Any DVC folks go to the WORLD during the week of Easter?? How crowded is it??

[supersuperwendy]

I just read this whole thread to my husband....lol

So I guess we are NOT going for Easter in 2013 afterall. We are going to look at the point chart and pick a different week.

Thanks for the expert advice everyone!

 

[jimbostacks]

We went last year and are planning on going again this year. I think the timing of Easter could play into the crowds and if you are an early person. Last year the crowds at the parks and at the pools were much less the week after Easter than the week before...but Easter was late last year April 24th (?). Since my two oldest are in high school , we will not take them out anymore. Once again, if you are early and have a plan - you will be fine; and if it gets insane - head to the pools. For example, if you want to see Fantasmic - it will be extremely crowded - so make sure if you splurge during the trip - get the Fantasmic package that day - expensive, but worth the stress reliever. I want to say MK is open almost everyday at 7am, last year we did the entire park by 11:30am - and went swimming that afternoon. Hit the rides in the early AM, collect FP's - and hit the shows when the crowds arrive. MY kids love the resorts, so they are fine leaving the parks whenever their parents are ready to go. Jimbo

 

[Ksp]

So far we've been at WDW for Thanksgiving, Christmas, NY's Eve and Easter. Although all the holidays are crowded, Easter was the only one that really challenged us in the parks. On the positive side, however, we did enjoy the resort activities for the kids (we stayed at OKW); they had an easter egg hunt that DD participated in and she had a great time.

 

[twinklebug]

I went into touring plans.com (I have a subscription) and checked the dates you mentioned. The crowd levels are 9 out of 10 or 8 out of 10. Whereas Christmas eve and Christmas Day are 9.7 and 10 out of 10 on Christmas Day and same for Thanksgiving Day.

However, we've actually traveled around Easter before and the crowds will didn't get heavy until Good Friday. So in 2012 Easter is April 8th, so you would be home before Easter weekend. So I'm a little confused by the crowd levels estimated by Touring Plans.

Now that I confused you completely....

I don't trust those touring plans. They always say Christmas is more crowded than Easter, and yet everyone I know who's experienced Easter swears they'll never return at that time. I've been over Christmas only once before, but I found the crowds quite manageable. It might be because I know where I'm going and what to avoid though.

 

[edk35]

Everything on this thread SCREAMS DON'T DO IT!! However I have a feeling we are going to go. After not seeing our daughter for a two months.... I won't be able to stand it. We might not do much in the parks.....but if I were back in Maryland with 10 days off and I am not in FL it will make me sick. SO I think we are just going to GO FOR IT.

 

[KBoopaloo]

Well that sure puts things in perspective. Well I am guessing a week spent a Disney during a crowded week might still be better than week spent at home in Maryland during the rainy season.

I am sure our dd will be very busy during Easter week too. I have to really think about this. THANKS!!!

It has been a million years since I did my CP so I have no idea if the procedure for requesting additional days off is the same now as it was then, but I would recommend that your daughter ask about the procedure soon after she arrives and that she puts in a request for days off as soon as she knows when you will be there. When I was a CP, getting additional time off besides your normal days was never guaranteed so it was always a risk having people plan to come visit you, not knowing if you'd be able to be off.

Also, during my CP, I was scheduled to work 6 days a week during the weeks around spring break and Easter, the only day off I had was the day I had my CP seminar. Of course, if you are there on vacation, you will be free to spend time with her whenever she is available so I am sure you will get to see her if you can work around her schedule.

 

[DizGirl20]

For whatever it's worth, we went the week after Easter this year and plan to do the same next year (it's when my kids have Spring Break). Honestly, I didn't think it was all that bad. We used fast passes, got to the parks early, made all our ADRs at the 6 month mark, used TouringPlans.com recommendations about which parks to avoid, and rented a car so we didn't have to rely on Disney transportation. It all worked out well. We never waited more than 20-30 minutes for a ride (mostly b/c we used FPs). If a ride was more than 30 minutes and we didn't have a FP... we just walked away. I think if you are a Disney Veteran (and it sounds like you are!), you will be just fine!

 

[edk35]

For whatever it's worth, we went the week after Easter this year and plan to do the same next year (it's when my kids have Spring Break). Honestly, I didn't think it was all that bad. We used fast passes, got to the parks early, made all our ADRs at the 6 month mark, used TouringPlans.com recommendations about which parks to avoid, and rented a car so we didn't have to rely on Disney transportation. It all worked out well. We never waited more than 20-30 minutes for a ride (mostly b/c we used FPs). If a ride was more than 30 minutes and we didn't have a FP... we just walked away. I think if you are a Disney Veteran (and it sounds like you are!), you will be just fine!

I do consider myself a Disney Veteran. LOL Worst case scenario....we are still at Disney World which is better than being at home during what seems to be the rainy season in MD.

 

[edk35]

It has been a million years since I did my CP so I have no idea if the procedure for requesting additional days off is the same now as it was then, but I would recommend that your daughter ask about the procedure soon after she arrives and that she puts in a request for days off as soon as she knows when you will be there. When I was a CP, getting additional time off besides your normal days was never guaranteed so it was always a risk having people plan to come visit you, not knowing if you'd be able to be off.

Also, during my CP, I was scheduled to work 6 days a week during the weeks around spring break and Easter, the only day off I had was the day I had my CP seminar. Of course, if you are there on vacation, you will be free to spend time with her whenever she is available so I am sure you will get to see her if you can work around her schedule.

Thanks!! I got some advice about this over on the college board. Most say the same thing..... ask for any days off as soon as you can. If she can get a day off, great. If not we will work around her.