When to Go - Oct 2018 vs. Feb 2019

[Melissa Sheridan]

This is the big question....

Things I like about October:
- it's sooner
- because we also book a cruise after our park days, the cruise will be Halloween themed (something we haven't done before)
- I THINK the crowds will be ok.... (as long as we avoid the weekend of Canadian Thanksgiving? crowd calculators are saying it's a big no-no)
- possibility of free dining (historically this has been the case)

Things I like about February:
- even lower crowds (we would be booking the first week of feb, or maybe the second before the business begins)
- this is a much better time for us to go in terms of school year/missing school

My questions are: - which month is best for crowds? weather? what else am I not thinking of?

As always, thanks for your advice - you guys are THE best!

 

[Lesley Wake]

I would do February.

For October, the crowds have seemed to increase a lot, even in the early weeks. Free Dining and room discounts are also not typically offered during that month.

 

[Turk February]

October is no longer our little secret. Gets busier and busier every year. I would vote early February.

 

[ryanpells]

Yes October is getting busier, but it is such a great time to go. You have the food and wine festival, plus Halloween at Disney. We have done the Christmas at Disney, and the Halloween blows it a way, great time to visit the parks. We have found it still manageable with a good plan.

We also like the weather in October (although you can get a hurricane, we did last year). But every other October trip we have had great weather, maybe a little to hot at times, but I would take that. February can still be cold. We went the last week of Jan one year, and had winter coats on most of the time. And forget about any time in the pool, the only person we saw at the pool was the poor life guard (with a heavy jacket on) walking laps around the pool.

 

[PSUGuy]

I wouldn't trust the weather in Feb., you could be in muffs and mittens. Avoid Columbus Day, the weekend before and the day after and the crowds shouldn't be an issue, we've been there in Oct at least a half dozen times.

Bill From PA

 

[FSU Girl]

One thing to think about for October is it's in the middle of Hurricane Season. So potentially no bad weather, but potentially a hurricane could be rolling in. Also would make a cruise not so fun. I'd vote for February.

 

[LizzieLou]

October is my dream for our next trip. We have done early February trips more than once and have seen freeze warnings at Fort Wilderness Campground while camping in a tent, rain for days with tornado warnings, heavy crowds that we didn't expect, and really early closing times. What I learned on one of the last trips is to not think too much about the best time for crowds and weather and just go when we really want to go. What has been the case in the past isn't necessarily what will happen in 2018 or later.