Beach Club Villas - Spring Break 2015 Strategy Questions!

[skimama]

I just booked Beach Club Villas for March 12-16, 2016. I fear we may be insane! We are also going in early December 2015 for a week though. So we are planning for more of a relaxing, slow trip in March, as the December trip we will get to ride most everything we want at the parks.

So I have a few questions as I have never been during spring break, and don't really know what to expect. We will have a 6yo, 3yo, and 9 month old. Our initial plan is to have a pool/putt putt/fast pass only at EPCOT day on Sunday due to the park crowd calendars on Undercover Tourist. Then on Monday and Tuesday, do what we can at the parks between using fast passes and unpopular rides.

Questions:
1. How will Stormalong Bay be, crowd wise for the kiddos during spring break? Will it be jammed, with no chance of even finding a chair? What about the BCV quiet pool?
2. Should we consider ditching the regular strollers entirely due to crowds and use one umbrella stroller for the older two to take turns with, and baby wear the infant? Do you have trouble even walking when parks are near capacity?
3. What other suggestions do you have for less popular attractions (in or out of parks) that we might be able to do?
4. Will obtaining dining reservations at BC, YC, and BW be any more difficult than more "normal" travel times?

We are season pass holders, so don't really mind popping in and out of the parks for even only an hour.

Thanks for any advice!!! We are also considering going to Vero Beach instead once the booking window opens if there is still availability. So any info you can give me that would help that decision also - in other words is WDW just too unbearable during spring break?

 

[DVCcurious]

We just went this year with a 5 year old and 3 year old and it was great. It may have been packed, but we didn't notice.

We were there 5 full days and we got the first bus of the day each morning to the park we were visiting. For Magic Kingdom that meant a 6:20 bus for the 7AM EMH. For the other parks that meant 7:15 buses for their 8:00AM openings.

We had FP+s planned from 10-11, 11-12, and 12:30-1:30. We'd do lunch after our 11:00AM FP+. The parks are "empty" until about 9:30. At MK we were able to do almost the entire Fantasyland during the first hour and a half or so. Once the park opened at 8AM you'd see a few more people around, but not too many. We moved to Tomorrowland for the rockets, people mover, and Speedway around 8:30. Then we went to Adventureland about 9:30 for Pirates, Jungle Cruise, and the magic carpets. There are no lines at Adventureland until about 11:00 so you want to hit that after 9:00 when Tomorrowland and Fantasyland begin to have lines.

We then just did our FP+s and grabbed lunch. Then we left. Frankly being there 7AM-1PM is plenty of "fun" when you have littler kids.

I'm sure it's hard to walk when the park is totally full, but like I said we never experienced it because we left about 1:00 each day. The parks are most full from about 3:00-10:00 so we were never there at the peak crowd times.

We did the pool every day and the pool wasn't busy, because most people are at the park at 3 in the afternoon. I think you'll be fine at SAB.

One day we went to the Starbucks on Main Street around 10AM and it was amazing watching the people streaming into the park. It was really strange seeing wave after wave of crowds coming up main street.

At 1:00PM we went back to the resort and swam. We'd get dinner about 5:00 and put the kids to bed by 6:30 or 7:00PM, then we got up about 4:45 to make sure we could be out the door by 6:00AM to catch that first bus.

Our kids were very adaptable to this schedule. Our 3 year old woke up every morning at 4:45 and would jump up and say "I need to go to Magic Kingdom!" So don't worry about them getting up and ready, their excitement will wake them up.

You will need a double stroller. The 6 year old will need to ride, and it'll give you a place to put the baby when the 6 year old or 3 year old can walk. Disney is a very tiring experience for the kids.

 

[skimama]

Thank you for the very thoughtful response! I appreciate it!

 

[Pirate Granny]

Take the double stroller...you will love all the stuff that can Be carried inn in the basket below...only pain is folding up for the bus ride. We had two double strollers when the kids were 18 months and four x two sets (not twins, cousins)...this last time we brought a sit and stand for the two four year olds, but the one smaller 7 yr old wanted to stand a bit too this time. Next trip no strollers...a first for us, two oldest will be 8...

 

[skimama]

Yeah, we typically use a double stroller. But I was nervous because of crowd density that we might not be able to move at times.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Take the double stroller...you will love all the stuff that can Be carried inn in the basket below...only pain is folding up for the bus ride. We had two double strollers when the kids were 18 months and four x two sets (not twins, cousins)...this last time we brought a sit and stand for the two four year olds, but the one smaller 7 yr old wanted to stand a bit too this time. Next trip no strollers...a first for us, two oldest will be 8...

Yeah, you have to unload that stroller before you can get on the bus. So it kind of defeats the purpose.