How bad is Presidents Day week really?

[Brett Wyman]

We still have young kids and I don't like massive crowds. Im okay with "Disney" crowds just not 7-10 level park days. But my wife has a conference in Orlando the week of Presidents day and we can stay for free at the Orlando World Center Marriott for 6 nights. We wanted to come in the Friday prior and hit Universal, kids have never been, Saturday and Sunday and then we would do Disney during the week. We are AP at Disney so we could be laid back about when and where we went. I know this isn't the Universal sub-forum but those two days Im the most worried about. I would skip Monday and just swim at the hotel and then hit the Disney parks spontaneously Tues-Friday. Crazy or doable if I hate huge crowds?

 

[cmmelzer]

We went to disney for a week last year during Presidents day and it was pretty terrible. I dont mind crowds. People dont bother me. Ive spent plenty of time down on Bourbon street during Mardi Gras and such. And at one point i looked up at MK in front of the castle and was like "Oh my gosh....we gotta go this is insane"

 

[Cinderumbrella]

We flew home on President Tuesday this year. The crowds were in full force by Saturday before. FoP hit a 6 hour standby that weekend.

 

[Brett Wyman]

Yeah I think Im going to pass. Its hard to pass up a free hotel but it sounds like its just not worth it. Touring plans has the overall park at somewhere between 8-10 all of those days. Yikes!

 

[shocker]

Historical attendance data shows President's week as VERY high attendance. I would never recommend it.

TP has Sat 2/15 at solid level 10 for every park. At this level, you are facing park closures due to capacity. EVERY single thing you want to do will have a line...drink at a water fountain, use the restroom, get a snack at a cart, etc. etc.

I don't know why anyone with this knowledge would knowingly join in this madness. To me, its only the unsuspecting that would be there.

 

[Sweet Pea Reed]

Our vacation two years ago ended the Friday before President's Day, and the touring plans website we followed showed MK (the park we were in) as an 8. I'm glad it was our last day. Stand-by line at Haunted Mansion, our last ride of the day, was at 40 minutes. I don't like crowds, either, which is why we usually visit a week and a half before Presidents Day.

 

[focusondisney]

I’m in western NY, most schools in our area are off for winter break that whole week. And lots of people head to Orlando. I think the TP predictions are pretty accurate.

 

[shocker]

We still have young kids and I don't like massive crowds. Im okay with "Disney" crowds just not 7-10 level park days. But my wife has a conference in Orlando the week of Presidents day and we can stay for free at the Orlando World Center Marriott for 6 nights.

I would for sure so stay for free at this resort. Swim at the awesome grotto. As AP's I'd head to the water park (likely only one will be open in Feb) at opening & leave if it gets too busy. I'd also book some resort ADR's where you could be immersed at Disney without being in the parks. Have a character meal, ride the monorail, go mini golf, do some shopping, hit DS at opening (have lunch there & split, it will also get crazy busy). Go to the Disney outlet store & stock up on your park gear for future trips.

 

[Ermise]

I'll give you a different perspective. We went over President's Day this past February with the expectation that it would be crowded but we have been many times and knew how it would go. It was crowded but very manageable. Our magic kingdom days went well where we used additional fastpasses (after the first three) throughout the day and never waited in a long line. Overall it was one of the smoothest weeks we had at WDW. The weather was warmer than normal so that helped as well. I would say the only issue we were frustrated with was how often rides were down. The upside to that was being able to "upgrade" fastpasses to other more attractive rides when Buzz Light Year was down or Primeval Whirl was down, etc. if we had fastpasses we couldn't use. We even got a same day Fastpass for 7DMT in the evening for 5 people. Overall it was a very good week.

 

[stinkpickle]

If you have APs and a free hotel stay, just go. It's almost always crowded anyway, and at least the rides will be running at full capacity.

 

[sophy1996]

One year we were at WDW the week of Presidents' Day (Thursday and Friday following) and there were signs saying there was no seating available at any time at any sit-down restaurant in MK or Epcot. Not one restaurant. That's pretty busy, in my mind. (Of course, those of us who already had our plans in place were fine as far as eating went.)

 

[SaintsManiac]

6 free nights in Orlando and you're actually thinking you won't go??? GO! Have fun! Grab some FPs and enjoy!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

AP and free resort?! Heck yeah, I'd go!! We were there over President's Day weekend this year and, yes, crowds were large, but we still had fun. We go to WDW often, so, when the crowds get big, we just find off-the-beaten track things to do - water parks, mini-golf, fun restaurants, pool, resort activities, etc. There is always something fun to do and it's better than sitting at home, IMHO!

 

[krissyh]

Another WNYer here. I've done President's Week several times. It used to be that by Thursday the crowds really started to thin out, but the run Disney events changed things. It is nothing like Christmas or Easter. If you do early days and plan your fastpasses well, you can avoid the worst of the crowds. Keep in mind that pools days may not be an option. Some years we have hit a water park and melted with temps in the mid-80s and others there have been days the pool was closed due to cold.

 

[ClapYourHands]

You've got a free hotel and APs. Go!!!!!

Don't plan on full park days full of everything where you'd have to fight crowds. Just get your 3 FP, do them, and see if there's anything else that looks appealing. Maybe watch a show or two. Go back to the hotel to swim/chill, or else go out and play some mini golf or something.

 

[OKW Lover]

Presidents day week (including those before and after the actual day) is very crowded. It follows only Christmas/New Year and Thanksgiving as far as crowd levels. go.

 

[bookbabe626]

Over the past year, we visited WDW for a number of long weekends...Labour Day, Columbus Day, Presidents Day and Easter were the holiday ones. We’ve also been over Christmas/NYE in other years.

Presidents Day was worse than any of the other holidays except Xmas/NYE...but it was almost that bad. It was way worse than Easter.

 

[Amanda999]

FWIW Massachusetts public schools have vacation that week (every year, starting with Presidents' Day).

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Crowds are just shades of grey in my opinion. I wouldn’t pass up staying at that resort and having some care free days to explore WDW and Orlando. The weather is often quite nice that time of year.

The Princess Half Marathon weekend starts the back half of Pres Day week next year, but I wouldn’t let that influence you either.

Mardi Gras is the following week, so at least you have that going for you.

Great time of year, IMO - especially for APs who don’t “have” to do everything and can just roll with things.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Another New Englander here, and we went for Feb break in 2016. I realize one year is no longer a good predictor of the next, but we had a good time. We were newbies, so didn't really have much point of reference, but found the parks to be reasonable for the latter half of the week. We started in Clearwater, and didn't get to Disney until Wednesday, so that probably worked in our favor. This was in the days before "refresh," so we just planned our 3 FPs, did some rope-dropping, looked for shorter lines, and sometimes just sucked it up and waited. We also went with open hearts, and stopped to enjoy little moments where we found them, like dancing with the drummers in AK.

I think if you go in with the mindset that this trip is a bonus, you'll be fine. It's only if you approach this a trip with a laundry list of must-do activities that you'll be disappointed.