asking all experienced Spring Break/Easter travelers.....

[cindyfan]

We've been to WDW over July 4th several times (as recent as last year) and many many years ago did the week after Easter (arrived the Tuesday after).
This year we will be there the week before Easter......
We are prepared for the crowds..... at least we hope so..... I have checked out the crowd calendars but would like opinions.....
We arrive March 17th..... so.....
For those that have been......
How do the crowds compare to July 4th?
Do the crowds tend to be heaviest over Easter weekend? Before? Or after?
How soon before Easter do they get heavy?? The weekend before?
Thanks!!!

 

[Mambo Junkie]

Here are a couple of threads/polls which may help you:

http://www.disboards.com/threads/when-is-spring-break-in-your-area-2016.3471359/page-2#post-54907925

http://www.disboards.com/threads/wh...or-your-children.3444172/page-2#post-54364009

http://www.disboards.com/threads/poll-when-is-your-spring-break-2016-k-12.3407524/

 

[ArwenMarie]

The week before and after Easter are super crowded IMO. I don't know how they compare to July 4th but I would plan for high high crowds. The weather is usually nice though so that helps.

 

[eastendlights]

We were there before and after Easter in 2012. We arrived the Saturday before Easter week and it was very quiet until Wednesday which got considerable busier. On Thursday, the horde descended and it was utter madness-seriously. We left the Wednesday after and it was still very busy.

 

[cindyfan]

We were there before and after Easter in 2012. We arrived the Saturday before Easter week and it was very quiet until Wednesday which got considerable busier. On Thursday, the horde descended and it was utter madness-seriously. We left the Wednesday after and it was still very busy.

Thanks!!! That's the type of info I'm looking for!
Only difference is that Easter that year was April 8 which is later than this year.... and most colleges have break in March.
Anyone there for Easter 2013?
We are hoping we will be getting out before the worst! Leaving the 25th.

 

[mom4fun]

Thanks!!! That's the type of info I'm looking for!
Only difference is that Easter that year was April 8 which is later than this year.... and most colleges have break in March.
Anyone there for Easter 2013?
We are hoping we will be getting out before the worst! Leaving the 25th.

We arrive the 26th so we haven't booked fast passes yet. How did you do with fast pass availability?

 

[Kat913]

We are going march 15th-20th for a school trip for my daughter. We made fastpasses the first day we were able and had no problem with all we wanted. For example:seven dwarfs, the mountains, TT, Toy story to name a couple. There was a couple where we had to juggle time a little. We are just 2 ( DH and I ) since my daughter's group has their own agenda and the rest of the family is staying home.

 

[jar]

Going Saturday-Thursday before Easter this year. Given combo of spring break and Easter, we're prepared for big crowds from the start. Hopefully the way to mitigate it will be a combination of early mornings, late nights, midday breaks and FP+ during the peak hours.

 

[cindyfan]

We arrive the 26th so we haven't booked fast passes yet. How did you do with fast pass availability?

Haven't made FP+ yet..... I am tagging along with my daughter's marching band and they have not finalized their plans yet. I am also renewing my AP this week, so I'm not too worried about FP+ since I know I will be back in the summer and fall.

 

[d-train]

I've done Easter Monday to Saturday 3 times now. First off, loved being there each time. Second, it is very busy to crazy busy. Third, plan, plan, plan. Have your park touring plan, ADRs, and FP+ plans set up. When you have your final plan, add time to each item... Although it is a busy time, it is great to be in the parks around so many others having a great time too. Pace yourself, and also plan for the heat.

We are planning a mid June trip this year. After doing three spring breaks, one Christmas/New Years, and one first week of July, plans seem to flow together nicely. Looking forward to the mad dash of getting the FPs we want!

 

[skuttle]

We've done both Easter and 4th of July.

