Flower and Garden, Here We Come! - 2026 Spring Break PTR - (Updated 2/6 - Park Plans)

[SimplyGoofy]

Flower and Garden, Here We Come!
March 2026 Spring Break Trip

My girls and I had the BEST Disney World trip last spring. We traveled with my sister and had six fabulous park days full of fun attractions, great food, and tons of smiles. The spring weather also beat the pants off the hot summer temperatures – plus, the Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot continues to be one of my favorite things.

Here I am during last year's trip with my two girls, M (then age 6) and L (then age 2):

As 2025 went on, I kept returning to the memories of that trip and thought… boy, wouldn’t it be fun to do that again?

I priced out a few hotel options and looked at the airline website when prices were released… and kept the dreaming to myself.

I’m the major Disney fan in our house (although my girls enjoy the parks, too), but my husband G is less than enamored with Disney World. I’ve learned he was Googling, “what to do when you hate Disney World” during our family trip* … so I knew he wouldn’t be as excited as I was to plan another trip.

*Really, I understand. G doesn’t hate everything about Disney (he thought Zootopia 2 was great!), but the parks were chaotic and we ran into lots of entitled people during our 2024 trip. Both things drove him nuts. It was also ridiculously hot during our trip and I packed in every “fun” experience possible (10+ character meals, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, autograph books, the Fireworks Dessert Party, etc.), and it was all too much. He’s happiest hiking in a tranquil National Park – and “tranquil” can be tough to find in the middle of a Disney Park.

This fall was crazy with school, activities, work commitments, and then the holidays, so I never found the right time to bring up a possibly sticky subject.

Come early January, I decided to throw out the idea. To his great credit, he was very understanding about my wanting to return to Disney World, even if he wasn’t personally thrilled. He also agreed spring break was the best time to go due to the cooler weather and lack of school conflicts.

The tough thing about spring break is G’s work schedule – our spring break always falls on a week when G cannot take vacation days. This puts him in a tough spot, as he may not be enthusiastic about visiting Disney World, but he hates to miss out on experiences with his daughters.

I’d originally imagined a week-long trip with leaving on Friday, but what if we left one day earlier so G could join us for the long weekend before returning home for work?

Our kids are now seven and three. M could go on more of the “big kid” attractions like Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and Star Tours on the early portion of the trip, but is now old enough to ride without another adult beside her during the girls-only portion. L should be able to join us on Slinky Dog and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (she's just shy of 38" without shoes - cross your fingers for us!), but isn't nearly tall enough for the other "big kid" rides. It would be great to experience more attractions and enjoy them with Dad.

G thought about it and agreed to join us for the start of our trip with a few stipulations: he didn’t want any character meals (noted), and he wanted a more relaxed trip (also noted). We still booked a few restaurants (he enjoyed the food at several restaurants, just not the chaos of the characters), but we’ll plan a structured but less frantic park day.

I think the cooler temperatures will help, too. It certainly helped our moods last spring!

Once G departs on late Sunday afternoon, the girls and I will have three more park days to enjoy more magic. We’ll save our fireworks and character meals for that portion of the trip (but just a few – nowhere near 10!) and hopefully enjoy a lot of pool time, too.

I’m SO excited that G is coming with us. The girls are super excited that he’s coming, too. My attempt to make our first family trip “the best ever” was not the way G wants to do Disney – which I understand now. I’d love another chance to share the magic without beating him over the head with it.

Do I think I’m going to turn G into a super fan?

Likely, no.

Do I hope I can make him like Disney World just a little bit more?

I sure hope so.

I'm excited you're here to help me plan!

Up Next: Hotel and Travel Plans

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Table of Contents
Just Yatching Around - Hotel and Travel Plans
Bring on the Hoppers! - Schedule & Park Plans

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Just Yachting Around
Hotel and Travel Plans

We booked last year’s spring break trip just 61 days out and I was surprised at how many resorts were available. Nearly every resort except those on the monorail had some rooms available. Our full spring break week seems to be a bit of a Disney unicorn – last year our week had most of the lowest lightning lane costs for the month and we had no trouble finding room options or booking restaurants.

But this year, we were leaving just one day earlier (Thursday instead of Friday) and this made it a rougher go.

I LOVED the Skyliner last year, but I didn't want to deal with folding a double stroller over and over again. (Yes, our oldest is seven, but I was aiming to make this as easy on myself as possible. Disney park days are long and include a lot of miles!) That made me aim for the Epcot area resorts, where I could walk to Epcot and Hollywood Studios and skip the folding business altogether.

