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Thread: January or February

  1. #1

    January or February

    Hi guys - we are trying to pick a time to go next year with the potential of cooler weather and low crowds. We used to go in early December, but last time we went, it was terribly crowded and there were so many "extra ticketed" holiday events that we felt like we didn't get to enjoy half of what we paid for. We are looking now at either January or February 2014. Is that a good time to go?

    Also, we're looking to stay in a new resort - I've stayed at Port Orleans - Riverside (back when it was Dixie Landings), Coronado Springs, Caribbean Beach, and Wilderness Lodge (3 times!). We're concerned with price and convenience. Our front runners are Pop Century (worried about the bus situation) and Port Orleans - French Quarter.

    Thoughts?

    This and all of my posts are in the public domain. I am a lawyer. I am not your lawyer, and this is not legal advice.

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  3. #2

    January or February

    I liked late February/early March well enough. Flower and Garden Festival was cool, but it doesn't beat the holidays for me. Christmastime is hands down my personal favorite time with Food and Wine the runner up.

    I enjoyed both Pop and POFQ, but would pick POFQ first. It's smaller, has bigger beds, and better amenities (boat transport, carriage rides, hot tub, a lounge with live entertainment, and TS nearby at POR to name a few).

    Good luck with your decision. Any way you look at it, you'll be at Disney, which is a good thing!


  4. #3

    It looks like POFQ is the only moderate you have yet to stay in, so that gets my vote. And late February is a terrific time to visit. The weather is pretty nice, and the crowds haven't kicked in. I was just there at the end of February, and loved it!

    The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.
    - James Taylor

  5. #4

    Most definitely, this trip will be epic because we'll be at Disney. I don't know how I lucked out, but I have two of the biggest Disney-loving kids, ever. Sometimes, they even surpass me!

    I love colder weather - is February still cold? I mean, for us, (in Northern California), hot starts at about 68. I realize I won't get that in Florida normally. I can handle 70s and low 80s.

    This and all of my posts are in the public domain. I am a lawyer. I am not your lawyer, and this is not legal advice.

  6. #5
    Registered User ericles's Avatar
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    I also vote for Port Orleans, it's always fun to fill your punchcard with a different resort stay each visit! As far as timing, I humbly suggest anytime from the weekend after New Years till the first holidaying feb.... Presidents weekend? Basically all of January thru the second week of February has always been great for us in terms of both crowds and weather. We have found the weather then great - compared to back home in Maryland that is! We often tour that time of year in shorts or capris & sweatshirts, ditching the sweatshirts by mid day. Sunny and 70 degrees feels wonderful to us. Most evenings we go out we are in jeans and pullover. Now, one year - 2006 I think, was chilly in early January and I wore gloves one morning and the kids wore hats. That was two days out of a 8 night trip, and the only trip out of about 6 or 7 that time of year we have ever really felt cold.
    But really, the low crowds are great. It's my favorite time to visit. Enjoy the fun planning ahead!


  7. #6

    You guys have been so helpful! It is hard for my family to leave Wilderness Lodge, but we're ready for a change - and I want to do the trip a little cheaper than in years past. Port Orleans French Quarter sounds like it is going to be the best choice for us, and that timing in January sounds perfect for us, Ericles. My kids do well enough in school that I am not worried about pulling them out. With any luck, this will be my second trip in a year - - my daughter is a Pop Warner cheerleader and this year, she is finally old enough for the competitive squad - - which has gone to nationals the last two years. So, we might just go in December and then again in January!!

    This and all of my posts are in the public domain. I am a lawyer. I am not your lawyer, and this is not legal advice.

  8. #7
    Registered User ericles's Avatar
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    Hey - we took our kids out of school many times that time of year for the trip , it was just worth it on so many levels for us. That is until the boys staged a coup and declined to go to WDW again.

    So now we go without them and everyone is happier!


  9. #8
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    HTanner- nice to see you back! Glad that you are able to plan a trip. I second (or maybe it's a third) for POFQ. We have stayed there and liked the close bus stops and food court. Definitely a smaller resort but still big enough to have a cool pool. Weather should be pretty good that time of year. Enjoy!


  10. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by rph13 View Post
    HTanner- nice to see you back! Glad that you are able to plan a trip. I second (or maybe it's a third) for POFQ. We have stayed there and liked the close bus stops and food court. Definitely a smaller resort but still big enough to have a cool pool. Weather should be pretty good that time of year. Enjoy!
    Thanks! It has been an incredibly hectic year and I was finding it hard to stay up on mouseplanet. Never far from my heart, though!!

    My kids are all about the pool. They've been on the swim team now for about 6 months and swim every single day and STILL beg me to take them to rec swim on the weekends. So, the pool is always important. But they don't care much about the theme. Just that there is a pool.

    How is the dining situation at POFQ? I remember loving Boatwrights at POR, so at least we can go over there.
    This and all of my posts are in the public domain. I am a lawyer. I am not your lawyer, and this is not legal advice.

  11. #10
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    To be honest we tend not to eat at the resorts much but the year we did POFQ, I remember a few meals in their food court. It is small, but has the old stand bys, pasta, sandwiches, burgers etc with a few traditional "southern" food. The beignets were very tasty, when they were fresh. Sometimes they had sat out too long.


