~*~The OFFICIAL 2014 Dates Thread - Come Join Us!~*~

[auprincess]

Information overload and stressed lol

Oh, no! It can be very overwhelming. HOnestly, going in Jan/Feb is a low crowd time, so I'm sure you will be fine, regardless of the exact week. Have you looked at easywdw crowd predictor's? I mentioned it already, but I have been 3 times in January, the first 2 times I didn't know about needing to plan and all that stuff and we still did everything we wanted with very, very minimal wait times. Tour groups were not a big deal ~ maybe if we had stayed at the same resort they would I would have felt differently? Also, if you see them coming, you can just turn and go the other direction!

 

[mamabear0222]

I picked our vacation dates based on the fact it was not spring break and the dates fell directly over our kids 5th birthdays. I bellyached over this for months as I initially had picked off president's week and did not know anything about it being a "week long" thing and thought it was only the one day.

My husband's work is not very flexible when it comes to vacation time, it's picked a year in advance. So when I looked I didnt consider universities may have spring break, just was worried about kids. I went ahead and scheduled him to have off Feb 22-March 8 with the thought that when we came back, our own children would have March break off the week directly after that.

A lot of the northen states seem to have spring break the first week of march as well as the florida colleges. The list is pretty long it seems.

Im not concerned about Disney being crowded persay as I am about travelling during spring break, higher prices, flight and border delays and beaches being crazy busy ... we will not spend 14 days at Disney (just 5 out of 14 so I want to have some fun touring around doing other things)

I know 100% we're staying offsite so maybe I wont notice? lol

 

[angelmichelle]

Whenever I watch WDW videos on youtube, I get filled with so much excitement and anticipation not for me but really for my friend and just IT'S GOING TO BE A GREAT TRIP, and I absolutely cannot wait.

 

[middlesista]

we are planning our next trip and are torn between POR and POFQ...leaning more to the FQ for size. we too have stayed at CBR-to us it was just too big even with my kids being older. just returned from a trip and stay at POP, we have sstayed at all the all-star resorts as well and are planning on Port this trip. POP wa fine, just a few issues that my DH cant get over and he refuses to stay there again the only drawback to the all stars is the shared busses and they get very full! Love the Polly, but the prices are a bit high for what it is(back before all teh choices of hotels, was a better price) I would love to go on an off season with just the DH and stay at the Deluxe but not sure he would go for it

POFQ worked well for us. Only one bus stop - NEVER had a problem getting a seat for all of us (of course we were there in January). I do not recall which park it was but one of them we had to pick up folks at all 4 stops at Riverside but again- since it was January there was seats for all. Since POR is a "sister" resort able to enjoy their amenities and it was a short walk or water taxi away. Either way - you can not go wrong

 

[middlesista]

I would suggest the first two weeks of February.

January is one of the huge travel times for the --- Brazilian Tour Groups --

December & January is summer in South America and hordes of unsupervised teenagers invade Disney in droves. They carry flags and chant and use up all the fastpasses. Then pretend they don't understand English when you point out that 30 of them just cut in front of you in line.

Oh yes, the tour groups, I remember well.

 

[DizNee Luver]

We went the first week in February 2 years ago and the only thing that was closed was Splash Mountain (which is normal over the winter) and both of the waterparks were closed (again normal over the winter).

We didn't miss them because it was our first family trip (1st trip for me, oldest son, and youngest daughter --- my hubby had been 25 years before when he was in college --- our oldest daughter and youngest son had been 2 years before with their grandmother)

There were SO many things to do! That first trip was overwhelming! I figured I was prepared for Disney because we'd had season passes to Busch Gardens for years.

Uhhh..no comparison! I spent much of that first trip with my nose buried in a guide book or a park map.

If this is your first trip to Disney...you won't miss the one or two rides that may be closed...and most of those are water rides that you likely wouldn't want to ride in February. (During our trip only one day was it warm enough to go swimming -- I think it hit 75 that day...the rest of the trip, it was mostly in the 60s.)

And yes...I would avoid early March! We went the 1st week of March last year and it was college spring break week -- weather was warm but WOW it was crowded!

It also depends on when Easter falls...if Easter is in early April...probably the second or third week in March wouldn't be too bad. The worst weeks for Spring Break crowds is the 1st week of March and the 2 weeks before and after Easter.

For instance -- I know in 2014, college spring break week for most schools is March 1st through 9th. So avoid that week. Easter isn't until April 20th. So avoid all of April. As for March travel, you'd be fine with any dates in March from the 10th onward. March 15th through 22nd would be good and so would March 22nd through 29th.

We understand going in the slower times means some ride/attraction closures. I see that it's pretty regular for Splash to be closed during that time & I'm ok with that. I've only ridden that once at Disneyland and wasn't a fan.......

