Has Anyone made their March Break 2011 Plans

[mtmbyck]

Go ahead and ask while you are there this March Break. Texas and Florida are on the same break as us ONtarion were last year and most years.

If you go literally the THursday or Friday before March break - you cut the crowds in half. But once you go March Break, it's busy.

Wonderland is just stupid busy......that's comparing apples to oranges IMHO. For Disney, waiting in line for an hour or 90 minutes is busy and not worth it.

But we are going this year March break and we will go 30 minutes before opening and get out by 2pm when the crowds hit and it will be very manageable.

 

[greenclan67]

We are actually going a week before March Break and March Break as well! We do alot of our parks the first week, and if we want to go back to Seaworld, we do mornings there (we have AP's) then come back to the resort for the afternoon, when it is the warmest!We could see the switch from the first week we were there, to the week of Ontario's March Break, alot more Ontario plates, traffic was busy, the restaurants at Crossroads were busier! I won't do any lines over an hour, I only have so many days in Florida, I refuse to do it standing in line! So if we miss that ride, we miss that ride! My kids feel the same way! They always tell me, there is to much to do, why stand in line all day, and not see any of the park! They are 8 & 10. Mind you they did leave Epcot last year disappointed, because the wait time never came down lower then 90 mins, and it was the one ride they wanted to go on! Maybe this year!

 

[grantclaire]

Wow! Such different experiences. Maybe it depends on which day you go. We were at WDW during this past March Break and spent 2 days at Epcot,I day each at Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. The parks did seem more busy then the last March Break( Have gone 4 of the last 5), The only long waits were at HS. And that was the day we slept in and did not go to the parks early. The other days we were at the gates before opening and used fastpasses when possible. We saw most attractions before noon,then took a break back at the hotel before returning in the late afternoon. It helped that we stayed at the Beach Club(thanks to a 40% off pin)10 min walk to the World Showcase and 15 mins to HS. We toured the whole day at AK with no hotel break. I think planning is more important when the parks are busy.

 

[Debbie]

LOL I remember people posting pics on the theme park board (I think it was that one). . . . wall to wall people at MK.

 

[ariel68]

We are heading out on our three day road trip to Orlando, from MB, on the 23rd of March for my DD17 and her BFF17 Graduation Trip. We are stopping in Madison, WI and Nashvile on our trip down. We are staying a vacation rental for 6days in Orlando, then off on a 3nt cruise on the Dream, before heading home. As the dates get closer the anticipation is growing for all of us. This is my DD and her BFF first cruise, and their first trip to FL, so I expect it will be a very full week there. I cant wait!!!

 

[dvcdisney]

This year our March break is in February. I booked our resort this past March, our flight in June and dining reservations this past August.

Just a question for all of you that have been to Disney during March Break, is it very busy?

In previous years when they didn't offer Free Dining, it was busy but manageable. I just can't understand why Disney would even offer Free Dining during that time since it's not a slow season. But I guess some people may have decided to go elsewhere during the break if not for the offer.

Anyways, if there is no offer, the week of March break is busy, but manageable. Since we go for two weeks (week before and week of) for March break, we can see the difference between the two weeks. It is great the week before, very little wait times, restaurants are not full etc. But by Saturday night (beginning of the second week), the parks are crowded and packed and long waits for rides for the whole week. So we usually do a lot of ride in the first week and when the next week comes, we spent more time at the resort in the afternoon.

 

[Sheribo]

We're taking my daughter and her 3 friends for the spring break next March break. The school trip was to Europe and I wasn't comfortable letting her go. It was way too expensive too. We're driving from Ottawa and staying in a THV. A wonderful friend gave us some 2-day park passes for the girls too. Getting very excited.

 

[coastgirl]

Another Haligonian here. We never travel on March break because I am too cheap to pay high season prices. But with the Feb break this year we are planning at least 10 days in Fl. Have been keeping busy looking at "villas"...can't believe I can rent a house with a private pool for less than a hotel room. (It should be easy to get a 3 or 4 bedroom house with a private pool for under $1000.) We're not doing Disney this time, but instead are planning to relax at the house and also get the Orlando "Flex Pass" so we can do Harry Potter/Universal and some of the watery attractions (Aquatica, Seaworld...). I did book two character meals already, breakfast at Ohana and dinner on my daughter's birthday at 1900 Park Fare. Now waiting and watching for a good flight on SW from NH. (Yep, too cheap to fly out of Canada as well. )

 

[ariel68]

Another Haligonian here. We never travel on March break because I am too cheap to pay high season prices. But with the Feb break this year we are planning at least 10 days in Fl. Have been keeping busy looking at "villas"...can't believe I can rent a house with a private pool for less than a hotel room. (It should be easy to get a 3 or 4 bedroom house with a private pool for under $1000.) We're not doing Disney this time, but instead are planning to relax at the house and also get the Orlando "Flex Pass" so we can do Harry Potter/Universal and some of the watery attractions (Aquatica, Seaworld...). I did book two character meals already, breakfast at Ohana and dinner on my daughter's birthday at 1900 Park Fare. Now waiting and watching for a good flight on SW from NH. (Yep, too cheap to fly out of Canada as well. )

We have rented a 4 BR house with private pool and hot-tub for 6 nights in March for $US 595 plus 25.00 per day for (optional) pool heat. We too are foregoing WDW and focusng on Universal, Sea World and Busch Gardens. We are going on the 3nt Dream Cruise also. If my DD and her BFF cant get in on the Dolphin Swim in Nassau, then we will buy the Dolphin pkg from Discovery Cove which also incl Busch, Sea World, Aqautica...then we will just puchase tickets for Universal seprately vs purchasing the flex pass (it actually works out to be a bit cheaper that way too). We are driving down this trip...