  12. #11

    I think that I would go for Feb over January, too near Christmas, I'm ready for a break by February. If you do decide to go for a value hotel. I think that the Pop Century is a good choice, I've always found the busses there better than at the All Stars, I've not found them a problem. I've stayed there I think three times and that was usually for two weeks at a time.

    I'm sure you'll have a great trip.

    Cheers Larry.

    Check out my Disney Blog - Photographing Disney, Mainly Photos but some of the old Larry Humour/Humor - http://www.photographingdisney.blogspot.com

  13. #12

    I think we are fairly settled now - POFQ last week of January/First week in Feb. Now I just have to raise the dough to go.

    This and all of my posts are in the public domain. I am a lawyer. I am not your lawyer, and this is not legal advice.

  14. #13

    We were there January 26-February 7, 2013. This has always been our favorite time of year to go--until this year. Usually, the tour groups peak in mid-January and start to taper off by the end of January and there are barely any in early February. This year, the tour groups were out in full force our entire trip. Even on our last day, in HS, the walkways were so crowded we could barely move. It's difficult to predict wait times because they fluctuate significantly and randomly throughout the day, with no regard to the time of day--it all depends on where the tour groups are. So, for example, first thing in the morning there could be a 30-minute wait for ToT, then it would randomly drop to 10 minutes, but could jump up again within 20-30 minutes. So if you want short wait times, you have to rely on being lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time. The wait time estimates were also very inaccurate because of large influxes of people all at once. For example, we'd get in a line with a posted 10-minute wait, but unbeknownst to us a large group would have entered the line at some point ahead of us, and the wait could be as long as 30-45 minutes. It was so bad, that my husband and I both agreed after the trip that we would be looking for a different time of year to go. Of course, this could change in the future, with changing exchange rates, etc. Also, I recognize these wait times and crowds are nothing compared to other times of year, but we pull our kids out of school for lower crowds and it was frustrating to go to the most recommended parks during a supposedly slow time of year and find them packed. In previous years, most rides were walk-ons or had a 10-minute wait.

    We've had pretty good luck with the weather this time of year--very little or no rain. Some days can be hot (mid- to high 80s); we've never had days colder than low 60s. Even on the hotter days, a jacket is usually needed in the mornings and evenings.

    We stayed at POFQ for the first time this last trip and really loved it. It's small and pretty. The food was on par with other Disney hotel food courts. Even my DD11 was talking about how much she liked POFQ just the other day. I much prefer it to Pop and think it's worth the extra money.


  15. #14
    Gravity release me... tappenfeat's Avatar
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    POFQ is at the top of my list for Mod's. We went in January 23rd for that week and it was surprisingly and disappointingly crowded. The tour groups took over the parks. I would say average of 7's out of 10 at least each day. President's Day weekend (from previous experience) is also a very busy time of year to go.

    Have fun planning your trip and keep us posted!




    Stephanie

  16. #15

    Thanks, guys! Glad to hear the feedback. I have found WDW is very difficult to predict crowd-wise. Once they get a trend going, they switch something up and then, boom, it's crowded again. We went once in September, right after Labor Day, and it was lovely. The next year, they started the free dining promo, and all of a sudden, the place was hopping. We went the first week in December and it was lovely. Next time we picked that time of year, they had Pop Warner and every known convention to mankind. So, while I avoid times I *know* will be crowded, those "off times" are harder to find. Same with Disneyland now, too.

    Maybe mid-late January would be better? But then I am running into MLK day. Is that a big holiday in Florida? Want to avoid the marathon and Valentine's day. How is March?

    This and all of my posts are in the public domain. I am a lawyer. I am not your lawyer, and this is not legal advice.

  17. #16
    Gravity release me... tappenfeat's Avatar
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    The farther you get to Spring, like March, that's when Spring Breakers are arriving and High School Senior Trips. I hear you totally on the off times are harder to find. If Disney is offering a promotion, then the crowds tend to peak higher. I'm finding it harder and harder to go when it was once "oh so spacious" without crowds. But, with a lot of planning ahead, you will really have a great time no matter what. I think that perhaps end of February would be good. MLK also makes the crowds swell a bit. Anytime there's a Holiday and kids have off from school. The locals tend to fill the parks also.

    Valentine's Day usually wraps into President's Day. We went one year...the crowds were about 8/9's on average. No special offers were going on at the time either.




    Stephanie

  18. #17

    I've been checking wait times on my phone at random times of days since we got back (yes, I'm weird like that) and the wait times in mid- to late February (except President's Day weekend) and the first week in March were about the same or shorter than what we experienced--even though the parks were supposedly busier. For example, we were at MK at rope drop and practically ran to Enchanted Tales with Belle, and the wait time was an hour. Same thing at DH for TSMM, and the wait time was 45 minutes. Other, times of year the lines for those rides don't get that long that fast. DH and I have decided we'd rather go at a "more crowded" time of year than contend with the tour groups again.

    If you do go in January, though, one thing that we noticed is that the tour groups tend to leave the parks in mid- to late-afternoon, so the parks are often less crowded in the evenings until closing.


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