Least busy time to visit

[Mickey527]

Ok, I know I have seen these statistics somewhere but I did a search and all I could find was "Least busy time during holidays, etc...
My son finishes school in March and has to find an apprenticship but he said he wants to take my grandson to WDW before he starts work.
I am in charge of planning but he doesn't want to go when it is busy. I have a trip planned already for the 4th of July but he won't go then.
He wants warm weather to swim in the resort pool and small crowds so he can get on Toy Story Mania with his son with about a 1/2 hour wait.
What is a good time from March to early June?

 

[rvchat]

I've been several times first/second week in March and it was ok. MUCH better than last 2 weeks of FEBRUARY where we're---- always freezing/ rained ON AND it's very very crowded (President's Week and then some).

FORGET ABOUT April/// I am a diehard Disney fan and I can't April again. We spend so much $$$$$ to sometimes get onto 2/3 things in an entire day. DH says 'if you want to punish someone, send them to the lines in April''. He is also a huge fan. May has been ok for us as long as it's far away from Memorial Day. btw, VERY HOT if you like or dislike that.

Have fun!

 

[Darcy03231]

There really aren't any slow times anymore, but in that time frame I would go sometime during the first 2 weeks of May. From mid-February through the end of April someone's school is on winter/spring break. I know our schools are the last week of February for winter break and the last week of April for spring break. Massachusetts and Maine are always the week before us. By mid-May some areas of the country are out of school.

 

[smileycrissy]

Yes, early to mid May is a slower time for the parks with smaller crowds. And the weather is much nicer, its warm but you don't have the humidity that you have during the summer months.
Also, although I think it'll be too hard to plan it so quickly, the first week in February seems to be really slow. My fiancee and I flew down last year to FL to check out apartments for our upcoming move then and the plane was really empty. In fact, Jet Blue took down their check in kiosks for maintenance during this time frame because it was such a dead season for them.

 

[It's A Small World]

Make sure you check what events may be occuring at Disney during the time you choose. We were there this past May 5/13 to 5/17 during the Iron Man Triatholon and what a nightmare. The parks were packed. I'm talking shoulder to shoulder scary mob crowds. I've never seen it like that before. I learned a valuable lesson that I always pass on...check local events because park crowds spike!

 

[MrsPete]

Remember that when you go at a less crowded time (there are no un-crowded times), the parks will close earlier. So it all balances out.

If you go in the summer, you'll encounter heavier crowds, but the parks'll be open 'til 10 or so at night and they'll offer more parades, fireworks, etc. If you go in the dead of winter, you'll be sharing the park with fewer other tourists, but the parks'll close at 6 and the parades and fireworks'll be offered 2-3 times per week instead of twice a day.

The point: You have to consider more than just crowds.

Personally, we prefer to go in the summer. It's not so crowded early in the morning, we go back to the hotel for lunch/rest/to get out of the heat, and then we return in the evenings when the crowds have thinned again. Given the timeframe you mentioned, I think the first two weeks of June are a good compromise between the two issues of concern.