We were at WDW the Thursday before Easter through the Friday after Easter in 2015. It was our first Easter trip. I don't know if we were expecting the absolute worse from reading the DIS, or if we are much more easy going than others since we go to WDW every year and don't have to see/do everything each trip, but we had a fabulous time and I wouldn't hesitate going back during Easter. I didn't find a huge difference in crowds during our week. Maybe we got lucky and picked the right parks every day! WE really didn't find Easter that bad. Crowded, yes, but not miserably so like you so often read on here.

Yes, it was very crowded, but with planning we did everything we wanted. We really didn't find the crowds that bad. We took advantage of 7am EMH at the parks every other day (my youngest kids do better in the morning than late) and I think that made a huge difference. For example, we were able to knock out Tomorrowland during the first few hours the park was opened, which allowed us to use our FPs for that day on other attractions. Another day, we knocked out most of Fantasyland during the early hours which again allowed us to save our FPs. We don't wait in any line longer than 30 minutes and with planning, EMH, and FP, we were able to ride and see everything we wanted, including all of the headliners, some even multiple times.

It was warm during our trip (it got up to the 90s) and we were able to swim every day. I can remember one evening we went swimming and it was a little chilly with the wind, but during the day was perfect. We left the busy MK in the middle of the day to go back to WL to swim, so we may have missed the crowds doing that.

We LOVED flower and garden and spent more time at Epcot than we normally do because of it. DH and I enjoyed trying something at all of the food booths around world showcase. The lines were always super short, which made it bearable for our kids to wait for us! LOL!

I think the crowds were similar to our 4th of July trip in 2013. However, the weather was MUCH more pleasant for Easter....both in terms of heat and rain.

I did find that our trip right before Christmas (Dec. 19-23, 2015) was MUCH more crowded than Easter. I think there were a lot more people for Christmas, but also, our Christmas trip was a short, last minute trip to see Osborne lights one last time. I think we were trying to do/see too much during a short amount of time (only 3 park days) and that made everything feel more hectic. For our Easter trip, we had 8 full days at WDW, so we were able to take our time, spread things out, and visit the parks multiple times.

 

[wisblue]

We are regular Easter break visitors and, while it is usually very crowded, it is my favorite time of year to visit. The weather is usually good, especially for those of us who don't like the really hot, humid weather.

Our approach is to take advantage of the early openings, use the middle of the day to relax and enjoy the weather, and then use FPs later in the day and take in the night entertainment. The Flower and Garden displays make Epcot fun.

We'll be arriving the day before Easter this year and staying until Friday.

 

[Drusilla99]

2014 we arrived Wednesday before Easter & left the day before Easter. We had our fp's, went to all 4 parks plus typhoon lagoon. We had a blast! We didn't think the crowds were too bad. We then went on a 7 day dcl cruise & then returned to the parks on the next Saturday & the crowds were horrible! Our only regret was not making more dining reservations, because we couldn't get into a lit of places. Oh well. 2015 we went to mk only on Easter Sunday, just for the afternoon. We had our fp's but it was busier than the previous year had been. This time we had dinner reservations, so that was better. We went again in June and the weekend before thanksgiving & the crowds were far less than Easter. But we go to dl every couple of weeks, so crowds really don't stop us from much...we do what we can.

 

[DanInMN]

Our spring break this year starts on 4/1, the Friday after Easter Sunday. I expect the first weekend to be pretty busy, but am hopeful that the following week will be okay.

 

[mdoc]

Our spring break is always the last week of March, and there have been a couple years when Easter fell during that week. Easter week was always more crowded than a typical spring break week, but crowds were manageable for much of the day and with good planning we were able to do everything we wanted. By way of comparison, we also go the week before Christmas and I'd say Easter week is similar to that, but not as crowded as the week after Christmas. I've never been for 4th of July to make that comparison.

Park hours were long, and MK had AM EMH every day. There was a day when MK was open from 7 am to 4 am! We arrived before rope drop every morning and avoided MK and Epcot on Easter itself. I think showing up at the parks at 11am would have made for a miserable day. Caveat: our Easter week trips pre-dated FP+, and we always managed to accomplish a lot more (especially at super busy times) with the old FP system.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

Our spring break is always the last week of March, and there have been a couple years when Easter fell during that week. Easter week was always more crowded than a typical spring break week, but crowds were manageable for much of the day and with good planning we were able to do everything we wanted. By way of comparison, we also go the week before Christmas and I'd say Easter week is similar to that, but not as crowded as the week after Christmas. I've never been for 4th of July to make that comparison.

