re planning some days that overlap with theirs, then you’ll want to make those Park Passes ahead of time.

When booking your trip, it might be a good idea to do a little Google search and see what events are happening in the Orlando area that weekend, just in case. You may want to avoid the parks on the days that those guests are visiting, or you might just need to do some extra planning.

Those are some of the big dates that you need to make Park Passes for ASAP in Disney World! We’ll keep you updated with more details on the busy days in 2023 as we get opening dates for new additions and start dates for big celebrations. Stay tuned to DFB!

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Are you planning on visiting Disney World during any of these times?

The post ALERT: Book Disney World Park Passes NOW For These Dates In 2023! first appeared on the disney food blog.