Never Again in February

[Canooknic]

It was nice that he said something because they didn't speak English very well so me trying to say anything would have been a waste of effort!!

I was talking to a couple on the bus back to the resort tonight that have come to WDW this week every year since they retired 17 years ago and they say they've never seen it like this. I told them I wasn't sure if we'd come early February again and they assured me that they would find some pixie dust that will keep the crowds away for us next year!! They were so sweet.

 

[disfan4life1]

Just got home a few minutes ago. Went from 2/8-2/11. Was kinda crowded. Tour groups big but not problematic. Also tons of cheerleaders but again no problems. The longest wait we had was space mountain at 50 minutes. We rode everything at Epcot on Saturday morning then drove to Magic Kingdom, sat and watched the parade then rode Pirates, haunted mansion, little mermaid, buzz, space mountain, buzz, TTA, buzz, met with some characters then watched fireworks. Sunday started at MK, rode Peter Pan , small world, haunted mansion, Thunder mountain, little mermaid,visited circus characters, space mountain 2x, buzz 3x then drove to HS. There we watched parade rode star tours, movie ride, little mermaid show, art class 2x, RnR, TOT 3x, fantasmic. Monday started at HS, rode toy story, art class, mermaid show, ToT, 2x, RnR 2x, beauty and beast, RnR, ToT, muppets 3d, pizza planet. Drove to MK. Met with all the princesses and their princes for pics and valentine cards. Then rode haunted mansion 2x, Peter Pan, philharmagic, little mermaid, space mtn, TTA, electric parade, buzz at least 7-8x, then just hung around for the goodnight kiss. Was sad to leave.

 

[Ds4angels]

We were there 2/3 at MK and it was busier then I'd seen it previous years in early Feb. We utilized FP and did the park starting to the left and worked our way right, the longest we waited was 45 minutes to eat cupcakes at BOG. The new LM ride was broke the day we were there.
2/4 we did DHD (not recommended) and other then TSM everything else was 20 minute wait or less. It wasn't really crowded there.
2/5 Epcot (not recommended day but didn't want to do 2 bug parks back to back) it was really busy.
We didn't run into many large groups and those we did weren't too bad. I'd like to try the week after Thanksgiving to see if it's less crowded

 

[imLissy]

We were there 2/2-10 and we thought the crowds weren't bad at all. MK was bad on MVP day, but the next day was better, though still more crowded than I expected. The other parks were pretty empty. We actually ran out of stuff to do towards the end of our days. Went on star tours three times
The weekends were probably more crowded than usual because of the beautiful weather. Still, we were at EPCOT on Saturday and it wasn't bad at all until around 5pm or so.
Went to Sea World Friday and it was definitely the least crowded, though also the least fun

 

[Iforgetmypassword]

I was at MK on 2/7, a touring plan rated "4" day at a neutral park. We are local so we usually avoid EMH days as we don't stay at hotels. This time we did stay on property so we took advantage of the early EMH and got everything done by 11 or so. But for those of you that doubt the OP's experience, here's a couple of pictures for you. 3:48, Thursday afternoon. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. I call the second picture, "Look Ma! No smiles."

And for those that wonder about TP vs EasyWDW, TP had MK as "neutral" while Josh had it as "avoid" due to the EMH. We only went to that park on that day because we had a family reunion of sorts happening and that was the only day that worked for us. For an idea of other times, at 2:30, Mermaid was 70 minutes, SM was 70 and Jungle Cruise was 55.

This area, especially the area in the top picture, is of a very small, claustrophobic location. Because of the construction and the walls, there just wasn't much room there. All the crowds are funneled into that location.

We were at the Studios that day, and did just about everything. We went back to the Magic Kingdom on 2/8, and had a great time, using Fastpasses.

 

[pigletto]

I do have to say those pictures do look exactly like it does when we go the last week of August in those same areas. The difference being we hit everything at rope drop and then use fastpass in the afternoons. The last week of August is "moderate" crowds with 4's and 5's but that doesn't look different than what we're used to at peak hours.

 

[James65]

We're spending Mardi Gras week here at WDW. Hasn't been too bad. Have seen some of the tour groups, but only got loud with chanting while in FP line at EE today. Our biggest problem has been rides breaking down and then the CM's not being able to handle the problems. All in all a good trip so far.

 

[__disneygirl]

Unfortunately there are seemingly no slow times anymore..

Not true in my experience. I went from Dec 5-14 of 2011 and the crowds were close to non existent - the only place we had a problem was at the Osborne lights.

My last trip from Oct 21-Nov 1 2012 started off more crowded than I am used to, but thinned out after a couple of days. After day 2, the only crowds I experienced were at the Food & Wine Festival on a Saturday, but that is to be expected.

 

[MrToad1345]

Not true in my experience. I went from Dec 5-14 of 2011 and the crowds were close to non existent - the only place we had a problem was at the Osborne lights.

My last trip from Oct 21-Nov 1 2012 started off more crowded than I am used to, but thinned out after a couple of days. After day 2, the only crowds I experienced were at the Food & Wine Festival on a Saturday, but that is to be expected.

