Looking for advice on best week to go -2016 Poll

[vacation_junkie]

Yes, I know... I know its only the beginning of 2015 but I always do preliminary work on my vacations usually a year in advance.

We cruise a lot and in order to get the stateroom we want we need to book early.
Unfortunately this planning habit also comes into play when booking land based vacation.
I am trying to plan a Universal trip around a few other vacations that are planned and need some advice.

Being from Canada I am only aware of our school breaks / holidays.
I understand that in the U.S the breaks vary greatly.

We normally would travel in January or the start of February but we had an awful experience this year with weather so we may push it back a little further..into March or April.

I am not looking for rates/promotion suggestions... I am strictly looking for advice based on crowd levels. Which go hand in hand with Spring Break.

The three dates that I am considering are.....
(Give or take a day or so...leaving and coming back mid week most likely)

Wed Feb 24th -to- Wed March 2nd 2016
or
Wed March 2nd -to- Wed March 9th 2016
or
Wed April 6th -to- Wed April 13th 2016


For those of you that have gone during that time frame what would be the best week to go???

THANK YOU for all your help in advance..

 

[macraven]

i voted for your first choice.
you will see crowds on the nights mardi gras is having the concerts but you can do the park at the studios up to the time peeps start coming in for the show.

a close second choice would be 3/2 - 3/9


easter will be March 27 when your trip is due.
could be that some will do their trips a week after that holiday to avoid those and spring break crowds.

my area, right north of chicago, typically has the last week of march for spring break.
it varies by school districts from early March to mid April.

i've been to the parks in jan, feb, march before.
jan/feb can be iffy when it comes to weather.

 

[vacation_junkie]

i voted for your first choice.
you will see crowds on the nights mardi gras is having the concerts but you can do the park at the studios up to the time peeps start coming in for the show.

a close second choice would be 3/2 - 3/9


easter will be March 27 when your trip is due.
could be that some will do their trips a week after that holiday to avoid those and spring break crowds.

my area, right north of chicago, typically has the last week of march for spring break.
it varies by school districts from early March to mid April.

i've been to the parks in jan, feb, march before.
jan/feb can be iffy when it comes to weather.

Last year we froze in January!

 

[macraven]

Last year we froze in January!

totally understand.

it was 36 degrees on 2 of the days we were there in january.

i'll never return in january, never ever....

 

[sharona]

I voted for your last option. The later the better to defrost from a Canadian winter - no point in going to FL when it could be cold.

 

[johde]

totally understand.

it was 36 degrees on 2 of the days we were there in january.

i'll never return in january, never ever....

But the lines are so short for the water rides. When the high for the day is in the mid 50's I walked onto Dudley Do-Right.

 

[vacation_junkie]

i voted for your first choice.
you will see crowds on the nights mardi gras is having the concerts but you can do the park at the studios up to the time peeps start coming in for the show.

a close second choice would be 3/2 - 3/9


easter will be March 27 when your trip is due.
could be that some will do their trips a week after that holiday to avoid those and spring break crowds.

my area, right north of chicago, typically has the last week of march for spring break.
it varies by school districts from early March to mid April.

i've been to the parks in jan, feb, march before.
jan/feb can be iffy when it comes to weather.

I'm starting to think your first recommended selection is the best selection...
Wed Feb 24th -to- Wed March 2nd 2016

People have been posting that the parks have been busy this week so there goes my Wed March 2nd -to- Wed March 9th 2016 logic- thinking that it may be quieter before the masses head out for spring break.

Wed April 6th -to- Wed April 13th 2016 is iffy too because it looks like its spring break for some states...

thanks for the advice

 

[Darcy03231]

The last week of February is winter break for some northeast states. A lot of us travel south that week to escape the cold and snow, so it can be busy during that time. We've been to Orlando that week and some trips it was pretty crowded and others it wasn't too bad. Just something to keep in mind.

In 2016 Easter will fall on March 27th. Lots of schools are off for spring break either the week before or the week after Easter, so you might be ok with the April dates. Personally, I would go for April over March. Weather should be warmer, but not too hot.

 

[keishashadow]

Last year we froze in January!

says the Canadian lol. JK, we live in PIT and as long as the water is warm, we are the polar bears in the pool. We visit often after Xmas and into mid Feb, and it's always been significantly warmer than at home.

my son is on spring break as most of the colleges in our area (always over St. Patrick's day)

Undercover Tourist has a free calendar which is pretty much on the mark. another source is weather underground for historical temperatures.

 

[vacation_junkie]

says the Canadian lol. JK, we live in PIT and as long as the water is warm, we are the polar bears in the pool. We visit often after Xmas and into mid Feb, and it's always been significantly warmer than at home.

my son is on spring break as most of the colleges in our area (always over St. Patrick's day)

Undercover Tourist has a free calendar which is pretty much on the mark. another source is weather underground for historical temperatures.

it was -1 two mornings... we weren't impressed...lol

 

[vacation_junkie]

says the Canadian lol. JK, we live in PIT and as long as the water is warm, we are the polar bears in the pool. We visit often after Xmas and into mid Feb, and it's always been significantly warmer than at home.

my son is on spring break as most of the colleges in our area (always over St. Patrick's day)

Undercover Tourist has a free calendar which is pretty much on the mark. another source is weather underground for historical temperatures.

I just checked undercover tourist.. April solid red every day!!!
Feb 24-March 2nd is the least crowded.
March 2-9th is a touch busier.. Yellow and green except for weekends which are red. We are planning to go mid week so we will only encounter one busy weekend I stea of two. The weekend while the parks are busy we will shop or do other things!

Weather wise. Even if it's 50 we will be wearing our shorts

 

[SuperTink]

We're going in January next year. Much prefer cold over crowds.

We were in Disney this January. Crowds were bad enough. Didn't get too cold though. Did rain a bit.

 

[vacation_junkie]

We usually go the third week of January and LOVE that time frame. Last year was the only year we had colder weather. Normally is 70's-80's.
But DS is in high school now and we can't go over that time frame. This year we travelled at the beginning of February and had a nightmare of a time with weather delays so I was thinking between the end of February to April. Hopefully less chance of weather delays the end of February

 

[macraven]

i have a friend that was in the parks and left 4 days ago.
she is a two visits a year to the motherland and darkside.
was told that this year the crowds amazed her monday this week.
something she has not experienced in all the times she has gone in March.

crowd patterns change constantly.
i still feel that the better gamble is early to avoid being in the crunch.

the south american groups usually are in january and july.

if crowd tour planning sites have red on days, something to consider.

 

[vacation_junkie]

i have a friend that was in the parks and left 4 days ago.
she is a two visits a year to the motherland and darkside.
was told that this year the crowds amazed her monday this week.
something she has not experienced in all the times she has gone in March.

crowd patterns change constantly.
i still feel that the better gamble is early to avoid being in the crunch.

the south american groups usually are in january and july.

if crowd tour planning sites have red on days, something to consider.[/QUOTE

April 2016 is all red.. No thanks! Scratch to dates

 

[macraven]

i was just pointing out that this time period has crowds and we might expect that to continue for the next year.

i still stand with my vote of your first listing.
wonder if i took my talents to Vegas how i would do there.......

 

[vacation_junkie]

i was just pointing out that this time period has crowds and we might expect that to continue for the next year.

i still stand with my vote of your first listing.
wonder if i took my talents to Vegas how i would do there.......

I agree with you 100%. Next year there could be alot of pre march break vacationers as well. I am thinking the Feb 24-March 2nd is the way too go ..thanks for all your advice!