Easter vs Christmas

[Bad Llama]

Hi there,

We are thinking of going home next year over one of the major holidays. IYO what is the busiest time - Easter or Christmas?

Appreciate any thoughts...

A.

 

[jel0511]

Christmas week by far. We usually go over Easter break due to school schedules and have gone a couple of times at Christmas, and Easter break looks EMPTY in comparison to Christmas week.

 

[Sunshine22]

I think Christmas week (week between Christmas and New Years) is more crowded than Easter. Easter dates vary each year so crowd levels vary. IMO Easter is most crowded when it falls in mid to late March which coincides with many spring breaks.

 

[Kathi OD]

We've been to WDW over Easter and while it's been crowded, it's not crazy. Chirstmas week is CRAZY crowded.

 

[JWG]

There's a website that rank orders the best time to go (1 being least busy and 52 being most). The week before and after Easter often are 42 and 41 respectively. That being said, Christmas is 52 I think.

 

[drusba]

Been both numerous times. Christmas is most crowded but Easter time is very close second. Crowds are super-huge for both. Advantage at Easter is that both waterparks are open, weather is usually good for them, and thus those drain some of the crowd that would otherwise be at the parks. Christmas is usually too cold for driving crowds to a waterpark. In either event, expect long lines for most anything (e.g., Soarin can get to over 3 1/2 hour standby line).

The real difference is the treatment of holidays. Disney really does not do very much at Easter (you get some hardly noticeable decorations and a bunny and Easter Egg hunt on Sunday at resorts but otherwise there is little and it is really not much different than any other spring break weeks except for larger crowds. Christmas on the other hand is decorations and events gone nuclear.

 

[Bad Llama]

Thanks guys, sounds like Easter is best and I guess the weather is better then too? Also the fact that both Water Parks are open is a plus for us

A.

 

[tomandrobin]

Christmas week is the busiest week at WDW. Easter and July 4th weeks are the second and third busiest, Thanksgiving week is the fourth busiest.

So....Basically, its busy.

 

[dmoore22]

Christmas at WDW has become our family tradition. We were hooked after our first Christmas. The week preceding Christmas is manageable. Christmas Day the parks seem desolate until the evening. I would assume most folks and locals are having their family celebration at home before heading to the parks in the late afternoon early evening. From that point through New Year's Eve its crowded. New Year's Eve you need to plan on staying in one park all day as they will turn folks away due to reaching capacity.

 

[Coach81]

Agree.. looks like Easter it is...

 

[DizGirl20]

There's a website that rank orders the best time to go (1 being least busy and 52 being most). The week before and after Easter often are 42 and 41 respectively. That being said, Christmas is 52 I think.

Hi - Any chance you remember what website this info is posted? Thanks so much. Oh and sorry to hijack the thread!

FWIW, I would choose Easter over Christmas. In fact, this year we did choose Easter over Christmas. Figuring everyone has off Christmas break but Spring/Easter break always varies. Happy Planning!

 

[JWG]

Hi - Any chance you remember what website this info is posted? Thanks so much. Oh and sorry to hijack the thread!

FWIW, I would choose Easter over Christmas. In fact, this year we did choose Easter over Christmas. Figuring everyone has off Christmas break but Spring/Easter break always varies. Happy Planning!

2010 Weeks to Visit Walt Disney World, Ranked in Order

2011 Weeks to Visit Walt Disney World, Ranked in Order

2012 Weeks to Visit Walt Disney World, Ranked in Order

Note, if you want to know anything other then the "best" weeks to go, you'll need to scroll down until you can click on the graphic that says "Click to Enlarge 201x Weeks to Visit Rankings" and you'll get all weeks with notes. 1 being the best week to go, 53 the worst.

Easter falls in the 41-44 range while Christmas on through New Year's is in the 45-53 range. New Year's is worse than Christmas.

 

[DizGirl20]

JWG - THANKS

Hope others find this useful...