Help for Easter 2017...

[higdonk]

We are thinking of going the Monday after Easter (4/17) until the following Tuesday (4/25). My thought is we will avoid some of the crowds from the week leading up to Easter, and if the week is really bad we will have a couple of days at the end of the trip where maybe the crowds will have died down a bit. Thoughts? The kids are actually off school from 4/13-4/23, but I don't see much advantage to coming for the Easter weekend when I know it will be crazy.

My other main question is how well does the Easter week rope drop plan work if you are staying offsite? I am planning on staying at WBC. There are 5 of us, dh and I and dd(13 & 11) and ds (6), no way we are all squeezing into a standard deluxe room at BC/YC etc. Also holiday pricing for 2 rooms or a suite are way way crazy high for us. Can we still manage a couple of good days at MK?? I may book a throwaway room so I can book my FP+, not sure on that yet. I am also open to suggestions on that.

BAsically any help or advice is welcome, we haven't been since 2010 and while I used to be pretty good with the planning, a ton has changed and so I am starting from scratch.

 

[Selket]

I went with my youngest son (14) this past Spring Break and we arrived the Weds after Easter and left on Sunday. I could tell the crowds were thinning out somewhat towards the end of that week but it's possible that you could have good sized crowds up through Sunday. It seems like some schools have off the week before Easter and some after - perhaps since Easter is in April that is more likely than for our March Easter this year.

Were you there at Easter before? I've been a few times (our spring break is always around Easter) and it's always been crowded. It's doable but I lower my expectations significantly for how many rides we can do. Even planning to get a pool chair can be something - lol! Would your family fit into one of the rooms that holds 5 with the fold down bed? Like at CBR or POR? Seems like your 6 year old could fit. You are right it would be a lot of people for the room but the upside is that you'd be on the property for early morning magic hours which are well worth it during peak times like Spring Break - unless your family would be miserable in the smaller room of course!

I'm not sure what WBC is but one thing I do like about staying at the Disney resort with my older kids is that I am ok letting them walk down to the pool ahead of me or to the food court and such (you know I don't mean at 2am - but the usual times - lol!). I do let my 14 year old head off to the park ahead of me if I'm running slow (we've been to WDW so many times he knows it like the back of his hand now). So for me that is a bonus of staying onsite - which may not work for every family of course! Best of luck in your planning!

 

[lindsmom]

We will be at WBC that week, arriving Thursday before (staying elsewhere for 2 nights near Universal), until the 22nd (Saturday). We definitely are adjusting our expectations, and I have planned Epcot for Sunday since it handles large crowds best. We are doing Discovery Cove on another of the "11 out of 10" days. Leaving midday when it's most crowded for a resort / pool / nap break and returning in the evening. I managed to get all the ADR's we wanted and hopefully FP's will cooperate when it's time to book those.

As far as getting in MK time, be aware that Thursday (20th) is currently the ONLY day listed that does not have early EMH, so you will want to plan to go to MK that day if you are off site. Other days, consider doing evening only so your chances of getting FP's you want are greater. We have hoppers so we do one different park in the morning, midday break, then a different park at night sometimes.

 

[HockeyMomNH]

The week after Easter is blacked out for APs. I am going to be there from Monday - Friday with my DD17's HS band. I am expecting there will be very big crowds. The weekend following Easter is the Star Wars Dark Side race weekend so there will be crowds coming in for that too.

 

[scrappingbuckeye]

The week after Easter is crowded but honestly not unmanageable. We gone that week for several years now as that is when our spring break has usually been. Since Easter is later this year I don't think it will be all that bad, busy yes but not like the week of Christmas. We always stay offsite, have never done rope drop and have a wonderful time. We stay later in the parks. Last year we booked our fastpasses 30 days out without any issues, including Anna & Elsa and the mine train. I think I had mine train fastpasses at least 2 different days in fact. Patience and persistence is all you need : )

 

[higdonk]

That is all helpful and good advice. Now DH is thinking of biting the bullet and going in August. Heat vs. Crowds??? Arrrrggg. August adds additional flexibility to extend the trip and combine with Universal, or a day at LegoLand etc. DH hates crowds, also hates heat, but I think crowds make him crabbier. So I think maybe August will be better. Plus we can drive then instead of buying 5 plane tickets from Detroit. Hmmm. Food for thought.

Really appreciate all the advice. Anyone been in August and Easter? Which would you pick?

 

[Accident]

We are thinking of going the Monday after Easter (4/17) until the following Tuesday (4/25). My thought is we will avoid some of the crowds from the week leading up to Easter, and if the week is really bad we will have a couple of days at the end of the trip where maybe the crowds will have died down a bit. Thoughts? The kids are actually off school from 4/13-4/23, but I don't see much advantage to coming for the Easter weekend when I know it will be crazy.

Not everyones easter/spring break is the week of easter. NJ has about half of the schools that do it the week before (and nj loves to visit disney when they have off from school).

