Going Back and Forth.... January, February or March??? Any Advice??

[Suzie Zoo]

Ever since I got back from an awesome family trip in April, I've been planning my next trip... it'll be the first time I go solo.

Originally, my plan was to go next June for Star Wars... but there were too many cons to outweight the pro of SW.

Then I decided on March... I'm a Braves fan, and had originally planned on going for Spring Training. But I noticed that the Value Hotels are at peak price then... is that because of baseball?

I'd like to spend the least amount possible on my hotel. All I'm gonna do there is sleep... I probably won't even use the pool.

So now I'm thinking end of January, beginning of February. I prefer cooler temps, so that would be a plus to me.

Ugh.

Help.

Please.

 

[Mr Smee23]

Just my two cents. I would go sometime before presidents day weekend in february. March is all about springbreaks and is the busiest times except for christmas week. Speaking of christmas have you thought of the first or second weeks in December. Mousefest is about that time. Alot of singles going and alot to do. Plus the christmas lights.

 

[Nibbles]

We went the first full week of January, in 2007. I can't describe to you how great a time we had. Adult couple, no children, so we had a fair amount of flexibility in when we went and decided on this time to fit it around the academic schedule.

Crowds were light -- the low load, coupled with Fastpass usage and Extra Magic Hours (we stayed at Pop Century), meant that we were literally able to see every attraction we wanted as often as we wanted, and we waited no more than 15 minutes in line for any single one. The only exception was Soarin', for which we probably waited around 25 minutes. The lines moved so quickly, in fact, several times we let people pass us so we could enjoy the great theming in the line queues that we were zipping through!!

Resort hotel rates were lower, booking reservations at the restaurants was simple (we got all our first choices), and we were even able to walk into some of the restaurants at Epcot and get a table without a reservation after only a 10 minute wait. No wait at our food court at the Pop either for our everyday breakfasts.

The weather cooperated the whole time we were there. Daytime temps ranged from 60-75, no rain for the whole week and mostly sunny every day.

But the greatest thing was that despite all the perks, it wasn't deserted at all. Walking around the parks, we were never at want for people; plenty of other Disney fans moving around so that the place still felt wonderfully festive. But no annoying dodging and weaving just to walk around from place to place, no long waits to get on the bus to the parks from the hotel (the wait to get back to the hotel when the parks closed ranged from 20-30 minutes though), and no irate groups spoiling our fun. Everyone just seemed in a better mood than when I've been at more crowded times!

The only real bummer was that the parks take advantage of the lighter load to do some maintenance. Splash Mountain was closed, and I believe it closes every year in January. The Rock n' Roller Coaster was also down for refurbishment as well, plus one of the water parks. So if you do choose to go during this time, make sure you're aware that there will be a couple of surprising closures while there. But for us, it was entirely worth it.

We can't wait to go back, and have promised ourselves to only visit Disney during the January slow times from now on...