WDW in February

[Twoboos]

How insane is it to go to Disney during February vacation week (President's Day weekend, Feb 16-20)?

Would it be all 10 crowd levels? Is it just stupid to do?

Tell it to me true. ;)

[klwa]

Based on the crowd calendar at easywdw, it looks like the crowds will be similar to what we dealt with at Spring Break last year. http://www.easywdw.com/category/calendar/02-february-2015-crowd-calendar/

It was more crowded by far than when we had gone in early December 3 years before, but it was still very manageable, so long as you have a plan.

[Fairy]

Based on the crowd calendar at easywdw, it looks like the crowds will be similar to what we dealt with at Spring Break last year. http://www.easywdw.com/category/calendar/02-february-2015-crowd-calendar/

It was more crowded by far than when we had gone in early December 3 years before, but it was still very manageable, so long as you have a plan.

Well there goes my intention of going to Disney the weekend after Thanksgiving weekend. Isn't that supposed to be the most dead of the year? Not according to that calendar. Meh.

[brittone2]

We went in early Feb in 2014. We were there Feb 2-10 and overall crowd levels were quite low and manageable. We specifically wanted to avoid President's Day week after looking at the calendars. I believe some discounts were also not available during that week vs. earlier in Feb.

[SnuggleBuggles]

My experience was with DL but we hit the park on Thursday before Pres. Day weekend. We stayed overnight and left Friday. Huge crowd difference at the hotel, DTD, shuttle...between the 2 days.

[KrisM]

Well there goes my intention of going to Disney the weekend after Thanksgiving weekend. Isn't that supposed to be the most dead of the year? Not according to that calendar. Meh.

I think you are reading it backwards. She is saying that their Spring Break trip was more crowded than the December trip by far. So Spring Break - crowded, December - not as much.

[Fairy]

I think you are reading it backwards. She is saying that their Spring Break trip was more crowded than the December trip by far. So Spring Break - crowded, December - not as much.

No no, I am saying that I took a look at the crowd calendar that was posted, my assumption being that my own trip I'd hoped to go on would bear out what I had assumed about WDW crowds. It did not. Now I'm not sure if we're going to go when I had hoped to or not, cuz I will not do those crowds ever again and had hoped for the deadest time of the year.

[RaisedByWolves]

I suggest you pick a different date. We did Presidents Day weekend at WDW two years ago, and it was *really* unpleasant. We ended up leaving MK early because we just couldn't handle the crowds.


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[klwa]

No no, I am saying that I took a look at the crowd calendar that was posted, my assumption being that my own trip I'd hoped to go on would bear out what I had assumed about WDW crowds. It did not. Now I'm not sure if we're going to go when I had hoped to or not, cuz I will not do those crowds ever again and had hoped for the deadest time of the year.
Check out the write up for the days you were hoping to go. I think the parade taping at MK pushes the #'s up higher than they really play out at some of the other parks. That Sunday in particular: "Magic Kingdom is the most recommended Park. The short hours and lack of evening entertainment will cause a lot of casual vacationers to head elsewhere. We’re coming off a very busy day yesterday with the longer operating hours and both nighttime spectaculars. On top of that, Sunday is a major travel day for those on a standard weeklong Disney vacation. With the early close, virtually none of them will start out with an abbreviated day at Magic Kingdom. Few people that arrived on Saturday will also visit a theme park with a seemingly short day and no nighttime spectaculars. If you’re looking to visit Magic Kingdom over two days, then you may want to visit on a Mickey’s Party date and another day where you can enjoy the nighttime spectaculars. This coming Wednesday would be the least crowded day to take in the Electrical Parade and Wishes as well as enjoy the Magic Kingdom as it gets dark. If you’re planning just one day at Magic Kingdom, then you’ll need to weigh whether you’re willing to put up with heavier crowds in order to enjoy both nighttime spectaculars. While the 7pm close may seem like a truncated day, I can assure you that ten hours is a long time to spend in a theme park. If you arrive by 8:30am, you’ll be able to accomplish an amazing number of attractions in a short period of time if you head straight for Fantasyland or other important attractions, use FastPass+ in the afternoon when crowds peak, and visit the less popular attractions in the afternoon. Crowds will only diminish from 4pm to 6pm as people leave for dining reservations and other activities. Around 6pm you will begin to see an influx of people arriving for the Christmas Party, but they tend to congregate on Main Street waiting for their Party to begin, rather than heading for the attractions. Stay through 7pm because wait times will only decrease from their afternoon highs as it gets closer to 7pm. One thing about staying through 7pm is that at exactly 7pm (and possibly a couple of minutes before), the special characters will begin appearing for the Party. If you’re not planning to do the Party and have kids, you may want to leave around 6:30pm. Otherwise, your children may encounter a bunch of characters that they won’t be allowed to visit because you must have a Party ticket to get in line. There are no exceptions. Other than those minor inconveniences, this is going to be one of the three least crowded days of the week at Magic Kingdom."

[KrisM]

No no, I am saying that I took a look at the crowd calendar that was posted, my assumption being that my own trip I'd hoped to go on would bear out what I had assumed about WDW crowds. It did not. Now I'm not sure if we're going to go when I had hoped to or not, cuz I will not do those crowds ever again and had hoped for the deadest time of the year.

Oh, okay! Bummer. I will say when we were there in April, crowds of 4 and 5 were not bad at all. We had 1 day of 8 at AK and it was awful at times, but we still did a lot, but mostly right away or later in the day. Our 2nd MK day was a 7 and that was a lot harder to get onto things. We were happy our first day had been a 4 and it was quick to get on things.

[almostmom]

We went that week last year, and it was fine. Sure, it was crowded, but we had our plans. We still didn't wait in lines because we knew where to go when the parks opened, and what fast passes to get. If that's what works for you, go for it. We did avoid the parks with early or late hours, as we thought they might be most crowded on those days.