Any thoughts on week of Feb. 26- March 4, 2017?

[Nutmeg2016]

Hello, everyone.

I’d really appreciate any feedback on the above dates (it’ll be me, husband and two young kids, probably staying at AKL).

I’m trying to find a balance of pleasant weather (not too hot/humid but major cold snaps also unlikely); moderate crowds; and parks running at regular steam (e.g. fewer attraction closures, transportation running relatively regularly).

From what I’ve heard this should be a great week, apart from:

- Tuesday, Feb. 28 is Mardi Gras. I’ve heard this could drive-up crowds a bit, I understand mainly because some schools in Louisiana are off that week- any thoughts on this?

- It’s potentially “tour group” season- is that accurate? I’m not totally clear on what’s meant by tour groups and the potential impact. . . ? Are they mainly adults? Families? Teenagers? I’m envisioning 30 people huddled around someone with a little flag. I can see that being a bit of nuisance, but are there more significant impacts?

We could really go any time of the year, so just want to make sure I’m making a solid choice.

Many thanks!

 

[Dreamport]

We have gone at the end of February the past handful of trips and found the weather to be very pleasant -- not too hot during the day and wonderfully cool at night. Jackets are brought only for seeing nighttime shows along water (Illuminations and Fantasmic). We're also wondering about the Mardi Gras crowds as we haven't been down when this coincides with the last of the month before. 'Tour Groups' seems to apply to large groups, often teenagers, from other countries who are guided by only a handful of adults and could be possibly a nuisance if heading to the same attractions. I haven't seen any tour groups during this time of year, maybe they show up later in the month, but I do believe the Flower and Garden Festival would start either at the end of the week or the start of the following one. We've always just missed this event.

Basically, despite looking at the same concerns as you, we're aiming for the same week because it looks best for us, too. At least you have the pleasant weather spot on. No matter when you decide to go, there will always be some sort of downside. Find what works best and enjoy!

 

[HopperFan]

It's a good week. After a couple MISERABLE trips in Jan/Feb with the BTG I decided to bump to the week you are going. It was great. The BTGs are basically from two countries. One goes back to school early Feb and the other later Feb. We found that going that week meant almost all of them were gone. The weather was great! I would def book that week again.

 

[Accident]

If pandora has been announced and it's opening after those date, I think it'll be fairly quiet If it's announced and opening before those dates, it's going to be a zoo.

 

[Nutmeg2016]

Thanks for the feedback!

Yes, great point re: opening of Pandora, which did occur to me, especially since AK will be a big focus of the trip (my 4 year-old loves all things animal).

From everything I've read, an opening by these dates seems pretty unlikely (?). I think I heard somewhere relatively recently (might have been here) that Disney's plan is to announce the opening dates around this time. I know it's pretty much all speculation at this point, so guess I just need to keep my fingers crossed and deal with it if it does happen while/before we're there. . .

 

[amberdc1987]

We are planning on going on the same week. We live in lower Alabama and our schools are out that Monday and Tuesday for Mardi Gras. Yes a lot of LA schools are out the same week, but there are a lot of Lower Alabama schools that are out also. I have read up a lot on it also and I hope it's going to be well for us to go at that time. The weekend of the 25-27 might be kind of busy because that is the weekend of the Princess Half Marathon. But from what i've read, most of those crowds will be gone by Monday or Tuesday.

 

[WhitneyMB]

We're planning on going from March 4-10, for many of the same reasons. I agree it should be a good time!

I've heard that there may be cheerleading competitions that happen around this time of year? Someone else might know the exact dates.

 

[Dreamport]

The weekend of the 25-27 might be kind of busy because that is the weekend of the Princess Half Marathon. But from what i've read, most of those crowds will be gone by Monday or Tuesday.

Now this we have ran into! Usually we arrive the Sunday of the final marathon and, yes, by Tuesday the crowds have diminished.

 

[Disneycolada]

Well dang, that's when we are going too!!

 

[beck00]

We are seriously considering moving our late fall trip to these dates. We're in Louisiana, and can use our "Mardi Gras/Winter Break" days off of school.

 

[Pmlocke]

That is the same time my wife and I travel every year now since 2009. We have found the weather to be perfect (75-82 every day) the chance of rain is slim to none and the crowds are less than summer or holiday events. I would like to say the crowds are non-existant like they were in '09 and '10 but attendance keeps increasing. Mardi Gras usually means you will see a lot of purple shirts, but the people from Louisiana are wonderful folks and present no problems. Once you start to get into March the crowds do increase. I would also stay away from the Presidents Day week. That is also a big crowd time.