February crowds?

[nboicepardee]

Hi everyone!
Have gone to WDW many times, but looking to visit Disneyland presidents' week next year. Are the crowds manageable? Is this a nice time of year? Thank you for your insights!

 

[DLR29]

I mean, it's a holiday weekend so it will be pretty crowded. The crowds start to decrease, though, as the week progresses. Mid-week, lines for the major rides (like Space, Indiana Jones, Star Tours) will probably peak in the middle of the day at around 45-60 min. On the actual President's Weekend they might be up more around 60-75.

Weather in February is a hit or miss. This past Feb had pretty good weather, but not guaranteed for next year. Also because Feb. is one of the "slow-er" months, be prepared for at least a couple rides to be closed for refurbishment. The past multiple years, there has been at least 1 major ride down for the entire spring season. Just letting you know.

I don't know if you've read this yet, but it is a VERY valuable piece of information. "A DLR Guide for WDW Vets" by Hydroguy: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599

Talks all about the differences between the two resorts!

 

[HydroGuy]

It depends on your priorities but one thing to understand right up front is that DLR seasonal changes are not the same as WDW. DLR caters to a very different audience than WDW and that results in a different list of priorities.

Crowds should be manageable. Whether it is a nice time of year depends on how you define nice. It has plusses and minusses.

Here is some food for thought:

"Comparison of Weather For WDW and DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1711098

"What You Should Know About Off-Season at DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=18462889

"Historical DLR Park Hours, Entertainment and Refurbs" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2291124

Armed with more knowledge I trust you can make the best decision for you.

Here is one final more general link which will give you the big picture on DLR - "A DLR Guide for WDW Vets" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599

 

[nboicepardee]

Thank you both for the great links! So helpful. We live in Rochester, NY, so my definition of "nice weather", means above 50! We like to escape the winter each year.

 

[ShaunaM]

We went the week prior in 2010 and during that week in 2011 and both were pretty good certainly heavier on the weekend. I know two separate families that went this year and independent of each other they both reported really, really heavy crowds.
Maybe it was b/c of leap year?

 

[KnearSeattle]

We went President's Day week in 2010 and found that the crowds decreased from Tuesday through Thursday, and we loved it!

We went the same week this year and the crowds never decreased. I'm sure it wasn't as busy as holidays or summer peak, but the parks never thinned out, and they even kept DL open an extra hour Thursday night.

 

[SpaceMan5]

Thank you both for the great links! So helpful. We live in Rochester, NY, so my definition of "nice weather", means above 50! We like to escape the winter each year.

We have the same definition of nice weather. For us it is to escape the rain. We were just there recently and it was shorts and t-shirts. The kids hit the pool in the afternoons, crazy to think that we were swimming in Feb!

Also, while it was busy but it was very doable, use FPs

 

[MrsPinup]

I was there Thursday-Sunday the weekend after President's day and the park was crowded! Friday and Saturday were nightmares. There were several celebrities around the parks that weekend too (probably due to the Oscars that Sunday) which also caused crowding as guests learned of their locations. Stepping off of POTC right before Adam Sandler did left a large crowd flooding NOS.

Keep in mind that many California schools have President's Week aka Ski Week off that week too so crowd levels were higher than even I antipated.