Planning Trip - Which month is better? Opinions?

[resprout]

Hi! I am very excited we are planning to go to WDW in 2007 - hopefully in the spring. We have 5 kids: an 8 year old boy and 4 year old quadruplets. The quads, 3 girls and 1 boy, will be turning 5 in March.

I have many questions, but the first one is concerning when. I saw on one sight that March is a High traffice month - is that true?

I am also looking for opinions on offsite vacation rentals. I think that that will be our best bet for not killing our budget from the start!!

I appreciate any help or suggestions! Thanks!!

Becky

 

[Juliet25]

Hello! You are correct that March is a high traffic month. Spring break and easter create big crowds. I went in late April/early May and the crowds weren't too bad. My next trip is planned for mid May. I'm hoping it's nice again.

OTOH, crowds *supposedly* are historically low in September. I went with a friend and her two kids Sept. 25-30 and it was horrendous, worse than summer IMO. Don't know if the averages are getting skewed these days.

HTH. Have fun!

ETA: Sounds like to have your hands full! I'm from a family of 5 kids as well. Our family vacation to Disney World involved a stay at an off-site duplex. Off-site accomodations are a great value for big families.

 

[Starr W.]

Hi! I am very excited we are planning to go to WDW in 2007 - hopefully in the spring. We have 5 kids: an 8 year old boy and 4 year old quadruplets. The quads, 3 girls and 1 boy, will be turning 5 in March.

I have many questions, but the first one is concerning when. I saw on one sight that March is a High traffice month - is that true?

I am also looking for opinions on offsite vacation rentals. I think that that will be our best bet for not killing our budget from the start!!

I appreciate any help or suggestions! Thanks!!

Becky

Depending on K-12 schools and universities, Spring break is a long affair. We have private schools that take a week off in March(1/2 through spring semester) then get another week at Easter. Another takes 2 off in March, no matter when Easter is. When I was at Purdue University, spring break was always around March8-15, bummer because my best friend was at OSU and her break was the following week.

Usually our district goes around Easter, but last year we had our break 2 weeks before. It was strange, official line "blah, blah something to do with state tests." After a lot of complaining we're back to around Easter.

The biggest crowds at WDW are the week between Xmas & NYE and I think Easter week. We were there Thanksgiving week Sunday-Friday. I really noticed the crowds on Thanksgiving at AK. Mon-Tues we did MK & Epcot, it wasn't as bad as I thought. Next year we're going to go Sat-Fri.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We love the 1st week in May. Weather is great, warm enough to go to water parks and since most kids are still in school, it's not crowded at all.
Also, we've rented private pool homes and loved it. Plenty of space, bathrooms and TV so no bickering. Also we could eat breakfast "at home" so we spent a fortune on food. Many neighborhoods are only 3 miles to MK. We've used villadirect.com and the home were just like they were shown on their website. Good luck!

 

[scraptoons]

We decided that October, January and February are now the "low crowd" months.

I've heard that early May is not too bad.

If you plan to do any reservations for character dining (or any other), you need to do that 6 months in advance.

It is possible to get the reservations after the 6 months, but with a party your size, it is much harder to get the time slots you prefer to eat.

 

[MeLaNie9]

I agree with early May. We went over Mother's Day and didn't think it was crowded at all. We never waited in a line more than 15 minutes. We also had no problem making our ADRs only about a month before the trip for all of the restaurants we wanted and at times we wanted. The weather was beautiful! Way back in 2000 when we went in Nov. before Thanksgiving it wasn't crowded either. We are going in Feb. 2007 so that I can attend an on site conference, but DH and I had discussed always trying to go in May or Nov. in the future based on those previous experiences.

 

[scraptoons]

I agree with early May. We went over Mother's Day and didn't think it was crowded at all. We never waited in a line more than 15 minutes. We also had no problem making our ADRs only about a month before the trip for all of the restaurants we wanted and at times we wanted. The weather was beautiful! Way back in 2000 when we went in Nov. before Thanksgiving it wasn't crowded either. We are going in Feb. 2007 so that I can attend an on site conference, but DH and I had discussed always trying to go in May or Nov. in the future based on those previous experiences.

