Easter week 2026 LL strategy

[ceejanerun]

We are planning a week over Easter next year and will be purchasing both MLL and SLL passes. I’m torn about the best strategy for MK. I see two possible options

1. Book all LLs for as early as possible in the morning (Will likely book Tiyana, POC and Haunted mansion), with the hopes of being able to grab more LLs after the first ride. Possible hiccup is LLs being gone by 10 am, like they are typically during Christmas week, or return times of 6 pm or later. While the plan is to be there all day, we’ve experienced “overload” previously during busy periods and have sometimes left due to crowds and frustration long before closing time.

Or

2. Book LLs for afternoon, rope drop and use standby for the headliners during the morning. This would quite likely mean we don’t get to pick up any further LLs after scanning into first ride.

Just curious what has worked best for people in the past, especially during a very busy week. We do not have early entry privelidge, but have a 14 day pass with an 18 day window. tickets start 8 days before our actual first day in the Disney parks, so we will have ability to book LL 13 days in advance of planned MK day.

 

[MillauFr]

I went once during this period. Never again. I don't care if Disney paid me to show up. The crowds make it unbearable. I would suggest trying to find another time to go.

 

[Former DVC Owner]

We are also going Easter week! And we have done many Easter weeks (including the “Frozen Spring” of 2014 with a 4 year old daughter who HAD to meet Elsa and Anna). And I have been able to manage the crowds. #2 is the best option. Here’s the plan:

Rope drop with early entry. The park will probably open at 8 with early entry at 7:30. You should be at your bus stop at 6:30. So you’ll be getting up at 5:30 AM.

Go directly to 7 dwarfs or Peter Pan. We have done 7 dwarfs/space mountain/get in tron line before park open. That gets you off Tron by 8:45. So in the first 45 minutes you’ve done three top attractions. Then you bee-line it to Adventureland. Fantasyland and tomorrowland are significantly more crowded than Adventureland and Frontierland so you have to get the heck out of there! Ride Tiana’s or jungle cruise (your choice) with a 50 minute wait. You’ll be off that ride around 10:00. Then do pirates and haunted mansion with 30 minute waits. Now it’s about 11:45 and you’ll get lunch which will take an hour. Done with lunch around 1:00. Have your fast passes for 1:00, 2:30, and 4:00. Now you’ll do your fast passes and stuff like people mover, Ariel, or mickeys philharmagic.

You don’t have to do 7 dwarfs/space etc. Just do the longest wait time things first. During “Frozen Spring” we got the first bus so we were at the front of the rope so we’d be in the first few groups to meet Anna and Elsa. So if meeting a princess is your top priority head their first because those lines fill up FAST! The idea is to bang out 3 large wait attractions in fantasyland and Tomorrowland during early entry and the first hour, then head to Adventureland/frontierland which have half the crowds of fantasyland/tomorrowland. I don’t know why they have lower crowds in the morning, but they do. That’s a fact.

This plan gets you from 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM with about 10 rides and tolerable waits. Then you leave the park and go back to your hotel and get there about 5:00. Jump in the pool and grab dinner and head to bed about 9:00. After all, you gotta get up at 5:30 tomorrow morning!

Or you can stay for the fireworks, get back to the hotel at midnight, sleep in till 8:00, get to the park at 10:30 and be totally screwed.

Fireworks or tolerable lines. You can’t have both. Choose what’s most important to you.

 

[ceejanerun]

We are also going Easter week! And we have done many Easter weeks (including the “Frozen Spring” of 2014 with a 4 year old daughter who HAD to meet Elsa and Anna). And I have been able to manage the crowds. #2 is the best option. Here’s the plan:

Rope drop with early entry. The park will probably open at 8 with early entry at 7:30. You should be at your bus stop at 6:30. So you’ll be getting up at 5:30 AM.

Go directly to 7 dwarfs or Peter Pan. We have done 7 dwarfs/space mountain/get in tron line before park open. That gets you off Tron by 8:45. So in the first 45 minutes you’ve done three top attractions. Then you bee-line it to Adventureland. Fantasyland and tomorrowland are significantly more crowded than Adventureland and Frontierland so you have to get the heck out of there! Ride Tiana’s or jungle cruise (your choice) with a 50 minute wait. You’ll be off that ride around 10:00. Then do pirates and haunted mansion with 30 minute waits. Now it’s about 11:45 and you’ll get lunch which will take an hour. Done with lunch around 1:00. Have your fast passes for 1:00, 2:30, and 4:00. Now you’ll do your fast passes and stuff like people mover, Ariel, or mickeys philharmagic.

This plan gets you from 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM with about 10 rides and tolerable waits. Then you leave the park and go back to your hotel and get there about 5:00. Jump in the pool and grab dinner and head to bed about 9:00. After all, you gotta get up at 5:30 tomorrow morning!

Or you can stay for the fireworks, get back to the hotel at midnight night, sleep in till 8:00, get to the park at 10:30 and be totally screwed.

Fireworks or tolerable lines. You can’t have both. Choose what’s most important to you.

Thank you for your reply! Unfortunately, we don’t have early entry, so will be behind that crowd. We will also be booking POC, HM, and Tiana LLS as well as purchasing 7dwarfs and tron. Would you be able to offer a plan starting at 9? We want to do space, PP and big thunder if it’s back by then

 

[Whistlebee]

We are also going Easter week! And we have done many Easter weeks (including the “Frozen Spring” of 2014 with a 4 year old daughter who HAD to meet Elsa and Anna). And I have been able to manage the crowds. #2 is the best option. Here’s the plan:

Rope drop with early entry. The park will probably open at 8 with early entry at 7:30. You should be at your bus stop at 6:30. So you’ll be getting up at 5:30 AM.

Go directly to 7 dwarfs or Peter Pan. We have done 7 dwarfs/space mountain/get in tron line before park open. That gets you off Tron by 8:45. So in the first 45 minutes you’ve done three top attractions. Then you bee-line it to Adventureland. Fantasyland and tomorrowland are significantly more crowded than Adventureland and Frontierland so you have to get the heck out of there! Ride Tiana’s or jungle cruise (your choice) with a 50 minute wait. You’ll be off that ride around 10:00. Then do pirates and haunted mansion with 30 minute waits. Now it’s about 11:45 and you’ll get lunch which will take an hour. Done with lunch around 1:00. Have your fast passes for 1:00, 2:30, and 4:00. Now you’ll do your fast passes and stuff like people mover, Ariel, or mickeys philharmagic.

You don’t have to do 7 dwarfs/space etc. Just do the longest wait time things first. During “Frozen Spring” we got the first bus so we were at the front of the rope so we’d be in the first few groups to meet Anna and Elsa. So if meeting a princess is your top priority head their first because those lines fill up FAST! The idea is to bang out 3 large wait attractions in fantasyland and Tomorrowland during early entry and the first hour, then head to Adventureland/frontierland which have half the crowds of fantasyland/tomorrowland. I don’t know why they have lower crowds in the morning, but they do. That’s a fact.

This plan gets you from 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM with about 10 rides and tolerable waits. Then you leave the park and go back to your hotel and get there about 5:00. Jump in the pool and grab dinner and head to bed about 9:00. After all, you gotta get up at 5:30 tomorrow morning!

Or you can stay for the fireworks, get back to the hotel at midnight, sleep in till 8:00, get to the park at 10:30 and be totally screwed.

Fireworks or tolerable lines. You can’t have both. Choose what’s most important to you.

I just want to say you are amazing. I love the detailed plan!