***Official February 2017 Thread***

[MamaMaleficent2016]

Happy weekend! I've updated roll call. I have placeholders for those of you who haven't solidified your plans. Just let me know when they should be updated. Also, any changes or tips you have for me just let me know. This is my first thread I am managing... I am sure I have lots to learn! Let me know if I missed you!

We put our down payment on our trip and all looks good so far. Now comes the heavy duty planning. Picking our itinerary, days and food. My MIL and FIL have decided to join us which increases the challenge. But I love it! I thought about a pre-trip report (PTR) but decided I would do better with a trip report AFTER we get back. If any of you are starting a PTR let us know so we can follow along.

I'm also interested in social media you may do as it relates to WDW. I have an all Disney IG: ms.maleficent Come follow along!

 

[MamaMaleficent2016]

Thanks for the info! You're a fine thread keeper. Not much to do right now other than wait, anyway!

I also just noticed that we are arrive on the first day of the Princess Half Marathon Weekend. As I said, never been there during that period, has anyone found that it has a substantial impact on crowds? From what I understand roughly 25,000 people compete. Do the majority of those people only stay for the weekend of the competition and then depart?

Not too fussed either way, as I'm used to July crowds during previous trips!

I'm not sure as I've never been there for the marathons. Hopefully someone else can provide some insight.

...on the PTR front, which jumps out more: "Exnay on the Wishing for More Tripses", "Eat a Snickers", or "Did we tell you she's engaged to a chipmunk?" ?

I like the last one! Post a link here when you start it so we can follow along!

Hi all.
We are booked in AKL 24th Jan - 7th Feb 2017.
We have a standard view room, so not sure if to request the best possible view via touring plans.com, or to wait until we check in and hope for an upgrade to a savannah view. Does anyone have any thoughts/tips for this?
Thanks.

I've never requested a specific room so again, I am not much help here but maybe someone else will be. Having said that, in 4 trips we've never been disappointed in a room.

 

[cyndiella]

Booked AoA Feb.12-25, 2017!! This is 3rd trip & 3rd Feb. trip, we love valentines day at Disney!

Do we get to see more Princes with their princesses? I hope so! Are they in ALL the parks??

 

[atir2002]

Happy weekend! I've updated roll call. I have placeholders for those of you who haven't solidified your plans. Just let me know when they should be updated. Also, any changes or tips you have for me just let me know. This is my first thread I am managing... I am sure I have lots to learn! Let me know if I missed you!

We put our down payment on our trip and all looks good so far. Now comes the heavy duty planning. Picking our itinerary, days and food. My MIL and FIL have decided to join us which increases the challenge. But I love it! I thought about a pre-trip report (PTR) but decided I would do better with a trip report AFTER we get back. If any of you are starting a PTR let us know so we can follow along.

I'm also interested in social media you may do as it relates to WDW. I have an all Disney IG: ms.maleficent Come follow along!

Thanks for all your hard work! Love following along with all the planning! We are at POP Feb 25-March 4. We initially planned for the the beginning of the month but Touring Plans predicted crowds at 8-9 for the week so we decided to plan for the end of the month (and perhaps miss out on the stress of flying from the mid-Atlantic area when blizzards, ice storms, etc are looming, as was the case in previous years).

 

[GirlOutlaw]

Do we get to see more Princes with their princesses? I hope so! Are they in ALL the parks??

We travel over Valentines day for this very reason and always hit up Epcot because the Princess have better wait times than MK. AND On Valentine's Day at Epcot the Princes will be out at the World Showcase meet and greets with their princesses. The pairing we have seen are:

• Snow White & Prince Charming
• Belle & Beast
• Sleeping Beauty & Prince Phillip
• Jasmine & Aladdin
• Mulan & General
• (once I saw) Mary Poppins with Bert (jolly holiday style, but I think this was because Alice was a no show that day for the UK Pavilion)

and of course:

• Donald & Daisy
• Mickey & Minnie

(each pair together, although they are usually out at the same time in the same area, on valentines day they "meet & Greet" together)

*Quick Tip for Valentines Meet and Greets: My DD makes handmade valentines for CMs & Characters and hands them out at the start of the meet and greet session it really allows for more time one on one and gives a starting off point for conversations. When we met Prince Phillip he was so overjoyed, I mean just over the moon that he got a valentine (not just one for his Princess, and no Aurora wasn't jealous, lol)!