We did a few spring breaks at Disneyland & swore we'd never do that again...... You needed a FP for the bathrooms!!

I guess it depends who you talk to. Here in Canada our spring break is the 2nd week of March. We had originally booked the last 2 weeks if Feb but then were alerted to president week. Lol can't win.
I will just end up doing Disney our first week there...which is last week of feb...lol

Sent from my Samsung S3 using DISBoards

Spring breaks are all over the place......we pretty much avoid Disneyland now any time from the first part of March to the end of April just to be safe!!

to the group! Since you're doing an adults-only trip, I have some ideas for romantic stuff to do in Post#2 of this thread, if you're interested.

I agree with hsmamainva - if you have the option of going January or February, I would go with February. Just do a search here for BTGs and you'll understand why.

Thank You.....I did read your tips!!! My son was there on the Disney College Program and he gave me first hand info on the tour groups...... So what would be worse~~~~Last week of January or the week before President's Day?? (including Valentines Day)

I would disagree that the 1st week in March is a bad week to go. Sure, there are some college spring breaks. But there are almost NO school district breaks. Most schools have just been off for either a winter break or at least a day for President's Day and don't have their spring breaks until at least the 2nd week in March. Disney is not a Primary college spring break destination but it is definitely a big one for those with younger kids. The weeks before and after Easter are definitely the worst as many schools (like ours) still tie Spring Break to Easter (and I think all parochial schools do!). But anywhere from the 2nd week in March through the 3rd week in April (or the 4th if Easter is super late) can be spring break time for K-12 districts.

We were also in Disney March 3rd-10th last year. There were crowds but it definitely wasn't horrible by ANY means. More crowded than early May (LOVE that time, wish we could still go then) but not super crowded. Very manageable. Especially if you'll be celebrating a birthday like we will be...don't avoid it!! We'll be returning March 1-8th in 2014! We did notice crowds increase a bit last year on Friday/Saturday before we left. All the crowd calendars indicate that weekend as the "start" of Spring Break season and I would agree.

We had thought about going early March.....but we got such a bad taste in our mouth from doing Disneyland during that time......I think going earlier will be a better option for us.

If it were me, I would just be sure to avoid President's Day weekend. We have been several times in Janaury (including the last week twice) ~ tour groups never bothered us. I only noticed them once or twice. I would probably pick the last week of January and the first week of Feb. Oh, and we stayed at the Poly last time and loved it ~ have fun, try not to stress!



I agree with this, I wouldn't think the first week of March would be too affected by spring break crowds, so the last week of Feb and first week of march would be a good time, too!!

The Poly looks amazing and I'm really hoping we can swing it. Going in the lowest value season is our only hope of doing so. (this also plays into our dates)

I'm excited and I refuse to let a tour group or a nasty guest keep me from having an amazing "dream" trip with my hubby!!

 

[disneygrl704]

to the DIS and to our group! If you have questions about anything, please don't hesitate to ask.

Once you get your dates figured out, just post them and I'll update the list. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you for a FD promo.

In the meantime, this is an active, friendly group, so jump on in and start posting!

Thanks! I love the boards! I have been lurking for a while, but after our trip last week I knew I needed to get on here! There is so much to do and I am learning so much!

 

[disneygrl704]

To those who plan on vacationing in Myrtle Beach, ENJOY!!! I live about 60 miles from MB and we go yearly, LOVE IT!! This past weekend I attempted to see which was cheaper (offsite vs onsite, DDP vs OOP). We decided booking a package and hoping for free dining was best for us. Taking in consideration the onsite transportation, gas, and did we really feel like having to leave the resort area for a midday break; and then return for the afternoon. Really we just love being inside Disney and enjoying all aspects of our trip. Next March cannot come fast enough!!!!!

We just returned from a week at Disney on Saturday! Our first ever staying onsite and dining plan experience. I agree we loved being inside Disney! We are also planning on booking a package and hoping for free dining for Oct. 2014! But I am willing to pay a little extra to have it.

 

[Holly324]

Information overload and stressed lol

It is sooooooooo easy to get overloaded with information, especially here! Just remember why you are doing all of this planning. It will be for a great cause...your kids will have a blast!!!!!

Whenever I watch WDW videos on youtube, I get filled with so much excitement and anticipation not for me but really for my friend and just IT'S GOING TO BE A GREAT TRIP, and I absolutely cannot wait.

I am so there with you on that one. I love love love watching the WDW videos on youtube. Just makes me happy.

We just returned from a week at Disney on Saturday! Our first ever staying onsite and dining plan experience. I agree we loved being inside Disney! We are also planning on booking a package and hoping for free dining for Oct. 2014! But I am willing to pay a little extra to have it.

Yay for another in October!!! We have never had the dining plan, but would LOVE it if it were free! Right now, my kids are young enough that we could still split meals, but by the time we go?? They may be eating me out of house and home, so we will see! Where did you stay this trip? Hope you had a blast!

