February or April at the Fort?

[KristinU]

Alright, I had several great people resond to my concern over driving down to WDW in February and say "go for it!"...but now after just reading Anolefan's TR thread and looking at the pics of the kids in the pool I wonder if we would be better waiting until April instead.

My DS LOOOOVES water and waterslides and swimming in general. I know that February is anyone's guess weather wise, but I know that the chances of getting in the pool are much slimmer (at least for me - I'm a whimp when it comes to cold weather swimming!)

Now that DS is in school we're slave to the almighty school calendar (for the most part...we took him out last year, but I don't know what this year's teacher will be like). So I'm thinking February break or Spring break. Anyone care to comment on pros and cons of either month at the Fort? Bugs? Length of daylight? Weather?

I know both weeks will be crazy busy with other school vacationers, ugh!

 

[Tri-circle-D]

I have camped at the Fort in February and April.

Many times.

Either choice is good.

We have had great weather in February. And really cold weather in February. You just never know.

You will almost definitely have great weather in April.

Presidents' Day Weekend in February has become very crowded. Maybe even more so than April (unless you are talking about Easter week).

I vote for April.

TCD

 

[KristinU]

Thanks TCD!

Of course I just checked the calendar and his spring break IS Easter week, oh brother!

Maybe we'll just have to meet his new teacher next week and see if she seems like the type to say "go, have a good time!" like his one last year. He's only a first grader, but we're kinda rule followers and tend to color within the lines when it comes to school.

 

[storyteller]

Thanks TCD!

Of course I just checked the calendar and his spring break IS Easter week, oh brother!

Maybe we'll just have to meet his new teacher next week and see if she seems like the type to say "go, have a good time!" like his one last year. He's only a first grader, but we're kinda rule followers and tend to color within the lines when it comes to school.

Yeah, we do the same, but one year we took them out a couple days before the holiday vacation. We asked there teachers well in advance for extra school work to offset the time off. worked out well. all of the kids got extra credit. April for us seemed like more kids for the kids to play with/ ride bikes.
Less stress of driving in the unknown..

 

[KristinU]

oops, double post from before...wierd!

 

[KristinU]

Good thoughts, Storyteller. DS does love meeting new friends when we go camping...and DH is still not sold on driving in February weather.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Thanks TCD!

Of course I just checked the calendar and his spring break IS Easter week, oh brother!

Maybe we'll just have to meet his new teacher next week and see if she seems like the type to say "go, have a good time!" like his one last year. He's only a first grader, but we're kinda rule followers and tend to color within the lines when it comes to school.

Here's a bit of unsolicited advice from an old man.

We tended to be rule followers with school.

But, on occasion, we would sneak away for a long weekend here and there.

Now that my DD's are all teens, I really wish we had taken them out of school more when the were younger.

I don't care what the teacher says. A week vacation with the family is not going to hurt anybody. Especially not a first grader.

TCD

 

[Born 2 Fish]

Don't be fooled by the fact it's Florida,,Feb. can certainly have it's share of cool to cold weather in Feb,,even tho the pools are heated, the air can be cold and can make it difficult to swim.

If swimming is important, I'd go for April.
Feb. can be a real crap-shoot for counting on warm weather.

 

[KristinU]

Here's a bit of unsolicited advice from an old man.

We tended to be rule followers with school.

But, on occasion, we would sneak away for a long weekend here and there.

Now that my DD's are all teens, I really wish we had taken them out of school more when the were younger.

I don't care what the teacher says. A week vacation with the family is not going to hurt anybody. Especially not a first grader.

TCD

Thanks for the words of wisdom, TCD...I'll certainly take them to heart, especially since a friend shared a back-to-school/kids grow up too fast article with me today...sniff, sniff!

And thanks for your vote Born 2 Fish!

The other factor that gives April more favor is that DS is 47.5 inches now...he'll probably hit 48 by February, but by April we're pretty much guaranteed he'll be 48, and able to go on Rock n' Roller

 

[thegoofyfamily]

Having a 4th and 4th grader, I would say TAKE THEM OUT NOW! LOL I agree with the wise ones here....I wish we wouldn't have followed the rules as much as we did because taking them out now because of the beloved FCAT (FL state standardized testing) is almost, but not yet, arrestable. In your case, ask for forgiveness and not permission.

In 1st grade, they have very little to no homework and teachers aren't likely to even ask for makeup work.

Enjoy! Your unstructured vacation days are numbered!

 

[mikeymouse1]

I too have camped both in February and in April at the Fort and froze and melted in both. Tent camping in February can be risky if it gets cold, but if you are in a RV ether is good. In April you can catch some spring breakers but as T.C.D. said Presidents Weekend is wall to wall people. Any way come on down to Florida its always beautiful here just like the commercials.

 

[Robert6401]

I haven't been in February or April, but we were there the first week of March this year and it was my favorite trip so far in 5 trips since we started our "Fiend-dom" a little over a year ago. The weather was warm enough during the day to swim and especially enjoy the hot-tub. At night we needed a sweatshirt or something, but it wasn't COLD. It was really pleasant the whole time. We have been mostly during HOTTER months, and would reccomend a colder month over a hotter month anyday.

 

[KristinU]

Thanks All,

As of this moment I'm thinking late March, kind of sandwiched in between the two vacations. I have some work travel in early March, and I think I would want to stagger pulling DS out of school between the actual vacations. But then again, if it's just overall spring break season I don't know if it would really buy us much crowd-wise...although I guess anything has to be better than Easter week. There's a poll going on the Families board on when spring breaks are. I guess I'll keep an eye on that.

I have another question, but I'll start another thread and ask it.

 

[indimom3]

A lot of schools (ours for example) have their spring breaks the last week of March. But I don't think it will be as crowded as Easter week!

We swam on our Feb trip last year, and our Dec trip. Not every day, but we had at least 2 good pool days both trips. You just have to keep your schedule a little flexible so you're not locked into an ADR somewhere on your sunniest days.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

My DDs' spring break has been the last week of March for the past few years.

Since I was boycotting this year, we didn't camp at the Fort the last week of March in 2010, but we did in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

The weather is great, and the crowds aren't bad.

TCD

 

[Barney Fife]

I say don't choose. Do both and let us know which you liked better.

 

[KristinU]

I like the way you think, Barney Fife!