The hard truth is there is always crowds, and if you have to do it during school breaks the crowds are a little higher than the normal annoying crowded disney. just pick the week that works for your family and have a blast or maybe it's time to check out disneyland in aneheim (which I cna't tell you about holiday crowds) but the alternative is just don't go to disney and that doens't sound fun to me.

 

[JennyDrake]

That is all helpful and good advice. Now DH is thinking of biting the bullet and going in August. Heat vs. Crowds??? Arrrrggg. August adds additional flexibility to extend the trip and combine with Universal, or a day at LegoLand etc. DH hates crowds, also hates heat, but I think crowds make him crabbier. So I think maybe August will be better. Plus we can drive then instead of buying 5 plane tickets from Detroit. Hmmm. Food for thought.

Really appreciate all the advice. Anyone been in August and Easter? Which would you pick?

I've done both, but not Easter weekend itself. Both are VERY crowded. Not Christmas crowds, but still very crowded. I would pick August.

 

[scrappingbuckeye]

I've done Easter week many many times (I also live in MI) I would take the Easter crowds over the heat in Aug every time.

 

[summerw]

We went April 2-13, 2016. The first week was pretty crazy, 40 minute bag check lines, 1 hour for a quick service line one night. We still got what we wanted done, and had a great time doing it. Good planning is everything. Late-night mk, rope drop, ppo breakfasts were all great and allowed us to get on several things we didn't fp. Plan that transportation, ticket gates, quick service between 11:30-7 will all take a while (Columbia harbor house at 2:00 one day was madness), so do lunch table service or go back to your resort. Build it into your schedule so you don't end up behind and stressed, and plan breaks. I was surprised how a few hours of downtime really recharged us. If you don't feel like getting back to wbc is worth the break, don't plan late nights with early mornings, unless your crew is used to host of course. Mine is so not. Lol.

 

[laughinplace199]

We went at Easter a few years ago and it was fine, but the crowds were huge. I remember the Swiss Family Tree House having a 30 min wait! We managed because we were staying onsite and took advantage of every AM EMH. Staying offsite would be more of a challenge due to not being able to take advantage of EMH.

If I were you, I think I'd go in August. The weather will be HOT and humid and you will get some rain, but the crowds won't be as bad. The later you go in August, the lighter the crowds will be.

 

[skuttle]

We went for Easter a couple of years ago. We did the Wednesday before Easter through the Friday after Easter. We had a fabulous time! I'd go back during Easter again in a heartbeat. The weather was perfect and we loved Flower and Garden at Epcot. It was SUPER crowded and it took a LOT of planning. However, we took advantage of the 7am EMH, which I think helped tremendously. Being offsite may make it tougher, but an 8am regular park opening is still early for a lot of people. A longer trip also allowed us to know we didn't have to do/see it all on one park day. We went back to our room (WL) to swim to get a break from the crowds. But again, being offsite makes that difficult. And I get it, we are a family of five, and I know as our kids get older the rooms feel smaller!

I don't know if we are just more easygoing than others, or if I read so many horror stories about Easter that my expectations of how bad it would be were way up there, but we just didn't find it bad at all. It was one of my favorite trips in a long time. I found our trip later that year, the week leading up to Christmas for the last osborne lights, to be much more crowded and less enjoyable. But that was also a shorter trip so we tried to cram a lot in.

We've never stayed off site, so I can't really say how much that will affect things for you.

I would always pick Easter over August. We've done the 4th of July week and it's just too hot and humid, and I live in Louisiana so I'm used to it.

 

[Selket]

We usually go around the 4th of July (because of an annual conference we go to in Orlando) so we're used to the heat and crowds. We've been in August and it was similar - it will definitely be hot and the crowds are the typical summer crowds (perhaps unless you go that last week of August). Free dining if offered then could affect that of course.

We happened to be there for one August vacation where there was torrential rain every day - and thunderstorms. All the pools and outdoor rides were closed practically every day after 3pm as the storms just rolled in and were relentless. That's really rare though as typically in the summer you get an hour downpour and storm and you're done. Our spring break trip this year in March was somewhat rainy too - so really you never know! Go whenever works best for your family - longer trip - perhaps cheaper to drive than fly - and some planned break days might be nicer so I'd pick August but be prepared to sweat and roll with it.

 

[MushuHill]

I am also going the week after Easter. I picked that week so my little brother could come it is his spring break in Maine. I am a little nervous not only about Easter crowds, but Star Wars marathon crowds as well. I feel like it is gonna be a mad house!

 

[carlymcqueen]

I went during easter weekend to the Monday after easter, and it was actually not that bas crowds wise! As long as you grab your fast passes for major rides or knock them out as soon as the park opens, there are plenty of attractions and rides that have zero to little wait, even during easter weekend. We were able to get into the tiki room, tta peoplemover, carousel of progress, and plenty of others with very little wait. hope you enjoy your trip!

 

[momtwoboys]

April and even during Easter is our Favorite time to go!