President's Day Week - Have you been? How were the crowds?

[AdventurerKat]

Thinking about planning a week long trip over President's Day weekend into the following one. DH wants to go to a comic con in Orlando the following weekend and it's probably my only chance next year to plan a full week trip (That's the thing about being here in Florida, I seem to be taking short trips but I sure want a full week one as the last was in 10/04!)

So my question, if you've been during that time frame, how were the crowds?

 

[crzy4mk]

My family and I went in February of 2004 during this week, and are going back in 2006. I really enjoyed it. We arrived and spent our first day in the parks on the Sunday right before President's Day, skipped the parks on Monday because of the crowds, and were there from Tuesday through Friday. You will definitely see large crowds on the weekend and Monday, but they will start to lessen some by Tuesday. When we got back, I posted about how wonderful I thought it was and the fact that we did everything we wanted to do several times. At the same time, there were others who were there and thought it was horrible. I think it comes down to 2 things: your attitude and your planning. We had a pretty detailed plan about when we were going where, when to get fastpasses, etc. and it worked great. My advice would be to plan ahead, and by Wednesday of that week the crowds should really die down. Have fun!

 

[jmsvss]

We will be there Feb 15-22. I've been wondering the same re crowds. The Unofficial guide shows crowd levels hitting 9's by the end of our trip.

My DH has a conference in Orlando so we are taking the kids out of school and going because of the excellent rate, we'll just deal with the crowds.

 

[Tinkbellfan]

We will be there Feb 15-22. I've been wondering the same re crowds. The Unofficial guide shows crowd levels hitting 9's by the end of our trip.

See you all there! Preparing for some crowds to arrive over the weekend, but not too worried. As crzy4mk said - Just be prepared, have ADR's and use fastpass!

I'll be at BCV with DD6 and a few friends, hope you decide to go!

 

[MickeyNicki]

2 words for Presidents Week at WDW....INSANELY CRAZY!!!!!!!!

 

[Matt]

No, Insane is After Christmas and Thanksgiving. I surivived both. President's Day week will be a breeze in comparison. lol

 

[We-Luv-Disney]

Yes we were there in 2002 during the 100 year celebration and it was very busy, but it was also only our second time at the world and we had not planed out our trip well. So it would have been much better if we had done a bit of planning

 

[Straughn]

In the last 10-12 years, we have probably been to Disney over Pres weekend 9 or 10 times. My husband attends a conference in Orlando that is often held just before or just after President's Day. The crowds start to get busy on the Friday before, are pretty bad over the weekend, Monday & Tuesday. By Wednesday, things are lighter than the previous days, but certainly not a walk on to the major attractions. Apparently, some schools actually have a winter vacation that lasts more than just President's Day and therefore people are at WDW for the whole week, not just a long weekend. Compared to Thanksgiving and Christmas, it isn't bad, but it also isn't as easy as the first week of December where you can walk on to most attractions. As previous posters have said, if you plan properly and don't mind some crowds, you should be OK.

 

[tjmw2727]

We will be there Thurs - Sunday following the 4 day wonder. Our schools are off all week Presidents week so like it or not we brave the crowds. Hopefully by Thursday some of the weekend crowds will be reduced.

TJ

 

[disney's daughter]

We were there (last year)...beginning the Wednesday before President's Day and stayed until President's Day...It began to get really crowded that Friday....It still wasn't as bad as when we were there during Thanksgiving! We're going again this year.... Arriving Valentine's Day and leaving on President's Day...I guess we will try to avoid the Magic Kingdom on the weekend....

 

[boomhauer]

I've never been that week (for good reason), but according to the Official Guide, it's one of the 3 busiest weeks of the year.

The Unoffcial Guide lists every day of the week as a 9, whereas April Vacation, every day gets rated as a 10.

 

[AdventurerKat]

Thanks for the insight everyone. Well, as you can see from my signature, its not like I/we haven't been a bunch of times before so we won't be too disappointed if we can't get on everything. This sounds like a good "enjoy the hotel" week.

 

[christinou]

We have been there before, and yes it crowded, but nothing like we experience this year from November 10-14, during Jersey week, and the end of the food and wine festival, I thought that was nuts....

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

2 words for Presidents Week at WDW....INSANELY CRAZY!!!!!!!!

2 more words...Daytona 500!! That and the long weekend bring in a huge amount of tourists to the area. If you wait 'til last minute, it's almost impossible to find a room offsite from Orlando to the East Coast of Florida, much less on Disney grounds. People make a weekend of the event and Disney feels it big time!

 

[ladysoleil]

We'll be there that weekend. I know it'll be crowded, but we wanted to squeeze in a couple of days at the parks before we cruise. Better crowded Disney than no Disney at all!