March, April, or May? Best mix of weather and manageable crowds?

Alucard84

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jul 22, 2018
Wanting to go in 2019, but wife can't tolerate the heat very well. So, June-September are out. Have to wait till at least March so we have the income tax refund to top off the savings. Have 34m(me), 35f(wife), 35f(friend), and 3f(daughter) going. The friend is visually impaired so the less crowded it is the better. So kind of need a mix of cooler weather and more manageable crowds. If that's at all possible.
 
Cold ok? If so, keep March in the mix.
If not, don't consider anything in early March.
We've gone several times (DGD's birthday is 3/11) and been freezing (literally, below 32)
Beyond that, you have to watch for Easter and Spring Break. The 2 are not necessarily the same either. Spring Break is whenever best fits a change in semesters/testing schedules. That may not be at the same time as Easter.
So my thought is later in April is the best.
We like May (Memorial Day is our regular summer trip with DGD) but the heat builds by then. So if your DW can't do heat, May is going to be out. Even early May can be pretty warm
 
Based on the results of this Spring Break 2019 poll
https://www.disboards.com/threads/spring-break-poll-for-2019.3680025/
I'd say your best week for lowest crowds is April 8-12.

Weather shouldn't be too terribly warm by then, but I would hesitate to go any later than that from a weather standpoint. We think the weather in mid-March is ideal, but the crowds are definitely heavy then.
Agree with these dates, later you will hit Easter crowds. Pretty much most of March will be spring break.
 


How's the first week in March look? It seems comparable to that week in April if you go by the crowd calender's.
 
I'm going the first week in March which is usually a light spring break week -- maybe some colleges. My one concern is that Mardi Gras is that week in 2019. I didn't see that showing up for a major increase in crowds on crowd calendars I looked at, though, and was able to get much better airfares then than later in the month. June - Sept. are our for me for the heat. I also avoid party season (Oct. / Nov. / Dec. and Christmas.
 
I'm going the first week in March which is usually a light spring break week -- maybe some colleges. My one concern is that Mardi Gras is that week in 2019. I didn't see that showing up for a major increase in crowds on crowd calendars I looked at, though, and was able to get much better airfares then than later in the month. June - Sept. are our for me for the heat. I also avoid party season (Oct. / Nov. / Dec. and Christmas.

Magic Kingdom park hours are kind of shorter too. Closes at 8 most nights(EMH till 10 one night). Good and bad I guess. Less time in the parks, but with a 3 year old, its hard for her to pull the late nights anyway.
 


We had idyllic weather in mid-April 2017. We spent an extended Easter weekend there, and crowds were reasonable.
 
How's the first week in March look? It seems comparable to that week in April if you go by the crowd calender's.

Yes, I think it would be equally good. And virtually no chance of any hot weather. Could have some chilly evenings.
 
Magic Kingdom park hours are kind of shorter too. Closes at 8 most nights(EMH till 10 one night). Good and bad I guess. Less time in the parks, but with a 3 year old, its hard for her to pull the late nights anyway.

These hours will probably change as time approaches. It's rare MK closes at 8:00.

Will Mardi Gras on March 5th have a big impact on crowds?

Mardi Gras will have an impact. It has surprised some in the past, but it will probably still be comparable to that weekend in April people are suggesting.
 
We have been in March, April, and May a lot... our first trip was the beginning of March and it was cold and rainy most of the trip. Since then we have avoided that time and go mid March to Mid April and the weather during that time is so Beautiful! Most days are warm enough to swim and we have had very little rain (although it is FL so rain happens). May 2nd-15th the year we did it was SO hot and I would not be able to do May again.
 
We went early May. It was much hotter than we expected...we had planned on mid 80's but it was mid 90's while we were there. Ten degrees may not seem like much but it was a huge difference considering it was in the low 40's at home.
 
How's the first week in March look? It seems comparable to that week in April if you go by the crowd calender's.

Yes, I think it would be equally good. And virtually no chance of any hot weather. Could have some chilly evenings.
As I posted, early March is very risky temps wise. It was beyond chilly on 2 of our trips, with 1 being below freezing at night. It was first day of F&G and they had to cover every topiary on property to prevent frost damage.
So if avoiding any potential of freezing, avoid that week.
 
