Feb or April Vacation???

[ms.ojo]

Can anyone weigh in on what they are like? I realize in Feb we may encounter cooler weather, but I'm concerned about going in April as our school vaca'n is near (though not directly on) Easter:

Good Friday is 4/2/10 w/ Easter on Sunday 4/4. Our vaca'n starts Sat 4/10 and goes until 4/17.

Just wondering what you experts have to say on traveling during school breaks. Thanks so much!

 

[michael's mom]

I'd say go with April. February vacation is rumored to be much busier than April vacation, unless April vacation is the same week as Easter....meaning the Mon. after Easter is Patriot's Day. I'd just look at the rates. Peak time includes February vacation, but not the third week in April.

 

[2disneyboys]

I'm going to WDW the last week of April -- according to the DIS threads and the Disney Mom's board, it will be busy, but not bad. We went to WDW Feb 2007 2-10th and the last 2 days were pretty crowded but the rest of the trip we just walked on to all rides and into shows... while watching parades, we only got to our spot (in front of the castle) about 5 mins before the scheduled start time and had plenty of room without a lot of crowding. Either April or Feb is better then the summer from what I've read!

 

[4forMe]

I suggest April as well. Since your vacation will start the week after Easter break, the crowds will be much less. Also, the weather is usually perfect in April. February weather is more unpredictable and can be quite cool.

Happy planning!

 

[ms.ojo]

Thanks evryone. I was leaning toward April for the better weather. Plus flying from CT, it's always a dicey adventure in Feb. Sure, sometimes you hit it right, miss a big snowstorm and are so glad to be in FL...other times, it delays your arrival or impedes your returns and can be so stressful. I guess I'm going for April.....

Now....I just have to behave myself and NOT think about gee, we could get APs and take a short trip this Oct and THEN go next April....

 

[JESW]

Good luck with airfare as flights tend to be VERY expensive during April vacation! We are from MA and have been going in April the last few years and really enjoy that time. We also fly Sunday - Monday. The kids miss a day of school at the end, but we save some $$$$ and avoid some of the larger crowds at MCO on the way home.

Jill

 

[michael's mom]

MA here too...teacher though and I can't miss any days before/after the vacation so we are flying Fri.-Sun and got non-stop round trip for $350/person. Steep, yes, but much better than the $800 we were seeing at first and out of Logan. We're flying Southwest out of Providence. My parents are also flying out of Southwest, but Thursday-Tuesday (extended trip) for only $260 nonstop. As long as you're flexible and can have kids miss a day at either or both ends you should be able to get better fares...Feb. vacation will be just as expensive...airlines jack up prices during vacations.

 

[Grendalynn]

While I love WDW very much and would give anything to go there as much as possible, My family and I will avoid going to WDW in April again for sure!! Or the first week anyway... We went last year (4/08) and OMG!! It was wall-to-wall people!! We were there 4/1-4/8 and the bussies I have EVER seen it! We are in NH and purposly went on a non-vacation week to try to avoid some crowds... Well, it was vacation somewhere because it was soo busy!! Frontierland by about noon time was so much you couldnt move without getting stepped on or running over someone ankles with a stroller!! I understand that is typically the busiest place and time at the Mk, but I was stunned at just how busy it was....

We work hard to afford these trips, and if I knew how busy it was, I would have avoided it at all costs. Maybe it was a fluke thing, maybe not... We still had a magical time, it was just a little stressful to experience. We knew to go early and take breaks mid-day for swims and naps. Whatever you decide to do - have a great time and take lots and lots of pictures....

 

[michael's mom]

While I love WDW very much and would give anything to go there as much as possible, My family and I will avoid going to WDW in April again for sure!! Or the first week anyway... We went last year (4/08) and OMG!! It was wall-to-wall people!! We were there 4/1-4/8 and the bussies I have EVER seen it! We are in NH and purposly went on a non-vacation week to try to avoid some crowds... Well, it was vacation somewhere because it was soo busy!! Frontierland by about noon time was so much you couldnt move without getting stepped on or running over someone ankles with a stroller!! I understand that is typically the busiest place and time at the Mk, but I was stunned at just how busy it was....

We work hard to afford these trips, and if I knew how busy it was, I would have avoided it at all costs. Maybe it was a fluke thing, maybe not... We still had a magical time, it was just a little stressful to experience. We knew to go early and take breaks mid-day for swims and naps. Whatever you decide to do - have a great time and take lots and lots of pictures....

