Ahh Presidents week is Feb half term 2013 :(

[torillien]

I was getting ready to book - It was all planned - a week in february 2013 for me and Emily staying on site with dining plan and a day out at sea world - all for less than a week at DLP at xmas ... then a friend who lives in Orlando mentioned Presidents week - which falls on our Feb half term - when I was due to go By all accounts it is one of the busiest week of the year and is a complete no go .. I didn't even know about it - lucky she told me now and not in 2 weeks or I would have booked it.

I then looked at our next half term (late may / early june) but that falls on Memorial day weekend ... my only other option is October half term .. will it be busy ?? I was planning on flying out on the 25th for 8 nights just me and the small person who will be 5 and a half.

I have only ever been to WDW in late january / early feb when the parks are very quiet and on my own with no Emily - going in the summer holidays is a no go mainly due to the heat - I burn even with factor 50 sun block and Emily is very fair and also doesn't cope with heat well, the price is another factor and I just can't get time off work.

So is October Halloween week do-able? we will only have 6 park days, I am guessing we'll spend most time in MK and HS with a trip to AK one day and Epcot on another day - is that enough time to fit everything in. Emily loves meeting her friends, meet and greets and autographs are what she loves to do and we were planning on doing a fair bit of character dining - will we have enough time to do this?

I am thinking that may be I should stick to DLP .. but I would love to take her while I have the money to do so, especially to take her to sea world.

I am a bit lost at what to do now .... any experiences of october would be gratefully recieved

Thanks in advance

Shaz

 

[tinks_1989]

Ah you just made me panic we are going in February but we fly home on the 14th phew just checked presidents day is the 18th hopefully we will be out the way before it is busy!

We have been in half term October I think it's do able if of course you PLAN well and of course you do why else would you be on here? Making the most of EMH will certainly help! October is personally my favourite time to go but with DD still being so young I am worried about the humidity with her and have decided to go for February and with 11 trips this will be my first time going that time of year very excited

 

[torillien]

I do like to plan like a demon .. that is why I want to make sure before I book

we'll be using all the EMH we can and staying on site will help with planning which parks we do when .. I am still umming and ahhing about weather to do another DLP and wait another year before I take my DD to WDW - but I have promised her we can go to WDW and Seaworld ... and we've done DLP 3 times in the past 18 months ..

what to do

 

[Disney Princesses LW]

I have been both with my little girl who is also aged 5 and would given the choice go Florida WDW with her. I love DLP and am going back this October half term BUT florida is bigger and if you can afford it go go go. However when We have went twice to WDW both times was September and it was quiet, I did DLP last half term (february) and it was busy. But still my choice would be if you can afford it go Florida

 

[ILOVEDLP]

We are going 11th till 25th feb.I new it was Presidents day on they 18th before I booked (been waiting to book for ages).I have read up about it from what I have read over the last few weeks / mths the day /weekend will be busy in disney but other parks are not to bad.I was thinking we will do universal that day.This is only what I have read no real experience. We are going for the boys birthday so wanted to go for that and they only need a week out of school.Half terms are always busy.
Rachael

 

[torillien]

I am feeling so much better now .. thanks SO much guys .. Feb would be the perfect time for us to go .. I am thinking of doing Sea World on the presidents day monday .. and we will make the most of any EMH that are going ..

thank you guys .. I knew I could rely on you for some decent advice

 

[ILOVEDLP]

I will see you there then

 

[Elise79]

We were there for Presidents week this year. Yes it was busy however as long as you are at the park for opening you should be able to do everything you want to.

I did EMH morning at Epcot with just me and DD and by 11.30 we had done Soarin, TT, Nemo, Living with the Land, Journey & seen the characters in the character spot and stopped and had a snack at sunshine seasons!

So it is doable and our weather was fab!

 

[tinks_1989]

I do like to plan like a demon .. that is why I want to make sure before I book

we'll be using all the EMH we can and staying on site will help with planning which parks we do when .. I am still umming and ahhing about weather to do another DLP and wait another year before I take my DD to WDW - but I have promised her we can go to WDW and Seaworld ... and we've done DLP 3 times in the past 18 months ..

what to do

To me even though I love DLP (just as you do) If I had to choose it would always be WDW!

