How PACKED is the last weekend in April???

[neonderlyn]

Planning my familys first visit to disneyland for the last week in april. I have two toddlers so im hoping it wont be TOO packed then. Opinion? Also any first timers tips are welcome =)

 

[Watchtower]

It usually depends on when different school districts have their spring breaks, and how late into April Easter weekend falls. There's a "sweet spot" in overall attendance in the parks between the end of Spring Break and the beginning of the Grad Night events starting the second week in May. Easter is early next year, on April 5th, so Spring Break crowds should dwindle by mid April. We went the first week in May this year (before the Grad Night events started) and the crowds weren't bad. The only thing that affected crowds and made them slightly higher than expected were all the closures during the earlier part of this year. All the people that would normally be on those rides and in those lines had to be absorbed into the rest of the park, and it was noticeable. They won't have (hopefully) as many refurbs NEXT year since all the refurbs THIS year were to prepare for the 60th anniversary in 2015.

 

[brandimay412]

Our family is also going that same week so I'd be curious for others feedback too. I did some checking before picking these dates though and I think it'll be a good time to go. Since Easter is early April I think most spring breakers will be back in school and it is a week or two before the Tinkerbell marathon and graduation nights. Also, there's a big Star Wars convention I think in mid April that I know we'll miss by a week and I'm sure that'll bring in a lot of people. The only real concerns I have are possible increase of refurbishments to get ready for the anniversary celebrations and when the 60th Anniversary stuff actually will begin. As far as I've seen they're only saying it starts in Spring. I'd guess the crowds will increase when those celebrations begin.

As for tips (and I'm no expert as this will only be the second time with my own kids DD2 and DS5) I'd say take a stroller. Also we decided to stay at a hotel within walking distance to the parks since I don't want to try and haul the stroller onto the shuttle. We're planning to start early in the mornings most days since my kids probably won't last late into the night. I'm packing snacks and small books and stickers I can fit into my bag to keep them happy in case we get stuck in lines.

I've been reading these boards for several weeks now and everybody has great tips and info so I'd recommend just keeping an eye on here for more great information.

April can't get here soon enough

 

[tarheelalum]

This year and last year and the year before that, we went to DL the last three days of April. Last year it was really nice. The crowds were not that bad and the weather was great. This year it was 100 degrees with the Santa Ana winds blowing 30 mph everyday. It was also more crowded with some wait times of an hour or more on weekdays. Two years ago it was great with low crowds and beautiful weather. I guess its luck of the draw how it goes but if the trend holds it will be crowded, the way it usually is at DLR.

 

[superlarz]

This year and last year and the year before that, we went to DL the last three days of April. Last year it was really nice. The crowds were not that bad and the weather was great. This year it was 100 degrees with the Santa Ana winds blowing 30 mph everyday. It was also more crowded with some wait times of an hour or more on weekdays. Two years ago it was great with low crowds and beautiful weather. I guess its luck of the draw how it goes but if the trend holds it will be crowded, the way it usually is at DLR.

This year, Sunday seemed like it was packed and really hot. Usually its not a bad time of year crowd wise, but it is peak time for refurbs.

 

[neonderlyn]

Thanks for the input! I also worried about the a lot of rides beign closed down during that time frame because i have seen on other posts that ALOT of rides were closed last year between march-may.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

We went for our first trip this year at that time. As was stated, it was miserable hot. Dry heat? No, hot is hot and sandblasting isn't fun. So many queues are outside. In the sun. There were a lot of closures which I don't typically get too upset about. DL park felt like it was almost always crazy so we only went there for short spurts. We bought APs because we wanted 7 park days. For our fall vacation we weren't at all tempted to return. And we had already purchased our plane tickets in June! Loved DL but we were totally gun-shy. Life's logistics paired with afraid of the dreaded Santa Ana's, we took 2 cruises back-to-back instead. I think someday we'll return. May be a while, tho.