Park hours were long, and MK had AM EMH every day. There was a day when MK was open from 7 am to 4 am! We arrived before rope drop every morning and avoided MK and Epcot on Easter itself. I think showing up at the parks at 11am would have made for a miserable day. Caveat: our Easter week trips pre-dated FP+, and we always managed to accomplish a lot more (especially at super busy times) with the old FP system.

I was going to say that, too! We went at Easter, used legacy fp to ride everything we wanted, took a mid afternoon break, then went back and finished. It's a lot more crowded now, and fp+ contributes to longer wait times, but you should still do fine with a plan. We loved the not planning with legacy, though.

 

[Selket]

We always go around the 4th of July (because of a conference we attend in Orlando held routinely at that time) and we sometimes go over spring break which is always around Easter. We went last year at Easter and it was busy - to me it seemed busier than around the 4th. I think for sure it does matter what days you hit the parks as we didn't have any flexibility to hit a low crowd day and what not for the MK. It was also unusually HOT last year (like 90). Usually the weather is much more pleasant.

I also think you are going before the spring break crowd will hit the hardest - our spring break is March 24th to April 3rd and I'm getting there the day you leave...lol!

I agree to plan out your day, have your dining reservations and FP+ and take advantage of early morning EMH (always has worked for us - the evening ones not so much) - otherwise be at the park 40 minutes before it opens ready to go in. Use your afternoons to relax and shop...but you know all that! Have fun!!

 

[TJA]

We are frequent easter week and July 4 week visitors!! We went to WDW at those times in both 2014 and 2015, most likely 2011-2013 too but those years aren't as fresh in my mind .

In comparing the 2 weeks, July 4 has been busier. Especially at MK on July 4 -- it's the only time in my life that I truly felt trapped in and a bit claustrophobic. To solve that, we simply avoid MK on July 4 and watch the fireworks show from Poly where we stay. All other days are fine crowd-wise. I think July 4 fireworks are just so spectacular in MK that everyone wants to be there. They do the same show on July 3 and it's usually not quite as busy that night.

Having said that, we haven't experienced extreme crowds like that during Easter week the last 2 years. I think because spring breaks are so spread out nowadays ranging from February through April, so Easter week is no longer the ONLY week everyone travels now. The weather is usually great during this week too.

Both are great times to be in WDW. Our favorite times!

 

[catfan98]

We are frequent easter week and July 4 week visitors!! We went to WDW at those times in both 2014 and 2015, most likely 2011-2013 too but those years aren't as fresh in my mind .

In comparing the 2 weeks, July 4 has been busier. Especially at MK on July 4 -- it's the only time in my life that I truly felt trapped in and a bit claustrophobic. To solve that, we simply avoid MK on July 4 and watch the fireworks show from Poly where we stay. All other days are fine crowd-wise. I think July 4 fireworks are just so spectacular in MK that everyone wants to be there. They do the same show on July 3 and it's usually not quite as busy that night.

Having said that, we haven't experienced extreme crowds like that during Easter week the last 2 years. I think because spring breaks are so spread out nowadays ranging from February through April, so Easter week is no longer the ONLY week everyone travels now. The weather is usually great during this week too.

Both are great times to be in WDW. Our favorite times!

This is great to hear as we are planning our 2017 trip for the first week in April, actually March 31 - April 8. Easter is 2 weeks later, April 16, so it sounds like we will be ok. I'm looking forward to a spring trip as we went in June last time and it was HOT.

 

[DSLRuser]

we do spring break every other year. This is a GO year. Arrive Friday March 11, leave Saturday March 19.

Most years our spring break looks to be a week before most everyone else. So we never complain about things being too crowded.

If Xmas, Thanks giving, and July 4th are 10's. Our week in march is a 6.