March at Disney ???

[cruising spud]

I spent 35 years as a teacher, which means that each and every trip we ever took to Disney was during the summer. Which means I only know Disney as a hot, humid friend.

But now... both my husband and I are retired, and we would like to finally visit Disney when the weather is glorious.

So, I am thinking about heading to Disney in early March of 2019, and staying for two weeks. The weather maps I looked at seem to put the temperature in the 70's, and the crowds seem moderate.

Just wanted to check in with those of you who have camped at Disney during this time. Yes?

Thanks for the input.

 

[tiggerdad]

Okay, March can get very crowded starting that second week due to spring break crowds. In MS our spring break is early, so second week of March. As that week went on it got more and more packed. Comparable to summer crowds we've seen, and then more. Of course the temps were by far better than summer by a long shot.

If you choose March I would recommend first week for sure. Just seemed to me to get more packed as month went on, plus it's one of the most expensive rates of the year starting 2nd week. I was paying like $165 a night where summer rates were easily $40-50 night cheaper.

Again, great weather, but price and crowd wise made me decide that I wasn't interested in a spring break run again.

Just my $.02

 

[sippican]

Congratulations on your retirement! Being a retired school administrator, I can relate. We love vacationing during the quieter periods. That being said, we visit WDW at least three times a year. Be aware that March can be an gamble - some of the larger states have school vacations during that month (Florida- last week or March, and Texas 2nd week for example), and the colleges are typically the second week of March. It can be very, very busy!You may want to refer to some of the crowd calendars available online. As far as the weather, it's just as unpredictable. For example, in December we have been absolutely miserable, or very chilly! If I were to choose two weeks during that time they would be the very last week of February, and the first week of March, as tiggerdad suggests. Also think about if there are any special events you'd like to see: Food and Wine, Flower and Garden, Halloween (it's a big deal at The Fort), or Christmas. Just be prepared for all kinds of weather, and have a ball.

 

[friendofeeyore]

Congratulations on your retirement! DH & myself retired in Dec. 2017 & love it. We can do the Dis meet @ Gulf Shores State Park Memorial week. Think about coming - lots of fun. We like Feb. @ the Fort. We will have be there 11/16 thru 12/7. Have fun on your trip.

 

[cruising spud]

Thanks for the replies. I am not locked into March. I thought we could de-winterize the rv, head on down to Florida, and then not have to worry about winterizing again, once we got home (we live in Pennsylvania). Perhaps the last week in February and the first week of March? Is the weather fine enough?

And, I have always read about the meet and greets that many of you have, but again, until now, have never really had the time. Perhaps it's time to start thinking about getting friendly with all of the helpful people on this forum.

 

[michelb]

Check the Spring Break week for Florida School Boards. We typically go 2 weeks and the Spring Break for Ontario is usually the week before so we straddle the weeks and there's a significant difference in crowds. Different school boards have different Spring Breaks so anytime starting near the end of February, you will get some visitors on Spring Break but as long it's not the week of Florida Spring Breaks, it's really not going to be that crowded.

I suspect that last week of Feb, first week of March would be very good and the weather SHOULD be fine BUT I suspect that if you return to Penn that early, you will have to winterize (we're further North (Ottawa, ON, Canada - probably 6-8 hours from you depending on where you are in Penn) but we probably have to winterize if we return before mid-April (really doesn't take much to freeze; one year it was still above freezing as we were driving so I was staling because we were almost home and sure enough, as we were driving north, the temperatures were dropping and we probably drove for an hour in freezing temperatures. Luckily the damage was limited (just the part holding the screen filter on the water pump cracked and I was able to glue it) but it could have been a lot worse; I wasn't able to winterize when we stopped because the water was frozen in the pipes and even with a hair dryer, I couldn't get it to flow again - I had to wait until the next day for it to thaw so that I could properly winterize).

 

[dakotix]

We're going last week of Feb through first week of March. Although this tends to be less busy, I've heard that is Mardi Gras week so the crowds may be higher than usual.

 

[mickeyfan0805]

We're going last week of Feb through first week of March. Although this tends to be less busy, I've heard that is Mardi Gras week so the crowds may be higher than usual.

This is true. Ash Wednesday is 3/6, so Mardi Gras is 3/5. Not sure how much of an impact it will really have, but the timing does overlap.

Overall, with Easter late this year, crowds will likely be high from mid-March through mid-April, but they won't be quite as bad as some years, as Easter doesn't hit until April 21. Holy Week (the week before Easter) will be the peak time, the rest of the dates will likely be akin to summer crowds or less (6 or 7 out of 10).

 

[cruising spud]

Thanks, everyone for the replies. I am leaning towards the last week of February and the first week of March. I'm going to research spring breaks a bit.

I appreciate all of the info everyone has given me. My husband and I are super excited about going to Disney when the weather is nice.

 

[jaredjohn4]

I'm retired from our local school system, but my wife isn't yet, so spring break it is for us. I vote for the last week of February if you can swing it, but be prepared to winterize when you come home if you need to. Last year I left the fort for northern Illinois on 4/1. Made it home ok, but then ran the furnace a couple days later trying to keep everything from freezing. We are going the last week of March again this year. I'm bringing along a small air compressor to blow out the lines and some antifreeze to dump in the holding tanks just in case. As stated, the weather in Florida is a crap shoot. One year it was a little cool, so the next year we flew to Disneyland for spring break. It was colder yet, so now we continue to go to camp at the fort now and take our chances with the weather. This way we can bring our dog with. She likes looking for armadillos.

 

[Teamubr]

I don't see anyone addressing the weather variability. We also used to be locked into the school schedules until DS graduated last year. We have been down a number of times in February and March. As others have discussed, avoid Spring Break if you can. I've been down twice the week before Easter and both times said, "Never again".

Be prepared for 40s to 90s on the weather. This past February, it was 80-90 every day. The local news said they were having near record highs each day. I've also been down when you needed heavy jackets all day with temps in the 40s waiting for the bus. A few here on the Fort Forum were down several weeks before us and they had below freezing temps several mornings... and they were tent camping.

Easter is late this year, so end of February/early March should be pretty good for crowds. This year we were down the end of February/early March and the crowds were 3-4 most days.

j

 

[cruising spud]

Teamubr-good to know that the weather can be all over the place. Thanks for the input.

 

[PaHunter]

Thanks for the replies. I am not locked into March. I thought we could de-winterize the rv, head on down to Florida, and then not have to worry about winterizing again, once we got home (we live in Pennsylvania). Perhaps the last week in February and the first week of March? Is the weather fine enough?

And, I have always read about the meet and greets that many of you have, but again, until now, have never really had the time. Perhaps it's time to start thinking about getting friendly with all of the helpful people on this forum.

We have done the last week in Feb, first week of March from Northeastern PA. De-winterized at our first stop in SC, as leaving here in PA it was minus 10 degrees out. Still had to re winterize upon our return home, since there would be freezing temps well in to March, maybe even April depending. Now we are in South Central PA, and might get away with not re winterizing at that time, but you never know.

 

[rideswithchrist]

We'll be there the 3-10th and I am hoping the Mardi Gras crowding isn't too bad, but I expect the weather to be pleasant.