Disney World Conundrum--a li'l help?

1 - The last week of December is extremely crowded. This past year, the parks actually maxed out, as they do most years. It's sad because so many people got shut out, and couldn't get in the parks. Once they hit a certain capacity, they must close off the gates, and it's frustrating for people who can't get in. If you do go this week, plan on being at the parks in line well before opening time.

I don't know about the cost to rent a house, but I would imagine that busy season is always going to have hiked prices. If you consider renting a time share, the cost is usually the same year round. We stay at Orange Lake, and find that the villas have a lot of room, and are only a few minutes from the parks. There's a lot of places like it.

Park hours do get extended, and the parks are often open until after midnight. They do this because the waits of over 2 hours for everything prevent people from riding much. Park hours are always going to parallel crowd levels. Longer park hours = bigger crowds. Don't let shorter park hours turn you off, because that just means the crowds are smaller and it's easier to do things in less time.

#2. This is the week I would recommend going based on cost & crowds. The downfall is kids missing school, and adults missing work. If this is something that you can't work around, I would absolutely do option 3. Option 2 is the least crowded of the three options, by far. It will be the least costly because it's the only week that isn't falling over a holiday. And again, there will be shorter park hours, but you won't need super long hours.

#3. This is a deceiving week. Most people think it's not a busy week - when actually it can be busy. My parents were there this past week and couldn't do much of anything. This was because three things fell at the same time: Daytona 500, Valentine's Day & Presidents Day. Most hotel rooms were booked in advance, as were the restaurants. I remember reading at http://www.wdwmagic.com/ that people were so confused. February is supposed to be off season, but this year it was busy. If you're planning a trip for next year, the week is a better choice than it would've been this year because Presidents day isn't until February 21st next year.

Your parks hours may or may not be extended, it depends on how many people come into the parks. They sometimes make that decision each day. Renting a house here will probably be less than Christmas time. You won't find it to be as crowded as Christmas week. The parks won't max out at all, so you won't have to worry about that. If crowds get heavy, the hours will be extended. So all in all, 3 isn't a bad option when you consider school & work.

That's my two cents ~ option 2 if you can do it, option 3 if you can't do 2. Best of luck - have a wonderful trip!

To put it simply, coming during the off season is ALWAYS the best time. Yes, you would have to miss school/work but it is worth it. Weather is nice that time of year, cool to cold weather, but nothing that bad. I live and work around orlando (for disney) and it is not worth the price when it is busy. Yes the holidays are a great time at Disney, but for what you are already going to be paying plus more people than you have ever seen in your life, isn't worth it to me. Paying regular price to get into a park and waiting in line for an hour or two for 1 ride is a waste. A few weeks later the park has much fewer people and the lines are a lot shorter. You get a lot more done for your money. And fast pass is a joke, especially when it is busy. It shortens the line a little, but doesn't USUALLY give you enough time to go on other rides and come back in time to use your fast pass. Just enough time to be in shops or buying food. Disney doesn't do anything that doesn't make them money. So.... #2 is the best time, then #3. Anytime the kids are in school is a good time. :)

Christmas is THE busiest time of year. It is not just busy, it is INSANELY busy. Now yes, it's pretty and nicely decorated and kind of a neat experience to be there - but personally, it's too busy for me to be very enjoyable.

Either of your other suggestions would be better. The February week when your kids would be out of school - guess what, lots of people have a few days or the week off around President's Day. So crowds will increase again. It will be nothing like Christmas, though.

So I would say your best option would be Jan 26-Feb 1, but you will have to decide if you are ok with missing the school and work.

Do not go between Christmas and New Years. The slowest months for Disney are January, May and September. The weather in September can be unbearably hot. Do you have prices on renting that house? I guess either week in February would be fine. It is still dry season and it won't be very hot.

A couple of thoughts:

Use FastPass as often as you can. It is free and can save you hours in line.

If you were going to stay on the grounds of Disney, you don't have to pay for parking and they have extended hours for people that stay inside the park. They have some really great deals. Buy so many nights - get some free and it includes the tickets. They also have meal plans. The kids will get tired at their ages walking and standing in long lines. If you stay at one of the Disney resorts, it is very easy to go back to your room and swim/nap for a couple of hours and the return to the park.

The off season really is a better time to go. However, my personal favourite time to go is late april, early may. If your pulling your kids out of school anyways, why not? It's not as busy but its still hot, it doesnt rain as much and the park hours are still good. Renting a house isnt as expensive (we rent every year) and we always seem to have the best time. We usually go the last week of April to the first week of May (always for my birthday, May 6th).

We recently went over March Break (13-20) and in the summer (June 27-July 11). Both times were busy and we didnt enjoy our vacation as much.