We took our first trip the last week of April, first week in May 2001. The crowds were great! We found the waits to be less that 15 mins except for the MK. At the MK the line got longer in the afternoon but by that time we had all the major rides done. We were able to walk on every ride at IOA without any waits. For the Disney portion of our trip we stayed at Marriott World Center via priceline for $79/n. After we had our hotel paid for the Disney Budgets went on sale for $59p/n. They had a similar special last year. For the Universal Seaworld part of our trip we stayed at Holiday Inn Universal for $49/n. They had a great shuttle to the Universal and Seaworld parks. We actually were so close to universal that we use to walk. There is a Ponderosa next store that serves BB for $3.99. There is also a Ponderosa just before MWC. We are staying at the Holiday Inn Universal for our next trip too, great hotel and location for the price. For the Disney portion this time we decided to rent points for the Boardwalk Villa of the DVC rent and trade board. You can get some good rates for the home away for home resorts.
Hope you have a great trip