Going Spring Break, need tips.

[I can't wait]

Taking my family to WDW March 14-18. I haven't been in 15 years. Wife, 8 yr old son and 4 yr old son have never been. Staying at the P.O. Riverside. I know it will be busy because its Spring Break. At least it won't be 100 degrees. I will bring a cheap umbrella stroller for my 4 yr old. Highest on my list is MK and Epcot. What can I do to maximize our time? I really want to show my family Snow White's Scary adventues, Peter Pan's flight, Haunted Mansion, C.O.P., Space Mtn, etc. Explain to me how fastpasses work. How busy will it be. Can we ride the monorail? How can we eat cheap? Thanks for any tips.

 

[kilee]

WELCOME TO THE DIS!! You found the right spot for all your planning needs.

Since you're staying on site you'll want to possibly take adavantage of the EMH. It will help maximize your time and waits. One word of advice do Peter Pan first thing in the morning or get a FP for this ride. It ALWAYS has a really, really long wait.

Fast Pass (FP)-- is free for everyone. There are so many misconceptions about it's use. You use each person's admission ticket and you get a pass to come back to that attraction at a later time. You then usually walk on that attraction or wait under 10 minutes. You can get 1 FP per person every 2 hours or when your wait time for your first one is up, whichever is sooner. Each person in your group needs one to enter an attraction or ride together. It is really a great way to spend less time in lines. If the standby time is less than 15-20 minutes though it does usually make more sense to just wait and use a FP for something else.

Everyone can ride the monorail. All Disney transportation is open to onsite and off site guests free of charge.

As for eating you'll need to make those PS's. It's one good way to make sure you get a few sit down meals. Eating at Disney can be either cheap or expensive. Really depends on how many sit down meals you want to do.

 

[sunny04]

We're going right after you leave. Although it will not be even close to our first trip, we have never been at Spring Break. I know that Easter is supposed to be really bad, but we are only going one week before! Is it going to be terrible then?


And and answer to the first question - how to eat cheap - This won't work for everyone, but my husband and I don't eat much anyway. At counter service locations, we usually get one meal and split it, cuts the price in half. I know some people eat a lot more than us though, so this may not help everyone.

 

[kareneast]

To eat cheap....

check out the menus with prices on allearsnet.com Also keep in mind that if you do a sit down meal for lunch instead of dinner it will usually be cheaper.

 

[snyderla]

Sounds like you want to do several rides in FantasyLand. Here's how we do it: make a PS for first seating for breakfast at Crystal Palace. You will get into the park 1 hour before it opens...make sure it isn't an early entry day...then after you finish breakfast go DIRECTLY to Fantasyland and you will most likely walk right on each of those rides. We have done this 3 times and it has worked each time. I have photo's of us in front of Cinderella's Carousel with no one elso around...no one. We rode PP, SW, saw MP, then went on IASW. By that time lines had started to form, so we walked over to HM and walked on that!

DH & I went Easter Week in 2004. We took it easy for the most part, really didn't have very high expectations for the trip, but had to go then because DS was performing with high school choir in EPCOT. We had our best trip yet. There was only 1 time when we just couldn't take the crowds at MK, we had gone on the keys to the kingdom tour in the morning, and then started to check out MK in the afternoon, but there were just too many people there and I started to get stressed, so we went over to Poly and rented a water mouse and had a blast!!! Then went back later that night to watch the fireworks.

Make a list of must-do's, but keep expectations low due to crowds and I think you will be fine.

JMHO
Lori

 

[MinnieM3]

We have been Easter week once and are going again this year. We didn't find it horrible at all and the weather was great. Do use FP. Get one as soon as you get to the park for a ride you do not want to miss.

We eat cheaply but doing just a few big meals per trip. We usually have breakfast in the room. We often split entrees. We eat only when we're hungry. We don't stick to strict schedule. We keep snacks in the room in case someone gets the munchies. We bring our own sodas/juice boxes/bottled water and keep it in the room fridge.

I hope you have a wonderful, magical time. Don't miss Wishes!

 

[QuickGold]

You should have a touring plan in mind to maximize your time. I'd recommend buying the Unofficial Guide to WDW. It has touring plans and lots of other great info.

 

[Disney_Queen34]

I think one of the best things for your vacation is to remember that it IS going to be spring break and it WILL be busy at times. If you don't let that get to you you will have an AMAZING time! I've gone twice for spring break and both times it hasn't been as busy as I thought it would be.