Great to know about May. How many were in your party when making the ADR's? Usually smaller parties have no problems squeezing in a reservation that close to the trip.
I've seen some DIS posts about larger parties having ADR issues with getting ideal time slots. It may be a different story at different times of the year, but party size makes a huge difference.
In fact, we tried two months before our trip to change for our party of 5, for a dinner slot...the earliest was 8:45 pm. Parties of 2 had better times. We have young kids so obviously that time was not feasible.

I heard Nov is good...but avoid the week of Thanksgiving, they say its crowded as well.

 

[MeLaNie9]

You are probably right about difficulty making ADRs for bigger parties - I didn't think of that. We only had DH, DS2, and myself. We again had no problem making our ADRs yesterday for our Feb trip but I will have to keep this in mind since on future trips we will be a party of 4 (we are leaving our baby at home with his grandparents in Feb)!!!

 

[Starr W.]

Great to know about May. How many were in your party when making the ADR's? Usually smaller parties have no problems squeezing in a reservation that close to the trip.
I've seen some DIS posts about larger parties having ADR issues with getting ideal time slots. It may be a different story at different times of the year, but party size makes a huge difference.
In fact, we tried two months before our trip to change for our party of 5, for a dinner slot...the earliest was 8:45 pm. Parties of 2 had better times. We have young kids so obviously that time was not feasible.

I heard Nov is good...but avoid the week of Thanksgiving, they say its crowded as well.

Early in Thanksgiving week wasn't bad at all this year. Hardly anyone at Illuminations on Monday night. Next night at MK, we skipped the parade and there were hardly any lines at the rides. Perhaps because it was on the cold side(not for us Midwesterners).

 

[TunaSled]

My party of seven went this first week of December and the crowds were favorable. The longest wait for any attraction was 40 minutes, and only on the headliners later in the day. Everything else was walk-on. The weather was perfect, and we really enjoyed the holiday decor.

 

[jnordan]

We also like May! We're going May 5-13 this year. We love it because it's guaranteed swimming weather, so we have a lot of fun at the resort pool, but it's not so hot that the parks are miserable. And there are enough people for the parks to be "festive" but not crowded. The last time we went in May we never waited more than 15 minutes for anything!

 

[resprout]

Thanks everyone for the replies! I am so glad that I found this board!! I really new little about Disney and I now feel that I am learning more everyday! I want this vacation to be a great experience for my kids (and us!) and I think that it will be!!

Thanks again,

 

[missesdisney]

Have you checked the tourguidemike threads? You can sign up with your estimated trip date and then adjust it when you know for sure but that site provides amazing info on things like this. I think there is a disboards discount code to join too.

As for staying outside, we have stayed for years at the various Marriott vacation club 1 and 2 bedroom places (I travel and use marriott points to stay) and they have full kitchens which will allow you to cook if you like (we do breakfast in the room to save money and time) but the best is the real freezer - we buy a case of water while there and freeze them - take a few to the park each day and refill as the ice melts from the fountains. Big money saver and easy to do.

 

[traul]

Hi
We always stay at Windsor palms it is very nice and only 5 min. from Disney. depending on when you are going the rates start at $75/night. Terra Verde and Windsor Hills are also very nice within 5 min of the park. If you search google you will find a sight that lets you see the inside of each condo that you can rent and the community's amentities and grounds. I use villa direct's site to rent from they are always very professional. We have never had a problem with them. have a great trip.

 

[MrsPete]

If you choose to go during these "low attendance" months, be sure to check the park's operating hours. It's a trade-off: you're getting shorter lines, but you also have fewer hours in which to enjoy the parks -- and the ticket prices are the same. Often the parks close early (sometimes as early as 6:00 PM), and the parades/fireworks don't happen every day.

Personally, we love-love-love the summer months. We like to go early in the morning, then take a good, long mid-day break (thus avoiding the crowds) before heading back to the parks for late-night fun. We've found that this system works GREAT with kids.