As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
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There are other changes as well.
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It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
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I'm trying to plan a trip with my college student DD, 22. as many times as we've gone (I've taken her out if schoolin the past to go, but college is different! can't miss class), I'm struggling with planning. I'm trying to take into consideration the weather, crowd level, price.. and I'm confused and frustrated.
January 2015 does not allow for the time I want to spend, but it is a slower period. what's the weather like in January?
August 2014 has been considered, as it allows us to plan a longer vacation on the front end. how's the weather? it it excruciatingly hot, and/or rainy? any discounts such as free dining? how about crowd levels?
May 2014- it's a bit tight to plan, but if the price is right, I can do it. is free dining typically offered? how's the weather and crowd levels?
thank you for your anticipated help!!
Usually during the last week of Aug there is a period of free dining, that's when I usually go. I actually all ready have the free dining offer since I booked as part of a bounce back deal.
The weather is usually hot during the time and it's hurricane season but the crowds are low. This past Aug was unseasonably mild, compared to the other times I've gone. I was actually very surprised. We had a close hurricane a few years back, I think it was Issac, and it rained some but the parks stayed open, crowds were low, and we were able to ride everything with minimal wait times.
Well... August is hot and more likely to rain. It is a nice time to go but it is a little busier since people are getting the last hooray in before school. Some schools apparently start in early August as I have read here but I know in my neck of the woods school starts later in August. We narrowly escaped FL before a hurricane settled in. But we had a fantastic time. It wasn't all too bad with the heat and the rain, we could handle it at least
I've been towards the end of May... when we went with my parents back in '07 we did end up with free dining. As I recall the weather was stunning for the trip we had, not too hot, not too rainy, it was kinda like the baby bear's porridge. Another plus side is you can get into the Flower and Garden Festival if you go prior to May 18th
Hopefully some of this helped! And a quick plan isn't too bad. We're going at the end of Feb and we booked it after Christmas last year... It's been fun!
Can't advise on any of your possible months but January.
January can have lovely warm weather or miserably cold. We were unfortunate enough to get four days of daytime highs in the mid-TWENTIES due to windchill. With Florida's humidity, we were freezing even though at home daytime highs were near zero before we left. Naturally, the forecast for the week of our stay was for typically warm days. The Arctic clipper that dipped lower than anticipated and stuck had other ideas. Only one day of our stay was shirt-sleeves-and-shorts weather.
You need to prepare for either extreme in January, although what we experienced doesn't happen frequently.
That said, January was great for low crowd levels. We never got a Fastpass as waits for the high-demand rides were usually 20 minutes. I think Soarin' was 30, but it was the only one with such a long wait time. We loved being able to exit Haunted Mansion or Pirates and get right back in with virtually no line for either.
ADR's were pretty easy to get, too, but for Cinderella's Royal Table dinner which was THE place to eat then as Be Our Guest is currently. One or two high-demand signatures weren't available either unless we'd been willing to eat dinner after 9:00 which was an "Are you serious?" for our Central time zone tummies. The Narcoosee's time we were offered of 9:30 was a no way for us.
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Last edited by Her Dotness; 01-19-2014 at 11:32 AM..
What about December? When I was in college, the fall semester ended mid-December. That would give you time to go during the holiday season before the Christmas rush. Decent weather, reasonable crowds and prices.
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Of the dates you've listed, I'd pick May! Water parks will be open & fun, weather will be nice to a little hot, crowds will be small-ish, and maybe even a chance of a PIN. The December option might be nice, too, if you can get there before the huge crowds start showing up. DB & DSisIL just went in late November for their first holiday visit, and the pictures look awesome.
I'm going the last week of August as I got a great deal. Not sure when your dd goes back to college some are already back by then but my dd's college doesn't go back until September. It's hot but since it's hot at home I'd rather be hot at WDW and the crowds are lower then. There is a deal for end of August thru MVT and I think there is a 35% discount if you go in May. Haven't heard about free dining yet
she starts mid August 8-19.. so I was thinking the beginning of the month. I don't think I would like that. I'm thinking of May! that sounds good. i just don't want to mess her up on any job/internship opp that may pop up! I think I'll have her try again for the disney college program!!!
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