Feb crowds/weather

[Mvtracey]

So me and my family are coming feb 8-12 and we don't usually come to disney that time of year so i'm wondering if there are any Feb vets out there that know what to expect ? Weather ?? and wait times??
We usually come sept and may so we are used to moderate crowds but not sure what to except also i usual have all the aspects of the trip booked already , fast passes and dinning , crowd calendars and everything , so this last minute is throwing me
Do i need to use fast pass plus in the mornings so I can get more through out the day after i have used the first 3 or do i book for nights as its always quitter in the morning ?? we are always there at roap drop so mornings are prime.....
Also what is the weather like at that time of year?? Do we need jackets at night/morning? Does anyone use the pools
Help me Please ...THank you

 

[wdwfanva]

DW and I have been 3 times in Feb. but a little later in the month. The weather can be all over the map, so pack some warmer clothes and if you go in afternoon to stay later at night, you may want to layer and/or have light jacket. Crowds are usually not bad ,but be prepared for some rides to be down for refurb. I doubt FP+ will be too hard to get for most rides. Just go and have a BLAST with M-I-C-K-E-Y !!!! And most resort pools are heated and people DO use them in Feb.

 

[stinkpickle]

We were there the last week February in 2013, and the weather was the best we've ever experienced in Florida. High 70's during the day, and low 60's at night...with low humidity all around. I don't know if that's common, or not. Crowds weren't too bad for slipping in between President's Day and Spring Break.

 

[schoen]

I have been to WDW in February when it was literally colder in FL than it was at home in MI. There is NEVER snow on the ground there though, and I have never had to scrape my car windows!

 

[2girlsmom]

I moved to Florida 3 years ago from Iowa. February crowds are generally light, with the exception of an uptick for Presidents day, etc when you MIGHT get to moderate, and sometimes the very end of the month starts to pick up with the early spring break folks. Still not anywhere close to the crowds in the summer, for example, though. Weather-wise, Florida is impossible to gauge. We have seen February temps with highs in the 40's during the day and upper 20's at night, we've also seen mid 70's at night and highs in the upper 80's during the day. The humidity is generally speaking MUCH lower in February, which is nice, but certainly you can and many people do swim in Feb, though of course not if you hit a cold snap so much.

 

[Luvchefmic]

I have been to WDW in February when it was literally colder in FL than it was at home in MI. There is NEVER snow on the ground there though, and I have never had to scrape my car windows!

Working the graveyard shift you'd be surprised how many times I DID have to scrape the car windows from frost. Had to use my employee ID card as I left that brush/scraper back in NY. February can be a really strange month, we can turn the heat on at night and the next day need to put it over to A/C. Found many frozen to death frogs and geckos too. Prepare for anything.

 

[Texas Mickey]

I had the DW and I scheduled for a November 2012 cruise from Galveston for her birthday. The ship caught fire two days before boarding. You may have seen it on the news. Anyways, we made last minute plans, got the airfare and headed to WDW. It was our first trip alone there without the kids or any other family. We had a blast!. It was upper 70s and we swam in the afternoons. Mornings were upper 50s and light jackets.

Not sure if that was typical weather but like I said we had a great time. Hope your trip is just as great!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

We've been in Feb many times.

Weather is often variable. You might get highs of 80, or you might get high temps that are 45+strong gusts. Likely, morning and PM temps will be on the cool side. So a HUGE downside of FP+ is that you have no idea about weather this far in advance. Weather has a huge impact on touring.

The other big consideration is that if any of the lower 48 are experiencing a blizzard, flight delays/cancelations are common. It doesn't have to be snowing in your location or FL. More than once, we've been stuck in FL for an extra 24-48 hours. Just be prepped financially for that possibility. Also consider pets back home, parking your car at the airport back home (buried in ice?), enough medication. Direct flights are a BIG bonus.

