February/March 2019

[quackmar]

My DH and I both get a fair amount of vacation time but unfortunately can’t often use it at the same time. I’ve wanted to go somewhere during the winter but I can’t go when he could go and vice versa. When discussing the possibility of me taking a solo trip somewhere he was the one who suggested a trip to Disney... so I am taking that as a green light to start the planning process.

Early February or end of Feb/ beginning of March would likely work out best for my work schedule. Any thoughts on if either of those time frames is better than the other?

Crowd calendar predictions show early Feb as being lighter but I’m having trouble with hotel availability then which is a little concerning.

Weather differences are irrelevant to me, both times will be plenty warmer than where I am coming from.

Thanks in advance.

 

[DisneyJoe]

There is another thread that I will try to find about how booked February is already - I believe the consensus is due to a few factors - cheerleader competitions (a few of them) (first half of the month I think), President's weekend, runDisney Princess half-marathon (second part of the month), and some school breaks.

 

[quackmar]

Oh. I’ll poke around for that thread.

And oh crud.

 

[LAKid53]

Avoid President's Day weekend - crowded especially if it falls near Valentine's Day. And avoid the weekend around February 20th to 23rd - that's Princess Half Marathon weekend and crowds will be huge from Thursday through Monday, as 25,000 - 30,000 runners and their friends/families descend on WDW. Plus there will be traffic delays and road closures from early AM until 8:00 or 9:00 AM.

 

[winstongator]

Early March will get you Flower and Garden which is my wife's favorite time at WDW. We went the weekend before President's day this year and it was quite busy (and hot). Do we remember February when everyone was lamenting how there were no slow times anymore? Lots changes in 6 months.

Does look like the crowds are lower in the first 2 weeks of Feb. That should be Festival of the Arts at Epcot which has been a lot more fun the past 2 years than I expected it to be.

Solo you have a lot more flexibility in terms of managing crowds. Can't go wrong either way.

 

[LeighM]

I once went to WDW the first week in March and loved it. It was after the Presidents Day and race weekend but before the big spring break crowds arrived so the crowd level was really reasonable. We were able to get their Play, Stay, Dine discount package, which saved us a little money. We were able to see the Flower and Garden Festival. The weather was great that year - wish we had weather like that in the middle of March this past trip but it was chilly most days. I would definitely do the first week in March again if I lived someplace else. We've been getting most of our winter snows in March and traveling then is just too stressful for me

 

[Clamman73]

This year I went the last week Feb into March. It's the week after the northeast schools winter recess and the week before college spring breaks kick in. Also that week is the beginning of flower and garden.

Beginning of Feb does look good for crowd levels and going to Arts festival though....still can be a touch chilly there vs beginning of March when you can start to get some warmth.

 

[quackmar]

I’ve done Flower and Garden before but not Festival of the Arts. Is this like a mini F &W? That could be a lot of fun.

It looks like if I do a split stay I can find availability in early February. I’ve never done a split stay but I guess a solo trip would be an ideal time to try one.

Is there like to be any cheerleader/ sports groups at POP or AoA? Or do they typically get put at the All Stars?

 

[Mainahman]

We did the first week of march this year, and had a blast. Was busy, but for flower and Garden it was worth it. Weather was just about perfect for touring the parks.