When is the LEAST crowded time to go?

[jordanyosh]

I plan on going the first week of February so you can bet it will be crowded as all get out. This is the first I heard of and it took me a long time to find any information on it.

Here is the schedule:

2005 National Cheerleading Championships
Wide World of Sports Complex
College Championship -- January 15-19, 2005
National Dance Team -- January 30 - February 3, 2005
National High School -- February 6 - 10, 2005

Hopefully it wont be too bad. Does anybody know how many people usually come to these things?

According to www.Varsity.com, the National Dance Teams will start arriving 2/2 or 2/3 with the competition from the 4th-7th. Not the 30th-3rd...what site were you looking at?

 

[Jasminesmommy]

I go the last week of Sept and love it. Its still warm enough to go on water rides and go swimming and the waits are little or none. Longest wait was 10 minutes.

 

[jokan]

I got the info here Intercot

I also found there to be like ten different Dance Team National Championships all happening within 3 months.

Like http://us-spirit.com/nationals/
http://www.coacheer.com/nationals/2005.asp
http://www.championtoursandevents.com/national-events.html
http://www.varsity.com/index.asp?article=1600
http://www.unitedcheer.com/Nationals/Location.htm

Then there's this Wide World of Sports

Honestly I dont see how anyone keeps up with it. Which one is the BIG one, the Holy Grail of Competitions?

 

[PoohGirl&Guy]

We have found that for several years in a row the week directly after Thanksgiving has been very slow. This year the crowds were very low...no waits on any rides...we walked directly onto most of the popular rides like Splash mt, space mt, big thunder rr, rocknroller coaster, tower of terror,etc... Also, the weather was wonderful...upper 70's low 80's sunny and low humidity. We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside with a discounted rate, received our roon request and found the resort very quiet as well as the pools! We have found this to be the very best week to go if you can arrange it with your schedule.

 

[DisneyAddict_M]

I went the week before Thanksgiving and it wasn't crowded at all. Crowds started to pick up that weekend (the weekend before T-giving).

 

[dpuck1998]

we have been there the past 4 years in mid to late august, and it did not seem crowded at all, and the weather was always nice. one year a little more rain than usual, but not bad.

Just goes to show....perspective is different for everyone.

 

[TDC Nala]

The general consensus now is:
-January, between New Year's Day and Martin Luther King Day weekend, with a special mention for Marathon weekend (this is usually the weekend before Martin Luther King weekend)
-January, after Martin Luther King weekend, and early February prior to Presidents Day, with a special mention for Mardi Gras since the state of Louisiana apparently has time off then, and for the increasing presence of youth groups in late Jan. - early Feb.
-Anytime in September after Labor Day
-November/December, the week right after Thanksgiving. Starts to pick up a bit after that week (Pop Warner youth competitions are the first full week of December and there's been a lot of interest in the holiday decor/programs)

 

[K & D Mickey]

I do agree with Jan... We went middle of Feb this year and got caught with New Orleans mardi Gradis... Parks were crowded/ buses crowded - had school events - cheerleading competion etc. I enjoy middle of jan - to 1st week of Feb ( this year is Jan 26-Feb 5)... I can see the last weekend of our trip to maybe be starting to get crowded because mardi grads is like the 8th of Feb this year.

The only park we felt was 'busy' for that time of the year was MK..
Again the weather can be very ??able... Last year end of Feb rained 3 days straight and then last day very cold --- 49 degrees and warmer in Lincoln NE then in Florida.... But Disney is so magical - you just need to pack 80 degree weather and then in 2 days be mitten weather like this years Feb trip.. Swimming beginning of trip but then mittens and blankets end of trip.

Have a great time --- fun planning and enjoy ---
Don't worry the small stuff - ENJOY the Magical time you get going to Disneyworld - with out complaining of lines, people... Sit and enjoy the people and find a new friend....

 

[hopetoseedisney]

I'm glad to see this post. We are trying to replan our first trip, and was shooting for Feb 12th through 18th. Looks like February will be busy no matter when we go -- the first week or so being with the cheer competitions, and the weekend of the 12th is the start of the Daytona race week with the 20th of February being the Daytona 500. From what I've been reading, I would assume that the crowds will be heavier than usual in February.....or am I making too much of an assumption?? I have no clue what to do. We only have one more day to decide what to do (because dh has to finalize his vacation time with work), and we need to go during value season to make the trip affordable. What would you do?

 

[chamonix]

Well, I've been wondering why I can't get the room I want for Feb 17th to Feb 21st--Daytona 500, huh? (yes, I know it's President's day too)

Bummer for me.

We love the low crowd times, but school schedules keep us from going during September and some of the other low times. We have enjoyed low crowds in early October (still warm, yeah!) early December, January and February and even into early March. (when Easter was late) It can be very cold in those months though, and while it might be a fair trade off, we are ready for some warmer times at Disney for our family!

If we didn't have kids, or we homeschooled or something, we would go in early September for warm weather and low crowds.