crowd level President's Day week?

[Crazy4Disney72]

My 40th b-day is Friday, 2/24/12. DH and I are seriously considering going to DL to celebrate, probably either Tues-Sat or Wed to Sun of that week. In looking at park hours for past years' for the week of President's Day, I see that there are extended hours for actual Pres. Day and then DL is open 9-9 for Tues-Thurs of that week, and then 8-12 on Friday. Other Feb weeks have DL only open 10-8 weekdays except Fridays. Clearly they expect a busier week because of the holiday at the beginning of the week, but how does that typically translate into how crowded it feels, wait times, etc.?

I have never been to DL in Feb, but have been twice at the end of January and crowds were low. Within an hour or so of opening, I remember walking from Fantasyland to Frontierland and there was actually no one else there along big thunder trail. I have also had that experience on weekday mornings in mid-November. I am just curious how this February week is likely to compare.

Also, will WOC likely still be happening every night even though it's the off season? I know it did last year, but that was when it was still brand brand new, now that it's a year old, I'm hoping it still will be a nightly thing. I know F! and the fireworks will only be the weekend, and I'm really leaning towards T-F in the parks, going home Saturday but if I need two weekend nights to see everything, then it will have to be W-Sat in the parks, go home Sunday, but that will make work on Monday awfully hard because the flights we are looking at get in at 11pm and the airport is an hour away!

 

[skiingfast]

It seems like you have all of the right ideas.

The weekend will be very busy so it would be nice to avoid. WoC is scheduled to play in the offseason this September so it may be the same during weekdays in the winter too.

But during that time of year storms happen. You run a risk of F! and Fireworks being canceled due to wind and if you give up weekend days you risk giving up those shows. However if the wind comes with rain the park will be empty.

 

[mysteriouspnai]

We went President's Day Weekend this past year. It was forecasted as rain so we wore our wellies. Turned out to be nice and sunny To be honest, crowds were quite low, but that's a relative scale. Maybe it was due to low socal attendance b/c of forecasted rain? I must admit, the crowds picked up very slightly, but no more than 30 min wait max for any ride.... Maaybe 35 for Space Mountain

 

[KTR]

I went President's Day weekend in 2010. We went Thur-Sat and the holiday was that coming Monday. Thur was great at the parks, very low crowds. Friday wasn't bad either, though it got crowded at night. Saturday was insane. We spent most of the day in CA because DL was a zoo. I hopped over to DL at 11am to grab a FP for Indy and they were all gone when I got there. The weather was absolutely gorgeous so maybe the crowds were worse than usual.

 

[rainyday77]

I found last year to be a bit more crowded that previous years - but compared to high season the crowds were still not too bad. Like a previous poster stated half hour wait times. It may depend on weather. Last year the weather was beautiful. One year we had a day of rain which made walking on to a number of rides possible. Some schools have the week off making it a bit busier than normal though I'm not sure about the California schools.

 

[Crazy4Disney72]

Thanks for the responses! 30 min wait times are not bad at all, that gives me an idea of typical crowds. As for the rain, not that I would hope it rains, but it doesn't bother me. Many of my WDW trips have been in September, a month that gets a lot of rain in FL. Slogging around in the rain is no big deal to me at all. I remember it rained one whole afternoon of my Jan 05 DL trip. My DS and I almost had the entire park to ourselves, it was amazing how freaked out everyone out there gets over rain! If it cancels the shows, that's a bummer, but except WoC, I have seen them before.

 

[skiingfast]

Thanks for the responses! 30 min wait times are not bad at all, that gives me an idea of typical crowds. As for the rain, not that I would hope it rains, but it doesn't bother me. Many of my WDW trips have been in September, a month that gets a lot of rain in FL. Slogging around in the rain is no big deal to me at all. I remember it rained one whole afternoon of my Jan 05 DL trip. My DS and I almost had the entire park to ourselves, it was amazing how freaked out everyone out there gets over rain! If it cancels the shows, that's a bummer, but except WoC, I have seen them before.

I figured you would be ok with rain. But California is not. If during a vacation period it rains, people will skip the parks and like an explosion show up on the next sunny day. Even rain in the yard 20 miles away will keep people at home when it's dry in DLR, and so will a negative forecast.

Rain doesn't effect the shows, just a handful of attractions. It the wind that comes in a storm that may also produce rain that can effect shows. But WoC is much more tolerating toward wind than other night programs. Just be aware if the wind is coming at you, the spray can hit you.