Which of these two weeks would you go?

[mum2four]

Hi! So, after several trips to WDW, we are thinking of changing things up and heading out West next year. It will be DH and I along with our four kiddos. We are planning 3-4 days at DL followed by Legoland, Seaworld, and a visit to one of the beaches. DH and I visited DL one day way back in 2002, but in all reality, you could consider us DL newbies.

DH and I both work in education, so we are limited as to when we can take vacation time. We are having a hard time choosing between the following two weeks:

February 7-15 (the last two days would be over President's Day weekend)

or

May 17-25 (the last three days would be over Memorial Day weekend)

My main concern about February is the weather. We're from up north, so we're used to cold. I'm not expecting it to be balmy, but it would be nice to have pleasant weather and maybe a couple swimming days. We are not "lay on the beach all day" kind of people and probably wouldn't swim in the ocean, but it would be nice to spend an afternoon making sandcastles and collecting seashells.

As for May, I'm mostly concerned about the grad nights at DL that I've read about. It seems that they schedule a LOT of them and it would be difficult to avoid on our visit. I'm guessing around Memorial Day is when tourism really starts to ramp up, so we may be looking at bigger crowds than in Feb? (Just speculating)

Any DL vets want to chime in and help me out? Which week would you choose between the two? Thanks for your input!!

 

[YukonMommy]

Were from Northern Canada and have always went in January (I know not an option for you) but the weather was in the high teens/low 20's. We walked around in shorts and summer dresses and got tans But pack a hoodie for the evenings! Si I would say Feb!

Have a Magical Time!

 

[4boys4us]

The crowds should be similar both weeks, but in May the trees will still be in bloom, and the weather a little warmer, but February can hit 80 degrees lots of days as well. There is more of a possibility of rain in February, and the evenings can be cooler.
I would plan on Disney during the weekdays, hitting Legoland and SeaWorld on the weekend just as a crowd management tip. (Legoland kind of drives me nuts, my boys just want to buy lego in the "Big Shop" and don't seem to care about the limited rides there, so the last couple of trips we have given them an extra $50 to spend in the Lego store in Downtown Disney and everyone was happy!)

 

[nolenbelledavis]

I can't speak for Feb, but we went last year around those May dates and it was wonderful. The weather was perfect and the crowds weren't bad at all. My only two cents, is that we went to Legoland after DL and I think my DH expressed it correctly when he said it was like seeing a high school production after watching a Broadway show. It just doesn't compare. It's good for really young kids, ours were 1, 3, 7 and 8. I would suggest going there before DL if you want to do both, then you can build up to something better. The hotel was a hot mess too, but it had just opened. We had a ton of stuff go wrong there and I left a review on tripadvisor. They sent me a voucher for one free night and we're going to DL later this month and still not going to Legoland with the free voucher. The hotel is darling though, so if they've worked out their running a hotel type issues, it will probably be better. Also, I kind of figured out busier times of year based on hotel prices.

 

[figment_jii]

I think both time periods have their advantages, but there are also drawbacks.

February - the weather is iffy and rain is possible (on average Feb is wettest month of the year according to weather.com). It doesn't generally rain for days on end or continuously throughout the day, but not a lot of the rides have indoor/covered queues. The lines/crowds weren't bad during the weekdays, but the weekends get crowded. I do think the parks will generally be running shorter hours and with limited entertainment schedules.

May - the weather is likely to be pretty good, but the Memorial Day weekend is going to be busy. If they do a 24-hour event again (like they have for the last 2-years), that will be a very busy day as is any three day weekend. Prior to Memorial Day Weekend, the park will be running short hours with limited entertainment offerings as well. This is generally the kick off to the summer season. Grad nights can impact crowds, but I didn't find the teenagers to be overwhelmingly problematic.

Have been in both Feb and May, I would say that neither is clearly better than the other. Both months have their advantages and their drawbacks.

 

[mum2four]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone! I appreciate the input. Sounds like both weeks have their pros and cons. I think we'll just have to pick a week and hope for the best! Maybe I'll just draw it out of a hat, hmmm....

 

[Zbugz]

One more variable: I think there are typically more refurbs in February than in May.

February weather was decent. Make sure those dates in Feb. don't coincide with Dapper Day. That was a really busy weekend when we went.

 

[VicMom]

The only other thing that I'd want to look at before deciding is historical ride closures during those times. For example, it there is a lot down in February it would make me think twice about going then so as not to miss things that I may want to see (coming from the person who has missed The Haunted Mansion the last 3 times I've been to DL ).

 

[figment_jii]

The only other thing that I'd want to look at before deciding is historical ride closures during those times. For example, it there is a lot down in February it would make me think twice about going then so as not to miss things that I may want to see (coming from the person who has missed The Haunted Mansion the last 3 times I've been to DL ).

You can look through the records that wdwinfo.com posts to see what has been closed during those two periods in the last few years. HydroGuy has a post with links to the calendars:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2291124

This last year has been a little wonky with more rides than normal down (and at unusual times) due to issues with OHSA and prep for next year's big 60th anniversary.

 

[SweetAlex]

We did that same February time period our first trip and I surprisingly loved it. The crowds were very low for most of our time (walked right on many rides) but yes, it did get very busy on the Sunday of the Presidents Day weekend. It was still tolerable and the nice thing is that you'll have been there a while already and experienced all the fun stuff before the crowds hit (hopefully). I LOVED the weather then. Being Canadian too, I hate heat. This week was nice during the day (low to mid 20's... perfect for us) but cool in the evenings so we would rent a locker and store our sweaters in it. It DID rain though two evenings... poured actually so there is that chance.

We haven't been in May yet but if you would like it a couple degrees warmer, then that's likely your best option.

My cousins family went the week after we did in February and it ended up being closer to 30°C so you really never know what you are going to get.

You'll have a fabulous time regardless!

 

[mum2four]

OP here - Thanks for all the info, guys! I have thought about the refurbs in February, as we deal with that when we visit WDW in the winter as well (Splash Mtn being the big one ). But, we just roll with the punches when those things happens. Though I would be sad if RSR went down for refurb during our visit!

I wasn't aware of Dapper Days, so thank you for mentioning that! From the info I can find, it looks like that usually occurs over a weekend. Is that correct? We plan to be at DL Mon-Thur, so I don't think Dapper Day would be an issue for us.

I think we are leaning towards February at this point, but I tend to change my mind a lot, LOL!

 

[AndreAggie]

We're bouncing betwen January 26-30 and sometime in May as well. On here, it seems like the crowds in May seemed higher than normal all month. I don't like crowds and lines. We have a 4-year old and we want him to enjoy his experience, not wait in a bunch of lines. He's never been to any Disney park, and he's a big Lightning and Mater fan, so we're taking him to Disneyland for Carsland. If we notice anything that will indicate any refurbs in Carsland in January before then, we'll try to adjust our schedule. We've pretty much decided on January unless we hear of something that wil be closed, then we might change.

 

[Melgar541]

In May you might run into the opening of the 60th celebration which I personally would want to avoid. If it was my choice I would go with February, your biggest issue there is that there may be the refurbs -- possibly more than usual, again due to the 60th.