FEB or March trip??? help !

[peacefulgirl]

Anyone have a good plan from experience .... when would be a less busy time to go ...FEB or MAR? (APR if need be) When is spring break crowds?

I am gonna try to swing a 1 week for just me and DD 11 !!! We just got back and we made the mistake of going to SIL's in Naples and driving together .. should of flew right into Orlando and met there ... too much wasted time driving and flying Only had 2 1/2 days in DIS and we are dying to go back and have TIME there. We had a great time, but we had to split up and meet again all the time and it seems we didn't get to PLAY as much as we wanted to. We are thinking the POP this time... loved ALMO, but what the heck .. try something else too.

Important to reach these goals...

1. dont want to go during "spring break"
2. dont want to be soooo hot... not in summer
3. dont want it to be when the parks close at 6 or 7
4. dont want to wait till next winter either


what do you all think ?..... ideas please !!!

Thanks
PG

 

[luvindisneyworld]

I would say either February or the very first of March.After about the first week in March then you will start running into Spring breaks and that will be all the way up into April.
The parks may close a little earlier in Feb but you wont have the crowds to deal with.

 

[peacefulgirl]

AWEEE the calendar of the offical site doesn't have operational hours for Feb yet ??? bummer !!!

Anyone been there is Feb that can give me any times ???

 

[LeftCoaster]

Originally posted by peacefulgirl
AWEEE the calendar of the offical site doesn't have operational hours for Feb yet ??? bummer !!!

Anyone been there is Feb that can give me any times ???

I'm trying to go from memory but.... Epcot will have the usual Future World 9-7 and World Showcase 11-9 hours. Animal Kingdom was 9-5. Studios and MK generally closed between 7 & 8 p.m.
Spring Break crowds should hit March 6th. I think your best time to go would be sometime between 2/20 and 3/6. My spring dates this year are 2/24 - 3/4 because I like to avoid crowds.

 

[granmanh603]

Guess you forgot about the Northeast Presidents week vacation Feb 21 thru 25. Unfortunatly I have to go during that time. Maybe others on here can tell us how bad it will be.

 

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by peacefulgirl
Important to reach these goals...

1. dont want to go during "spring break"
2. dont want to be soooo hot... not in summer
3. dont want it to be when the parks close at 6 or 7
4. dont want to wait till next winter either

I'm not sure it is possible to meet all of these goals. In the off-season when the crowds are lighter and the weather is cooler, the park closes earlier. But keep in mind that you can accomplish far more by 7 pm in February that you can by 11 pm in July because the park is much less crowded and you don't get exhausted by the heat and humidity.

As for spring break, that is a problem though not nearly as much as Christmas or Easter weeks. Not every school has spring break at the same time so the crowd gets spread out over quite a few weeks. Of course, if you can avoid the whole season, even better.

We have gone in March quite a few times and never had a significant problem with crowds. Hit the parks early, use FastPass, take a break mid-afternoon when crowds peak and you'll do just fine.

You didn't mention if their are any financial issues to returning so soon, but if there are let us know and we'll be happy to give lots of tips along those lines too.

 

[canwegosoon]

Last year we went March 10-17 It was only busy on the Saturday. But this year Easter is early (so I might have moved that up to March 7-14 this year). You might have to deal with a few crowds or shorter days. But I thought the weather was great (a little chilly the first few days, but great after that). Or perhaps wait until the last week in April when I don't think any schools or colleges are off, and the parks will be open later. Feb is slower, but somethimes the weather can be cooler, and short days.

 

[DNBois]

I also agree with February - although we haven't been during that month, I work with a lot of Disney nuts (just like me) who say that the end of January, beginning of Feb is the best. Even thought the parks close early, the crowds are sparse and you can ride every ride until your heart is content.

All we know is that when we have gone in May it has been packed and we had to wait in very long lines for rides. . .we were married in May so that is why we visited WDW another two times in that month. This time we are taking off for WDW the day after MLK Jr day and aren't really worried about the hours as long as we get a lot of play time in the parks.

 

[peacefulgirl]

Disneysteve,

You didn't mention if their are any financial issues to returning so soon, but if there are let us know and we'll be happy to give lots of tips along those lines too.

Always looking for tips ... if I am to pull this off right after xmas.. I will have to be quite a budget queen ! YES HELP !!!

I am thinking I can tell everyone to get her disney dollars for xmas ... that'll help ! And she already asked if we cut xmas back a bit .. could we get to Disney ... so that will help too.

Looking to stay at POP, rated are resonable .... but not sure when to book this for still .... we can really go anytime between FEB on, but must be before the HOT HOT season ..... we would be quite happy to be there in like 70 weather .... but whatever works ....

IDEAS ?????

THANKS !

Lisa

 

[Shelby5514]

Just found the operating hours from Feb 16-29, 2004...

Magic Kingdom
16th til 10pm
17th til 9pm
18-20th til 8pm
21 til 10pm
22-24 til 8pm
25-27 til 7pm
28 til 9pm
29 til 7pm

Epcot
Future World til 7pm
World Showcase til 9pm

MGM
16th til 7pm
17th til 8:30 pm
18-29th til 7pm

Animal Kingdom
16th til 6pm
17-29th til 5pm

Blizzard Beach
16-29th til 5pm

Typhoon Lagoon
Closed for refurbishment

Mini golf
16-29th til 11pm

Downtown Disney
Shops til 1am
Nightclubs til 2am

West Side
Dining til 12am
Shopping til 11 (sun-thurs) til 12am (fri-sat)
Cirque 6pm & 9pm
Disney Quest 11pm (sun-thurs) til 11:30 (fri-sat)

Marketplace
Shopping til 11pm (sun-thurs) til 11:30 (fri-sat)
Dining til 11pm

 

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by peacefulgirl
Always looking for tips ... if I am to pull this off right after xmas.. I will have to be quite a budget queen ! YES HELP !!!

