Feb or April 2022?

[tara595]

Hello! Looking to plan a trip for next year during President's week in February or April (the week after Easter - so April 16th - 23rd. Easter is the 17th.) My kids will be 5 and 7. I wish I can take them out of school to go but I'm a teacher so it's a big no-no.

I know the weather is beautiful in Feb. I'm just worried about snow preventing us from taking off on time and eating into our vacation. (we're coming from Long Island). But I know spring break can be very crowded.

any advice or suggestions is appreciated!

 

[Griffin11]

I used to travel very regularly for work out of Toronto. I can only remember once when my flight was delayed for more than 90 minutes for winter weather. It definitely happens, but the airports are generally well equipped to deal with snow. Pick a flight earlier in the day to reduce your chances of a big delay.

 

[stillc]

Agree, I think there is no need to be afraid of snow. As it was said airports are well equipped to deal with such weather, though there is no equipment to deal with crowds.

 

[Shellyred8]

I would vote for your Feb date. The week of Presidents holiday can be busier, but probably not nearly as busy as what spring break/easter break will be.

 

[Elephantay]

Avoid Easter!

 

[MickeyWaffles]

I’ve been both President’s week and Easter week and honestly I think it’s a toss up. Both have their pros and cons.

Parks will be very busy at both times, less crowded Presidents week, but still very crowded. But if you go at Easter you may have more reliable pool weather if you want to take a break from the park crowds. February can be too chilly for swimming, if that’s important to your family.

 

[tara595]

When you say avoid Easter, do you mean the week before Easter or after? We'd be there after Easter.

 

[Elephantay]

When you say avoid Easter, do you mean the week before Easter or after? We'd be there after Easter.

According to another site I reference, Easter weekend and the week after Easter is the second most busy time of year!

 

[Tattylou]

Both those weeks are crazy - school vacation weeks always are busy. Most of New England has those weeks as vacation weeks and we are all trying to escape winter lol. I’m married to a teacher so same as you, we always go on the high crowd weeks. As long as you are prepared and plan for it then you’ll be fine. (Although planning for it now vs planning for it the normal way are two different things with no fast pass and all.) We always like to get there early morning and hit some rides before it gets crazy busy then we go back to the hotel to swim and chill for a bit in the midday. Then we go back at night for dinner and night time rides and fireworks (hopefully). That worked when my kids were 5 and 7. It still works now and they will be 11 and 13 when we go next year. I avoided Feb vacation for a lot of years bc of fear of the snow causing travel issues. So we went April vacation - Easter or not. However, my boys are big baseball players and April vacation started to become a problem as it was typically the beginning of their baseball seasons. So we switched to Feb vacation. We are booked for Presidents’ Day week 2022. Can’t wait!!

 

[tara595]

Both those weeks are crazy - school vacation weeks always are busy. Most of New England has those weeks as vacation weeks and we are all trying to escape winter lol. I’m married to a teacher so same as you, we always go on the high crowd weeks. As long as you are prepared and plan for it then you’ll be fine. (Although planning for it now vs planning for it the normal way are two different things with no fast pass and all.) We always like to get there early morning and hit some rides before it gets crazy busy then we go back to the hotel to swim and chill for a bit in the midday. Then we go back at night for dinner and night time rides and fireworks (hopefully). That worked when my kids were 5 and 7. It still works now and they will be 11 and 13 when we go next year. I avoided Feb vacation for a lot of years bc of fear of the snow causing travel issues. So we went April vacation - Easter or not. However, my boys are big baseball players and April vacation started to become a problem as it was typically the beginning of their baseball seasons. So we switched to Feb vacation. We are booked for Presidents’ Day week 2022. Can’t wait!!

So exciting! Where are you staying?

I'm hoping to stay at BLT or AK or BW (BLT is our fist choice - all depends what's available, we're DVC)

 

[Tattylou]

So exciting! Where are you staying?

