Should we book in January or February?

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

On our next trip we will be all adults and one four year old. We don't need to plan around a school schedule and we don't want to go when its hot or when its super busy so we have been discussing January or February. We would like to stay when it is considered value rates so Presidents Week and MLK week probably wouldn't work. I also have heard the tour groups are bad in January so I'm thinking February would be better. What do you think? What week would be the best crowd wise? Thanks for your help. Oh and its going to be be a year or two we are just in Very early planning stages.

[faline]

The first couple of weeks in February are typically a good time to go. It can be quite chilly, though so plan for that as well.

[Itchy]

I believe the week before Valentine's they have cheerleader competition there. I would check the WDW web site for dates.

I have been there twice the week of Valentines and enjoyed it with the temps ranging from the 30's to mid 60's.

Hope this helps..

[Strmchsr]

The first couple of weeks in February are typically a good time to go. It can be quite chilly, though so plan for that as well.

It's been my experience the South American tour groups generally leave by the end of January so you have a week or two break between them and the cheerleaders and spring break crowds starting in mid-February.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

Hmmm...sounds like the first week of February then, maybe the second week. We don't mind a little chilly, rather that than really hot. Thanks for the replies

[AgentC]

I agree on the beginning of February too. I found the crowds much light than Jan or late Feb.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

I'd been thinking the last week of January or first week of February, but don't want to experience high crowds. If the tour groups don't pose too much of a problem it would be okay, but again just don't want high crowds. We've always been at Christmas time with the exception of one trip and we are tired of long lines. Thanks for all the suggestions.

[ransam]

i went last year Feb 1-6th and loved it.
There were cheerleaders and the brazillian groups there, but to me that adds to the fun. I think it's really cool to see there enthusiasm.
the weather last year was ok. It was warm most days.

[ANG]

Don't forget it's more expensive in Feb! Almost the entire month of Jan is the adventure season (cheapest) of the two

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

i went last year Feb 1-6th and loved it.
There were cheerleaders and the brazillian groups there, but to me that adds to the fun. I think it's really cool to see there enthusiasm.
the weather last year was ok. It was warm most days.

The only concern I have about the tour groups is longer lines, otherwise I think we could manage okay

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

Don't forget it's more expensive in Feb! Almost the entire month of Jan is the adventure season (cheapest) of the two

I was looking on another site and it had almost the entire month of February as value season along with January. I think MLK week and President's weeks were the only exceptions. Can someone confirm this?

[ANG]

Well I'm going off my DVC information. For us, February in a more popular time to book

[Buttercup]

I was looking on another site and it had almost the entire month of February as value season along with January. I think MLK week and President's weeks were the only exceptions. Can someone confirm this?

I believe mid February the rates go up because that's when spring breaks start to happen. January is always cheaper.
Here's the Info Central link on when is the best time to go. Rule of thumb: when it's more crowded, it's more expensive. :-) When it's less crowded, the prices are lower because they're trying to attract more people.
http://intercot.com/infocentral/weather/whentovisit.asp

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

Well I'm going off my DVC information. For us, February in a more popular time to book

Thanks we will keep that in mind

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

I believe mid February the rates go up because that's when spring breaks start to happen. January is always cheaper.
Here's the Info Central link on when is the best time to go. Rule of thumb: when it's more crowded, it's more expensive. :-) When it's less crowded, the prices are lower because they're trying to attract more people.
http://intercot.com/infocentral/weather/whentovisit.asp

I was thinking more of the first week of February...if we do January probably the last week of January. I'll check the link, thanks

[Gator]

Hello, old friend. You really can't go wrong with either month. I've been the last of January once, the first of Feb once, and one trip it was both.

The crowds are slightly less in January than February. The tour groups are there in force, but I've never found them to be a bother. The down side is Splash Mt is always down in January - that said, it's been down in February, too.

February - I've never had a day in Feb that was cold. Never. It's perfect that month as the only chance of cold weather is usually in Dec and Jan. Of course, cold is always better in FL than hot. Also, if you're there on Super Bowl Sunday, I can vouch for Epcot and DHS being ghost towns.

Both times would be cheap for hotels, unless you go with DVC. But the deals are so good this time of year, it would be pointless to rent points. You really can't lose on either time. I'd start judging by when you can get flights cheapest, if there's any price variation. Man, just talking about this makes me want to start booking a trip right now.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

Hello, old friend. You really can't go wrong with either month. I've been the last of January once, the first of Feb once, and one trip it was both.

The crowds are slightly less in January than February. The tour groups are there in force, but I've never found them to be a bother. The down side is Splash Mt is always down in January - that said, it's been down in February, too.

February - I've never had a day in Feb that was cold. Never. It's perfect that month as the only chance of cold weather is usually in Dec and Jan. Of course, cold is always better in FL than hot. Also, if you're there on Super Bowl Sunday, I can vouch for Epcot and DHS being ghost towns.

Both times would be cheap for hotels, unless you go with DVC. But the deals are so good this time of year, it would be pointless to rent points. You really can't lose on either time. I'd start judging by when you can get flights cheapest, if there's any price variation. Man, just talking about this makes me want to start booking a trip right now.

Thanks for the advice. We have always driven but are considering flying this time as my sister doesn't want to be away from her job too long, so I will check into the flight costs. The cold doesn't bother us, we really are more interested in getting value rates and having low crowds, as long as the tour groups don't cause hour long waits we'll be happy

[Wolf]

We did a few trips at the end of Jan and I can't really recomend that time, I'd say more of Feb would be better, the tour groups were crazy when we went towards the end of Jan and the crowds were pretty rough. I think there is a big cheerleading thing in Jan as well but can't be certain. I know its around then though because we've always checked and rechecked to make sure we avoid that time.

And like everyone says sometimes the tour groups act like saints and sometimes they are terrors, I think the same thing goes for the cheerleaders from what I've read, I just mention them based on your want to avoid crowds.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

We did a few trips at the end of Jan and I can't really recomend that time, I'd say more of Feb would be better, the tour groups were crazy when we went towards the end of Jan and the crowds were pretty rough. I think there is a big cheerleading thing in Jan as well but can't be certain. I know its around then though because we've always checked and rechecked to make sure we avoid that time.

And like everyone says sometimes the tour groups act like saints and sometimes they are terrors, I think the same thing goes for the cheerleaders from what I've read, I just mention them based on your want to avoid crowds.

Okay thanks maybe the first week of February then...BTW is there a way to find out what parks the tour groups plan to be in on any given day?