OP here - thank you again for all of the helpful replies. I know we don't HAVE to take our kids to Disney; we actually WANT to do this trip.

Our other choice is the week of President's Day (Feb 15 - 20). We are not interested in the water parks or pools (although if we got a hotel with an indoor pool we wouldn't complain), so that's not really a consideration. Is mid-February a better time, crowd-wise? Will the rides (except the water rides) all be open?

Thanks again!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those ages, I would pull them out of school in late September.

In FCPS, end of 2nd Q is perfect. 4 day weekend, then you only need to take the kids out of school for 3 days to make a full week.

Its not blazing hot, and its off season -- lines are good.

Only downside is if you were planning on swimming -- it is a bit chilly, but some people still swim.

It's rarely (as in almost never) too cool to swim in Florida in September. I live here. September is sometimes our hottest month. Even in North Florida it is hot all the way through October. Our weather every day this week has high temps in the 90s.

end of 2nd quarter is the winter.

No later than June or wait until a long weekend in late Sept through November. Our favorite week was in Jan. No crowds weather was cool. Not swimming weather but great for everything else including the rates for Disney hotels.

Anonymous wrote:You know you don't have to take your kids to Disney, right?

You don't?????????? I did not know this!!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those ages, I would pull them out of school in late September.

In FCPS, end of 2nd Q is perfect. 4 day weekend, then you only need to take the kids out of school for 3 days to make a full week.

Its not blazing hot, and its off season -- lines are good.

Only downside is if you were planning on swimming -- it is a bit chilly, but some people still swim.

It's rarely (as in almost never) too cool to swim in Florida in September. I live here. September is sometimes our hottest month. Even in North Florida it is hot all the way through October. Our weather every day this week has high temps in the 90s.

We went right after school ended in mid-June last summer. Although it was crowded and hot, it really wasn't that bad. We all still had lots of fun and with fast Passes the waits weren't so bad except on a couple of rides. I would rather do mid-June than August. it's probably even hotter than August.

^week

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those ages, I would pull them out of school in late September.

Don't do this. Mickey says school is the priority.

One week of a great family vacation is a priority for us. Kids are in school for 13yrs. Once they start middle/high school it becomes too tricky. Missing a wek of elementary is cake.n

Anonymous wrote:For those ages, I would pull them out of school in late September.

Don't do this. Mickey says school is the priority.

Anonymous wrote:For those ages, I would pull them out of school in late September.

In FCPS, end of 2nd Q is perfect. 4 day weekend, then you only need to take the kids out of school for 3 days to make a full week.

Its not blazing hot, and its off season -- lines are good.

Only downside is if you were planning on swimming -- it is a bit chilly, but some people still swim.

We've gone both times and both were OK (for us). I guess June is a little cooler and a little less crowded, but not much.

For those ages, I would pull them out of school in late September.

Having been there in August a few times, I personally love it. The crowds are lower towards the end of August but the hours are long. We go at rope drop, head back to the hotel for pool/naps from 1-4pm and then back to the park until 10+pm. We love it. Another positive is airfare is usually cheaper and clothes (bathing suits, summer clothes) are on super clearance.


The only negative is don't come back the day or two before school starts. It is NOT fun. You need downtime from Disney.

Just got back from a week there right before Labor Day. It was blazing hot but not very crowded bc most kids are back to school. It seemed like mostly kids from the NE and Brits. But I suspect even a week earlier it might be more crowded. Agree that it's good to go in with a plan.

If you decide to go in the summer, hit their waterparks. My family can't handle WDW in the summer. We did it once, and by 1pm we were ready to strangle one another! We spent most of our time standing in lines for rides or water. It was just miserable. On the other hands, we spent several days at the waterparks, and everybody had a great time.