Nothing compares to visiting Walt Disney World during the few scattered weeks during the year when it's considered the least crowded.

My two favorite times to visit are February and November. But just not any weeks during those months: it has to be either the first week of February or the first two weeks of November. In February, not only must I avoid President's Day Weekend, but also Valentine's Day, as large crowds are expected during these times. And, of course, Thanksgiving brings a horde of guests to the World.

The last wonderful trip I had was a year ago, February 2005. As this was the first time I had gone during February, we had anticipated that this trip would be as wonderful as a previous trip several years back when we went the first week of November. Great weather, very low crowds - it was as if we had the parks to ourselves.

But alas, as our trip came upon us I found out through various Disney message boards that there was to be dance and cheer competitions on each weekend we would be there. I've read some crazy stories on the same message boards about these rather super-spirited kids and I was getting nervous. Believe me, I have nothing against cheerleaders or dancers, I was both in my youth and even spent seven years of my adult life as a cheerleading coach, so I KNOW how loud these kids can get. I'm happy to report, while I did see the cheerleaders and dancers they were almost unnoticeable!

So the big trip was upon us. Upon arrival at Orlando International Airport, we made our way down to Disney´s Magical Express boarding area where there was a very large line and crowd. I recall saying to my husband, "Oh no, maybe it is going to be crowded." It did take quite awhile to board the bus and get to our destination. The bus was packed and I kept trying to think happy thoughts.

The next day, we headed straight to Magic Kingdom and (drum roll please...) it was incredible. The crowds were so light, there were almost no lines, and quite often we walked right onto rides! I was so amazed at how uncrowded it was I began to snap pictures of the emptiness. There were whole areas of the park with not a soul around but us. Extra magic hours were fantastic. One night, we walked on Big Thunder Mountain three times in a row!

Another example of how low the crowds were was when I needed to reschedule a dining reservation. It had turned out the night we had scheduled a dinner at Le Cellier in Epcot was the only night SpectroMagic was to be performed at Magic Kingdom during our stay. As much as I craved some cheddar cheese soup and pretzel bread, I had to see SpectroMagic. I canceled our dinner reservation and was able to pick up lunch that same day instead, allowing us to make our way back to Magic Kingdom to see the nighttime spectacular. Anyone who knows Le Cellier knows how difficult it is to get a reservation even months ahead of time. I was able to get one in the same week!

Now, there are some things to consider about value season that are not so great. First, sometimes a lot of attractions are down for renovations since the crowds are low. Second, the weather isn't always warm and sunny. We weren't able to go swimming at all last February and often woke up to temperatures in the 40 degrees range. One night we even had to wear fleece sweats to keep warm in Magic Kingdom. Another issue to consider is if you travel in the winter months like we did, is snow - and I don't mean the fake stuff they pipe in during Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. We were almost stuck at Orlando Airport the day of our departure because a blizzard was making its way through the Northeast. As we landed in New Jersey, it started snowing and the next day we had several inches!

But for us, the pros outweigh the cons and we will always continue to go in either February or November. Unfortunately, I know for many families they have no other option but to go during the most crowded times. If that was my only option, then I would still visit the most magical place in the world because being in WDW is better than being anywhere else!

photos by Danielle Friend