Likely, you will get at least one day that's nice enough to swim (min. high of 70 IMO), or at least dip in the hot tub. Plenty of mornings, I've seen steam coming off the pools! They are heated, but the hike from your room to pool can be frosty. Literally, we saw frost this past winter! A CM complained that his car wouldn't start! This is a major downside though of FP+. Previously, we could just swim on the day what was nice.

You will likely need to pack heavy, wear layers, wear your jeans more than once, Maybe need hats/gloves, winter coats. It's not just the temps, it's breezes and the fact that you are outdoors much of the day. It's not like a 15second trip to your car. Then again, we often want to swap into shorts in the afternoon.

We tend to wear sneakers, not open toe shoes in Feb.

On your dates, crowds will probably be pretty light. That's the good news. Consider not just wait times, but reduced park hours. Low crowds mean less night hours at MK. Also plan to do wet attractions in afternoon: Splash, Kali, or not at all. Another downside of FP+.

No matter the weather, you might have to venture a park if you want to do the e-rides with a FP. (Space MTn, Test Track, Soarin', TSM, etc.) Previously, on a chilly morning, we could delay leaving until the sun had warmed things up a tad. That meant we the difference of not having to carry an extra heavy jacket all day. Second tier attractions can be rescheduled, but top tier attractions may not have any FP left if you try for a same-day reschedule. Like 7DMT won't have any day-of FP.

That time of year, plan a mid-day visit to the hotel. Also, if you like to dress for dinner, consider it may be quite chilly after dark. We often swap from shorts to long pants.

The upside of cool/cold evenings is crowds will drop off. Ideally, I would book most FP relatively early in the day. Crowds peak 11-3pm. If you can tolerate cool evenings, many attractions will be near walk-on.

Still, winter is a good time to stay in an cuddle! You'll love the big lobby fireplace at Wilderness Lodge and AKL! After dinner at Boma, you can hop outside for a quick peak at animals, then warm up by the fire. Other resorts have outdoor firepits too! Any can be fun if you are dressed for it!

 

[karly05]

I've been there around your dates the past 3 years (always gone no later than Thursday before Presidents Day). These are my experiences:

Weather has been MOSTLY nice. I had two freezing cold (but sunny) mornings in 2012, and two days in 2014 that dripped rain all day (but not too chilly). The balance of the time (including my whole trip in 2013) was beautiful, no rain and highs in the 70s as the average predicted. I'm not a pool person, but have seen people in the pools in the afternoons on nice days. Be prepared for cold snaps, but hopefully you'll get good weather.

I have always found crowds quite manageable, even when I was there on Mardi Gras in 2013. Personally I've only wanted/needed FP for the most popular rides like Toy Story and Soarin' that always have lines. I have not been since the addition of 4th etc FP+, and only once for FP+ at all, so can't really advise on that.

My two biggest tips are: DO NOT go to Animal Kingdom on a cold day - not all the animals will be out (no bats on the tiger trail if it's below 55 degrees), and Kali will be closed. There is also a good chance Splash Mountain will be closed - I just saw today on this site that the current announced Splash closure is supposed to end on 1/30/15 - but they said that at first for 2014 then came back a few days later and extended it into March.

Overall I like February. I'm probably switching to April next year, mostly because I'm tired of worrying myself sick about winter weather travel issues at home (and tired of missing Splash - so yes, I want the credit if it's open in Feb next year because I'm not there. )

 

[YouGotaFriendInMe]

quick tips we learned the hard way...

-Take a JACKET (no matter the weather)
-Have a list of "extra things to do" if you get through your plans to fast (this could be resort visiting, re-rides, snack-crawls, shopping)
-Don't expect the park to be empty, but don;t be surprised when it is
-If MK has an extra magic morning hour use it (we did the entire Fantasyland in this hour)
-Wait times aren't always what is posted... The app may say 30 mins, the sign might say 30 mins, but Pirates might only take 17 mins..... we have a secondary time we check online. MEANING= dont skip a line because you think the wait is to long...
-Dont be upset of something is being refurbished/ closed.
-Enjoy yourself

-ps when we were there in Jan it was 30 degrees one morning (during that polar vortex) and they closed everest and railroad because it was to cold WAIT IN LINE all these people just turned and walked away, my husband waited 10 minutes after park opening and got front row/first ride...
-pps we might see you as we are going feb 4-10

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

I was wondering for the jacket, what type would you recommend? Sweatshirt or down winter jacket? I'm going the weekend of Presidents' Day. Also, I'm from MA so I'm used to being cold.

