Disney Easter Pre-Trip Report 4/18-4/24

[JeremysDisney]

Hello, I am heading to Orlando this Easter and just wanted to share my plans. This will be a fun process, and I hope it helps.

I chose park days based on the Undercovertourist's Crowd Calendar and Disney World park hours. I think it is a good Easter crowd plan.

Friday-Arrive
Saturday-Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure
Sunday-Epcot
Monday-Animal Kingdom
Tuesday-Hollywood Studios
Wednesday-Magic Kingdom
Thursday-Depart

I am sure there are cheaper tickets out there, but this was easy and convenient.

Undercovertourist Tickets
Universal 1-Day Park-to-Park Ticket
Park Hopper + Water Park Fun & More (Fun Visits) 3 Day-plus extra 1 day free

Tune in.

 

[JeremysDisney]

Family of 6-Me(44),Wife(40),Son(16),Son(13),Niece(10),Niece(4)

We lived in North Florida when the boys were in Primary School, so we visited Orlando a lot. We definitely miss the Florida Resident benefits. It used to be $99 for 3 days at Disney World. Now it is $99 a day at Magic Kingdom for non-Florida Resident guests. We do not belong to DVC, AAA, Costco, Sam’s Club, or have access to discounted tickets through our Human Resources department at work. Undercovertourist ticket prices are the best we have seen.

Needless to say, we travel on a budget and try to save as much money as possible. We eat breakfast at the hotel, bring food and drink to the parks, and share meals during dinner. We plan to bring a cheap and collapsible stroller for our 4 year old niece. When our boys were at that age, they were either too slow or too tired to endure the long marathon walks at the park. We have found Disney strollers too expensive, too big to maneuver, and very hard to find in the sea of strollers with or without a bright neon ribbon.

We are used to traveling in a group this large, for we would bring along our son’s friends when they were younger. However, it will be our first time escorting little Princesses to Disney World and our first trip catered specifically to young girls. My wife is currently shopping for Disney outfits, toys, and other stuff for girls to bring with us. When our boys were younger, they would dress up in Disney gear and really feel a part of the Disney Experience. We have learned that bringing some Disney souvenirs along with us from home is cheaper and fulfills some of the urge to buy expensive souvenirs at Disney World. We also give the kids each a Disney gift card at the beginning of the trip to buy anything what they want. This gives the kids freedom to shop and limits their spending for their entire trip.

A humble beginning.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

My biggest tip for you is to be at the parks as soon as they open. Easter is a very busy week and the parks will fill to capacity as early as 10:00 a.m at which point they start turning folks away at the gate. If you are staying off sit you won't be allowed into the park. So go early and pack your patience because it will be wall to wall people.

Last year for Easter there was 5 hour wait to ride Soarin. Yep 5 hour wait.
If you have a My Disney Experience app it will tell you what the current wait times are.

 

[JeremysDisney]

Magic Kingdom's park hours for Easter Sunday are 9 am to 11 pm, with Extra Magic Hours from 8 am - 9 am and 11 pm - 1 am. We are avoiding Magic Kingdom on Sunday because the best advice that I have read concerning off-property guests and Extra Magic Hours is to avoid that park that day.

According to Undercovertourist's Crowd Calendar for Easter Sunday, Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios are High Capacity, where as Epcot and Animal Kingdom are Medium Capacity. I have read that Animal Kingdom is less crowded during the weekend because the crowds tend to visit the other parks. Because Animal Kingdom is open earlier on Monday at 8 am, I decided on Epcot for Sunday.

As you suggested, we will plan to get to the Epcot as soon as it opens and try to visit all of the popular attractions first, especially Soarin. As soon as Epcot fills to capacity, we will walk over to the Walt Disney Dolphin Hotel for their fantastic Easter festivities.

If Epcot does not let us back into the park later in the day, then we will use our Park Hopper + Water Park Fun & More option. And as you suggested, we will use My Disney Experience app to tell us what we should do next.

Thanks for your tip!

