Question about Preisdents weekend

[chelsea&austinsmom]

How bad are the crowds Presidents weekend? Are the crowds less crowded the week before or after. We are thinking about going but not sure of the crowds. Thanks for any advise.

 

[Rafiki Rafiki Rafiki]

We went during Presidents' Day week in 2002. It was really crowded.

 

[keishashadow]

Our experience this year convinced us to NEVER visit again during this time.

Thursday before: MGM, very crowded, Early Entry plans worked until 11:00 a.m., long waits of over an hour w/o FP, difficult to access characters.

Friday before: MK, very crowded, Early Entry plans worked until Noon. FP @ 1:00 p.m with 9:00 p.m returns, rides crowded even during parades.

Saturday before: Disney Quest, crowded, hour waits, enough said.

Sunday before: Off-site @ NASA, great time, low crowds, highly recommend.

Monday: Epcot, moderately crowded, Early Entry plans worked. Encouraged by the attendance @ Epcot we ventured to the MK around 2:00 p.m. Big Mistake!!!!!! The entire park was near gridlock. Full of mean, nasty people pushing & shoving. We were only able to ride 3 attractions the rest of the evening - should have stayed @ Epcot.

This was the first time I've ever been glad to leave MK, such a disappointment.

 

[Brian Noble]

We went this year from the saturday before to the saturday after President's Day, and it is this week that people usually mean when they refer to President's Week. Based only on MK hours, the peak is the friday before through the saturday after, so we were there for the worst. The week before President's Day should be better.

The crowds are tolerable if you have a plan, and pay attention to good advice. We took the advice of TourGuideMike and the Unofficial Guide, and managed to avoid any significant waits. We also were no where near a theme park between the hours of 2 and 5:30 or 6:00, and that helped. On the plus side, most parks were open later than "normal" for february. On the minus side, my kids are young enough that we never stayed much later than 9.

If you have the flexibility to avoid it, it might be worth avoiding. We're constrained by our personal preference not to pull our kids out for WDW trips. If our mid-winter break falls on President's Week again, we'll go again, but we'll go with a plan.

 

[chelsea&austinsmom]

Thanks everyone for your advise. We are deciding what to do. My DD starts middle school next year and we won't be able to take her out of school like we used to.

 

[poohkinandpiglet]

President's weekend is VERY crowded. My neighbor went this past year and vowed NEVER AGAIN!

 

[ccgegg]

This past Feb, we went the Mon-Sat prior to Presidents Week. Early in the week, crowds were minimal... very true to the UOG scale. On Thu, the crowds started getting noticeably bigger. By Saturday, it was evident that a holiday weekend had begun. Gladly, we were departing.

 

[ScarletFire]

I agree with ccgegg based on my experience in 2004. The crowds were light the week before and really picked up over the weekend. We left President's Day.

 

[dismom9761]

Can anyone tell me if it is worse than going Spring Break?

 

[dismom9761]

Can anyone tell me if it is worse than going Spring Break?

 

[ccgegg]

According to UOG, spring break looks worse.....
http://www.touringplans.com/BestDays.htm