But the availability of the Epcot resorts was surprisingly slim (as in, NONE) for Thursday night. A Friday arrival was no problem, but Thursday was a no-go.

Whomp, whomp.

So, new plan! We'd start at another resort and switch to an Epcot resort for the rest of our trip. There were a few great options for the first night, including Coronado Springs Resort (the restaurants and the pool appealed to us even though the tower was booked) and Port Orleans-Riverside (the proximity to Disney Springs would be fun). There was also availability at the Wilderness Lodge, the Poly, and the Animal Kingdom Lodge, but we decided to pick a less expensive option as our main resort was already pricy. With the All-Stars unavailable (!), we chose my old favorite, Pop Century.

I’ve stayed at Pop twice (one night in 2015 and eight nights in 2016) and think it’s a great resort.

I think the girls will LOVE all the colorful décor! It will be great to be on the Skyliner for our first park day (even with the stroller folding). We could even see the Cars section we missed exploring during last year’s stay!

Turning to the Epcot resorts, I wanted to stick with a Disney-owned resort, so the Swan and Dolphin were out. I was originally leaning toward the BoardWalk Inn as it would be completely new to us, but news about the pool refurb and M's waxing poetic about Stormalong Bay clinched our decision for a Beach or Yacht Club stay.

The costs were very close (each had availability with different discounts), so G made the final call: Yacht Club, as it would be new to us.

Yacht Club it is!

We ventured over to the Yacht Club for dinner at Ale and Compass in 2024, so we have seen the lobby before:

And, of course, the Yacht Club shares a pool (*cough* waterpark *cough*) with the Beach Club, so M’s swimming dreams will come true.

I’m super excited to stay at the Yacht Club! I'm thrilled about the pool and the easy access to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. We've been fortunate to take multiple trips to Disney World, so I can't wait to enjoy the resort and feel less pressure to “pack it all in.”

As for flights and airport transportation, we did a rinse and repeat of last year. We booked the only airline that has direct flights to Orlando (easy choice, there), and we re-booked Cast and Crew Transportation to take care of our airport transportation. We did have to book two separate itineraries (as the girls and I are staying for seven nights while G is staying for three nights), but we're all flying in on the same flight.

I’m super excited about everything we booked! I look forward to seeing Pop Century and Art of Animation again, and I’m thrilled to stay at the Yacht Club. I’m also relieved to have our travel booked!

Up Next: General Park Plans

 

[DLo]

Following along . Looking forward to reading more . I love the EPCOT area resorts. Switching up this year to WL but favorite is still any EPCOT area . My DH told me the last time he went with me that he isn’t going back until we have grandkids . Luckily , our granddaughter was born in November so hopefully, he will be back soon !

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Following along!

But the availability of the Epcot resorts was surprisingly slim (as in, NONE) for Thursday night. A Friday arrival was no problem, but Thursday was a no-go.

It is so funny how that happens.

Yacht Club it is!

We love Yacht Club!!!! I would stay there everytime if we could!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Following along . Looking forward to reading more . I love the EPCOT area resorts. Switching up this year to WL but favorite is still any EPCOT area . My DH told me the last time he went with me that he isn’t going back until we have grandkids . Luckily , our granddaughter was born in November so hopefully, he will be back soon !

Welcome - thanks for joining in!

We enjoyed our stay at the BCV back in 2024. Our room was lacking in a few ways, but the close proximity to Epcot was amazing! It will be fun to see the difference between the Yacht and Beach Club (and the difference between a regular room and the studio we had at BCV). The Wilderness Lodge is also amazing (I stayed there for a few nights back in 2016) it's a great choice!

Congratulations on your granddaughter! I'm sure your husband wouldn't miss out on a trip with her, so I bet he'll go back with you soon.

Following along!

Hi Ariella! Thanks for joining in!

It is so funny how that happens.

It was just bizarre. The weeks before and after us appear to be busier, but I know each week involves spring break for some part of the country. I'm just glad we were able to find a resort for the first night a few months out!

We love Yacht Club!!!! I would stay there everytime if we could!

I'm really excited to stay there! We enjoyed the BCV a few years ago (the hotel, pool, and park proximity were great, although our room felt small after coming from the Poly!). I especially love that we're close or a Skyliner ride away from so many restaurants - we shouldn't need a Minnie Van for the whole trip!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Bring on the Hoppers!
Schedule & Park Plans

Last year we didn’t have park hoppers.

