Disney in February or March

Sheila E.

Mouseketeer
Joined
Apr 27, 2009
So I want to go in either of these months, Ive only ever been in May before which was nice but I'm really wanting much cooler weather so I'm looking for suggestions on weather and crowds. Thanks everyone. Also I might need one of those electric chairs since depending on how bad my arthritis is it might be necessesary, just wondering how much of a hassle it is to use one and how expensive they are or I could waste a lot of my time stopping and finding a place to rest my poor knees.

Sheila
 
February will generally have lower crowds than March because there are lots of spring breaks in March (except for President's Day week in February, which will have high crowds). The weather can be quite inconsistent day to day; either quite cold or pleasantly mild, so it's hard to say what it will be like any given week.

Scooter rentals are $50 per day. Have you used one before? I do see people who aren't familiar with how to use one struggling a bit to navigate crowds, but the rentals are day-to-day, not length-of-stay, so you could always try it one day and see if it works for you, or try going without it and if your knees are bothering you go back to the park entrance and rent one then.
 
My wife and I travel down every year during the last week of February. In the last 9 years it has only rained once and that was for half the day, the usual high was 82 and low was 68 and humidity was 35-40 percent (low). Crowds are lighter, if that's at all possible. Sorry, I can't answer the question on scooters. 75 days and we are back.
 
We’ve done February twice, this year we’re doing March because we have a conference in Orlando then. Our first February trip was 2015 and crowds were genuinely low, lots of rides were walk ins, it was easy to move through the park, etc. We had some cool nights (chilly by local standards, many people were wearing winter coats, we still found it warm enough in the afternoons to go to the pool for a bit).

February 2018, same week, was much much busier. Still not too hard to get FPs and ADRs, but much harder to navigate the parks, standby lines were very long, etc. Weather was gorgeous, verging on too hot one or two afternoons.

Crowd projections for March 2019 are similar to a bit lower than what we saw in February, but at this point it’s just a guess (albeit an educated one) so we shall see!
 


I did the first full week of March in 2017. The weather was great all week (a little chilly at night the first few days) and the crowds were fine.The longest lines we waited in were the single rider for RNRC at HS and Haunted Mansion in MK (both around 40-45 minutes). Everything else was pretty fast moving.
 
The best time I've gone so far has been the last week of Feb into the first week of March. You miss the winter break/ presidents day crowd, and the spring break crowd won't show up for another couple weeks. The weather is usually great as well. The only downside is the parks sometimes aren't open as late. I love MK late at night. We're going next year for our 10th anniversary on an adults only trip and really looking forward to it.
 


Thanks for this thread. We are thinking the same months for our next trip. We just got back yesterday and early December was not low crowds. This past Saturday was crazy at the magic kingdom. My parents were with us and they said it was the worst they have ever seen. Even more so than The week between Christmas and New Years. We like the cooler temps and hoping for less crowds.
 
Thanks for this thread. We are thinking the same months for our next trip. We just got back yesterday and early December was not low crowds. This past Saturday was crazy at the magic kingdom. My parents were with us and they said it was the worst they have ever seen. Even more so than The week between Christmas and New Years. We like the cooler temps and hoping for less crowds.
I just checked the “data”from the last week, and you’re right, Saturday looks like it was pretty crazy all around. TP shows Saturday at 8 across the park, whereas Sunday was a 2! And then Monday back to 7 again.

Most of the week leading up to that looks to have been pretty slow, though—did it feel crazy other days too? Because the crowd numbers for the other days are lower than what we had in February and lower than the forecast for early March, so you may not find that time of year feels any better. It’s definitely not like it was a few years ago when there was a genuine slow season.
 
If you want a scooter for the length of stay there are lots of providers that will rent you one for however long you want. They will drop it off at your hotel so it’s waiting on you at check in. I think it’s more economical that way, but you do have to take it with you on the transportation to and from the parks.
 
I just checked the “data”from the last week, and you’re right, Saturday looks like it was pretty crazy all around. TP shows Saturday at 8 across the park, whereas Sunday was a 2! And then Monday back to 7 again.

Most of the week leading up to that looks to have been pretty slow, though—did it feel crazy other days too? Because the crowd numbers for the other days are lower than what we had in February and lower than the forecast for early March, so you may not find that time of year feels any better. It’s definitely not like it was a few years ago when there was a genuine slow season.