 

[SweetMissy]

We went in February a couple years ago and the weather was perfect. Yes, it was chilly in the mornings and nights but it was much better than dealing with the April and May heat we've dealt with over the last couple trips, lol. The week you're going should be ok with crowds. We went half of President's week and half into the next week and President's week is awful. Hubby and I are going the 1st week of February for a few days, looking forward to skipping out on dehydrating.

 

[Brian Noble]

The weather in February is predictably unpredictable. You will need a little bit of everything, but you won't know what you'll need for a particular day until about 36 hours prior.

 

[jk and ek]

we were there during those dates this year and will be there again during those dates this year. i haven't been to disney many times, but i will say that our most recent trip in feb. WAS the most crowded i've ever experienced it. that being said, we still got to ride everything we wanted to and had no issues with FP+ or dining reservations. weather overall was good. one super super crazy torrential downpour that caused the entire MK to turn into a lake and we were forced to go out in it w/ our baby because of the new dining cancellation policy and we didn't want to be charged for missing dinner at Be Our Guest.

other things to note: lots of closures, the huge crane taking the christmas lights down off the castle and the monorail was running drastically reduced hours (only a couple hours in the mornings and evenings).

but...obviously it wasn't so bad that we were deterred from returning!

 

[JohnDaleswife]

Ok, that crane issue. Can it be photo shopped out or anything?

 

[SLP958]

We were there the 2nd week in Feb 2 years ago. Will be there the first week this year.

It is a great time to go. We were able to do everything we wanted sometimes multiple times.

If staying on site take advantage of EMHs. You can do so much in that hour! We rode Peter Pan x2, Barnstormer x3, Winnie the Pooh, Small World x 2, BTM x2, Tea Cups x2 all by 10 am on morning at MK.

At Epcot we were able to do Soarin x2, Test Track x2 with the EMH.

The weather was good overall. It rained one afternoon but it was warm that day so not bad. One morning it was really cold but warmend up to jeans/short sleeve by lunch. The rest of the time was very pleasant.

Take a jacket for early morning and after the sun goes down.

This will be our first trip with FP+ so we are excited to try it out. I scheduled all of ours (as much as possible) for around 10,11,12:00.

We some for late afternoon on our HS day.

Hope you have a wonderful trip.

 

[agavegirl1]

I have been to Orlando three times in late February, twice to WDW and once to US/IOA. The first trip, way back when Epcot first opened, it was 46 degrees for a high the day we visited MK and maybe 50 something the next day for Epcot. We froze. I ended up buying Mickey sweatshirts and gloves for everyone because we hadn't prepared.

The next trip, 1998 I think, the weather was perfect...high 70's during the day with 60's after sunset. Of course this time I had come with jackets and gloves for all.

In 2002, It was even more beautiful. Low 80's some days. Perfect for the pool.

We used to travel at the end of February because our school had a "midwinter break" at that time each year. We didn't always go to Florida though.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

We've been three times in Feb/Mar. Last trip during those months was the second week of February I believe in 2012 (maybe 2011?) and boy was it COLD. We were there for 6 days and the first and last days (both half days because of travel) were decent but the other days the temperature during the day was low 50s, overcast and really windy and a couple days of cold mist. Nights were uncomfortably chilly. We tried to watch fireworks from beach of the Poly one night but it was just too cold. Other times in February the weather was pretty nice. The crowds usually aren't too bad, probably comparable to September, but I would recommend using EasyWDW.com's recommended parks to maximize your experience.