 

[JeremysDisney]

We have visited Disney World a lot, but this is the first time we have purchased the Park Hopper option. In the past, we would visit one park and stay there all day. When the park would get filled up, we would get out of the lines and head to the air conditioned shows and shops. And if the lines did not lighten up, we would find a bench in the shade, retrieve our packed lunch, snacks, and drinks from the locker, and just relax.

We purchased the Park Hopper option for this trip to help with the Easter crowds and to allow us to use the Water Park Fun & More option as much as possible. This is the first time we have purchased the Water Park Fun & More option, and it seems like a really good deal. You pay only $60 more per ticket, and you are allowed to visit the water parks and other activities for the duration of your multi-day ticket.

Bring on Easter crowds.

 

[JeremysDisney]

Epcot
Egg-Stravaganza 2014
4/10/14-4/20/14

Search for special hidden Disney character "eggs" at Epcot. Purchase a map and stickers for $4.95, then, when you find each hidden egg, put a sticker on the map to mark the location. When you've completed your map, return it to Disney Traders for a special surprise!

Maps are available at Heritage Manor in the American Adventure Pavilion, Disney Traders, International Gateway, Pin Central and Port.


Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotels
Enjoy a PEEPtastic week at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin!
4/16 - 4/20/14

Complimentary samples of PEEPS candies will be given out upon check-in.
Meet and greets with the Easter Bunny! Get autographs and pose for photos in a special PEEPS Easter setting.
Glow in the dark Easter egg hunts, PEEP s'mores by the campfire, Easter crafts and games
Daily activities at the beach and pool area, including Jumbo Easter egg race, Diving for eggs and a Bunny hop relay. One night's dive-in movie night will feature the film "HOP".
Resort chefs are creating special dessert items featuring PEEPS brand marshmallow.
Holiday dinner buffet at Garden Grove with visits from Disney characters
One big secret that will be revealed Saturday, April 19!
Special rate available for Easter week! Rooms are available at the Walt Disney World Swan or Dolphin starting at just $189 for stay April 16-23, 2014. To book, click here for more information.

Express Your Peepsonality contest - win a Disney World vacation!
1 Grand Prize - a trip to the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort for 4, plus airfare and theme park tickets; 4 first prizes - mini tablets; 10 second prizes - $50 PEEPS gift certificates
How to Enter:
Create a Pinterest Board with the title - ExpressYourPeepsonality.
Pin PEEPS-inpirired recipes, crafts, etc. to reflect your unique "Peepsonality."
Register online.
For more information about any of these activities, click here.


Walt Disney World Swan Hotel
Garden Grove at the Walt Disney World Swan will host its annual Easter dinner buffet 3/31/13 from 5:00 - 9:30 pm. They will offer several different appetizers, soups, cold salads, and a variety of entrees including Peppered New York strip steak, honey orange glazed ham, seafood pasta, chicken vegetablers and desserts. Disney characters will entertain from 5:00 - 10:30 pm. Adults: $42.59, children (3-9): $21.29. Call 407-934-1609 for reservations.

A Disney Easter to remember.

 

[JeremysDisney]

We are driving from North Georgia, and we always stop at the Florida Welcome Center at the Florida-Georgia state line. It is a clean facility, they offer free orange juice, and visitors can take a picture under a safer Welcome to Florida sign as compared to pulling off the side off the road at the state line and taking a dangerous one. We have learned that it is better to stand 10 feet in front of the Welcome sign instead of standing on the table underneath it.

We are staying at Marriott’s Grande Vista, a Marriott Vacation Club timeshare resort located next to Sea World in the South International Drive area. Grande Vista is a 164-acre resort with 3 restaurants, 4 pools, 2 golf courses, golf training facility, spa, sauna, whirlpool, fitness center, jogging trail, tennis court, basketball court, volleyball court, table tennis, bicycle and boat rentals, and a children’s activities center with a very large indoor playground. Another asset to Grand Vista is its easy access to Turkey Lake Rd/Palm Pkwy, a “back road” to both Universal and Disney.

We have stayed at Disney, Kissimmee, North International Drive, South International Drive, and Lake Buena Vista. The Campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort gets our choice for the best deal, the Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort gets our choice for the nicest, the Nickelodeon Suites Resort gets our boys choice for the coolest, and from the looks of it the Grand Vista might get our choice as the best.

