Are We Nuts?!

[mom2AandL]

We are planning on taking the kids back to Disney sooner than we agreed (we last went October 2010 and had a BLAST) AND we are going during their spring break next year. Tell me...how bad is it? We are going some time around March 29 - April 7th. Thinking of staying at POFQ. There will be 5 of us and now our friends want to go. In our family it is me, DH, DS (7 at time of visit), DS (6 at time of visit) and DS 18 months. We have to take off for the older boys spring break since we don't have family in the area and we don't have drop in camps. I figured since one of us has to take off anyway, why not go to Disney. After convincing DH that we want to go, and we want to stay on property AND I want to fly (considered driving from Baltimore) he finally agreed. So have at it - nuts or not nuts with careful planning?

 

[jujube]

Hate to say it but yes, you are nuts. Easter is March 31 and it's in the middle of Spring Break. It will be extremely crowded. Good planning is an understatement. easywdw.com is the site I would use for which park on which day. I'm not sure when the calendar for those dates will be out. He's up to Oct 2012, so I'm guessing this summer.
Get to the parks an hour before they open- the parks' entrance gates where you enter the parks, not the parking lots. It's probably the only way you'll get stuff done.
Good luck and I hope you have a fantastic trip!

 

[Sue M]

Well........Just be prepared for large crowds. And long lines. It won't be like october. Personally I avoid high crowd season like the plague and go late Jan, and late Aug during low seasons.

So I'd go with lower expectations of how many attractions you will do, and pick your must do's and concentrate on those. Take advantage of EMH, Fast Passes, and get to Rope Drop at least 20 - 30 min early.

 

[KJay]

With careful planning and realistic expectations, you'll be just fine. (Obviously nobody would choose to deal with major crowds if they had the option of going at a low attendance time, but many do not have that luxury!). Do your homework - which you are already doing, nice & early - use a good touring plan, go in knowing it will be crowded, make sure everyone's prepared to wake up early and get to rope drop, and you'll be fine. Good luck with your planning!

 

[Jedimike]

Agree with PP (KJay). Get there early, be ready for the crowd, and it won't be an issue.

I've been on Christmas Day before. Got there (MK) before rope drop, and spent the whole morning in Fantasyland. At first, it didn't seem to be much different than any other morning. Got to ride Peter Pan, Dumbo, Winnie the Pooh, Snow White, Teacups, Barnstormer, Small World, some multiple times w/o issue. It wasn't until about Noon that I started noticing how bad the crowd was getting.

That's when we headed out for lunch and back to the resort to relax. I don't think it gets much worse than Christmas Day.

 

[North of Mouse]

Yes, it will be extra crowded - probably all 10's, plus more expensive (if that's a concern) because it's all Holiday Pricing. But if you're game, enjoy your trip. I can't handle those kinds of crowds and even remotely have any relaxation myself. Actually, I think Spring Break/ Easter combo would be worse than christmas, because of weather, but JMO. Enjoy!

 

[mom2AandL]

I decided we were nuts....I think I was so desperate to go. Instead we are going in October. The kids will miss three days of school but at this age I think it will be fine. The baby will only be 13 months but we will figure it out.

 

[mom2AandL]

Ignore the ticker. For some reason it's not letting me change it.

 

[kandb]

That is a smart move. I can't believe how many people go during very busy times. I would Never go when it's so crowded because it is not my idea of a vacation. Who wants to be around hoards of people waiting 2 hours to get onto rides and waiting up to an hour for a cs meal? Not I. We always go during off times and take our kids out of school.

 

[andreadoiron]

We are planning on taking the kids back to Disney sooner than we agreed (we last went October 2010 and had a BLAST) AND we are going during their spring break next year. Tell me...how bad is it? We are going some time around March 29 - April 7th. Thinking of staying at POFQ. There will be 5 of us and now our friends want to go. In our family it is me, DH, DS (7 at time of visit), DS (6 at time of visit) and DS 18 months. We have to take off for the older boys spring break since we don't have family in the area and we don't have drop in camps. I figured since one of us has to take off anyway, why not go to Disney. After convincing DH that we want to go, and we want to stay on property AND I want to fly (considered driving from Baltimore) he finally agreed. So have at it - nuts or not nuts with careful planning?

we were just there from april 4-april 11. we spent easter in epcot. i know that other people will disagree with me but i didn't think it was that crazy. we always go to the parks early am and leave by midday to use the pool and chill out. this time we actually were at epcot until 4pm and it wasn't terribly crowded. the rides at epcot get jammed in the afternoon but in the morning, it's not bad. we were there for early entry and did all the rides we wanted to then headed over to eat in the world. on tuesday we went to ak at opening and again did the rides we like and got fast passes for later. we ate at yak& yeti with no resv at 1pm for lunch and it was a 10 min wait (food was great) then on wed we went to mk at 8:55 (didn't make early entry) and stayed until 12pm when it got hot and crowded.
i feel that the key to being there at busy times is get to the park at opening or take advantage of early entry then spend the afternoon back at the pool, etc

 

[1princess1prince]

We went Spring Break - the week leading up to Easter until Easter Monday -a few years back - and we had a great time - and I wasnt nearly obsessed with dis as I am now We went early got everything done and then hit the pool. Our worst day was the day we arrived (I think Wed), we tried to go to MK around 3/4 pm and stay till fireworks - well we just were not prepared for that, then we tried to leave and couldnt get through the crowds - ughh. But starting the following morning everything turned for the good and we had a great time!!