I just have to add and I know way off topic, I'm addicted to reading your trip report! The passion that would write the reports is truly magical.
We head down on 2/23 and haven't even told our kids yet. What fun!! My DW has her fingers crossed that no BTG or Big Snow issues!!

 

[mom2rtk]

Not true in my experience. I went from Dec 5-14 of 2011 and the crowds were close to non existent - the only place we had a problem was at the Osborne lights.

I agree early December 2011 was fairly low. But I think part of that was because of the record cold the same time in 2010. It scared some folks off. I found the early December crowds in 2012 to be back to what I expected. Still not heavy, but not low by any means either.

 

[KorbensMomma]

We were there feb 1-5, we used the Easywdw crowd calendars but AK was mobbed the day we went.
We have mixed reviews of the "15's" we left HS one night and they took up 5 full buses. I am a pretty patient person so having to wait did not bother me at all, however when they started chanting loudly after midnight and we had a sleeping 5 mth old it did tick me/ and the rest of the line off. It wasn't so much the girls either, they were just in line like everyone else, just happy teenagers, it was the leaders/chaperone that kept riling them up and starting the chants.
However the next day we went back to HS for a few hrs and 4 of the girls chased up down to give us a baby toy that we dropped, they were very polite to us anytime we ran into them. But boy howdy that one night at the bus was bad, but I blame that on the chaperones.
Also each group in line had about 20/25 teenage girls and one gorgeous 20-25 yr old guy as a chaperone, we never saw a female chaperone,which seemed odd.

 

[Iforgetmypassword]

We were there feb 1-5, we used the Easywdw crowd calendars but AK was mobbed the day we went.
We have mixed reviews of the "15's" we left HS one night and they took up 5 full buses. I am a pretty patient person so having to wait did not bother me at all, however when they started chanting loudly after midnight and we had a sleeping 5 mth old it did tick me/ and the rest of the line off. It wasn't so much the girls either, they were just in line like everyone else, just happy teenagers, it was the leaders/chaperone that kept riling them up and starting the chants.
However the next day we went back to HS for a few hrs and 4 of the girls chased up down to give us a baby toy that we dropped, they were very polite to us anytime we ran into them. But boy howdy that one night at the bus was bad, but I blame that on the chaperones.
Also each group in line had about 20/25 teenage girls and one gorgeous 20-25 yr old guy as a chaperone, we never saw a female chaperone,which seemed odd.

We ran into the group at the Animal Kingdom on Feb. 4th. They weren't too bad, we just avoided them. We did have a few bad moments, where one group was coming towards us, so we went to the right to go around them, and another group formed and followed us, so we were kind of trapped between 2 groups! But, we just stopped, and let them flow around us.

We had our own car, so didn't have to wait for any buses, and luckily, didn't run into any big groups on the monorails or trams. The strategy of zigging, when they zag, worked well for us.

 

[Ariel1014]

We head down on 2/23 and haven't even told our kids yet. What fun!! My DW has her fingers crossed that no BTG or Big Snow issues!!

We head down on the 23rd as well. Hoping for now snow issues too!

 

[hhuck]

We are going on 23rd too... does everyone think I am crazy to be going to MK on the 25th? and Epcot on 24th? My dad has been able to join us for a 3 day trip and it was really the only thing that worked... but I dont want it to be crazy miserably crowded. I know it is a park to avoid, because supposedly the marathon crowd will attend that day? And there is the electrical parade twice...

Any thoughts or tips?

Also, we havent told our girls yet either.. Cant decide whether to wake them up and tell them, or tell them a few days before so their anticipation can build... they are 6 and almost 3... any opinions on this based on your own experience? So excited!

 

[Ds4angels]

We are going on 23rd too... does everyone think I am crazy to be going to MK on the 25th? and Epcot on 24th? My dad has been able to join us for a 3 day trip and it was really the only thing that worked... but I dont want it to be crazy miserably crowded. I know it is a park to avoid, because supposedly the marathon crowd will attend that day? And there is the electrical parade twice...

Any thoughts or tips?

Also, we havent told our girls yet either.. Cant decide whether to wake them up and tell them, or tell them a few days before so their anticipation can build... they are 6 and almost 3... any opinions on this based on your own experience? So excited!

We didn't tell our kids till we got there. There were so excited!! It was neat to see their excitement play out in front of the cast members when we checked in

 

[Ariel1014]

We are going on 23rd too... does everyone think I am crazy to be going to MK on the 25th? and Epcot on 24th? My dad has been able to join us for a 3 day trip and it was really the only thing that worked... but I dont want it to be crazy miserably crowded. I know it is a park to avoid, because supposedly the marathon crowd will attend that day? And there is the electrical parade twice...

Any thoughts or tips?

Also, we havent told our girls yet either.. Cant decide whether to wake them up and tell them, or tell them a few days before so their anticipation can build... they are 6 and almost 3... any opinions on this based on your own experience? So excited!

We plan on going to Epcot on the 24th. From what I saw it was a recommended park aside from some morning traffic getting there.

