Why do the parks switch from slow to busy on Feb 13?

[perditax]

EDIT: In the time since I posted this, it seems like touring plans has updated their data and now shows my dates as low crowds. I'd question my own sanity but I have the trip mapped out in the their app and that's where I saw the higher numbers earlier. Meanwhile, "orlando informer" still shows that week as "busy".

I have a trip planned for Feb 12-15. I've noticed on several park crowd calendar sites that the crowds are forecast to be much heavier this week than the prior month or so. I know it's also considered a "Peak" season for resort pricing. I just can't figure out why. The week before is forecast to be slow on the same calendars, but the onsite resorts are more expensive (or at least the rooms I've priced at HRH are). Mardi Gras will have already been underway for more than a week by then, so I don't think it's that. It seems too early for school spring breaks, and I can't imagine Valentine's Day drives that much trafffic.

I'm considering switching the trip a week earlier--except, like I said, the resorts are more expensive the week before.

Anyone know what causes the mid Feb uptick in projected crowds?

Thanks.

 

[yellowfish78]

Presidents Day is the 20th - wonder if people take that whole week? My kid is out the Friday before and the Monday of.

 

[perditax]

Presidents Day is the 20th - wonder if people take that whole week? My kid is out the Friday before and the Monday of.

Hmm, I'd expect to see a similar jump in the WDW crowd calendars too then, but so far they remain steady on the one site I checked.

 

[perditax]

EDIT: In the time since I posted this, it seems like touring plans has updated their data and now shows my dates as low crowds. I'd question my own sanity but I have the trip mapped out in the their app and that's where I saw the higher numbers earlier. Meanwhile, "orlando informer" still shows that week as "busy".

 

[perditax]

Interesting, I woke up to automated email from touring plans confirming that the crowds for my travel dates had been adjusted:

• February 12, 2017: Resort-wide Crowd Level updated from 8 to 3.
• February 12, 2017: Universal Studios Florida Crowd Level updated from 8 to 3.
• February 12, 2017: Universal's Islands of Adventure Crowd Level updated from 7 to 3.
• February 13, 2017: Resort-wide Crowd Level updated from 7 to 3.
• February 13, 2017: Universal Studios Florida Crowd Level updated from 6 to 3.
• February 13, 2017: Universal's Islands of Adventure Crowd Level updated from 8 to 2.
• February 14, 2017: Universal Studios Florida Crowd Level updated from 6 to 3.
• February 14, 2017: Universal's Islands of Adventure Crowd Level updated from 7 to 3.
• February 14, 2017: Resort-wide Crowd Level updated from 7 to 3.

Obviously I'm relieved (especially because I couldn't help wondering if I'd been looking at the wrong dates originally somehow), but it's so weird the numbers changed right when I finally got concerned enough to post last night. I have no idea how these calendars work, so I don't know why the crowds were projected to be so high anyway. They still are on some other sites.