President's Week(end) crowd

[ljlaurajane]

So our next trip is Feb 11th thru 25th. We normally wouldn't arrive till around the 25th deliberately to avoid Presidents Day crowds, but it's out of our hands this time as we are attending a wedding part way through.

I'm really nervous about the crowds, as I see it we have till the first Friday before it goes crazy busy. Luckily it's our 5th trip so we've done most things at least once (excluding Star Wars of course!). My question is 2 fold:

1) during the weekend itself, is it crazy busy open till close, or if its busier later in the day, how busy are we talking from rope drop till say 11am ish?

2) Is the whole resort busy or just the parks? If we decided to do hotel based activities for the weekend such as horse riding, boat rentals, etc will it still feel crazy busy? What about Disney Springs or the water parks.

Traveling with a 2.5 year old so any suggestions for managing the crowds with a little one in tow much appreciated (for reference on touring plans the busiest we've been was around a 7 and it was unbearable for us, and it's forecasting a 10

 

[skippytx]

It's going to be busy. Just plan accordingly. Start early, take a mid day break, go back in the evening. Smart use of FP+ and a good touring plan and you'll be fine. You're going for like 2 weeks, there's no need to be a park warrior the entire trip.

 

[ljlaurajane]

I know it'll be busy and I know how to make the most of the parks, doesn't answer the two questions though.

 

[Cinderumbrella]

Yes, it’s crazy busy. FoP hit a 240 minute wait that weekend this year.

Still, most people don’t rope drop, so yes, you’re good for the first 90 minutes or so.

Disney Springs was busy but not slammed (especially during the day).

Can’t help with water parks (it’s not always warm enough but this past year it would have been). Also, check the rehab schedule to see if they are both open in February.

ETA: FoP was actually 6 hours

https://www.disboards.com/threads/s...age-this-weekend.3735287/page-4#post-60279641

 

[mjr0483]

Not only will it be super busy.
It may be freezing cold as well.
Have fun...

 

[skippytx]

I don't know what you want then... I can't predict 8 months in the future. My experience last presidents day weekend isn't applicable to the future. Lots can happen.

Each park is different. Historically MK crowds don't peak until around 11 AM. In my experience, when I travel, crowds die off a little around 6, and then clear out after fireworks or the last parade. Operating hours affect this quite a bit. If it's busy the parks may be open later, if it's not they might close early. No one really knows.

When it's busy, everything is busy. You've got over 30K hotel rooms and somewhere close to 100K people spread out across the parks and DS. Everywhere is busy.

 

[memakwed]

We’ve traveled quite a few times in February always trying to get out before Presidents’ Day/ break. You can definitely see an influx in crowds at both parks, resorts and Disney springs. Crowds for transportation will be there for rope drop but I still find mornings manageable with crowds getting noticeable by 11/12 and lasting . As for out of park activities I haven’t noticed higher volume but obviously I have seen higher volume at restaurants because everyone has to eat.

As for the little one stick to their routine of napping and eating schedules. You’ll come back to Disney so go with their daily schedule to maintain structure and they’ll be overall better adjusted. Pack little snacks and toys to keep them occupied during extended wait times.

 

[KateMW]

Some friends were there Thurs-Wednesday last year and were miserable. Busiest they've ever seen it they said. We were actually going that week but the prices were so much cheaper two weeks before we changed. Save money, avoid crowds. Yes please.

 

[lolcow]

I found the parks insane from rope drop till park close this year over the actual weekend. It wasn’t that enjoyable. Disney Springs was very busy and definitely worse at night.