 

[cyndiella]

Thanks!! Just the info I was looking for! Does anyone else have information on the other parks?

We travel over Valentines day for this very reason and always hit up Epcot because the Princess have better wait times than MK. AND On Valentine's Day at Epcot the Princes will be out at the World Showcase meet and greets with their princesses. The pairing we have seen are:

• Snow White & Prince Charming
• Belle & Beast
• Sleeping Beauty & Prince Phillip
• Jasmine & Aladdin
• Mulan & General
• (once I saw) Mary Poppins with Bert (jolly holiday style, but I think this was because Alice was a no show that day for the UK Pavilion)

and of course:

• Donald & Daisy
• Mickey & Minnie

(each pair together, although they are usually out at the same time in the same area, on valentines day they "meet & Greet" together)

*Quick Tip for Valentines Meet and Greets: My DD makes handmade valentines for CMs & Characters and hands them out at the start of the meet and greet session it really allows for more time one on one and gives a starting off point for conversations. When we met Prince Phillip he was so overjoyed, I mean just over the moon that he got a valentine (not just one for his Princess, and no Aurora wasn't jealous, lol)!

 

[MamaMaleficent2016]

Thanks for all your hard work! Love following along with all the planning! We are at POP Feb 25-March 4. We initially planned for the the beginning of the month but Touring Plans predicted crowds at 8-9 for the week so we decided to plan for the end of the month (and perhaps miss out on the stress of flying from the mid-Atlantic area when blizzards, ice storms, etc are looming, as was the case in previous years).

Thanks. I've updated roll call. I hope your storm missing plan works out!

 

[GirlOutlaw]

Thanks!! Just the info I was looking for! Does anyone else have information on the other parks?

This is how it was in 2010 and 2012, I hope it hasn't changed

 

[AChameleon]

Ok Finalized our plans! Feb. 25-March 2 at CBR

 

[karly05]

Thanks!! Just the info I was looking for! Does anyone else have information on the other parks?

I was there during Valentines week in (I think) 2013 - it was a year when Mardi Gras was also that week, and WDW was doing their "Limited Time Magic" weeks and they called this one "True Love Week" and had couples out together.

At MK, I met Tiana/Naveen (early in the day) in Liberty Square; Snow White/The Prince on Main Street; Mickey/Minnie at Town Square Theatre (when she was no longer regularly there but I think before Pete's opened). At the old Princess M&G at Town Square Theatre, I met Rapunzel/Flynn, Aurora/Phillip, and Cindy/Charming. Mary Poppins and Bert were supposed to be meeting around the Carousel, but I never saw them.

So much has changed with M&Gs since then (including Princess Fairytale Hall), I don't know what they've done in recent years.

 

[cyndiella]

I was there during Valentines week in (I think) 2013 - it was a year when Mardi Gras was also that week, and WDW was doing their "Limited Time Magic" weeks and they called this one "True Love Week" and had couples out together.

At MK, I met Tiana/Naveen (early in the day) in Liberty Square; Snow White/The Prince on Main Street; Mickey/Minnie at Town Square Theatre (when she was no longer regularly there but I think before Pete's opened). At the old Princess M&G at Town Square Theatre, I met Rapunzel/Flynn, Aurora/Phillip, and Cindy/Charming. Mary Poppins and Bert were supposed to be meeting around the Carousel, but I never saw them.

So much has changed with M&Gs since then (including Princess Fairytale Hall), I don't know what they've done in recent years.

I plan to get park hoppers and do LOTS of running!!

 

[MamaMaleficent2016]

Ok Finalized our plans! Feb. 25-March 2 at CBR

YAY for finalizing plans! I've updated roll call.

 

[MamaMaleficent2016]

Tomorrow I'm spending time with my MIL to figure out our itinerary and dining choices. This is the hardest part... figuring out where I want to be and what I want to eat seven months from now. UGH! How are your plans coming along?

 

[Dreamport]

As the family planner, I told the family financier (Father) I was taking a week off for the holiday. No Disney planning talk in order to focus on other things. We won't be able to do anything about our planning until next month anyway, so arguing over where to eat a couple of sit down meals can wait until next week. I've already got a good idea of where we should go anyway. Now that prices have been released he wants to figure out what the discounts will be and everything.

