best time to go with 3 small kids - not on school schedule :)

[ewasilau]

Hi all -
We're planning our first family trip to Disney World. My husband and I have each been separately, but he only as a child and myself only very short trips 10+ years ago. We have 3 kids, currently ages 4 1/2, 2+ and 7 mos. We know they are very little for Disney but we are itching to go before the oldest enters kindergarten and is on a school schedule starting fall 09. We also want to go before the middle guy turns 3 on May 6 09 (so that he's still free!).
We are thinking of going for 4-5 nights, bringing my mother-in-law, and arriving on a Sunday to take advantage of lower mid-week crowd levels. Here are our proposed vacation days:

late January 09 (arriving Jan. 25 possibly)
early Feb. 09 (departing pre-President's day weekend)
late Feb. 09 - early March 09
very late April - very early May 09

Our top priorities are lower crowd levels and lower prices, but we also would love a little pool time (do all resorts have heated pools? are there any indoor ones?). We think late Jan. may be our best bet - especially b/c our kids are little - what do those of you with experience think?
Thanks so much!!

[ThanxForNoticin]

From a low-crowd standpoint, late Jan to early Feb would be your best bet. However, that time of year the weather can be unpredictable. We go that time of year often, and it is very seldom that we don't have some days we can be by the pool. But we've also had cold snaps for a day or two that were not favorable for the pool. The pools are heated, but the air might not be!

Late Feb into March could get you into some college spring break crowds. Best of luck with your choice and have a great time with the little ones!

[Strmchsr]

:welcome: to Intercot!!!

I would agree that late Jan or late April would be your 2 best bets in terms of crowds. Weather-wise late April/early May can be a little warm but is not nearly as unpredictable.

[DisneyBabies]

First of all, :welcome: to Intercot!
Well, we don't have experience taking children, but we are bringing our DS for his very first trip to WDW Feb 28-March 6. We would have picked Early Feb, but his b-day is March 1, so we went with that.
Late Jan 2009
Low crowds
Low 70's for temp

Early Feb 2009
Low - Moderate Crowds
Low - Mid 70's for temp

Late Feb - Early March 2009
Moderate Crowds
High 70's for temp

Late April - Early May
Low - Moderate Crowds
80's for temp

There are no indoor pools at the resorts and I'm not sure if any are heated, so maybe someone else can help you with that. There is also a lot of info about this stuff on the info central tab. Hope this helps.

[gauvin4]

late January 09 (arriving Jan. 25 possibly)-Low crowds, but I'm not sure about being able to swim. Value season.

early Feb. 09 (departing pre-President's day weekend)- Should still be low crowds, but getting busier each day. Also should still be value season.

late Feb. 09 - early March 09-Spring Break in full swing. Very crowded. Peak Season pricing. Swimming should be good.

very late April - very early May 09- Great swimming. The crowds wind down. This I believe is considered Regular Season. I have been at this time and would not hesitate to go back again.

[SBETigg]

I would consider September-November, avoiding holiday weekends (like Columbus Day or Veteran's Day). The weather is warm enough to swim (still pretty hot in September, which may be a concern with kids), the crowds are moderate and manageable, the parks are decorated for Halloween or for Christmas depending.

January and February can be pretty chilly and crowds may not be as low as you'd expected with special events like the Marathon or school vacation weeks to work around. Crowds really pick up in March with Spring Breaks. We've found October and November (even during holiday weekends) to be ideal for crowds and weather.

[sassy2000]

Late January would probably be best for low prices and low crowds but it could be rather chilly for swimming. I have been last wk of Apr thru 1st wk May in 2008 and 2007 and found this to be a good time to go. It should be "regular" season rates but the weather should be warm but not too hot.

Sassy2000

:fworks:
Dec 08 CSR & POR
Apr 08 AllStar Movies
Oct 07 AllStar Music
Apr 07 off site

[Disney Doll]

I vote for late Jan/early Feb. In fact, we usually go in early Feb and we love it. I think that all the pools are heated or at least the main pool at each resort. If you are cold natured like me you might think it's too chilly to swim, but plenty of people will be swimming and it's really not too bad. I do swim if the kids want to. Usually you can get at least a couple of good swim days in each trip. Weather can be variable, but we just pack a bit of everything so we're prepared and it works fine.

[jonahbear2006]

First week in Feb. It is not overly hot, and you will have low crowds for the children to enjoy it the best. You will probably have pirate and princess party and prob get royal table if you try hard for it. We loved going in Feb. Our only tif with it was that you couldn't swim once the sun went down. It was chilly but DH doesnt care about swimming on vacation he says its silly since we are club members back home. Well, that was, until we went to the beach club. Hahaha, this last time all he wanted to do was swim.

[mudpuppysmom]

We've gone several different times and I have been in late January and have to say that it was pretty nice as far as crowds and pricing. As for the weather.....it was doable for the pool. I have taken DS myself several times and he enjoys the pool even when it is a tad chilly in my opinion, but I have to get in with him!!

We were there this past January and DH swam with DS several days....mornings mostly, but one night too (I was pregnant, so I only got in one morning b/c I just did not enjoy the pool while pregnant -- it felt strange!).

Anyway, my opinion is to go then for what you want to get out of this.

Once they start school it's all over........we did however take DS out of school for three days over MLK weekend since we went from Wed - Tues and that was the least amount of days for him to miss school and us still get in one last vaca before our new guy arrived. We're going in December with our new son and older DS so this should be interesting!!

[LittleRoosMommy]

We've been in Jan (over New Year's) and the crowds were low, except for New Year's Eve. The weather was very unpredictable, we had some days in the 70s and then some days where it was in the 40-50s (I even had to buy gloves for myself). We really enjoyed it, but we didn't use the pools.

We've also been in March. The weather is definitely better, but the parks are very crowded. Between spring breaks/cheer competitions, etc, the waits on rides were very long.

We've been in mid-May as well. The crowds are definitely lower, but the temp is definitely much hotter. You could definitely go to the pool.

We usually go in mid-October. The weather is usually 70s-80s, cooling off in the evenings. You can still use the pool, the crowds are mod, except on weekends and at Epcot (food and wine festival). Not to mention that everyone loves the Halloween Party! We're going back this October too!! I also am trying to fit in one last vacation before my oldest DD starts Kindergarten in the fall!

By the way, I noticed you're from D.C. I'm in the MD 'burbs (Mont Co). Welcome to Intercot!! I think you'll really like it. You can get so much advice and info!!

Hope you have fun planning your trip!!

[ewasilau]

Thanks so much for all of the input - looks like it's a split between late Jan./early Feb and late April/early May. We've certainly ditched any thoughts of going in late Feb/early March. We're leaning toward last week of Jan/first week of Feb. Low crowds is more important to us than swimming, we've decided. And the lack of heat might be easier on our young kids. And it will be warmer than DC, that's for sure!

Thanks again!