Headed to Disney World in 2017? We think it’s gonna be a good year to go! (But we’re biased – we think any year is a good year to go to Disney World!). We’re putting together our vacation guide for the coming year early, to help you plan your 2017 trip more easily, so you can know what to expect during the time of your trip.
-Pandora at Animal Kingdom
We don’t have an exact date on when Avatar Land will be open at The Animal Kingdom, just that it should be in Summer 2017. (TELL US WHICH MONTH, SO WE CAN PLAN DISNEY!!) Either way, Pandora is going to be phenomenal (if the floating mountains are any indication) – and we will be making a special trip to see it.
-The Edison at Disney Springs
The Edison will open in spring of 2017 at Disney Springs, and will be themed after a 1920s Power Plant. From what we hear – this venue will feature live entertainment, including cabaret and music.
-Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot
Epcot’s Flower and Garden Festival will run this year from March 1st to May 29th. We love the Flower and Garden Festival, as it fills Epcot with beautiful flowers, gardens, topiaries – and of course food and beverage stands. You can read our guide to the Flower and Garden Festival here.
-Fourth of July Festivities
Many people will tell you that the Fourth of July is a terrible time to visit WDW – they’ll say that the crowds are crazy and the heat is horrendous. None of these things are untrue, but we love the festive atmosphere, and out of this world fireworks shows at the parks on Independence Day. You can read our guide to the Fourth of July in the parks here.
-Food and Wine Festival at Epcot
Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival hasn’t come out with it’s official dates yet, but the event normally runs from mid September to mid November, and for any food-lover (or glutton, like us), it’s on the not-to-be-missed list. We think any event celebrating eating massive amounts of great food from all around the world, while enjoying cocktails, should be heralded as a good thing. You can read our guide to the festival here.
-Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party
The Halloween Party runs from the beginning of September to the end of October. It’s a hard ticket event (which means you have to purchase your ticket for the event separately from the tickets you already have for your vacation). You can read our blogs about the party here, to decide if it’s worth it for your family (we think it is!).
-Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is another hard ticket event that requires a special ticket to attend. The party runs from early November to late December. This is our favorite event that Disney puts on – its full of Holiday cheer, characters dressed in their Christmas best, and our favorite Disney parade. You can read all about the party here.
-Holidays At Walt Disney World
The Holiday season begins at WDW as soon as Halloween ends, and lasts until after New Years. Every park gets into the spirit differently, as well as Disney Springs celebrating, and all the different resort being decorated to the brim. The Holidays are our favorite time of year to visit WDW, and we encourage everyone to try to visit at least once during Christmas.
-Run Disney Events
I’ll be honest, David and I aren’t huge runners – unless we’re running for rope drop, or a Dole Whip. Usually the only marathon you can find us doing is on Netflix. However, people LOVE Run Disney Events, and we would be remiss not to mention them. The Run Disney Events for 2017 are as follows.
Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend – January 4-8th
Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend – February 23 – 26th
Star Wars Half Marathon – The Dark Side – April 20-23rd
Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon November 2 – 5th
2017 should be a great year to visit Walt Disney World – attendance was down this past year, and should continue to be down this next year – so if you’re looking for it to be a little less crowded on your trip, now is your time to go. When David and I were there this summer, during peak vacation time, there was virtually no one there. We can sit around and debate why this is happening, and whether it’s a good or bad thing, but we’ve seen less people there on our last few visits – we think that this trend will hold during this next year, and will lead to discounts. There’s never a bad year to visit WDW, but we think that 2017 will be an especially good year for a budget savvy traveler that likes to avoid crowds.