I really do wish Disney would close this meal planning to 3 or 4 months out. Right now, the plan is to be one of those annoying people who books a breakfast, lunch and dinner each day of the trip until we figure out where we'll be each day. Trouble is, there's about 3 weeks we're still looking at to go depending on family friend's work schedule, which he won't get finalized until autumn. Good luck figuring out everything with your MIL!

 

[AaronInWI]

I'll get in on this thread as well, even though it is all tentative right now. As my ticker indicates, we were originally planning on going in September 2017. But some real-life stuff is making me think that February would be better for us. Now I just have to convince my wife of that! If we do change our plans, it'll be Feb 6-12 at either BLT or Contemporary, which means I'd be able to celebrate my 40th birthday at WDW! (I think that's reason enough to switch, if you ask me!) My biggest concern is that we drive from Wisconsin, and who knows what the weather will be like for our Wisconsin departure and "re-entry". My wife has two concerns; first, we'd be taking our vacation really early in the year and would have nothing to look forward to the rest of the year. The second concern is increased ride rehabs, which she's heard is typical this time of the year. All legitimate concerns (both hers and mine), but nothing that I'd consider a showstopper. We'll see how convincing I can be the next few weeks...

 

[MamaMaleficent2016]

As the family planner, I told the family financier (Father) I was taking a week off for the holiday. No Disney planning talk in order to focus on other things. We won't be able to do anything about our planning until next month anyway, so arguing over where to eat a couple of sit down meals can wait until next week. I've already got a good idea of where we should go anyway. Now that prices have been released he wants to figure out what the discounts will be and everything.

I really do wish Disney would close this meal planning to 3 or 4 months out. Right now, the plan is to be one of those annoying people who books a breakfast, lunch and dinner each day of the trip until we figure out where we'll be each day. Trouble is, there's about 3 weeks we're still looking at to go depending on family friend's work schedule, which he won't get finalized until autumn. Good luck figuring out everything with your MIL!

Sounds like a lot undecided or unknown for you still! Ugh. Hang in there. Planning with the MIL went well. Our challenge is our college age daughter will only be able to join us for four of our 11 days or may not be able to come at all. And she has some things that she wants to see during those 4 days. It makes my head hurt!

 

[MamaMaleficent2016]

My biggest concern is that we drive from Wisconsin, and who knows what the weather will be like for our Wisconsin departure and "re-entry". My wife has two concerns; first, we'd be taking our vacation really early in the year and would have nothing to look forward to the rest of the year. The second concern is increased ride rehabs, which she's heard is typical this time of the year. All legitimate concerns (both hers and mine), but nothing that I'd consider a showstopper. We'll see how convincing I can be the next few weeks...

Welcome to the thread! I wish you luck in the convincing department. We drive from Northern Ohio, making That a tricky time frame for us, too! As for ride rehabs? I think not a big deal. Water parks are usually down for rehab but we don't plan on those that time of year. There might be a ride down at each park but lately that's the case year round. And honestly, in our four previous trips during this time of year, nothing has been down that I remember being sad about. I will add you to the roll call. Let me know if it changes.

 

[skis2]

We're booked at BWV Jan 29-Feb 4, 2017. We're actually flying in on the 28th but haven't booked a room for that first night yet, maybe AoA? Our ADR date will be August 1. I wish Disney would release some more definitive schedules before then!

 

[GirlOutlaw]

Water parks are usually down for rehab but we don't plan on those that time of year.

I don't think many people plan on water parks in Feb. either. I remember the first time we went to one in Feb. cast members were at the turnstiles in full parkas. (they had clipboards and were asking everyone who entered where they were from. We said FAIRBANKS ALASKA and they were like "welcome to your tropical paradise" and ushered us in, lol! Also side note my DH just HAD to take a photo of the parking lot it was EMPTY! I think we saw maybe 15 cars in the lot and that was around noon-ish, the pools were nearly void of people. It was so relaxing, almost as if they opened for the day just for us.

 

[GirlOutlaw]

nothing has been down that I remember being sad about.

When we went in 2010 both Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain where down at the same time. It was only a few days that they where both down at the same time, but it just happened to the exact days that we had reserved in our trip schedule for Magic Kingdom.

Since then I have been very proactive in searching out those referb lists for scheduling our park days (we don't do hopper tickets, until our youngest is older we don't see them being a good fit for our family yet--that being said, "to each their own")