Is Early April a good time to go?

[solman]

My future wife and I are planning on taking a trip to Disney from April 2nd to April 7th, possibly including a Disney engagement. (My first trip as an adult; her first ever)

Is this a good time to go?

Spring break seems to be over by the weekend of March 28th

(I couldn't insert a link to the spring break calender at trip smarter because "Could not find phrase 'error_postcount_too_low_post_links'")

Its more than 10 days after easter, and well before Passover and the NYC school vacation.

But the various crowd prediction sites still say that this will be an extremely crowded weekend. Why is this?

Am I making a mistake?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Brojoef]

I personally like to go in April because of the weather. It’s nice and not to hot. As far as the crowd goes, I think that any time from mid-March to mid-April you will run into spring breakers from around the country. Schools vary so much for spring break.

So, it probably will be crowded, but it’s Disney. That is to be expected. At least the weather should be nice! Best of luck!

 

[micmacmissy]

Yes, it will be very busy there. Not ideal for your first trip! Spring breaks occur throughout the east in March and April...also lots of school holidays, so people may take their kids out of school to round out the week.

A better bet would be later in April (after the 22nd) into early May. Crowds will pick up again the 3rd week of May.

You can still go at a crowded time, but you'll need a plan to get through the crowds and see everything. Tour Guide Mike and Unofficial Guide have great touring plans for busy days.

 

[solman]

Yes, it will be very busy there. Not ideal for your first trip! Spring breaks occur throughout the east in March and April...also lots of school holidays, so people may take their kids out of school to round out the week.

A better bet would be later in April (after the 22nd) into early May. Crowds will pick up again the 3rd week of May.

You can still go at a crowded time, but you'll need a plan to get through the crowds and see everything. Tour Guide Mike and Unofficial Guide have great touring plans for busy days.

That's very disappointing

TGM and UG were the sites I was referring to about the crowd predictions. Obviously they agree with everything you say, even about going after April 22nd (which seems very strange since many schools in Jewish areas are closed for Passover vacation).

Here are the numbers of kids enrolled in colleges on break each week according to tripsmarter.com:

February 18-22, 2008: 314K
February 25-29, 2008: 141K
March 3-7, 2008: 672K
March 10-14, 2008: 1,878K
March 17-21, 2008: 2,086K
March 24-28, 2008: 712K
March 31- April 4, 2008: 185K
April 7-11: 6K

Are the crowds coming from all the people who scheduled around Spring Break, Easter and Passover?

Thanks!

 

[jel0511]

We're going for Spring Break, my kids are off 3/21- 3/30 from school, they're in elementary. Most schools around here in NJ are off the same week, with some still doing the week before Easter. My sister south of me in NJ is off 4/12 - 4/19, which coincides with most of New England, due to Patriots Day. So, it really is a mishmash of school closings. Yes, College spring Break will be over, but a lot of schools have spread it out due to easter being so early. In my district, we've ALWAYS had the week before, but it's after this year due to Easter being so early. I personally think it will be crowded, not Spring Break crowded, more like summer crowded. You'll have some districts closed that week and people who will pull their kids out anyway. If you're looking for walk-on for most rides, spring isn't the time to go anyway... now is....

 

[solman]

Thanks everyone!

I'm still leaning towards going, since there isn't another good time for us.

Is there a site where I can find public school vacation numbers; something similar to the college vacation numbers I posted earlier?

 

[MagicAllison]

I was planning on going in April also So late April is better than early April per crowds?

Where can I find the "crowd calculators" you were all just talking about?

 

[hoosiergirl7]

We originally had planned on being in WDW from the 9th-15th of April, but due to Dh's requirements to be at work for a 2 week evaluation we had to push it back until the 23rd. I was not happy but honestly I think this is a blessing in disguise. I've heard the crowds are actually a lot lighter toward the end of April and the weather is still enjoyable.

Wish you could find a better time to go. Also, with that being less than 3 months away, you might have a hard time getting ADR's for meals.

 

[G's mommy]

We are in the metro Atlanta area and almost ALL schools in the whole metro are on Spring Break April 7-11th. We have family in West Palm Beach and they are also on break the same week. Expect fairly large crowds through 3rd week of April.

 

[solman]

We are in the metro Atlanta area and almost ALL schools in the whole metro are on Spring Break April 7-11th. We have family in West Palm Beach and they are also on break the same week. Expect fairly large crowds through 3rd week of April.

Thanks. After you wrote that I thought to check the Orlando area schools. Sure enough, they are off from March 31-April 4th.

I guess that early April is a really popular time for school vacation in the parts of the country closest to Disneyworld.

 

[G's mommy]

Thanks. After you wrote that I thought to check the Orlando area schools. Sure enough, they are off from March 31-April 4th.

I guess that early April is a really popular time for school vacation in the parts of the country closest to Disneyworld.

So are Broward and Miami-Dade which are very large systems in south Florida.I think that is a HUGE Spring Break week for FL schools! Somehow Palm Beach County is one week later, which worked out great for us!

 

[mickey2minnie1]

Try to go during the earliest part of May if at all possible.