Worried - Late Feb / March - super busy

[NaturalNine]

Hi All

Originally had planned to arrive at DL Hotel on 1st of March - have got two nights booked there before heading to an airbnb close by.

Was toying with the idea of extending and coming a few days earlier and have noticed that all three resorts are sold out for the last few days of Feb and the first few days of March

Is this an indicator that the parks will be busier than expected? Everything I'd read to this point has late Feb thru to start of spring break as relatively quiet - sold out hotel rooms are maybe not congruent with this....

Thoughts?

 

[dshimel]

Best time to go.

Check park hours. Longer park hours = heavier crowds. Short hours = light crowds.

10a to 9p at DL? That is short, so low crowd expected.

 

[mamaofthree]

There's pep and cheer nationals that last weekend of February, being held in CA Adventure.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Here's a link to the 2017 DLR event calendar DIS users collaborate on in case you want to adjust your trip: http://www.disboards.com/threads/2017-calendar-of-events-school-breaks-and-dlr.3528760/

It's MUCH better than crowd predicting software as you can see conventions & park events.
(I'm not saying you should/n't adjust your trip, just providing info! I've never been to DL that time of year.)

 

[Abbey1]

This will be our third year in a row visiting the parks at this time (our trip this year is February 25th - March 1st). I'm not expecting the crowds to be terrible at all, but "crowded" is such a subjective thing. Some think that the parks are crowded even on a relatively low-crowd day. Compared to summer/spring break/Christmas crowds, that week should be a piece of cake.

 

[Steven G]

expect it to be packed, and if it's not, be happy.

I was there on a weekend and Monday at end of January, that touringplans had numbers from 2 to 6, but the lowest it got was an 8 after they adjusted. Isitpacked was wrong too. It was solid 10 all weekend, and 8 on Monday.
It was probably due to many things, one being the poor weather the previous weeks, but also the msep parade, and who knows what else.

It seems lately, the only thing that reduces crowds is poor weather, but all that does is make it worse once weather clears.

All that being said, we still managed to see and do everything in our list, which is really down to using fastpssses, getting aladdins oasis, and dessert party,and taking advantage of MM and EMH.. we did have to miss out on riding a couple ride Less times than we wanted, like RSR and space mountain. We even had time for tiki room.

 

[SMD]

I was there Thursday 2.5 hours before MSEP and Main St was packed. Crowd control was trying to break up a standstill in TL, probably didn't help that ST was down. The plus side was I only had to wait for about 15 people to get into AP Days, but they were out of buttons and photo op return times, so that was probably why. The lines to pay for things were ridiculous, especially at Star Traders. I was meeting friends for dinner but most of the ODV carts were closed and that seemed to make CS crowded. We probably could have fought across the parade route and found shorter lines in NOS, but we just waited for our AP popcorn near Town Square, and then when there was a break in the parade we crossed the route and went to a local bar off property. One of my friends went back the next morning to get the new week's AP button and said it was just as busy in the morning, and it was raining. It is a holiday weekend, but lots of schools have a ski week at this time of year.

Let's put it this way, if they're running MSEP at a time when it's normally more crowded than February, I don't expect the crowds for that to die down. If they were running the AP Days and So Cal ticket promotions at a typically more crowded time it would be impossible to move in some place. They're running those promotions now, and it's successfully bringing people to the parks. They will both still be around into the first week of March.

 

[crazyventures]

I noticed the same thing for my trip dates (March 6-11). Booked VGC through DVC but was toying with canceling/paying out of pocket for the Disneyland Hotel ... no availability for any of the 3 on-site hotels and even the surrounding hotels are crazy expensive!

 

[disneyland_is_magic]

I am convinced Disneyland is just always busy, this is not to discourage you, but reassure you that you haven't picked a "bad time" or missed out on running from ride to ride (which happens like almost never.)
It's all in our heads, seriously. For example, last year I had two FB friends (who don't know each other) both staying at the same resort, same week, same age of kids. One was posting about miserable weather, HUGE security lines, downed rides and was miserable. The other family was post after post of total dream come true Disney magic. It's all about preparation.
Make a plan, start walking so you are ready to run around like a champ, stay hydrated and have fun!!!!!

 

[NaturalNine]

We've previously visited this same time of year and compared to some "Busier" times did find previously that it didn't feel too busy at all.

The Cheerleading thing explains it, we experienced that last time also.

Thanks for the info

 

[MillauFr]

When is Disney not crowded any more? Its always crowded. I went in early November last year, usually a light period, and it was wall to wall people. 45 minute security lines to get into the park. Absolute madness.

 

[Whistlebee]

We will be here this same time period and am expecting it to feel moderately busy. With so many attractions closed and most of the entertainment dark (Soundsational, Pixar, WOC) the park will feel crowded even with less in attendance. Throw in AP Days and the So Cal ticket promotion and you have more people coming during what used to be a slower time period. I'm not expecting crazy crowds but it's certainly not going to be a ghost town either. I think if you go into it knowing what is closed and expecting decent sized crowds and having a general plan of what you'll do each day then you'll still have a great trip. I'm sure hoping we do!