How were the crowds this past week?

[poj7]

Hi.

Wondering if anyone can report on the crowds last week (April 17-24). Thinking about going this week next year. This is MA April vacation. Not sure how many other states have this week off. Thank you.

 

[MAC3]

Hi,

We were there during this period 4/13-4/21. The crowds are pretty thick but it can be done as long as you make your "MUST DO" lists and use fast pass religiously! I have friends that are there now and they still say the crowds are still there too?

The weather was great! Not having to donn the ponchos for the summer thunderstorms was the best. No sweating as your standing still either.

You'll never know until you try it. We usually go during the end of June beginning of July time frame if that's any comparison to how to gauge it.

If you have any questions, please ask.

Lisa

 

[JimC]

Before the 18th the parks were very busy. 4/18 was the end of the peak season and prices and crowds drop. The parks were festive, some lines but nothing particularly difficult, especially if you used fast pass.

 

[pumpkinboy]

Just FYI, poj7, the week after Patriots' Day is school vacation pretty much only in Mass and Maine, the two states that observe Patriots' Day. The rest of the nation apparently take their April school break closer to Easter. It's something of an advantage, given that the rest of the country is back in school as we take our April school break: lower crowd levels and lower prices.

Of course, Spring is still somewhat busy anyway, just a little less busy when we in Mass and Maine take vacation. Interestingly the Disney folks seem to think it is a slower season, since they have the Epcot Flower & Garden Fest starting in mid-April to bring in more folks to the parks.

 

[JESW]

We were down there from 4/17 - 4/25....just got back today.

Yes, it seemed like the entire states of MA and CT were down there! Lots & lots of teenagers and families. (Teenagers on grad trips and playing in the bands, etc.)

Once we got out of the Magic Kingdom it was much easier to get around. The crowds were there but things were very doable, especially using fastpass.

The weather was BEAUTIFUL! Blue skies and sunshine and low 80's every day - lovely! (no fun coming home to the dreary skies and 50's today..)

We will be back next April vacation...doing the cruise and then a few days at the parks.

Jill

 

[Kteacher]

Welcome back JESW Mk was crowded from about 11 a.m. on last week. we arrived early and had minimal waits. MGM, AK, and Epcot were not bad at all. Easter is early next year, so the crowds may be even lighter Weather was absolutely perfect

 

[wdwsos]

Originally posted by pumpkinboy
Just FYI, poj7, the week after Patriots' Day is school vacation pretty much only in Mass and Maine, the two states that observe Patriots' Day. The rest of the nation apparently take their April school break closer to Easter. It's something of an advantage, given that the rest of the country is back in school as we take our April school break: lower crowd levels and lower prices.

I was expecting the lower crowds, but it wasn't that way this year. I was there from the 13th through the 23rd, and thought that the Patriots' Day week would be slower than it was. I found many, many people from Vermont, New Hampshire, New York and Connecticut, and some told me that this year their vacations were different than the norm, timewise.

Monday, 4/19, the MK was like a Saturday during the holidays. It was so busy, I thought I'd be trapped in Fantasyland forever.

Towards the end of the week, Epcot and MGM got a bit slower. I was too scared to try the MK again.

Sounds like we didn't have a good time, but we really did! With AP's and Fastpass and nothing to get to except PS's, it was still an incredibly relaxing trip!

Dotti

 

[dandelion]

I'm from a part of upstate NY that's very close to New England, so we think we're patriots too.

In 2003 our spring vacation week was April 21.
In 2004 it was April 12.
In 2005 it will be April 18

 

[Crazy4mandms]

I'm convinced that the entire state of Mass. was at Disney last week esp after we were watching Indiana Jones and they chose a few people from the audience and 5 out of 6 of them were from Mass and the whole crowd went wild!! And there was no lack of Red Sox attire, either!! My Yankees fan son was getting a little nervous

MK was a total zoo that Tues night (20th) so we left w/o seeing Wishes but went back for EMH Thurs morning and experienced very little wait times for anything (we used good strategy tho cuz we did SM first w/walk on then went to Buzz..by the time we got off Buzz the SM wait time was 30 mins!!). We were able to cut through fantasyland (which was crowded!), do the teacups, get 3 character autographs and be at Fronteirland ropedrop....10 min wait for TM and luckily we caught Splash Mt with only a 10 min wwiat b4 it broke down! 10 mins for POC. Even at noon there was only a 20 min standby for Haunted Mansion (and we don't do commando style either). MK was obviously the worst of our crowds. MGM we rode TOT and RNRC repeatedly with FPs and only 20-25 min wait times w/o FPs.....Mon night during Fantasmic we rode repeatedly with a 5 min wait. Millionare we did three times w/o NOT getting in.

This was our second trip to WDW (last year week of memorial day) and I'm learning that one person's idea of crowds may not be another's. I think those who don't use EMH w/smart navigation and don't use FPs wisely will feel the crowds more. We are learning so well to navigate the crowds that I think we are going to brave it in late June next year! Also, I think the more you go the more you know how to get things done! Hope this helps!

 

[iceskatejen]

I was there 4/21-4/29 and the only really crowded days were 4/23 @ the Studios and 4/25 at MK (it was EMH day) but I still found most of the waits pretty managable by using FP. The studios only seemed so bad because TOT was having problems in one of the shafts so it was running at only half capacity. My longest wait was 70 minutes for RNRC (but so worth it). At MK it was for BTM--the time at the entrance said 25 minutes, but I think it was a bit less. AK seemed pretty full on 4/24, but I didn't wait long (15 minutes or less in stand-by for Kali) for any rides.