There are tons of useful tips to be found by following the Budget Board. Tips basically fall into 2 categories: cutting your spending at home and cutting your costs on vacation.

Let me offer a few of my favorites for the "cutting your costs on vacation" part.

Drink water - tap, not bottled. It's free!

Share meals. Most meals at Disney, including counter service, are large enough to share at least partly. For example, 2 people do not need 2 orders of fries. If you do get a soda, 2 people can share one small Coke. Or you can order one main course and 1 extra side and have a meal for 2.

Eat breakfast in your room - cereal, milk, juice, pop-tarts, yogurt, meal-replacement bars, instant oatmeal, etc.

Skip character meals. There are plenty of places and times to meet and greet characters without paying extra for it. That said, we do always eat at Crystal Palace because we love the food. But go for lunch, not dinner. Same food, lower price - which is another tip. Have lunch be your main meal - prices are lower. Then you can do counter service for dinner where prices are the same all the time.

You can order things that aren't on the menus. For example, Cosmic Ray's lists only a cheeseburger and fries combo. You can get just a plain burger without fries and save about $2. Then you can load it up with toppings (including cheese) at the toppings bar. If the other person gets fries, there are plenty for both of you.

We also save on food costs by bringing some snacks with us from home and picking up others at the grocery store when we arrive, but that only works if you have transportation. We also eat some meals offsite, but again you would need a car for that.

 

[peacefulgirl]

Shelby5514

thanks! Where did you find that info ? I need beginning of FEB too .......

 

[Shelby5514]

peacefulgirl-

It's from the "World Update" that we got when we checked into the hotel, sorry I don't have the begining of Feb. We are going again Jan 29, but by then they should have times listed on the website.

Everyone's always said I'm a pack rat, and now I've proven it to myself ...I just found a "World Update" from our 2003 trip. It is for Jan 16- 31 so it should give you some kind of idea for early Feb. hours.

Here you go...the 2003 hours are after the ***.

Feb 16-29, 2004... ***Jan 16-31, 2003

Magic Kingdom ***Magic Kingdom
16th til 10pm ***16-17 til 7pm
17th til 9pm ***18 til 9pm
18-20th til 8pm ***19-21 til 7pm
21 til 10pm ***22 til 7:30pm
22-24 til 8pm ***23-24 til 7pm
25-27 til 7pm ***25 til 7:30
28 til 9pm ***26-27 til 7pm
29 til 7pm ***28 til 7:30pm
***29 til 6pm
***30-31 til 7pm

Epcot
Future World til 7pm ***FW til 7pm
World Showcase til 9pm ***WS til 9pm

MGM
16th til 7pm ***16-31 til 7pm
17th til 8:30 pm
18-29th til 7pm

Animal Kingdom
16th til 6pm ***16-31 til 5pm
17-29th til 5pm

Blizzard Beach
16-29th til 5pm ***closed for refurbishment

Typhoon Lagoon
Closed for refurbishment ***til 5pm

Mini golf
16-29th til 11pm ***til 11pm

Downtown Disney
Shops til 1am ***til 1am
Nightclubs til 2am ***til 2pm

West Side ***all West Side hours were the same
Dining til 12am
Shopping til 11 (sun-thurs) til 12am (fri-sat)
Cirque 6pm & 9pm
Disney Quest 11pm (sun-thurs) til 11:30 (fri-sat)

Marketplace
Shopping til 11pm (sun-thurs) til 11:30 (fri-sat)
Dining til 11pm


Hope this helps!
Shelby5514

 

[peacefulgirl]

Thanks Shelby !!! And thanks fopr being a PACK RAT !!! LOL

 

[Focusdude]

We went March 1st last year - and it was great! The weather was warm, but not too hot. The crowds were not bad - I don't think we used a FastPass the entire time we were there! It is a more expensive season, but that was the only downside to it.

We stayed 3/1-3/6 - and just as we were leaving - I saw some Spring Breakers coming in - so if you go in March, go early!

 

[peacefulgirl]

Do you guys think Feb 25 till Mar 5 ish is a good time to go as far as low crowds and weather ????

 

[disneysteve]

Originally posted by peacefulgirl
Do you guys think Feb 25 till Mar 5 ish is a good time to go as far as low crowds and weather ????

I think that would be fine. You shouldn't hit too many Spring Breakers yet. As for weather, one never knows in Florida. Early March could be nice or could be rather cold. We've had it be in the 30's in March but have also had it be 60's or 70's.

 

[peacefulgirl]

When the heck is spring break ??? I see some 2nd week in March and some last two ...

what I would like to know for sure is:

what week is the week BEFORE spring break and what is the week right after spring break?

Thanks

 

[Shelby5514]

I think you'll find that Spring Break is different everywhere. We will only go tht first week in March because of this. If there are Spring Breakers, there are just a few. The weather is chilly mornings and evenings but warm during the day. We usually take a light jacket and put it in a locker until the evening. If you plan on going back to the room mid-day, just pick up your jacket then. This year we are going Jan 29- Feb 4 due to using DVC points, we are more worried about the weather here than there. I don't want anything cancelling our flight down. Now if our flight is cancelled on the way home...I wonder what I could do to pass the time?

 

[peacefulgirl]

Same worry here ! Flight getting out of Boston in this NE weather .... not sure what to do... getting more confused as I plan here LOL !! yikes!