How Bad is March Break?

[Frozen2014]

We had the absolute best vacation last October at Disney World. We won't be returning to Disney for a few years but am doing future planning...lol.

Our DS will be getting in higher grades at school and so we will get to a point where we won't take him out of school. This means that our options are Christmas holidays (no way as everyone is off this time), March Break or week before labor day (we're in Canada so our kids are still off school). Low crowds and cost are a huge bonus for before labor day, but the weather sounds awful (brutally humid and bad rain).

So...just how bad is March Break in terms of crowds? I'm guessing it's better than Christmas time since March Breaks are different among schools. For example, how long a wait are there rides such as Big Thunder, Splash Mountain, and Haunted Mansion (our favourites amount us)?

Other issue we'll have is higher cost with hotel and flights :-( But I imagine weather is comfortable.

PS - I'm also looking at the option of Disneyland end of summer, but I wonder if it would seem boring compared with Disneyworld due to its size

 

[NewRVLady]

is you march break around EASTER?
Sometimes easter is in april
Easter IS busy-mostly the week AFTER Easter (for US kids)

FUTURE EASTER DATES
CHRISTIANITY - EASTER SUNDAY

• 20th April 2014

• 5th April 2015

• 27th March 2016

• 16th April 2017

• 1st April 2018

• 21st April 2019

• 12th April 2020

 

[Lucius Best]

Yes, Christmas has the worst crowds. Prize for second-worst crowds probably goes to the weeks before and after Easter. It depends on when your March break is compared to Easter.

The week before Labor Day will be much less crowded. I've been there twice the week after Labor Day. Yes, the weather is brutally hot, but it doesn't rain all day every day. There will be thunderstorms that may or may not pop up in the afternoon. Since crowds are low, you can get so much done the first few hours of the day. Then you can retreat to the pool when/if you get too hot. I hate crowds, personally I'll take the heat every day. You can pull out your umbrella if it rains or dump some cold water on your head, but there's nothing to dump on the crowds to make them go away.

Disneyland is not boring. It is different, but still Disney. The main difference is the small size. You can spend a week in WDW and not see and do everything. But I've found that three days at Disneyland is enough.

 

[Frozen2014]

Yes, Christmas has the worst crowds. Prize for second-worst crowds probably goes to the weeks before and after Easter. It depends on when your March break is compared to Easter.

The week before Labor Day will be much less crowded. I've been there twice the week after Labor Day. Yes, the weather is brutally hot, but it doesn't rain all day every day. There will be thunderstorms that may or may not pop up in the afternoon. Since crowds are low, you can get so much done the first few hours of the day. Then you can retreat to the pool when/if you get too hot. I hate crowds, personally I'll take the heat every day. You can pull out your umbrella if it rains or dump some cold water on your head, but there's nothing to dump on the crowds to make them go away.

Disneyland is not boring. It is different, but still Disney. The main difference is the small size. You can spend a week in WDW and not see and do everything. But I've found that three days at Disneyland is enough.

Our Easter and March break tend not to be together. So in my question assume that March Break and Easter weekend are different times.
For example, this year March Break was Mar 16 - 20th and Easter was April 6th.

As for Disneyland being boring...I meant more in the terms of how you said....in that the attractions that are there are just as amazing, but it is much smaller so less to do. There are 4 parks at DW and each different and if we do Disney, would prefer to make it a week trip as opposed to a 3 day one.

PS - Another reason for not doing DL at labor day is that Haunted Mansion is DD and my favorite ride, and I've heard that it tends to be down for refurbishment at that time (to get ready for Halloween)

 

[Lucius Best]

Our Easter and March break tend not to be together. So in my question assume that March Break and Easter weekend are different times.
For example, this year March Break was Mar 16 - 20th and Easter was April 6th.

I have never considered March to be a slow time. Jan/Feb are slow times except for Presidents Day (that week is a zoo because many school systems have that week off). Crowds gradually build through March, different schools have different spring break weeks, and a lot of southern schools have their breaks around Easter. I have no idea when your March break is, but you can check out this years crowd calendars to get an idea of what crowds look like the weeks before Easter.

http://www.easywdw.com/category/calendar/03-march-2015-crowd-calendar/
http://www.easywdw.com/category/calendar/04-april-2015-crowd-calendar/

 

[Frozen2014]

I have never considered March to be a slow time. Jan/Feb are slow times except for Presidents Day (that week is a zoo because many school systems have that week off). Crowds gradually build through March, different schools have different spring break weeks, and a lot of southern schools have their breaks around Easter. I have no idea when your March break is, but you can check out this years crowd calendars to get an idea of what crowds look like the weeks before Easter.

http://www.easywdw.com/category/calendar/03-march-2015-crowd-calendar/
http://www.easywdw.com/category/calendar/04-april-2015-crowd-calendar/

Thanks. When I look at our March Break this year, it shows $$$$ and crowds of 8. Yikes. That sounds quite bad. (Week before and after are 7).
If we follow touring plan's park suggestions (e.g. avoid MK on this day and go to HS), then would the crowds be manageable? Or are they basically insane during this time?

