President's Weekend..am I nuts?

[ingalou]

My sister-in-law, who is a teacher, just asked my family to join them on their WDW trip over President's weekend. Checked some crowd calendars and they all are at a 10! So, my question is, has anyone on here gone that weekend? How were the crowds? and would you do it again? TIA

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

I have done it several times. Not bad at all and I would do it again without hesitation!

 

[ingalou]

I have done it several times. Not bad at all and I would do it again without hesitation!

Did you have a touring plan? or any sort of touring style that is a must?

 

[hiroMYhero]

Did you have a touring plan? or any sort of touring style that is a must?

The park, at least MK, should open earlier than usual. Plan to arrive before the park opens and do Standby lines with FPs booked for a little later in the morning.

In 2014, MK opened at 7:00a to all guests on Presidents' Day and when we entered a little after 8:00a, Standby lines were still quite short.

 

[PattnFmly]

Are all the parks busy that week? I think there is a half-marathon that week too. We have never gone in February and are thinking about it as well, because of Easter being the beginning of April school vacation. That, I know, will be crazy..

 

[mdsouth]

In February 2014, I was there the entire week leading up to President's Day. We left on the Sunday morning of actual President's Day weekend. The beginning of the week was great, not a lot of crowds. The crowds arrived on Thursday and it was very packed but managable, as long as you had Fastpasses and went early in the morning. What worked best for us was to make rope-drop or close to it and do some rides in the morning before everyone arrived. And have my Fastpasses scheduled for later in the afternoon. Even with a Fastpass, the lines were crazy. I remember the worst line was the Fastpass line for Big Thunder Mountain was in the area around Pecos Bills, at the end of the bridge near entrance to Splash Mountain. Magic Kingdom was the worst.

I only get to go to WDW every three or four years, so I would avoid that particular weekend if I could, but like your sister-in-law, I am a teacher so the times I can go are limited. I loved the weather as opposed to going in the heat of summer. So,

So, to answer your questions, yes it is crowded but just right around that actual weekend.
I would go again at that time, especially since you want to go with your extended family. But for others who have the freedom to pick any week to go, I would choose another week in February or other month.

 

[Eeyore's the Best]

We did it last year, a whirlwind 2 nights. Carefully planning with fastpass you should be fine. It was busy, but not wall to wall people. It was however, FREEZING cold at night. And I'm from Canada.

 

[cleophus12]

Deleted because I was in error. Oops.

 

[hiroMYhero]

We go every year for the Princess races. We have not found the parks to be unmanageable at all. As PPs have said, plan your FPs carefully and then be ready to go with the flow. I'm not sure about the PPs comment that MK will be opened earlier. The Sunday am race goes through there, so I don't think it will open early that day. But I could be wrong. Enjoy.

The Princess 1/2 Marathon is held the weekend after Presidents' Weekend. The OP will be there Presidents' Weekend so will be there when the parks have different scheduling for the anticipated busy weekend.

 

[Klayfish]

Should be no problem at all. We were there last year too It was somewhat busy, but not terribly so. I'd pack for colder weather, but it's not a certainty. During the day, I wore shorts and a t-shirt, it was in the low 80's. When the sun went down, I put a long sleeve t-shirt over my regular one, as it was in the 60's, but still not "cold".

 

[tlovesdis]

Good to know it's manageable! We'll be there Feb 18-26! My niece is off school all week and it's her graduation present!!

 

[North of Mouse]

Yes, nuts, but you'll have lots of company!!

 

[ingalou]

Thanks for all the input! I decided not to go...it's pretty expensive to fly out of our regional airport and the fact that the crowd calendars are calling for 10s the entire time we would be there...don't think it's worth it...never thought I'd say that!