Is Easter that much worse than Summer?

[radforas]

So since DD started Middle School we have become summer WDW vacationers.
I'd really like to take a break from the humidity in 2016 and also visit the Flower and Garden festival again.
Unfortunately DD's spring break is the week after Easter Sunday.
Anyway I have a couple questions that I hope some of you can answer.
Are the crowds that week really that much worse than mid June when we normally go?
Is that week blacked out from spring discounts that usually come out in late December I believe?
Rack rate right now for that week has us paying what we normally pay for a moderate to stay at a value.
We have done an overnighter at Pop but not 7 plus nights so if there is no discount for that week thats probably where we'll be.
Any thoughts/suggestions?
Thanks.

 

[hakepb]

Historically, it's not unusual for phased closures around Easter.

In a quick search, I don't think there were closures this year? (MK's Fantasyland expansion added capacity)

EasyWDW listed the week after April 5,2015 as mostly crowd level 9's vs mostly 8's in Mid-June 2015

Disney expects the week after Easter to be busier, so MK typically opened at 8am (with a 7am EMH)

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

http://www.easywdw.com/calendar/june-2015-walt-disney-world-crowd-calendar/#more-14735

 

[Dentam]

We went around Easter one year - would NEVER do it again. It was like going at Christmas time but without all of the awesome decorations to offset the stifling crowds.

 

[skuttle]

We went the Wednesday before Easter through the Friday after easter this year and LOVED it! We were really nervous because we knew it would be super crowded, and it was, but we had a great time and wouldn't hesitate to go back. I never felt that the crowds were overwhelming, but that may be because except for 2 or 3 days, we left the parks midday. We had to plan A LOT, but it was worth it. And we don't pay attention to all of that crowd calendar stuff. Also, 7am EMH were a must do, especially for MK. We did the 7am EMH ever other day of our trip and managed to get so much done in those early morning hours.

We make it to WDW about every 18 months, so we didn't feel like we had to do and see everything. With some early EMH and FP+, we never waited in line longer than 30 minutes, and we did everything we wanted to do. We even road the big attractions more than once. We had 8 park days, so that also helped us get everything done. We had 3 MK days, 1AK day, 2 Epcot days, and 1.5 DHS days. We originally planned 2 AK days, but due to the construction we changed it to one and put two days at Epcot to enjoy flower and garden, which I'm so glad we did. We weren't at the parks from sun up to sun down and still go everything done.

We were lucky and the weather was perfect so that we were able to swim every day as well.

Surprisingly, they did come out with discounts that covered our stay. When discounts came out, we actually switched from POR to WL.

 

[CAS239]

We were there this past Easter and it wasn't bad. I would take Easter crowds over summer crowds. Also, it'll still be hot and humid if you go in Easter. But slightly less brutal than it is during the summer.

We found this past Easter and the year before crowds to be smaller than the summer crowds

 

[lovin'fl]

yes

 

[isestrex]

It's worse... except for the heat.

 

[GrumpyDad1974]

Easter seems busier than June to us and yes it can be hot at Easter but... Easter weather has been kind to us, in 2016 Easter is early and then they have the flower and garden festival going on which is great.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

That all depends upon when Easter is. If it is in the spring break time period during March, it's much worse. If it's in April away from the spring break period, it's not worse.

 

[radforas]

Thanks for the replies, all.
Easter is March 27th next year I believe so crowds may be ugly.
We are no strangers to heat/humidity as we are North Carolinians so summer weather is not a deal breaker.
I may wait and see if discounts are offered for Easter week before making a final decision.
Thanks, again.

 

[TJA]

We go at Easter time every year. It used to be crazy busy when most spring breaks were Easter week. However, over the last few years, spring breaks have changed and now fluctuate all over from February through April, so this has helped to spread the crowds out. In 2013 and 2014, we were upgraded at our resorts because they said they were prepared to be full but ended up with a lot of empty rooms. In 2015, Disney did not black out Easter week for discounts, and we were thinking it was because crowds no longer flock to Disney "just Easter week" but it's more spread out now.

In any event, we are going again Easter week in 2016 and are hoping for another great deal. Also, crowds were not bad at all this last Easter (2015) except at MK during the afternoon time frame. There were no park closures. Weather was fantastic! We're hoping for more of the same in 2016.

 

[disneyjunkie]

I'm a teacher. My sister and BIL will not pull their kids out of school for a vacation. So we only travel during school breaks. My sister refuses to do disney in the summer. That means Disney trips will extended family are always during sprint break.

Several of those trips were during Easter. This year we checked in the day before Easter and left the following Saturday.

We have never paid rack rate for our rooms. ( We never stay offsite). This year we used a 30% room discount. We purchased discounted tickets from Ticketsatwork.com. The dining plan was the only thing we paid full price for.

The parks will be packed. However, taking advantage of rope drop and EMH should keep you ahead of the crowds.

 

[radforas]

Thanks again for all the responses, I'm leaning towards Spring Break if I can convince the family.

 

[Lsyves]

If you can wait till Wed or so after Easter, you will enjoy seeing the crowds drop every day as the week goes on. We used to take the kids out of school for disney but now they are too old and miss too much when we do that so we are stuck w Easter break also. One year, we arrived Thurs after Easter and stayed till Tues - kids only missed two days of school that way and once the weekend rolled around, the hotel was full of suitcases - everyone left. The only people arriving that weekend after Easter were people without kids or people with babies. So, we made sure we stayed away from the Magic Kingdom and all was well. Use a crowd calendar and hang out at the pool in the afternoon hours. Have a great time!

 

[BuckeyeBama]

That all depends upon when Easter is. If it is in the spring break time period during March, it's much worse. If it's in April away from the spring break period, it's not worse.

We went around Easter one year - would NEVER do it again. It was like going at Christmas time but without all of the awesome decorations to offset the stifling crowds.

Agree with these two PP. We have been to WDW a few times during spring break. Our spring break always aligns with Easter. We went once when our spring break week landed in March and the combination was a nightmare. Another year, with Easter later in April, produced much better results.

Personally, I would not go during either Easter week in 2016 if the trip were free - that is how miserably crowded it was for us last time.