Fall break or spring break? Is one less crowded than the other?

[imjen]

We are trying to decide whether to visit DLR over fall break (10/12-14) or spring break (4/2-5). Fall break puts us over a weekend, spring break does not but I'm wondering if the spring break crowds are just as bad or worse than a weekend in October. Thoughts?

 

[lana772]

I think it's pretty close. We went last year durring Spring break and late Oct. Oct was much more crowded, but I think that was because of the Halloween stuff. It rained on us one day durring Spring Break and we practically had the park to ourselves.

 

[Andromeda9mm]

Personally, I think Spring Break is a nightmare. We're also going over fall break (Hi fellow Utahn!) but we're pulling the kids out of school for the whole week. So, we'll be going on Monday, Oct 8th and then the Halloween Party on Oct 9th.

I do not anticipate the crowds. Normally we always go in fall, but last year we went over Alpine School Dist. spring break and I wanted to die. Not fun. SOOO crowded.

Just my $.02.

Carry on.

Meredith in Utah.

 

[hpfan100]

i went in 2010 over fall break and it was not crowded at all. I was there over a weekend and the most crowded day was Monday because of Columbus Day. One nice thing about fall time is that the Halloween goodies are up. Plus you get the ride overlays. If you have a fan of Space Mountain or Nightmare before Christmas in your team then fall would be very nice.

 

[lana772]

We went Oct 2010 and Oct 2011. 2011 was by far more crowded (We think the Halloween party is catching on). I can't speak for early Oct, although I know they get pretty crowded for Gay Days around Oct 6th.

 

[Argento]

Most schools in the US get a spring break, albeit not at precisely the same times, whereas the number of school districts doing fall breaks is far less.

 

[lana772]

One good way to see which Disney thinks is more crowded is to check resort hotel prices. The more expensive the more demand.

 

[theworldneedscolor]

We are going October 9-12. Is it going to be crowded then?

 

[KateDrake]

We are trying to decide whether to visit DLR over fall break (10/12-14) or spring break (4/2-5). Fall break puts us over a weekend, spring break does not but I'm wondering if the spring break crowds are just as bad or worse than a weekend in October. Thoughts?

Isn't UEA the next weekend? I specifically planned our trip the 9-14 to avoid UEA crowds... So that will be a bummer if we got it wrong.
Even so, I think the crowds in fall aren't bad. If you are at the park at rope drop, you can get a lot done before the locals start trickling in for Halloween visits in the late afternoon. The evenings are much more crowded, so I'd highly recommend going early!

 

[BlueBayou]

Personally, I think Spring Break is a nightmare. We're also going over fall break (Hi fellow Utahn!) but we're pulling the kids out of school for the whole week. So, we'll be going on Monday, Oct 8th and then the Halloween Party on Oct 9th.

I do not anticipate the crowds. Normally we always go in fall, but last year we went over Alpine School Dist. spring break and I wanted to die. Not fun. SOOO crowded.

Just my $.02.

Carry on.

Meredith in Utah.

You should be fine - but a lot of the Arizona schools have fall break the week of the 9th. But we have gone that time of year and find it fine.

 

[skiingfast]

Most schools in the US get a spring break, albeit not at precisely the same times, whereas the number of school districts doing fall breaks is far less.

Just to expand on this.

About 85% of school have traditional Spring Breaks over a 6 week period. 15% have a Fall Breaks spread over a 6 week period and Spring Break spread over 12 weeks..

 

[PHXscuba]

I too have gone back and forth on this topic. Beyond the crowd level, here are some more considerations for you (and anyone else):

1. How close is your spring break to Easter? The closer, the busier. It looks like your break falls right after Easter, which is close but better than the week before, I think.

2. Do you like holiday overlays or want to see DLR in its "regular setting?" For a first or only visit, I think I'd want to see it without the holiday stuff unless I was wild about Halloween.

3. Personal schedule: Better to go sooner or later (impatience vs. saving up), do you have a child about to turn 10 with adult prices, or a child almost at a certain height? School/sports conflicts?

4. Park hours: Hard to tell with DCA expansion, but those should be proportionally longer any time of year now. In October, Disneyland will close early some days of the week for the Halloween parties -- for you is that a fun extra or annoying to schedule around?

With a good plan, crowds are only part of what I consider.

PHXscuba

 

[PHXscuba]

Using the criteria I outlined above, here's how/what we decided:

1. How close is your spring break to Easter? The closer, the busier. It looks like your break falls right after Easter, which is close but better than the week before, I think. Our spring break is March 11, so fairly far away. Our fall break is the same week of most people who get fall break. We'd go weekdays either season. Point for SPRING

2. Do you like holiday overlays or want to see DLR in its "regular setting?" For a first or only visit, I think I'd want to see it without the holiday stuff unless I was wild about Halloween. We've been at both times of year. We really liked the Halloween stuff, but it's not a dealbreaker. Point for FALL

3. Personal schedule: Better to go sooner or later (impatience vs. saving up), do you have a child about to turn 10 with adult prices, or a child almost at a certain height? School/sports conflicts? I do get impatient; our youngest is still 7 and just hit 48 inches. Fall is much harder to work around my eldest's school activities. Point for SPRING

4. Park hours: Hard to tell with DCA expansion, but those should be proportionally longer any time of year now. In October, Disneyland will close early some days of the week for the Halloween parties -- for you is that a fun extra or annoying to schedule around? We wouldn't pay for party tickets for 6 so we'd have to work around the party days in October. Point for SPRING

We decided spring was the better option for us, with crowds playing a factor but my son's schedule being the biggest reason.

PHXscuba