A good start.

 

[JeremysDisney]

Epcot 9am-9pm
9am-11am-Epcot Future World (Soarin’, Test Track)
11am-1pm-Epcot World Showcase (Maelstrom)
1pm-5pm- Boardwalk, Dolphin and Swan Hotel (Easter Egg Hunt, Games, and Character Dinner Buffet)
5pm-9pm-Epcot
Notes:
Early magic hours so crowds will be there early.
Head straight to Soarin’ at Rope Drop.
Heavy crowd in the afternoon and early evening so take break from park.
Epcot Iluminations:Reflections of Earth Fireworks@ 9pm
Watch IllumiNations from World Showcase lagoon with view of Spaceship Earth as background.
Hang out after IllumiNations and walk around World Showcase at closing.

An Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow Easter.

 

[JeremysDisney]

Because of all the horror stories I have read about FP+, I have decided that it would be best if we go old school and not use FP+. However, if the lines are very long, then we will use FP+ as a last resort. Consequently, here are some tips for long lines.

Rope Drop-arrive early and head directly to the most popular attractions.
Single Only Line-always use this option when available.
Left Lane-left lines supposedly are faster.
Ride Swap-if there is a rider who is too young or too short in your group, then this is a way to ride twice.
Rope Rise-use Park Hopper to come back later in the evening to enjoy the most popular attractions.
Use the restrooms before getting in line.
Bring reading material, electronic games, smart phones, tablets, and extra batteries.

Adapt and overcome.

 

[JeremysDisney]

Animal Kingdom 8am-8pm
8am-12pm Animal Kingdom (Kilimanjaro Safaris, Expedition Everest, Dinosaur, Primeval Whirl, Kali River Rapids(Save wet attraction for last))
12pm-4pm Water Park Fun & More-Blizzard Beach
4pm-8pm Animal Kingdom
8pm-11pm Magic Kingdom
Notes:
No early magic hours.
Head straight to Kilimanjaro Safaris at Rope Drop.
Mickey’s Jammin' Jungle Parade @ 3:45 pm
Park empties out after parade.
Attraction lines are short at the end of the night. As long as you are in line before official Park close, you’ll ride, regardless of the posted wait. You can enter the queue for any operating attraction up until the official close.

A flexible mid-trip plan.

 

[JeremysDisney]

Hollywood Studios 9am-930pm
9am-1pm Hollywood Studios (Toy Story Midway Mania, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Star Tours, The Great Movie Ride)
1pm-5pm Water Park Fun & More-Typhoon Lagoon
5pm-9pm Hollywood Studios (Fantasmic)
9pm-11pm Magic Kingdom
Notes:
No early magic hours.
Head straight to Toy Story Mania at Rope Drop.

A Show Day to help relieve theme park exhaustion.

 

[JeremysDisney]

Magic Kingdom 9am-11pm
9am-1pm Magic Kingdom (Peter Pan’s Flight, Enchanted Tales with Belle, Big Thunder Mt, Splash Mt, Space Mt, Astro Orbiter(Save illuminated late night ride for last))
1pm-5pm Water Park Fun & More-Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon
5pm-11pm Magic Kingdom
Notes:
Early magic hours so crowds will be there early.
Ride Walt Disney World Railroad to Fantasyland at Rope Drop.
Head straight to Peter Pan’s Flight at Rope Drop.
Festival of Fantasy Parade @ 3pm
Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party @ 11am, 12:30pm, 5:40pm
Main Street Electrical Parade Magic @ 9pm, 11pm
Electrical Water Pageant @ 9pm-10:35pm
Magic Kingdom Wishes Nighttime Spectacular Fireworks @ 10pm
Main Street stores will remain open for about an hour after Park close.
As a result of visiting Magic Kingdom in the prior evenings, Magic Kingdom Day should be easy, enjoyable, and a spectacular way to end the trip.

Save the best for the last.