A little here, but I just had to post this. My 4 year old just asked me (before I logged on here today) if he could see all the little guys.....he wanted me to log onto the disboards so he could watch all of the smilies on the side when I was posting....a disboard addict of the future??? Quite possibly!

 

[gracer9977]

A little here, but I just had to post this. My 4 year old just asked me (before I logged on here today) if he could see all the little guys.....he wanted me to log onto the disboards so he could watch all of the smilies on the side when I was posting....a disboard addict of the future??? Quite possibly!

I totally here you, my 5 year old loves when I am on the dis, he is always standing next to me, pointing out the different smiles and telling me what I should use and asking which one is him. I used the pirate in my signature to identify him so whenever he sees the pirate face in a post or on the smiles list he is always like there I am!!!

 

[disneygrl704]

Yay for another in October!!! We have never had the dining plan, but would LOVE it if it were free! Right now, my kids are young enough that we could still split meals, but by the time we go?? They may be eating me out of house and home, so we will see! Where did you stay this trip? Hope you had a blast!

We stayed at All Star Movies in the Toy Story section. My daughter loved it! We are hoping to stay at AofA when we go back in Oct. if we can get free dining and stay there. I know the Stay Play and Dine package that I got for this past trip wasn't available to those staying in the LM rooms at AofA so I switched to ASMovies.

 

[angelmichelle]

I am so there with you on that one. I love love love watching the WDW videos on youtube. Just makes me happy.

I'm torn between watching them over and over or not. I know some people don't like to watch them but they just make me more excited.

 

[Funfire240]

Yay for another in October!!! We have never had the dining plan, but would LOVE it if it were free! Right now, my kids are young enough that we could still split meals, but by the time we go?? They may be eating me out of house and home, so we will see! Where did you stay this trip? Hope you had a blast!

We stayed at All Star Movies in the Toy Story section. My daughter loved it! We are hoping to stay at AofA when we go back in Oct. if we can get free dining and stay there. I know the Stay Play and Dine package that I got for this past trip wasn't available to those staying in the LM rooms at AofA so I switched to ASMovies.

When discounts come out, keep checking about AoA if they would be available. We stayed there in September in LM rooms a week after they opened and had free dining.

 

[disneycat321]

It has been almost 3 years since our last trip and we are going in May this year...and as of Sunday, we're planning for July 2014 as well!!! Thank goodness DH is as addicted as I am!!!

Hopefully our friends are going with us this time - another couple who has never been to WDW, but love DLR! I think we have finally convinced them!! We have been going to DLR together for a few years (they are AP holders as well), so this is so exciting for us!

I am a teacher and so is one of our friends, so we are pretty limited to when we can go, which is why we're looking at July. I'll be honest though, the heat and crowds are kind of scaring me!!

We don't know the exact dates yet, but it will probably be somewhere around the third week of July.

I have questions, many many questions... (Sorry!):

1) How bad will the heat really be? (We went the third week of June in 2010 and the highs were between 95 and 99 every single day. So will this probably be about the same?)

2) How bad will the crowds be? Much worse than mid June? (Keeping in mind that crowds don't really scare us so much being DLR regulars - DLR tends to feel much more crowded than WDW because of its size. Last time when we went in June we heard people complaining about the crowds and were genuinely confused - it seemed fine to us!)

3) What week should we go in July? We are actually pretty open. I'm assuming 4th of July week is a bad plan.

4) Since we have two couples going, what would you recommend for resort accommodations? We have only stayed in POR. Should we just get next door rooms somewhere? I looked at AoA suites but there's only one real bed! Deluxe is not an option- can't afford that!

5) I've been considering the Swan or Dolphin since I would love the proximity to Epcot and both couples have a teacher so we could get the discount...but I'm thinking they should probably stay in a true Disney resort their first time?

6) Any other July tips?

Words cannot express how excited I am to be planning a 2014 trip when we haven't gone on our 2013 trip yet!!!! After 3 years of waiting for this trip, it's like a dream come true!!!

Ack, this got way too long. Many thanks to whoever reads this and can help me out!

 

[hsmamainva]

We'll also be in Disney in May and we're already planning our 2014 trip!

We're hoping for May again, but I finally took my ticker down. I've changed my resort of choice about 10 times so I decided to just go "ticker-less" for 2014 until we visit the resorts we're most interested in when we go in May of this year and make a final decision.

I haven't been in July so I'm no help there, but THANK YOU! for posting about the teacher's discount!! I looked it up and have sent it on to my youngest daughter's teacher & para (my daughter has autism and the teachers and support staff she has at school are *awesome*!!) I'm so glad I can let them know about this special savings opportunity.

 

[disneycat321]

We'll also be in Disney in May and we're already planning our 2014 trip!

