HELP Need Advice April Trip..

[3kidmama]

:confused
Back in January I booked the HOJO ent rate for April 2-7th. I have three kids 1,3,7. The last time we went to Disney was two years ago in April when the park was open from 10-8. It was busy but not crazy and we really, really enjoyed ourselves. I have been reading that the time we are going this year is the local schools spring break, no AP blackout days, the park is open from 8-12. Touring plans has the crowds at 9,8,8,8 the days we are there. I am so worried that it's going to be a mad house and with three small kids it might be beyond stressful. Has anyone been at the Parks when the local schools have had there spring breaks? How has it been? I'm honestly thinking of canceling our trip and trying another time, but I would be so sad to let my great rate go at HoJo. What do you think I should do? Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[Brady's Mom]

You can still make DLR work for you when it's crowded. We went last year during our kid's spring break and found it to be overwhelmingly crowded. On one of our days the FP line for Screamin' was 45 minutes.

I love low crowd days and shorter hours. I've done summer days and longer hours and of course, spring break and long hours.

One of the best things going for you is that you'll be w/in walking distance. We love how close HoJo is and how easy it is to walk to DL. When we went last April we made the mistake of staying farther away (no ET rate) and having to take ART. That was a HUGE mistake. I think we would have liked our trip soooo much better if we had stayed closer and been to the parks earlier.

Standard answer is get to the parks EARLY - 7:30, get in line, start picking up FP's as soon as you enter and stock pile them. Go back to the hotel after or around lunch time and rest, swim, nap, whatever. Go back to DLR in the evening (dinner maybe) and stay for a while. With little kids you might want to leave after a few hours and get them to bed at a decent time so they aren't wiped out the next day.

Even when it's very busy, we don't feel jipped if we leave after 7 or 8 pm and we've been at DLR since early morning (even with a rest break).

We also didn't plan well last year in April. We should have had a sleep in day and started that day at DCA, that would have made a big difference. One of the other things we like to do to break up the possibility of DLR overload when it's crowded is plan an early park day and then leave at lunchtime and head to the beach. Even if it's cold we still enjoy the beach and the boardwalk and the other amenities. It's amazing what some cheap sand toys from Walmart can do for your overloaded kids.

DS 14 and I also wear earplugs on a LOT of the rides - Space, Buzz, Screamin', anything that is very loud and with intense music sends us into cranky overload mode. We just carry the little foam plugs in our pockets and put them in as we're walking through the line. It helps us keep our composure and helps offset noise headaches and we can still hear the music and other sound effects, they're just not so LOUD!!

 

[granismith]

I hear ya, I made reservations for the last week of April because I thought for sure that the Spring Breaks would be pretty much over by then. Then I found out that because of Easter being the weekend before we go it could be extremely busy

By then I had already made non refundable airline reservations and hotel res. so we are going to make the best of it.

Brady's mom I am going to take alot of your advise, starting out early, fast passes etc.. I was curious where do you go when you go to the beach? Longbeach? How far is that? Any fun things to do or places to go in particular?

Also, how many fastpasses can a person get at a time?

 

[Cagirl767]

Well, I will have to say that we prefer to go when it's not crowded. My kids are 6 and 4 and we've been going since they were each 5 months old and we always try to avoid crowds. This May, we're going until June 2, to avoid the new ride opening crowds. My kids (and myself included) just can't handle waiting in long lines just yet.

But if you happen to be there on a crowded day, our strategy is to get to the park at opening. My kids have never slept in a day of their lives. Then we go go go on the popular rides (to avoid the lines later on when the wait times get longer) until lunch time. Then we sit down for lunch, visit the happiest potty on earth, then reevaluate the crowd levels and our next plan. Then if it is crowded, we will try for a more leisurely afternoon at a slower pace and we will go on the rides that usually never have a line such as Main Street cars, Jungle Cruise, Mark Twain, the train, my kids even like the Monorail. We do our souvenir shopping then, take pictures, and stop for a sit down snack such as ice cream. Then use our fast passes which are usually for Autopia, then call it a day around dinner time which is usually long enough for us since my kids are still young. Plus, we need to get back to our hotel before the free dinner is over!

This year, we are spending a day at Adventure City which is perfect for younger kids.

When I lived in OC, we used to go to the bay in Seal Beach. If that is still open, that would be perfect for young kids. Anyone out there have a comment about the bay? Or visiting the tide pools which are farther south, I think around Dana Point or Laguna.

 

[Brady's Mom]

We go to Huntington Beach, usually. It isn't far and we usually take surface streets when we go. We like to explore a little bit and it gives us a chance to check things out. We sometimes stop at the beach wherever we can find parking - not necessarily at the designated parking lots. There are parking spaces along the Pacific Coast Highway and we can hit the beach for a while without having to pay $15 parking fees.

My little kids are getting older (6 and 8) so staying at the parks w/out a nap is very doable for us now. We might go from first thing in the morning to about dinner time and then go back to the hotel to decompress. If our kids were older we would probably go more commando - from open to close, but since we have such big spaces we choose a slower pace.

You can hold as many FP's as you want at a time, we've probably held 7 or 8 different FP's before (for one day). If you get a FP for Space as soon as it opens and then in 45 minutes (or next available time on the FP) you get a new FP for a different ride, you can end up with quite a number of them in your pocket before the middle of the afternoon. We've sometimes given FP's to other park visitors because we can't use them.

 

[tholczer]

I wouldn't worry too much. Sure, it will be busy, but not insanely busy. The insanely busy time is the week before and the week after Easter. Disney is pretty good at blacking out the AP holders when they expect extreme crowds. Although local schools are out, that isn't the only factor for extreme crowding. Not by a long shot. Just plan your day for crowds with getting there early and collect your fast passes and you will be fine. With the longer hours, you'll have more time to play

Tracy

 

[naebear]

Thank you so much for the reassurance on the crowd level! We usually try to avoid the park in early April, but that was our best option this year for several reasons. It's so nice to hear that the week right before and right after Easter should be busier (we made that mistake 1 year...and it was crazy!!) Also to hear that there are many factors to include in busy days was nice. I guess I am taking all of your advice...even if crowded, have fun!! We'll use FP and we also use the strategy of riding less popular attractions during the afternoon (jungle cruise, river boat, see the show at Golden Horseshoe, etc.). However, since none of us seem to wake up early, we have found that arriving about noon and shutting the park down works great for us. By 10:30 or 11:00, there is usually no wait for any ride in Fantasyland except Peter Pan. Even during crowded times before, this has worked for us. I want to sleep in during my vacation! Besides, how else could we have midnight ice cream if we weren't at the Gibson Girl at midnight??