East Coast Spring Break/Easter crowds/flights/lots of questions

[PrincesCJM]

I am a veteran Disney World planner but am considering a trip to Disneyland for April 2025 (I know, I'm crazy). Because I am a teacher, I am limited on travel dates. In Maine, our vacation is always around Patriot's Day (When the Boston Marathon occurs). In 2025, Easter will be during the first weekend of vacation. Does Disneyland get affect by the Easter crowds like Disney world does?

Also, flights to Disney world during our vacations are usually very expensive. Because of this, I book them as soon as American releases flights (I have their cc so I get some perks there). What kind of prices can I expect? It would be for a family of four. Yes, I have looked at flights recently for the similar time for this coming Easter and April (they don't line up). April is a little more expensive then Easter.

Or would a summer trip make more sense? What's the weather like in the summer in LA area of Cali?

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

Spring is always really crowded but cooler weather generally. Summer can be really nice for crowds but of course hotter.

 

[pharmama]

Looks like Easter is very late in 2025 (Apr 20). That seems very late for big spring break crowds, especially if that date is the beginning of your trip. I would expect the Monday after Easter to be quite busy as even those who aren't on spring break may have the day off (plus, Mondays in general are bad....) but otherwise I'd guess it won't be super crazy. And weather should be great as mentioned.

 

[wabbott]

I can speak to the weather with a bit of experience. We're natives of the South (Louisiana), so we know and have lived the climate of the Southeast US all our lives. The hottest summer day in Southern Cali feels 10 to 15 degrees cooler than WDW.

Humidity.

We've been to DLR/DCA four times over the past four years. Late September 2019, June 2021, August 2021, and two weeks ago. We've been to WDW in the spring, summer, and fall. There is no comparison.

WDW (and the rest of the Southeast US) has about a month or two in the Spring and Fall that has decent temps and humidity.

This isn't to say that Southern Cali can't be hot. But with low dew points, Cali "feels" much more comfortable, especially in the shade.

Bottom line, July in Cali is much more tolerable that that of WDW from mid-May to the end of September.

 

[alleighboo]

I'm also an East Coast teacher. I've been to WDW but went to Disneyland for the first time last October and won't be back to WDW for a long time I went back to DL the last week of May/first week of June so I can't help you with crowds but I will tell you the weather is AMAZING in comparison to WDW. I was wearing a sweatshirt, in June, at a Disney park. Mind-blowing, haha. The highs were in the upper 60s most of our last trip with one day being in the mid-70s. It was fantastic.

We also fly American to DL and my prices have ranged from $600-$700 a person. That's non-stop and round trip. We fly Charlotte to LAX. It's of course cheaper to not fly direct...but it stressed me out so I'm fine paying more.

 

[PrincesCJM]

I'm also an East Coast teacher. I've been to WDW but went to Disneyland for the first time last October and won't be back to WDW for a long time I went back to DL the last week of May/first week of June so I can't help you with crowds but I will tell you the weather is AMAZING in comparison to WDW. I was wearing a sweatshirt, in June, at a Disney park. Mind-blowing, haha. The highs were in the upper 60s most of our last trip with one day being in the mid-70s. It was fantastic.

We also fly American to DL and my prices have ranged from $600-$700 a person. That's non-stop and round trip. We fly Charlotte to LAX. It's of course cheaper to not fly direct...but it stressed me out so I'm fine paying more.

Thanks. That is useful information. We paid $529pp for flights last April (April 2023). It was a little cheaper then I have previously paid for the same time frame. My kids and I went back in August and I paid $520 TOTAL for the three of us to fly. I would likely fly out of Boston for a direct flight. Otherwise, we fly out of Portland ME or Manchester NH.

It is also good to hear that summer is great weather wise.