Just trying to see if a trip during our march break is worth is (which may not be if we only get on 4 rides a day).

 

[Brian Noble]

If we follow touring plan's park suggestions (e.g. avoid MK on this day and go to HS), then would the crowds be manageable?

The folks at Touring Plans used to have an analysis of what factors mattered most to avoid waits in line---having a sensible touring plan (e.g. getting there at rope drop, hitting the bottleneck attractions first and/or having FP+ for them later, etc.) is much more important than choosing the right day.

I've taken three trips in the past six months. One was the week before and including Christmas. Another was the week starting on Easter Sunday. Both were great fun, but we stuck to a good touring plan.

 

[Frozen2014]

The folks at Touring Plans used to have an analysis of what factors mattered most to avoid waits in line---having a sensible touring plan (e.g. getting there at rope drop, hitting the bottleneck attractions first and/or having FP+ for them later, etc.) is much more important than choosing the right day.

I've taken three trips in the past six months. One was the week before and including Christmas. Another was the week starting on Easter Sunday. Both were great fun, but we stuck to a good touring plan.

This is good to know. Last time we went I looked at park suggestions but didn't follow them (mostly due to it being Oct time and we wanted to catch Electrical Parade). We did make use of FP+ though and for later morning. If we did go during March Break, I would follow their advice and subscribe to Touring Plans.

Do you remember how long your waits were during Easter for the popular rides such as Splash Mountain and Big Thunder (but not including the new Mine Train and A&E if you went)

Btw..I checked Easter weekend and it was "only" marked as a 9 vs 8 during our March Break week.

 

[IheartRapunzel]

My break this year was at the beginning of March and it was great!!

 

[hpfan100]

We had the absolute best vacation last October at Disney World. We won't be returning to Disney for a few years but am doing future planning...lol.

Our DS will be getting in higher grades at school and so we will get to a point where we won't take him out of school. This means that our options are Christmas holidays (no way as everyone is off this time), March Break or week before labor day (we're in Canada so our kids are still off school). Low crowds and cost are a huge bonus for before labor day, but the weather sounds awful (brutally humid and bad rain).

So...just how bad is March Break in terms of crowds? I'm guessing it's better than Christmas time since March Breaks are different among schools. For example, how long a wait are there rides such as Big Thunder, Splash Mountain, and Haunted Mansion (our favourites amount us)?

Other issue we'll have is higher cost with hotel and flights :-( But I imagine weather is comfortable.

PS - I'm also looking at the option of Disneyland end of summer, but I wonder if it would seem boring compared with Disneyworld due to its size

I've been To the world both in March and just before Labor Day. Crowds are much lower around Labor Day than March. We have break I the early part of March as does much of Texas so the crowds are higher than norm. I would estimate a level of 7 and 8. Labor Day was more of 4 level. The weather was much better in March. It was very mild and not too uncomfortable. Weather in September was much more uncomfortable and warmer.

Disneyland at the end of summer would be so much fun. Disneyland is the original and it is quite neat to know you stand where walt once stood. Also this year is the 60 th anniversary so there will be special fireworks and merchandise for the event. There are only two parks but the parks are denser with more attractions than you realize. Haunted mansion typically closes right after Labor Day to be switched over to the holiday overlay.

 

[itchin2go]

OP - We have planned our next trip for my daughter's spring break which is the first full week of March. Crowd calenders show the last 3 weeks in March to be very busy. However, have you been at a very busy time? I only ask because we had only been during (relatively) non-busy times before our last trip which was Thanksgiving week. I was really worried, but it didn't feel different from our previous trips. I honestly think there is no longer a time when DisneyWorld is not "busy".

I think knowing what you're doing as far as which attractions to do first is more important than what time of year you go.

For us, we would never go at a super hot time of year because we know we're just miserable with that kind of weather. October once got unseasonably hot for us, and we knew then we could never do a summer trip. March weather is supposed to be nice, if that helps.

 

[Easto]

I have been during March Break. It was busy, but I don't go to WDW every year so I assumed this is how busy WDW is.

I found a couple things we did were beneficial.

First, we went to parks that were recommended on the crowd calendars. However, when it's March break all the parks were busy.

We went to the park for rope drop. If you can get there before they open and head right to the busy spots you can save tons of time. For example, Enchanted Tales With Belle was new when we went. We went straight there and on the way 1 person from our party grabbed fast passes for Peter Pan. This is before the online and magic bang fastpass stuff.

We waited around 30 minutes for Belle, but as soon as we were done we walked right on the Little Mermaid Ride. Then a 5 minute wait to meet Ariel. By the time this was done our Fast Pass for Peter Pan was good to go and we knocked that off.

So we still waited a bit for Belle, but we walked right into the next 3 attractions.

My point: Go for rope drop. Have an idea which busy attraction you want first and go right there.

Now that the fast pass has changed, IMO it looks a lot easier to avoid waits. You can reserve a fast pass months in advance.

Another point, since you are going in busy time I would arrange your fastpasses from home as soon as you can.

