January or February?

[runswithscissors]

I'm currently planning a surprise trip for my DS(5). Was initially planning for 8-days in mid-January at POFQ but am considering early February after reading that this may be a slower time. Any suggestions or experiences?
Thanks in advance!

 

[MouseDaddy]

Check the crowd forecast. Late January or early February (before Presidents and MLK days) should be about the same.

 

[runswithscissors]

Thanks for the info. I almost forgot to check out holiday dates!

 

[theparsons]

Thanks for the info. I almost forgot to check out holiday dates!

I have no experience as this will be out first trip....but we're planning to go from mid-January to early Feb.....I thought it would be a slow time, but I'm not so sure anymore, lol. THere is a big thread for each month (about discount watch)....but apparently in Feb 2008, Mardi Gras falls on Feb 5 and all the Louisana schools are on break and from the sounds of that thread the entire state will be celebrating at WDW!! Thank heavens it's near the end of our trip, lol.

January 12/13 is the marathon, which I understand can be a busy weekend and that they close down some parts of the parks for the actual marathon, so we're actually travelling on the 13th or 14th, so I figure most will be gone by then, though that's just a guess.

It would certainly make sense that Jan/Feb would be a slow time....having just come back to school from 2 weeks off Dec/Jan for the holidays I imagine most school parents wouldn't be wanting to take their kids out again for a vacation. Me....we homeschool, so we thrive on going places when the rest of the world is at school and work.......then during the summer when the rest of them are all fighting crowds to go everywhere, we stay home and get our schoolwork done, lol. Since we're in Arizona and it's 110 on a good day, there isn't much else we want to do anyway. While we may be ridiculously hot, the rest of the country isn't my idea of great vacation weather either. Give me the 70's all year round and I'll be in seventh heaven!

 

[runswithscissors]

apparently in Feb 2008, Mardi Gras falls on Feb 5 and all the Louisana schools are on break and from the sounds of that thread the entire state will be celebrating at WDW!!
January 12/13 is the marathon, which I understand can be a busy weekend

Can't sleep...trying to take my mind off work and what's better than Disney to do the trick?
I did know about the marathon and had initially chosen January 17th-25th to try to steer clear of the marathon crowds but then I read that February is a slower time and thought I should reconsider.
Although I was going to avoid the MLK weekend I completely forgot about Mardi Gras and President's day! Typically long weekends=crowds and that is exactly what I am trying to avoid. My son will be 5 and still in preschool so I don't have to worry about taking him out of school and I'm looking forward to a nice, quiet week with him.

Thanks for your response! You're going to love WDW!

 

[penguinkimberly]

We went to WDW in January of 2006 and then in Feb of 2007, it was much less crowded in January. We are going to go back in January of 2008, decided that it is a much better time for us even though Feb would give us a little longer to save because we decided to add a trip in Sept. (free ddp). Hope this helps, and our experience proves true:

 

[Kali23]

We were there the second week of Jan 2003. It was our best trip ever. Some rides had less that a one minute wait time. It was wonderful. We were able to do a lot more on this trip than we were able to on previous trips.

 

[txmomto1]

We went during the marathon this year, and it really was not bad. The day of the half marathon, we did not notice anything, other then people walking around with their medals. We spent that day at MK. We arrived early in the morning, and they had the middle of main street roped off for the runners, but you could walk on either side, and it was kind of fun. They played music, and people where cheering them on. It was cleared away pretty early in the day, and made no difference in crowds really.
The marathon day we where in Epcot, where the marathon starts and ends, and it truly was exciting. Seeing the people at the end was awesome. We waited no more then 20 minutes for any ride, and that was without a fast pass.

I really would not let that be the reason you don't go then.

 

[runswithscissors]

Thanks, everyone, for the great tips! I am leaning towards January and will probably call for ressies next week.