Hooray!!

I haven't been in July so I'm no help there, but THANK YOU! for posting about the teacher's discount!! I looked it up and have sent it on to my youngest daughter's teacher & para (my daughter has autism and the teachers and support staff she has at school are *awesome*!!) I'm so glad I can let them know about this special savings opportunity.

I'm so glad it was helpful, and I hope your daughter's teacher and para are able to use it!

 

[middlesista]

It has been almost 3 years since our last trip and we are going in May this year...and as of Sunday, we're planning for July 2014 as well!!! Thank goodness DH is as addicted as I am!!!

Hopefully our friends are going with us this time - another couple who has never been to WDW, but love DLR! I think we have finally convinced them!! We have been going to DLR together for a few years (they are AP holders as well), so this is so exciting for us!

I am a teacher and so is one of our friends, so we are pretty limited to when we can go, which is why we're looking at July. I'll be honest though, the heat and crowds are kind of scaring me!!

We don't know the exact dates yet, but it will probably be somewhere around the third week of July.

I have questions, many many questions... (Sorry!):

1) How bad will the heat really be? (We went the third week of June in 2010 and the highs were between 95 and 99 every single day. So will this probably be about the same?)

2) How bad will the crowds be? Much worse than mid June? (Keeping in mind that crowds don't really scare us so much being DLR regulars - DLR tends to feel much more crowded than WDW because of its size. Last time when we went in June we heard people complaining about the crowds and were genuinely confused - it seemed fine to us!)

3) What week should we go in July? We are actually pretty open. I'm assuming 4th of July week is a bad plan.

4) Since we have two couples going, what would you recommend for resort accommodations? We have only stayed in POR. Should we just get next door rooms somewhere? I looked at AoA suites but there's only one real bed! Deluxe is not an option- can't afford that!

5) I've been considering the Swan or Dolphin since I would love the proximity to Epcot and both couples have a teacher so we could get the discount...but I'm thinking they should probably stay in a true Disney resort their first time?

6) Any other July tips?

Words cannot express how excited I am to be planning a 2014 trip when we haven't gone on our 2013 trip yet!!!! After 3 years of waiting for this trip, it's like a dream come true!!!

Ack, this got way too long. Many thanks to whoever reads this and can help me out!

We went in July a few times. We would head to the parks in the morning for a few hours and head back to the resort in the heat of the afternoon for swimming and then go back at night. Parks tended to all stay open late back then - not sure if that is still the case or if they rotate late hours like they do now. Some of our best memories are of our summer Disney trips during the evening/night hours. It was not unusual to have a thunderstorm or two - but in our experience they did not last long and cooled everything off. Might want to pack some rain ponchos - they can be pricey at the Parks.

I actually do not recall the actual dates we went in July but I recall once was over the 4th. We stayed at the Polynesian - back then it was not as expensive so easy to hop on the monorail to return to room. Yes, it was crowded but we also went over Christmas once and that was even more crowded.

We are now huge fans of POFQ, Would not return to CBR - too spread out. Can't speak to other spots other than Poly which is wonderful but pricey but I do agree with you about staying in a "true disney resort."

 

[mamabear0222]

Crappy. I just read mardi gras is march 4 next year. I feel a switch of dates coming on. I guess we won't be celebrating the kids 5th birthday after all :-(

Sent from my Samsung S3 using DISBoards

 

[hsmamainva]

I actually do not recall the actual dates we went in July but I recall once was over the 4th. We stayed at the Polynesian - back then it was not as expensive so easy to hop on the monorail to return to room. Yes, it was crowded but we also went over Christmas once and that was even more crowded.

I love the Poly!!!

But I priced a package the other day and for 2 adults (me and oldest dd) and 2 children (14yo and 12yo)...a garden view room at the Poly (the cheapest room they have)...round trip flights from Virginia...8 day park tickets (no hoppers or waterparks)...no dining plan -- and it was $6,000!!!! And THAT was with the 20% off Spring discount!!

By the time you add in our dining expenses and spending money, it could end up costing $8,000 - $9,000! I can't pay that to stay on-site. Not when our entire family can go to Disney and stay off-site at Windsor Hills for less than $5,000.

The Poly is so pretty!! Too bad I can't justify the expense.

 

[angelmichelle]

My friend and I are staying at a value resort (probably AofA). I want us to experience the monorail, though, so I devised a plan...

On one of our two MK days, we will hit RD, have a later lunch around one, then mosey on out the park. Then, we'll go to the monorail and ride it! It'll be our own afternoon break - air conditioning and pretty spectacular views. We'll get off at the Contemporary and the Polynesian (maybe the Grand Floridian) and explore the resort. Then, at the Polynesian, we'll take the water taxi back to Magic Kingdom to finish off the day with more park fun.