When was Easter last year? Did it align with one weekend of your trip? Because WDW is very busy the week before/after Easter because that's when a lot of schools take spring break. April school vacation week here in MA is a busy time in WDW...but I have never, ever, seen it so busy as it was when my school break lined up with Easter...wall to wall people. Only other time it was busier was the end of June 07...more people than the Easter trip. 1 1/2 hour wait for most rides...fastpass lines were still 30 min. wait. CRAZY!!!

 

[ms.ojo]

oh dear.Hadn't thought about the more expensive airfare too. I guess I am lucky we've been able to take so many trips when the kids were young enough to take out of school (or not in school).

I sure hope next April Vaca is not wall to wall people. It's not right after Easter so I'm hopeful it will be something less than "insane".

 

[Darcy03231]

Good luck with airfare as flights tend to be VERY expensive during April vacation! We are from MA and have been going in April the last few years and really enjoy that time. We also fly Sunday - Monday. The kids miss a day of school at the end, but we save some $$$$ and avoid some of the larger crowds at MCO on the way home.

Jill

Actually I just booked our flights for April vacation this year (I booked them on Sunday). Total for 3 roundtrip out of Boston was $598.00. We're going down on a Sunday and coming back on Friday. If you're willing to be flexible on days and times you can still get some pretty decent airfare.

 

[Darcy03231]

I've been in both February and April for our school vacations (last week of the month). Both times have been busy. Weather in February is iffy. We've been down and had great weather and been there and had cold weather. In April you definitely won't have to worry about flying out in a snow storm and the weather is definitely warm enough for swimming. If I had to choose I would go in April and just make a good touring plan.

 

[ms.ojo]

Actually I just booked our flights for April vacation this year (I booked them on Sunday). Total for 3 roundtrip out of Boston was $598.00. We're going down on a Sunday and coming back on Friday. If you're willing to be flexible on days and times you can still get some pretty decent airfare.

Wow, that's great! What airline are you taking? We usually do SW out of Bradley and historically have grabbed some great fares!

 

[Darcy03231]

Wow, that's great! What airline are you taking? We usually do SW out of Bradley and historically have grabbed some great fares!

We're flying down on US Air and back on Continental. US Air was $74/pp down and Continental was $84/pp back. Going down we leave at 5 am , but its me and two teens, plus we arrive in Orlando at 9:30 am which gives us the whole day there. Coming back we leave at 1 pm and get back in at 5 pm which means we'll hit rush hour traffic. I'm thinking we might just have dinner in the airport, then get our luggage, then get the shuttle to the parking lot. Hopefully by that time some of the traffic will have cleared out.

 

[DWFan4Life]

I'll go for April trip. We haven't tried it but I'm sure crowd is manageable, so it makes your trip more wonderful.

 

[SoonipiLady]

a few times now. We're going again this year, that week. We have found the crowds very managable. We always have vacation 1 week after most of MA, NY and VT. It tends to be much less crowded.

The weather has bee absolutely PERFECT the last few times then too!

We also go Tuesday-Tuesday. It saves on airfare. Our kids never get sick, so they can always miss one or two days at the end of thier vacation. Airfare isn't cheap, but not bad if you don't mind going a bit "off peak". We're a bit more fussy and take only direct flights out of Manchester on SW. Even so we paid 280pp and are flying "normal" times. Not bad.

Karen

 

[jessandalexsmom]

My vote would be for April. The weather should be nice and warm, but not too hot. February can get downright chilly!

 

[Grendalynn]

My vote would be for April. The weather should be nice and warm, but not too hot. February can get downright chilly!

Absolutly - we were going through pictures teh other day and found some of us at Sea World and Epcot just after Speed Weeks (Feb 14th ish) and we had on our Winter Coats!!! Thats when we learned that if we wanted to eascape the New England for WARM sunny Florida, we would never go any earlier than St Pattys day just to be sure!!!

 

[a1tinkfans]

Can anyone weigh in on what they are like? I realize in Feb we may encounter cooler weather, but I'm concerned about going in April as our school vaca'n is near (though not directly on) Easter:

Good Friday is 4/2/10 w/ Easter on Sunday 4/4. Our vaca'n starts Sat 4/10 and goes until 4/17.

Just wondering what you experts have to say on traveling during school breaks. Thanks so much!

I personally do not like winter (even WITH the great decorations)
I don't like the cooler weather, no water park, or pool (possibilities.)
I also do not like to chance flight changes, cancellations, weather related concerns
And last but not least,
too many colds, flus and every other bug out there is just so much more prevalent at that time of year!
Besides I want the S U N!!

Whatever you decide, have a great trip!