 

[JeremysDisney]

We plan to request a late check-out from the hotel and go to Downtown Disney in the morning for some last minute shopping. We also plan to use the last remaining day of the Water Park Fun & More option at DisneyQuest Indoor Interactive Theme Park. Our favorite Downtown Disney shops are Disney’s Days of Christmas, World of Disney Store, Ghirardelli Ice Cream & Chocolate Shop, and Lego Imagination Center. We also enjoy Downtown Disney’s restaurant Earl of Sandwich, Fulton’s Crab House, Wolfgang Puck Grand Cafe, and Bongos Cuban Café.

But our most favorite Downtown Disney thing to do is renting the 2-seat mini-powerboat Sea Raycer from Disney’s Motorized Boat Rentals. The Downtown Disney waterway offers a fantastic waterfront view of Disney’s Treehouse Villas and travels all the way to Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort. We have raced the Ferry at Magic Kingdom’s Seven Seas Lagoon, and we look forward to one day explore Epcot’s waterway.

We hope the drive to North Georgia will be an uneventful one. We should be able to avoid the infamous traffic jam heading north between Georgia’s I-75 exits 201 and 227. Even after a week at Disney World, there is no better place than home.

From “the happiest place on earth” to “home sweet home”.

 

[JeremysDisney]

I just downloaded the My Disney Experience App for my iPhone, and it is AWESOME!

Currently, Peter Pan's Flight 75 min wait, Soarin' 80 min wait, Toy Story Midway 80 min wait, and Kali River Rapids 50 min wait. This confirms the theory that you should avoid the parks in the afternoon or use FP+.

Another Magical Disney Innovation.

 

[JeremysDisney]

White backpack
White baseball cap
Photo frame mats
Photo album pages
Fat color sharpies
Clipboard

A Disney Character Memory Maker.

 

[JeremysDisney]

Just made an ADR for Disney World's Grand Floridan Resort waterfront seafood restaurant. I think it will be a capstone of our Disney Easter vacation. We will end four days of Disney World's chaos on the water, eating fresh Florida seafood, and viewing the Electrical Water Pageant and Magic Kingdom's Wishes Nighttime Spectacular Fireworks.

I have been searching for a Disney Dining Experience for weeks. Because of the 180 day ADR period, it's tough. Thankfully, I read a post about Narcoossee's and was lucky to make a reservation. Thanks OP!

A Magical ADR.

 

[JeremysDisney]

Photocopy of tickets
Snacks
Pennies
Quarters
Glow sticks
Disposable cameras
Ponchos
Umbrella
Hand fan
Ziploc bags
Wet wipes
Kleenex
Tums
Aleve
Benydryl
Chapstix
Band-aid
Sunscreen
Insect repellent
Shirt, shorts, and socks

In case of heat, rain, and illness.

 

[JeremysDisney]

It's 10 am, and MK opened at 9 am and does not have EMH. The wait time for ETWB is 65 mins and PP is 55 mins. Wow!

If our strategy pans out, then we have already visited these attractions in the previous evenings. Yeah!

Plan, execute, adjust.

 

[JeremysDisney]

Just learned that it rained all day yesterday, and it is also Atlanta's, Kentucky's, and Michigan's Spring Break.

First, I think it will be less crowded at Disney World during Easter with Atlanta out of the picture. Second, don't forget to bring a poncho and enjoy Disney World in the rain like Disney Veterans. Easter week is starting to look a little "sunny".

Rain or shine.

 

[JeremysDisney]

Just read some interesting facts about Valet Parking at Disney World Resorts.

Resort Valet Parking Facts:
1)Park visitors may use Valet Parking when visiting Park.
2)Valet Parking has in-and-out privileges throughout the day.
3)Valet Parking is good for all day and is valid at other Resorts.

As a result, I have decided to park our vehicle on Magic Kingdom Day at the Grand Floridian Resort instead of parking at the Transportation and Ticket Center. This will allow us to avoid the dreadful Ferry/Monorail morning "people" traffic jam and enjoy a leisure boat ride from the Grand Floridian to Magic Kingdom instead. Plus, it will be a short and convenient walk to our vehicle after a big dinner at Narcoossee's.

A Magical Kingdom Day.