The first weekend in April is the Star Wars RunDisney race weekend. People will start coming in on the 2nd & 3rd, traffic & transportation will be impacted (especially on that Sunday) and park crowd levels will be up through the following Monday (4/8/19) or so. I would avoid that weekend if you can.
 
The first weekend in April is the Star Wars RunDisney race weekend. People will start coming in on the 2nd & 3rd, traffic & transportation will be impacted (especially on that Sunday) and park crowd levels will be up through the following Monday (4/8/19) or so. I would avoid that weekend if you can.

First - I would recommend April over March/May weather wise. It’s warm but not humid or hot. It’s flower and garden. It’s perfect.

You MUST avoid Easter. Crowds will start rolling in around the 11th/12th for Easter Spring break.

We are usually there for the Star Wars Race. I don’t believe this should be a big factor as it does not impact park crowds IMO. This race will impact early morning (7-10am traffic on the half marathon day). And traffic will be a little congested on the 10K - 7-8:30am-ish.

We plan our park visits for those days a bit around the traffic and try to avoid the roads (if you are staying near a park, go there instead of crossing the complex).

I think that the weekend of April 5-8 will be less busy than 11-14th, so if you are trying to plan for one of them - Star Wars weekend is better than first spring break weekend!!
 
First - I would recommend April over March/May weather wise. It’s warm but not humid or hot. It’s flower and garden. It’s perfect.

You MUST avoid Easter. Crowds will start rolling in around the 11th/12th for Easter Spring break.

We are usually there for the Star Wars Race. I don’t believe this should be a big factor as it does not impact park crowds IMO. This race will impact early morning (7-10am traffic on the half marathon day). And traffic will be a little congested on the 10K - 7-8:30am-ish.

We plan our park visits for those days a bit around the traffic and try to avoid the roads (if you are staying near a park, go there instead of crossing the complex).

I think that the weekend of April 5-8 will be less busy than 11-14th, so if you are trying to plan for one of them - Star Wars weekend is better than first spring break weekend!!

Easter is late this year, April 21st, are people really going to be arriving on the 11th or 12th for Easter??

I’m still trying to pick a week for April and can’t decide. Easter being so late this year really messes up my plans haha! :rotfl:
 
My wife and I have traveled down to WDW every year since 2010 on the last week of February. Average temp was 80. It has only rained once in all those years and that was for 6 hours-not a heavy rain either. It cools down to 60+ in the evening but as I am traveling down from Michigan where it was 10 degrees, 60 is a treat. Crowds are also lower. In 2009 we were there at the end of March and it was already in the upper 90's every day. Hence the move to February.
 
Easter is late this year, April 21st, are people really going to be arriving on the 11th or 12th for Easter??

I’m still trying to pick a week for April and can’t decide. Easter being so late this year really messes up my plans haha! :rotfl:

Most have the last day of school as April 12th. Airfare prices in my neck of the woods are astronomical for the weekend. We are heading down on Thursday to pay reasonable prices.

(We are heading to Disney for just 2 nights before heading on a cruise that week - Disney over Easter Vacation is crazy!)

Disney has blocked April 13 for 2 weeks for AP Block Outs and DVC Premiere season. I think they are expecting it to be busy too! The spring break thread agreed.
 
First - I would recommend April over March/May weather wise. It’s warm but not humid or hot. It’s flower and garden. It’s perfect.

You MUST avoid Easter. Crowds will start rolling in around the 11th/12th for Easter Spring break.

We are usually there for the Star Wars Race. I don’t believe this should be a big factor as it does not impact park crowds IMO. This race will impact early morning (7-10am traffic on the half marathon day). And traffic will be a little congested on the 10K - 7-8:30am-ish.

We plan our park visits for those days a bit around the traffic and try to avoid the roads (if you are staying near a park, go there instead of crossing the complex).

I think that the weekend of April 5-8 will be less busy than 11-14th, so if you are trying to plan for one of them - Star Wars weekend is better than first spring break weekend!!

I disagree that the Star Wars races won’t impact park crowds. I’ve been that weekend last year and this year and found that crowd levels dropped dramatically after that Monday. The levels shouldn’t ruin anyone’s visit but they should have that information before making their decision on when to go.
 

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