 

[Frozen2014]

OP - We have planned our next trip for my daughter's spring break which is the first full week of March. Crowd calenders show the last 3 weeks in March to be very busy. However, have you been at a very busy time? I only ask because we had only been during (relatively) non-busy times before our last trip which was Thanksgiving week. I was really worried, but it didn't feel different from our previous trips. I honestly think there is no longer a time when DisneyWorld is not "busy".

I think knowing what you're doing as far as which attractions to do first is more important than what time of year you go.

For us, we would never go at a super hot time of year because we know we're just miserable with that kind of weather. October once got unseasonably hot for us, and we knew then we could never do a summer trip. March weather is supposed to be nice, if that helps.

Hi. Well when I was 6 years when we went during march break but that was 1979 so guess that doesn't count...lol
But no, our first and only trip was last October. Crowds weren't marked as super low but were ok. Good to hear about crowds. Even when we went in October, I did lots of research in knowing which rides to get FPs (and what time) plus created my own touring plan. I love all the planning so the more the better...ha ha.
Yeah...I can imagine that weather wise it's much better in March. Have an awesome time for your next trip to Disney.


Easto, thanks for your feedback. Yeah, probably going for, or even before rope drop is quite beneficial. And I would definitely get FP months before. Last time I was one who was online right at midnight. We stay onsite for those advantages as well.

So perhaps the biggest downfall with March is the cost, both hotel and flight

 

[Easto]

One thing we did that isn't March break specific is booked a reservation somewhere inside the park for the earliest time. We did Cinderella's Royal Table.

They let us in the park before rope drop and we were able to get some great pictures before the rush of people down the main street.

We have some family shots with the castle in the background and no random people. Something else to consider

 

[hakepb]

Disneyland has a counterpart to most WDW attractions, it's really quite amazing that DL fits as many attractions as WDW into 2 parks.
And everything in DL is within walking distance. Space mountain to Soarin to TSMM to Its tough to be a Bug to DTD...all walking distance

 

[Frozen2014]

Very good point about booking ADRs before the park even opens. I've heard people mention that but we never did get around to that on our last trip.

It would be interesting to see DL after DW and to compare the rides that are duplicates. And that is a good thing (on the feet) if things are more together.

Someone above mentioned that Haunted Mansion closes after labor day? I thought it was just before. If just after not an issue.

 

[awalker1015]

Thanks. When I look at our March Break this year, it shows $$$$ and crowds of 8. Yikes. That sounds quite bad. (Week before and after are 7).
If we follow touring plan's park suggestions (e.g. avoid MK on this day and go to HS), then would the crowds be manageable? Or are they basically insane during this time?

Just trying to see if a trip during our march break is worth is (which may not be if we only get on 4 rides a day).

We went this past spring break 3/21-28. I was prepared for the crowds. Some days MK was listed as 10/10 crowds. But we followed Josh's park advice and planned our week around that. We did RD each day but one and strategically scheduled our FP+ during early afternoon or evening. We also did midday breaks and either went back to our resort or went to other resorts to look around. Often we would hop to a different park after our break.

I was really worried about this week BC my husband isn't as big a disney lover as me and the kids and he has zero patience for crowds. But it went really well. With good planning you should be fine.

 

[beccasmom]

We visited in mid-March once because we got a great deal on Amtrak. Stayed at the Contemporary. I have never seen a lobby more crowded. Our room was not ready until after 6 pm. The parks were pretty crowded, but as WDW veterans we knew we would not be able to do everything on that trip. Park hours are longer, which helps a bit. The weather was quite nice albeit chilly in the evenings. We used DVC points for our stay since our plans were made only a few months in advance. I'm sure resort rates are quite high at that time of year. But weather is more temperate than September.

Disneyland is wonderful. It is fun to see the "original" with its smaller footprint. You literally exit off the freeway and there it is! No gradual build-up. The rides are sometimes different than their WDW counterparts and there are attractions that WDW doesn't have. And there is lots to do in Southern California; you won't be bored.

 

[kwbrad]

We went this past spring break 3/21-28. I was prepared for the crowds. Some days MK was listed as 10/10 crowds. But we followed Josh's park advice and planned our week around that. We did RD each day but one and strategically scheduled our FP+ during early afternoon or evening. We also did midday breaks and either went back to our resort or went to other resorts to look around. Often we would hop to a different park after our break.

I was really worried about this week BC my husband isn't as big a disney lover as me and the kids and he has zero patience for crowds. But it went really well. With good planning you should be fine.

Can you tell me who Josh is? (I am sure that is a dumb question, but we have not been to disney since 2009 so I am trying to find all of the reliable planning sites).
Thanks!

 

[Madame]

We went this past March break and it was busy but manageable with afternoon breaks & evening FP. It's going to depend when Easter falls.

Ontario MB falls the week before Easter (the week we get back the Friday is Good Friday) in 2016. We've already ruled out next MB for that reason. 2017 is much better with Easter falling April 14.

MB + early Easter would not be a good combo IMHO.