I am assuming that Saturday was so busy because of the almost 80 degree weather, it was supposed to and did rain on Sunday, and because of the Christmas parties there are only so many days you can get a full day at MK.

We were there Friday to Tuesday. Friday at EPCOT didn’t seem to busy, Sunday at Hollywood didn’t seem busy but it did rain for four hours or so. Monday at MK was busier then we thought it would be. It was a Monday and there was a special ticket from 10pm to 1 am. Tuesday at MK was nice till the Christmas party we attended. I felt it was very busy for that.
 
So I want to go in either of these months, Ive only ever been in May before which was nice but I'm really wanting much cooler weather so I'm looking for suggestions on weather and crowds. Thanks everyone. Also I might need one of those electric chairs since depending on how bad my arthritis is it might be necessesary, just wondering how much of a hassle it is to use one and how expensive they are or I could waste a lot of my time stopping and finding a place to rest my poor knees.

Sheila
The weather in February is a mixed bag. We've been several times in February and I feel like the weather changes day to day. Most of the time it's highs of 70s/low 80s but we've had more otter days than that than cooler days. Feb can be busy with President's Day weekend. We've gone at the beginning of the month, on President's Day and late in February and I've never thought the crowds were terrible. We did March this past year (March 8-12) and it was not my favorite time of year. There were spring breakers, dance/cheer groups and overall the parks appeared more crowded than February. Weather wise it was nice, little chilly but not freezing- maybe 78 high and lows were 60's.

If it were me I'd pick February over March.
 
So I want to go in either of these months, Ive only ever been in May before which was nice but I'm really wanting much cooler weather so I'm looking for suggestions on weather and crowds. Thanks everyone. Also I might need one of those electric chairs since depending on how bad my arthritis is it might be necessesary, just wondering how much of a hassle it is to use one and how expensive they are or I could waste a lot of my time stopping and finding a place to rest my poor knees.

Sheila
Also, you can consider the Epcot festival timing. If you have been in May, you've seen Flower and Garden, which will be also happening in March. If you go early/mid February, you will be able to see Festival of the Arts, which has always had excellent reviews.

For weather, I think you really can't predict things for Orlando. I was there last week. Within 48 hours the temperature had dropped 50 degrees (90 degrees on Sunday, so much I literally cut the sleeves of my longer shirts; 40 degrees on Wednesday; then back up to 80 by Saturday). I would just choose the trip based on when you want to go and then check temperature close to the date and pack accordingly!
 
February to early March isn't too bad.
We were there once mid March in the heart of Spring Break. Not Christmas crazy, but close. Never again.
 
Our spring break is the first week of March and it's also our favourite time to go to WDW. Moderate crowds and weather is usually really nice (never had rain). It can be chilly early in the morning or when the sun is down but days can be really warm.
 
Early February has a much greater risk of encountering a cold spell. "Cooler" is nice...but 40 degree low and 55 degree highs can be challenging.

That said, we keep coming back that time of year every year and Love it, lol!
 
I’d say March because February weather can be unpredictable. On our first trip in February daytime temps were in the 70’s and 80’s and evenings in the parks were comfortable in just a sweatshirt. The next trip only had daytime highs in the 50’s the lows near freezing. Moving around the parks in heavy jackets really takes something out of the experience as does 30 something degree wind chills when watching the nighttime fireworks.
 
We’ve gone the last week of February and first week of March the last three years and loves it. I think it maybe rained once all three years and if it did it wasn’t much. I think Mardi Gras is that first week of March next year though so that could change crowds. Another thing to mention is that first weekend in March has a dance completion called contest of champions. We noticed quite a few large dance groups with their families in mk on that Saturday. I’ve been to Disney in July and October and that feb/mar time wins every time
 
I often go the last week of Feb & first week of March.
Some years warm. Other years freezing.
I'm there for the first few days of Flower & Garden but gone before the assault on the parks from spring break crowds really ramps up.
 
I'd avoid Mardi Gras week. We unknowingly went one year. Kept seeing TONS of LSU and New Orleans Saints gear. Finally asked somebody in line about it. Was told that it was very common for folks in Louisiana to come to Disney during Mardi Gras to get out of town.

So, not sure if that's typical or was just that week.
 

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