 

[coastgirl]

Ariel, have you rented before? We haven't in Orlando, curious to know where you found your place...

 

[ariel68]

Ariel, have you rented before? We haven't in Orlando, curious to know where you found your place...

We have not rented a vacation home before, and really had alot of reservations about doing so. However, some of our family members traveled to Orlando in the past and have done so. They have always found this to be the best way to Vacation. There are several reputable sites to find homes in the Orlando area (altho we are renting a vacation home in Hawaii next year in November as well)

vacationrentals.com and homeaway.com are two off the top of my head (I hope its okay that I posted the links??) Trip advisor has a section for Vacation Rentals (Flip Key I believe) as well, which will give you a head start anyway.

 

[coastgirl]

Thanks...useful info. We have reservations too, but it seems like it's widely enough done. Hope you have a great time.

 

[mtmbyck]

Rental Homes: Go to www.vrbo.com (vacvation rental by owner). You get to email directly to the owners of the home and can negotiate rates much easier. We have rented homes for 7 years. Stick with communities close to WDW that say 5 minutes. Those that say 10 or 15 could be more like 20-30 with traffic on busy roads you have to use to get there. I suggest Indian Ridge, Rolling Hills, Formosa Gardens, Emerald Island - any community off Old Lake Wilson Rd. is by far the closest. We have rented everything from a 3 bedroom to a 7 bedroom! All were lovely.

Sheribo, so nice that a fellow Ottawa wil be there (we moved this summer to Ottawa). Don't forget that you can't receive used tickets with 2 days left - they will be specific to a fingerprint of someone else. We are looking for cheap tickets now and only want a 1 day plus (to do a waterpark) or a 2 day plus.

 

[coastgirl]

I suggest Indian Ridge, Rolling Hills, Formosa Gardens, Emerald Island - any community off Old Lake Wilson Rd. is by far the closest. .

Thanks, I've found it difficult to get specific community recommendations. There is SO much out there, it's overwhelming.

 

[DeniseinNS]

Seriously, for March Break 10, were you at the same place the rest of us were at? LOL! You can find threads on it (I might have started one). As a teacher, I can only go during peak seasons, and have never seen a March Break like this year. All of the CMs and DVC people agreed - we were all shaking our heads as it was busier than I have ever, ever seen it, during any other peak season time. We have no expectations as we are DVC members, who have stayed at pretty much every resort and eaten in pretty much all restaurants - we just go with the flow, and don't get irritated at all, as we've BTDT, and will be there to do it again. Crowds were absolutely crazy that week!!! The week of St. Patrick's Day, which is our break, lines up with a lot of breaks - the CMs were telling us about different states that were down there, besides all of us Ontarians. They had to close the parks at certain points, plus rides and monorails were breaking down as well - too many people all over the place!

It was nuts!!!!!!

Tiger

We were there during our March Break (were there March 9-17) and I didn't think it was too bad at all, it did start getting busier towards the end of our trip but I didn't find it was as busy as I had thought it would be.

 

[Sheribo]

Sheribo, so nice that a fellow Ottawa wil be there (we moved this summer to Ottawa). Don't forget that you can't receive used tickets with 2 days left - they will be specific to a fingerprint of someone else. We are looking for cheap tickets now and only want a 1 day plus (to do a waterpark) or a 2 day plus.

LOL. Not used tickets. Comps from Disney for a screwed up vacation. They asked my friend what would make up for it and she said "Two day passes for my daughter and her 3 friends". They arrived in the mail a few days later.

 

[House_of_Mouse Fan]

We're staying at our home resort of Wilderness Lodge from March 12th to 17th. I still haven't booked our flights yet...the prices are CRAZY and only seem to be going up (especially JetBlue out of Buffalo). I get the feeling I should book soon or I'll end up paying even higher prices!

 

[webworm]

We're staying at our home resort of Wilderness Lodge from March 12th to 17th. I still haven't booked our flights yet...the prices are CRAZY and only seem to be going up (especially JetBlue out of Buffalo). I get the feeling I should book soon or I'll end up paying even higher prices!

We are a family of 5 and I find if you are flexible you have better luck finding a deal. We have flown out of Rochester, Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Detroit. We live in Oakville so going to Pittsburgh is just a few minutes over 4 hrs about the same as Detroit. We have flown out of Pittsburgh twice and the savings on 5 tickets was well worth it. Fares tend to be less often especially during March break since it's a little further away from the border.

 

[visitingapril09]

We are going March 22-April 5th......When everyone talks of March break, I assume that covers the month of March as a whole? Everyone's Spring Breaks seem to be so different.

Also, what can I anticipate the weather to be like during our stay, for those who are March experienced?? Shorts still?

 

[amw]

We are going March 22-April 5th......When everyone talks of March break, I assume that covers the month of March as a whole? Everyone's Spring Breaks seem to be so different.

Also, what can I anticipate the weather to be like during our stay, for those who are March experienced?? Shorts still?

Hhmmmm... depends on the year. Last year it was actually cooler in Florida than it was when we returned to TO! That being said it was REALLY mild her, and a bit chillier than normal there. I equated it to a cooler spring temperature.

We would wear thick sweatshirts in the morning and night - and drink hot drinks - and we generally wore capris. In the afternoon sun, it would be pretty hot and we would wrap the sweatshirts around our waist. Be aware that the sun still burns no matter what the temps. Pool time was a little chilly at Disney resort pools (80-degrees my butt!), but it was pleasant swimming at the hilton pool. Kiddies didn't jump in and out though!

So, I guess be prepared for anything!