How bad will President's Day week be? (Feb 18-22)

[aimcat]

My fiance and I are wanting to plan to use our 4 days/night off of work for a trip to Universal, Disney and maybe another park. Never been around this time of year and just realized the dates we want to go fall during Presidents day on the 19th? How bad is this week to go?

 

[Genie+]

Around Prez Day is busy. One or more of those days can rank near the top 10 busiest of the year.

From thrilldata:


This is a little more than the last 2 years of data for wait times at WDW. I marked the Prez peaks for ‘22 and ‘23.

How ‘bad’ it is depends what you want out of the trip. We visited last year in March during the next red spike after Prez week. Very busy, but acceptable because we just wanted to get away and we visit often enough that skipping some attractions didn’t ruin our experience. It’s a compromise I’d likely not recommend to infrequent visitor though.

 

[Smugpugmug]

I wouldn't recommend going around that time if you're not a frequent visitor to the parks. Both Disney and Universal will be INSANE. Along with the President's day holiday, Disney has the Princess Half Marathon and many Northeastern schools are off.

 

[aimcat]

Would it be bad even with express passes?

 

[Smugpugmug]

Would it be bad even with express passes?

Waits will be shorter with Express but they'll still be longer than if you were going during a slower time. I've gone during peak times with Express and waited an hour for Gringotts, 1 hour 10 minutes for Minions and an hour for Kong.

Also Universal is typically slow as molasses when it comes to quick service restaurants during slow times, so it'll be even worse during President's day week.

 

[aimcat]

When would be the next least busy times near this date?

 

[Genie+]

When would be the next least busy times near this date?

The tail end of Feb is usually good. Moving your trip out 1 week later should see a big difference.

 

[aimcat]

What about the beginning of March? Dont know if I am missing something but but the calendars then also say very busy?

 

[SkyGuy]

What about the beginning of March? Dont know if I am missing something but but the calendars then also say very busy?

That’s the start of Spring Break season.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

Would it be bad even with express passes?

It depends. To me it is not bad with express. We’ve gone Thanksgiving week many times and we were there the first week of Jan this year which was very busy because FL schools were still off from the holidays. I would never go to Disney at those times. And the first day this past trip we were at IOA with friends who didn’t have Express. It was frustrating to not be able to go on anything with less than an hour wait. But with EP, it was fine. Most waits are still 20 mins or less. A couple rides get long EP lines (Gringotts, Hogwarts Express from Kings Cross, and Minions) so you want to be strategic about when you ride them. Mobile order helped a lot with quick service. But if being in the midst of big crowds bothers you then it could be unpleasant for you. The only thing I would have loved to be different was to have lines at Hagrid’s less than 120 minutes.

 

[keishashadow]

OP

Good info here, usually on the mark. He explains ‘why’ when he indicates busy dates

Have discovered February is one of those months where it’s either quite busy or it’s not. No I’m between.

Lots going on, including race at Disney latter part of month

https://www.disneytouristblog.com/february-disney-world/

Undercovertourist & disneytouring also good sources

 

[Dakota731]

What about MLK week? Is that as busy as President’s week?

 

[SkyGuy]

What about MLK week? Is that as busy as President’s week?

No. MLK is only one day and right at the start of the school after break ends. Some school districts do an extended break over Presidents Day - like take off the day before and/or after, scheduled as either a break for all or a teachers workday. The Daytona 500 is also around that time - not sure if that crowd would head to the parks or not. Mardi Gras people may also be there extending into the 19th.

 

[Mle8308]

What about MLK week? Is that as busy as President’s week?

Not as busy, but it is definitely trending busier than years before. From a lot of reports, this January has been quite busy at WDW, more so than before.

 

[Dakota731]

No. MLK is only one day and right at the start of the school after break ends. Some school districts do an extended break over Presidents Day - like take off the day before and/or after, scheduled as either a break for all or a teachers workday. The Daytona 500 is also around that time - not sure if that crowd would head to the parks or not. Mardi Gras people may also be there extending into the 19th.

I thought Mardi Gras at Universal starts in February?

 

[SkyGuy]

I thought Mardi Gras at Universal starts in February?

It does; it’s the week before Presidents Day, so it overlaps a few days and could ramp up crowds. I was referring to presidents day and not MLK when talking about Mardi Gras - as in the crowds from Louisiana converging on Orlando, not the Mardi Gras festivities at Universal.

 

[mamapenguin]

I thought Mardi Gras at Universal starts in February?

It does. The food booths are up and ready to go and merchandise is in the stores now. I think it starts this week. My last day in the park was 1/30. Last weekend was busy through Monday. Rock the Universe was Friday/Saturday and there are many Brazilian teen tour groups. ( Beware of the flags)…

 

[Dakota731]

So is it less crowded the week before MLK day or the week of?

 

[Mle8308]

I thought Mardi Gras at Universal starts in February?

So is it less crowded the week before MLK day or the week of?

Google Disney crowd calendars. This will be more accurate as it is based on data, not anecdotal information.

 

[Nabas]

For those who are truly concerned about crowds and have some flexibility with dates, I highly recommend subscribing to a crowd calendar on Touring Plans.

There are times when shifting a week or two can make a world of difference.

Touring Plans keeps track of all events (e.g. holidays, school calendars, Jersey Week, Disney marathons, etc) that affect crowd level at the parks.