I'm sure DD would be ok in October. October is such a good month you could do MNSSHP which is brilliant!

I hope you manage to sort something out!


X

 

[strawberry blonde]

We usually go every 2 years in Feb but tend to do the other parks. The boys prefer Universal and Busch Gardens. The queues haven't been too bad but we always hit the malls on Presidents Day to take advantage of the sales Don't know about Disney.

 

[upsydaisy]

We were there that week this year and it was busy but nowhere near unpleasant....in fact it coincides with half term for us in 2013 too....but we liked it so much we're going again!

 

[Wills Mom]

We've been during Presidents weekend twice now. It wasn't too bad once we stuck to our planned parks (we used the crowd calendar from Touring Plans) and we usually did early morning and then something other than the parks in the afternoon. Sometimes we went back to the parks in the evening for the fireworks etc but once we hit the parks early we got everything done that we wanted to do. It wouldn't stop me going by any means! I've been at the parks for Xmas and New Years and that was WAY busier!

 

[Pudding mum]

We are going that week too!!! Didn't know anything about president day till after we booked : but as it is scheduled time off work we were pretty limited lol we plan to do universal or sea world that day too. We are hoping the following will be quite quiet so we can do things we miss the week before

 

[diddldonna]

We are arriving on 18th feb for 11 days, it was the cheapest half term break but easier for us to sort out as a family. We have been at thanksgiving which was busy so I am not worried and I've spoken to many dis people who say just make sure you plan and avoid magic kingdom on the 18th and 19th as its when the locals are likely to visit. As we are going for 11 days it looks like the crowds get quieter after that.

 

[diddldonna]

Also for those who have been that week before, what is the weather like? What should we pack?

 

[LeaversOnTour]

We were there this year also. And whilst over the weekend its busy, it soon quitened down. I wouldnt let it put you off going during this time of year.

You just have to plan a little better for these days. We made sure we had done the "must do" in the build ups so that if the queues were massive we wouldnt bother.

I think the longest wait we saw was like 90 mins but this was for Toy Story Mania which is ALLLWWWAAAYYS busy.

We onlu managed to get on it this year after 3 visits :O) and we got to the front of the queue and it broke down. LOL. They did give us fast passes tho for when we came back.

We have been in October although not with the kids, and it was WAY busier than in Feb. Alot of Floridians drive up/down for Halloween.

 

[janiebubble]

I've been in February three times. Most recently this year ... we came home on the Saturday of Presidents Day weekend. It did get noticeably busier on the Friday and Saturday and Magic Kingdom was packed on the Saturday (lunchtime queue for IASW almost back to Haunted Mansion) but we still managed to do what we wanted - fastpassed Buzz, rode PeopleMover and Carousel of Progress whilst we waited for fp time (less than an hour out - standby 60 mins!) then ate at Columbia Harbour House - plenty of seating upstairs even though they were managing the lines downstairs. We watched the parade and headed off to the airport.

Weather wise - twice it's been lovely (1998 and 2008) - t shirt and shorts weather, this year the first couple of days were chillier - jeans and a hoodie - but we'd checked the weather forecast and were expecting this (unlike many of the English people we saw shivering in shorts and flipflops). Towards the end of the week it was in the high 70s so t shirts and shorts! Even on a cold day it was sunny and bright and so much nicer than being in the UK in February!

 

[LeaversOnTour]

Weather wise it was the hottest its been at this time of the year for the last few years.

In previosu years we needed coats in the evening where it was franly COLD. But this year, we all came back with serious sun tans which is a first for us at this time of year.

 

[tinks_1989]

Weather wise it was the hottest its been at this time of the year for the last few years.

In previosu years we needed coats in the evening where it was franly COLD. But this year, we all came back with serious sun tans which is a first for us at this time of year.

I really hope they have a nice February again. I need some sun. Having not had a proper holiday (3-4 days don't count as a holiday to me ) since September 2010 I am really looking forward to it x

 

[LeaversOnTour]

I really hope its nice in January, We are there from the 7th Jan to 4th Feb this time around which is early for us.

Just hope its not too cold. Kids 3, 2 and a baby in cold = Not much fun