The weather is so terrible here in Seattle I am spending a lot of time on the Disboards -- have to get some sun somewhere!
it is just miserable here today isn't it!
Do you mind if I hijack your thread and ask you a couple of questions on WDW? I know we have a trip in our future to WDW maybe in the next couple of years but I am pretty lost on where to start planning or how to even pick a time frame to go. Living in Seattle, I really like to stay home from July thru Oct to take advantage of the nicer weather. I am also not big on Christmas vacations away -- maybe when the kids get older I will change my mind. My kids normally have a break in February and then spring break. I probably need to avoid May travel because of the MSP. And the kids are usually out of school by the 20-something of June. So if you had to pick an ideal time to visit WDW using my time parameters would you go in February, spring break or the end of June? My kids have been to
Disneyland a ton so I am thinking that 4 days (one day at each park) is plenty. Would you agree? In addition to WDW, DS really wants to go to Kennedy Space center (which is really cool) and to Harry Potter.
Hijack away!
Here's my take/rambling thoughts in no particular order.
When to go
Really depends on when your spring break is. If you get a full week at Presidents, like we do, then your spring break might be ideal as it wouldn't be when most folks are (week before and after Easter). Weather wise, it's lovely. The E's spring break works well, though the rates are high they aren't easter rates. We haven't done it as the older kids school has a totally different break schedule so it hasn't worked but it's probable in the future we will use that time, if the schedule stays as is. There is some talk of getting rid of the Feb week off.
Presidents week (really fri-tues/weds) crowds are brutal, we did that one year (for all the reasons you've described above). It is doable but if that's when your Feb break is, and you can time it to be the days after P day...and into that next weekend, it will be far better. It is also pricier on the weekend itself. It can be cold. Or hot, or all of the above!
Avoid May, for the MSP. Which is kind of a bummer since that's when Star Wars weekends are but oh well. You won't know your weeks ahead of time enough to plan around it and not worth the stress. Memorial day weekend will have the same crowd issues, I'd avoid that.
Best deal that works with the school calendar around here for us, is not the best weather choice but it does work. Which is late August. Great weather here (if you forget about last summer) and icky there. That's when free dining typically is and better room promos, the parks are far less crowded as much of the east cost starts up mid month. But the weather is a bit bleh (hot, humid, rain, thunderstorms lol). Late June might have less rain and thunderstorms but the rates will be higher and it will be very crowded. School and sport is what has left us with our late July/early Aug trip this summer.
If you don't mind pulling them out of school though...Oct, Nov and March are great.
How Long
For me, to go all the way to FL, which takes a day each way(unless you do the red eye)...it isn't worth it for 4 park days. It is SO different than Disneyland...SO much bigger that one day per park, in my opinion isn't remotely enough. You've got 4 parks, downtown Disney plus the waterparks if that is of interest, plus all the other area attractions. For me, 7-12 days is what we look at (since you'll lose 2 to travel) and that allows for some down resort, pool and shopping time.
We did 7 nights/6 days in 2009, on the Presidents day trip(nightmare flight times) , didn't go to Universal or anywhere else and ended up frustrated with not enough park time and big crowds.
Our next trip will probably be an 7-8 night one. I'd like it to be longer but with the time of year we are planning on (new years), just not possible. It will probably be 2 Universal, 6 WDW.
Our 2010 trip was 12 nights, a red eye there and late direct back. 8 at WDW and 4 at Universal. That felt perfect to me and we didn't remotely see everything but might be a bit much for others. 2 of those days were non park days. Universal/Harry Potter is at least one full day and can easily be 2-3 but not more than that. Kennedy is a day and a chunk of that will be driving. Depends on the kids and how interested they would be in it as to whether it is worth the haul.
My personal advice is plan it around the Alaska direct flights. It makes SUCH a difference! It is the only non stop option.
Right now your options are:
outbound
1 flight daily, 8:45 am, arrives 5:16
Red eyes on Fri/Sat. (10:35pm-7;10 am or something like that) More expensive but to me, worth it as you make the time change and don't lose a day. It's not for everyone and didn't work for us this coming trip, we are on a connecting non stop instead (bleh).
return
2 daily I think. One super early in the morning. I don't know the time as I refuse to do it. LOL!
6:25pm, arrives 9:35 pm
I love this flight, it's the one I always try to book and the one we are doing in august. You get almost a full last day!
I hope you don't mind, but I felt the need to jump in! (we're all a little like that around here - always wanting to put in our 2 cents worth!) I say #1, go in February! Other than President's day, it is not very crowded. Spring break is awful for crowds.
The parks are so much bigger than Disneyland, that you should spend more than one day at each park. Although I suggest that perhaps one each for Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios might be okay, 2 each for MK and Epcot for sure. So if you have a week, that would still leave you a day to go to Universal (Harry Potter) or Kennedy. Kennedy is a pretty full day with the driving. I've not done Universal, so I can't really comment on that, but Cynthia has. We've done shorter trips and done one day at each park, and even though we've been there a bunch, it seems like we miss a lot. For your first trip, you'll want to give yourself enough time to do all the things you really want to do.
Hope that helps!
I vote for 1.5 at DHS and AK but that's just me! Lots of folks think of AK as a 1 day or even a half day park but we love it.
Typically we'll plan 1.5 at each park and then have "free" day where we just pick where we want to go based on what we didn't think we got enough of and then allow at least one resort day, or several half days. For me, the waterparks are only a half day.
Pod Person. I love it!
