Crowds in March?

[dsnygurl]

Starting to think about a trip during my children's spring break the end March 2016 (week after Easter). I'm wondering how crowded the parks and resorts are at that time of year?

 

[JennyDrake]

VERY. Peak season.

 

[staceyrhood]

SUPER DUPER BUSY!!! One of the 4 busiest weeks of the year...weeks before and after Christmas and weeks before and after Easter.

 

[dsnygurl]

Thank you... I was afraid I was going to hear that

 

[CapeCodTenor]

Well, there goes my plan for a trip in two years time for that time period. Hmmm *gets thinking cap on* Need to think of another time period that fits in with the family, wife's, schedule.

 

[hammie59]

In 2014 we were at Disney the week after Easter. It was busy, but not like Easter week. I would do it again and I hate crowds. We arrived at the beach on Good Friday, stayed a week, then went to Disney for a week. Schools were back in session by then, so it helped with the crowds a little (we opted to take our kids out for the 5 days). It's not that bad, really. As long as you plan wisely, you'll be fine.

 

[HBGdancermom]

We just planned a trip for the week before Easter (our spring break) and I am also a little nervous about crowds. Have they ever closed park down like at Christmas? We have always been able to go at low crowd times. I just don't feel I can take my high school and middle schooler out of school and our summer is booked with lax tournaments and dance competitions.
My hope is to take advantage of early mornings and late evenings and resort it during the day. Any other suggestions?
Thanks for asking the question OP!

 

[1983DisneyFanatic]

I'm worried about this as well. Easter is on the 27th. I was planning on going the 10th to the 14th or 15th. Will this still be a busy time? Do colleges have spring break at that time?

 

[GraceMonica]

I'm worried about this as well. Easter is on the 27th. I was planning on going the 10th to the 14th or 15th. Will this still be a busy time? Do colleges have spring break at that time?

It will be busy. The closers it gets to Easter, the busier it will be.
Go with a plan and you'll be fine! I'm going the 10th-13th and I've got my 'must do' list written. Only going to deal with one ADR so I can fit in as much as possible!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

The week before and the week after Easter are the two most common spring break weeks. They are busy and expensive.

 

[hammie59]

The week before and the week after Easter are the two most common spring break weeks. They are busy and expensive.

Yes, usually very expensive. The year we went at Easter they offered a discount. I don't remember them doing that before. I think we had 25% off POR and one free park day.

 

[staceyrhood]

I'm worried about this as well. Easter is on the 27th. I was planning on going the 10th to the 14th or 15th. Will this still be a busy time? Do colleges have spring break at that time?

It will still be busy, but not as crazy as the following week will be. Colleges usually start spring breaks the 2nd week of March...it will start getting busy the first full weekend in March and stay busy thru mid April. Spring Breaks vary a lot. Just an FYI...our local schools here next to Disney are on Spring Break March 12-22 so that will bring in a lot of people also.

 

[happymommy]

It may be crowded, the parks are open fairly late. I got almost every spring break, and it's fine! It's nothing like Christmas week. We are the type that are usually lazy during the day, use a fastpass or two, but if you go back to the parks, especially MK, later in the evening until close, the lines are very short. We sleep in and repeat the process. Also, take some down time to swim and relax. The weather last spring break wasn't just warm (sometimes it's been a bit chilly) but it was HOT! Like 90 degrees hot! It was fun!

 

[CapeCodTenor]

It may be crowded, the parks are open fairly late. I got almost every spring break, and it's fine! It's nothing like Christmas week. We are the type that are usually lazy during the day, use a fastpass or two, but if you go back to the parks, especially MK, later in the evening until close, the lines are very short. We sleep in and repeat the process. Also, take some down time to swim and relax. The weather last spring break wasn't just warm (sometimes it's been a bit chilly) but it was HOT! Like 90 degrees hot! It was fun!

This is something I never did, and I regret it. I'm going to have to remember this when I take my family.

 

[crb60]

We went the last week of March in 2014. Crowds were certainly manageable. Possibly equal to this past September 2015 trip we took. Never waited more than 30 minutes for anything. It's ultimately how you plan things out and when you anticipate doing certain things, IMO.

 

[mmjones1021]

We have a trip booked March 28 - April 2. Hoping the crowds are a little less after Easter! But no matter what we're going to have a great time!

 

[CapeCodTenor]

We went the last week of March in 2014. Crowds were certainly manageable. Possibly equal to this past September 2015 trip we took. Never waited more than 30 minutes for anything. It's ultimately how you plan things out and when you anticipate doing certain things, IMO.

I agree. I'm not an uber planner, but I do like to plan some things. I'm planning on doing a couple of FP+'s but otherwise I'm going to along with what happens. My daughter will be 5/6 at the time so I'm sure there will be some deviations from the plan, so I don't want too much.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I think some of the high volume periods are interesting, and what you get out depends on your expectations going in.

If you're someone who is amazed you aren't the only person who thought "let's go to Disney for Thanksgiving/Christmas/Spring break!" or are going to be freaking out about "I paid a lot and now there's a line/I need an ADR I don't have/PoTC just broke?!?!?!?" Disney may not be the best place for you ever, but especially not in a high crowd season. If you go in with the understanding that it IS busy season, some pre-planning makes many things easier, and maybe you won't be able to do every last thing... you'll be fine.

 

[dsnygurl]

We just planned a trip for the week before Easter (our spring break) and I am also a little nervous about crowds. Have they ever closed park down like at Christmas? We have always been able to go at low crowd times. I just don't feel I can take my high school and middle schooler out of school and our summer is booked with lax tournaments and dance competitions.
My hope is to take advantage of early mornings and late evenings and resort it during the day. Any other suggestions?
Thanks for asking the question OP!

We've always gone low crowd times also, which is why I'm nervous about traveling in March but the timing works with the kids being off from school. I was thinking along the same lines, use the pool in the afternoons and hit the parks early/late!

 

[dsnygurl]

We went the last week of March in 2014. Crowds were certainly manageable. Possibly equal to this past September 2015 trip we took. Never waited more than 30 minutes for anything. It's ultimately how you plan things out and when you anticipate doing certain things, IMO.

Thanks for the feedback. Good to hear that they were manageable. We went the week after Christmas many years ago before we had kids and it was super crowded it was hard to keep a "magical" mindset