A common question that gets asked of Disney World regulars like us is, “When is the best day to go to the parks?” What they really want to know is when to go to Disney without having to deal with the crowds and crazy long wait times. Nothing can spoil a day faster than long lines, especially during the hot summer months.

One common piece of advice we see Disney regulars giving is: just go during the “slow times” of the year. Well, guess what? There are no slow times of the year! This is Disney World. Sure, there might be days that are slower than others, but even on those days the parks feel packed. Occasionally, you might get lucky and hit a random slow day because of the weather or just from chance, but there’s no way to predict those days in advance.

What we recommend is to find a day when one of the parks closes early. If you check the park hours and come across a day when a Disney park closes early, make a reservation, pronto. This happens more frequently that you might expect, for a variety of reasons like private parties, cast member parties, filming events. To check, open the MyDisneyExperience app, click the hamburger icon at the bottom, and go to “Park Hours & Info”. Scroll through the dates to look for opening and closing times.

To give you an example of what to expect, we went to Epcot today when the park closes at 5 PM due to a private organization buyout. The wait times were surprising low and the food lines were practically non existent. The wait times for Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure and Frozen Ever After were both under 40 minutes, which almost never happens. Other rides like Soarin’ Around the World, Spaceship Earth, and The Seas with Nemo and Friends were walk-ons much of the day. The festival food booths had no wait. We walked right up to the register most of the time. Even the Starbucks was a quick 2-3 minute wait until the coffee was in our hands. What!?

Here are some things to be aware of. Animal kingdom closes early for the sake of the animals but still has long lines. That’s just Animal Kingdom for you. Magic Kingdom closes early during ticketed events like Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party and can still be quite crowded, but definitely less than full days. The same goes for Jollywood Nights at Hollywood Studios. Lastly, you’ll have better luck looking at weekdays than weekends.

Good luck!