I'm hoping to stay at BLT or AK or BW (BLT is our fist choice - all depends what's available, we're DVC)

We are staying at CBR. Feb 19-22.

 

[hollydolls]

Our preferred time to visit is February. We like the reduced crowds and can usually squeeze out a snow day or two, too! They've never affected our travel plans, but snow days mean we miss fewer days of school/work. 65° also feels incredible in February

 

[cpep42]

My preferred time is always February. Easter gets very very busy. April weather can get very hot and muggy...not always but if you like that kind of weather then go for it.

 

[tara595]

it looks like it will have to be April as DH can't get the time off in Feb. I plan to spend a lot of time at the hotel with half park days.

 

[Blondie58]

Thank your for placing importance on your work as a teacher and on the value of children understanding school is important!! I spent 11 years in the classroom and 26 years as an administrator and two years doing district testing. I put my job first because I was responsible to the community that paid me. My husband was also a teacher/administrator. We had lots of HOT July vacations through the years but that was when the entire family could most easily travel. I would pick February if it were me since you are asking. Have a wonderful time. Thank you for all you do to teach our children!!! I was blessed to work with many amazing teachers through the years.

 

[tara595]

Thank your for placing importance on your work as a teacher and on the value of children understanding school is important!! I spent 11 years in the classroom and 26 years as an administrator and two years doing district testing. I put my job first because I was responsible to the community that paid me. My husband was also a teacher/administrator. We had lots of HOT July vacations through the years but that was when the entire family could most easily travel. I would pick February if it were me since you are asking. Have a wonderful time. Thank you for all you do to teach our children!!! I was blessed to work with many amazing teachers through the years.

Thank you for such kind words! I'm a high school guidance counselor and love my job! It's not always easy, especially right now, but I'm hoping for brighter days ahead. I'm lucky to work with wonderful teachers and administrators : )

 

[Blondie58]

Thank you for such kind words! I'm a high school guidance counselor and love my job! It's not always easy, especially right now, but I'm hoping for brighter days ahead. I'm lucky to work with wonderful teachers and administrators : )

You are so very welcome!! I have a Masters in Counseling (1981) but never worked as a counselor as I ended up getting a second Masters in admin and went that route as my husband was in admin. You have had a very interesting year for sure with Covid and the additional trials related to the pandemic. Your students and community are so lucky to have folks like you that love their jobs and service to children. Too often all educators get lumped together in the news media and those that are doing the right thing get looked over. I will alwasy and forever sing the praises of the teaching profession so we do not all get painted with the same brush. (The first couple years of retirement was kind of tough (missing the interactions) but I now so enjoy my years of dedicated hard work and we travel all the time any time!!) God Bless.

 

[sponica]

it looks like it will have to be April as DH can't get the time off in Feb. I plan to spend a lot of time at the hotel with half park days.

I went early May a couple years ago and LOVED the weather. It was warm but the humidity hadn't caught up. We're going in April 2022 and gambling on similar weather, but we're an oddball state and put our week off a week later than everyone else. And the reality is we have no idea what crowds or experiences will look like in a year. So I'm just going along for the ride.

 

[disneygolfer1985]

We usually go over the holidays, but we are going on February in 2022 to wait until my youngest is 18 months. We are going before Valentine’s Day and will be celebrating 3 birthdays!

 

[mmh711]

I think you will have a great time in April! I have done Easter week with the kids several years in a row. As others have said, plan as best you can and get an early start in the parks - that will go a long way. We found the parks very manageable from opening through noon. Then we would plan a sit-down lunch to cool off and take a break and be ready to go for the afternoon/evening. We alternated park/pool days as opposed to going back and forth during the day. For my kids, once they were in the park they were good to go for the full day. We started going as a family when my first was 1 year old (they are 9 and 12 now) and we have gone 6 times since then so multiple ages. Out of our 7 trips, 1 was December, 1 was August and 5 were Easter. I like that it's warmer by April so you can take advantage of the pools and even the water parks if you want.