This was a huge departure for me – I’d had park hoppers for every Disney trip since 2005. I love being able to be in one park in the morning and another in the evening. I was worried I would feel constrained without hoppers, but (financially and otherwise) they didn’t make sense for our condensed trip.

The funny thing was… I didn’t mind! We did a great job (for the most part) making the most of each day. As a hopper regular, I was surprised that I wasn’t bothered without the ability to hop.

But this trip is different. We have six full park days and two travel days – eight Disney days! Plus, we’re staying at the Yacht Club, and our close proximity to Epcot may entice us to more “popping in” unexpectedly. Plus, our deluxe resort opens us up for Extended Evening Hours in Epcot and Magic Kingdom – score!

Do I think we’ll make it to both EEH with two young children? Eh, maybe not… but I like having the option! I think it’s likely we’ll bail Epcot on the early side (attractions are so far away from each other – but we may enjoy the ambiance for a bit), but I’d LOVE to try for some extra time in MK. Magic Kingdom after dark is one of my favorite things!

With all these things in play, hoppers made sense for this trip - at least for some of us.

The girls and I will enjoy six park days, but G is only joining us for three. In my attempt for “low-key” (or at least, lower-key) park days for G, I skipped hopping plans as park hopping does not help that low-key vibe. Plus, G is gone before any of the extended hours so hopping makes less sense anyway.

Therefore, I chose a three-day base ticket for G and six-day park hoppers for me and the girls. I checked prices with both Disney and my favorite third-party ticket site… and to no one’s surprise, the third-party site was better priced. I bought my two sets of tickets, added them to my Disney profile, and we were set!

Now to figure out the park touring plan. I love a schedule.

G was interested in two parks – Epcot and Magic Kingdom. He would’ve been perfectly content to ONLY visit those two parks. (He didn’t mind Animal Kingdom but wasn’t super enthused by Hollywood Studios.)

Any guesses where we’re spending our third park day with G?

Hollywood Studios.

We can thank our older daughter, M, for that, as she was insistent on visiting Hollywood Studios with Dad. G gave in easily because he loves his daughter.

Frankly, I think this will be great. The Studios is the hardest park for our toddler – there are so many rides with height restrictions! This will give M a chance to ride Star Tours (and maybe give me a chance to ride Tower of Terror?). It will also give M her best shot to ride Slinky Dog just in case L is a smidge too short. I also think G will enjoy Rise of the Resistance. He missed it back in 2024 and M would LOVE a chance to ride it with him – this kind of attraction is right up his alley!

After G’s departure, we’ll round out our remaining three park days with Animal Kingdom and repeat visits to Magic Kingdom and Epcot.

I’m especially excited for our two full days in Epcot on this trip. I feel like we’ve given that park short shrift on our last two trips. We popped in and out a few times in 2024 but were never there a full day, and last year we had two “half” days in Epcot (so, one day!). I’m excited to have more time to wander in World Showcase (and perhaps try more festival snacks!) and spend more time enjoying the park rather than rushing to attractions.

My last major decision was to determine our nighttime spectacular priorities. Happily Ever After is a must-do for me – I LOVE the MK fireworks and the girls seem to enjoy them, too. G did NOT want to see fireworks (we had a rough experience leaving the park in 2024, which I think soured his overall take on them), so they are slated for the second half of the trip.

We saw Fantasmic last year (so that’s not a must-do for me), but I would like to see the new nighttime parade. The parade should be doable with several evenings planned for Magic Kingdom. I’d also be open to seeing Luminous, but with our close (walkable!) proximity to Epcot, catching that can be a game-day decision. If G is not interested in Luminous, the girls and I could watch it on Monday night when we’re there for extended hours.

Our final schedule:

Thursday – Arrival + Resort Time
Friday – Epcot
Saturday – Magic Kingdom
Sunday – Hollywood Studios
Monday – Animal Kingdom + Epcot EEH
Tuesday - Magic Kingdom + Happily Ever After Fireworks
Wednesday – Epcot + Magic Kingdom EEH
Thursday – Departure

This is a shockingly similar lineup to last year – we also started our trip and began our last day in Epcot and enjoyed two days in Magic Kingdom. We did Hollywood Studios a bit later in our trip (I’m hoping our Thursday arrival will help me get decent lightning lanes for Sunday!). I’m skipping After Hours (I don’t believe any are offered during our dates), but the extended hours will be fun.

Overall, we have a schedule (hooray!) and I determined the final lineup at the eleventh hour before we booked ADRs.

ADR plans (my favorite thing!) are up next!

Up Next: Disney Dining Plans