 

[cey]

I was at MK on Feb 8th and believe me easywdw was way off on its predictions! It was packed with at least 25 cheerleading groups, splash mountain was down for construction and they didn't open Little Mermaid until 1pm. You could get FPs but mine was for 6 hours after I arrived! I stood in line for over an hour and the air conditioning was only working near the ride area! February is fast turning into a crazy time to go. Believe me, I was there the first two weeks of December and crowds were smaller! I know the renovations are not helping matters at MK, but PoC down to one lane?, Really! Just before President's week! Not a lot of happy campers that day! So glad to be staying off-site!

 

[dismikki]

I am going to Epcot on the 24th and MK on the 23rd. We are just going early and planning on crowds. It is still better than work!

 

[sharadoc]

We were there feb 1-5, we used the Easywdw crowd calendars but AK was mobbed the day we went.
We have mixed reviews of the "15's" we left HS one night and they took up 5 full buses. I am a pretty patient person so having to wait did not bother me at all, however when they started chanting loudly after midnight and we had a sleeping 5 mth old it did tick me/ and the rest of the line off. It wasn't so much the girls either, they were just in line like everyone else, just happy teenagers, it was the leaders/chaperone that kept riling them up and starting the chants.
However the next day we went back to HS for a few hrs and 4 of the girls chased up down to give us a baby toy that we dropped, they were very polite to us anytime we ran into them. But boy howdy that one night at the bus was bad, but I blame that on the chaperones.
Also each group in line had about 20/25 teenage girls and one gorgeous 20-25 yr old guy as a chaperone, we never saw a female chaperone,which seemed odd.

I've seen that "firing up" by the chaperone too. Do they think that keeps them entertained? We saw that one late evening, waiting for the MSEP in Frontierland. A group was walking back from BTMRR, across the little bridge/walkway along the water. The chaperone was leading them single file and chanting in like a call and answer format. So it went on for like 10 minutes. Really broke the relaxed vibe - lights down low, music playing softly, almost 11 pm and having a nice drink and snack while waiting for the parade. It was like an air horn being set up right next to your head

 

[Chirple]

We were originally scheduled to be in WDW from 2/6 – 2/9. When we heard more about the nor’easter that was heading in our home area, we extended our trip to 2/11. We are DVC and were staying at the VWL on points. We tried to get a cash room on property, but the only one available when I called on Thursday evening was in the Contemporary tower with a Bay Lake view; that would have set us back over $1000.00 for 2 nights (no discounts available). We called DVC MS to see if any rooms on points were available; all we could get was a 2 bedroom at SSR (we are only 2 adults). Sure, having the extra bathroom was nice; but it was weird having all of that space.

We had a mixed bag with crowds. For the most part, we are not RD people; I will usually get to the parks earlier than DH, but I rarely arrive before a park opens. We also have been to WDW many times over the last 15 years (sometimes 3-4 times in one year) so we don’t feel that everything is a “must do”.

My DH and I went to MK after we checked in at VWL about midday on 2/6; it was pretty quiet. We had no problems getting food or a table at Cosmic Ray’s for lunch. We were able to do a few attractions in the short time we were there.

On 2/7 we went to Animal Kingdom. We got 1:35 pm lunch at Tusker House through a walk-up to GR. No issues with lines or wait times.

Friday 2/8 we went back to MK. We utilized FP twice and waited in reasonable lines, but we did notice that wait times were longer than Wednesday’s. I was a bit intimidated by the line outside of PotC, but it really ended up being only about 15 minutes long. Having gone to WDW in November, we had already done the Little Mermaid ride (with no waits). This time I wanted to do ETWB so my husband humored me while we waited in a 40 minute line.

Saturday we headed to Epcot for the day. We grabbed a FP for Test Track, but the wait times were really long all around the park. We headed to WS and rode Maelstrom, which had a 20 minute wait. We really just walked around and soaked in the atmosphere.

Sunday was our take a break day. We didn’t head out until after 3 pm and went directly to DTD. We have DVC PAPs so we stopped in DQ and played a few games. We also checked out the new bowling alley. Despite the bus stop at Marketplace being closed for renovations, the PI bus stop wasn’t too bad when we left.

Monday I thought we were just going to relax at SSR until ME picked us up, but my DH wanted to head back to MK. Wow. Wow. Wow. The crowds were even bigger than Friday’s. The line for HM stretched back even further than the photo posted by a PP. We had lunch at Pecos Bill; the CMs were walking people with food to tables. I commented to him that for us it’s not a big deal if we can’t do anything except walk around because we will be back two more times this year; I thought about all of the families who might have expected lower crowds in February and planned their big vacation around it. Not everyone knows about websites like the DIS or about touring plans.

Experiences with different types of crowds in the parks vary. We encountered large groups of cheerleaders, who in the past were loud and doing their cheers while waiting in line. Not this time. All of the cheerleaders we encountered were really well behaved. We even had a group of them on our plane home, and they were all quiet once they were seated. We also saw quite a few tour groups, but they were also very quiet. I’m not saying that they were all like this; the ones we saw were.

These crowds would not stop me from going in February again; it was my birthday, and I love spending it in WDW.