just wondering...is it really crazy around Easter??

[ACCREEL]

We are in the process of planning one of our trips to WDW for April 12-16th... how crazy is it at disney around Easter??

 

[alice99]

We have friends that went to disney for Easter week, their first trip. They said it was SO crowded they didn't enjoy it at all.

 

[Buckeye Fan]

We are in the process of planning one of our trips to WDW for April 12-16th... how crazy is it at disney around Easter??

We had never been to WDW at Easter until last year. I had planned for it to be wall to wall people, and less than enjoyable. I will qualify...we normally travel in the summer (late July, early Aug).

Much to my surprise, and maybe it's because anything would have been better than what I had pictured in my mind, I didn't think it was that much worse than in the summer. Yes, there were a lot of people, but with a little planning, we had a wonderful time.

Some things we did that really made a difference for us:
1) We made reservations for every meal we could. This was great, because we probably wouldn't have eaten otherwise!
2) We chose to avoid parks with extra magic hours. This seemed to make a pretty big difference in the crowds (at least enough that it was noticable). Plus, we never open or close a park, so that wasn't an issue for us.
3) Fast passes - pick which ride you want to ride most and go there when you get to the park. You may only get one or two for the entire day due to the number of people. We arrived at MK about 10ish, and fast passes for Splash Mountain were pushed out till after 8:00!
4) Plan some activities outside of the parks - we spent a couple of days at the pool, an afternoon/evening at the Boardwalk and DTD. We didn't fight the park crowds daily, so when we went, it wasn't that big of a deal.

We're going to be staying at AKV 4/10 - 4/17, so it didn't scare us away from going this year! You'll have a great time, it just requires a little more planning (especially for us since we don't have a car to do things off-site).

 

[dgaston]

I am a veteran of 5 Disney Christmas to NYE weeks, and I won't go to WDW over Easter! If you must, use all prior posted suggestions, and consider investing $20 in TourguideMike.

 

[dvcbnd]

We have never been to WDW during Easter break, but have heard that it's extremely crowded. I believe that it's their busiest week ever (but don't hold me to it ). I do have friends who went during that week a few years ago. They didn't enjoy themselves at all. What I do remember them saying is that after spending an entire day in the theme parks, they were lucky if they got on 2 or 3 rides. The lines were extremely long!
We've gone during the Christmas season, spring and even summer. We have never found it to be THAT busy.

 

[Starr W.]

We have never been to WDW during Easter break, but have heard that it's extremely crowded. I believe that it's their busiest week ever (but don't hold me to it ). I do have friends who went during that week a few years ago. They didn't enjoy themselves at all. What I do remember them saying is that after spending an entire day in the theme parks, they were lucky if they got on 2 or 3 rides. The lines were extremely long!
We've gone during the Christmas season, spring and even summer. We have never found it to be THAT busy.

I talked to one of the moms at our elementary's Parents Club. She went one Easter and hated it. Stayed on site and did early EMH at MK and couldn't get on anything!

I told her we "never do early EMH" anytime we go, then rubbed it in a bit we managed to ride Space Mountain 3x on Wed before Thanksgiving.

But then again I was amazed that the huge crowd at the Congress Park bus stop on Turkey Day morning all got on the MK bus and left a handful of us waiting for the AK bus. It pretty much confirmed all TGM says.

 

[cogero]

I swear by TGM LOL

We were there in July last year and met up with Friends who live in FL in MK and they were amazed by how empty it was. Thanks TGM

This year we are going for Easter. DD can't miss anymore school since we were away at Thanksgiving.

So I will be listening to TGM again best money I ever spent.

 

[thelionqueen]

To answer simply, YES it is extremely crowded over Easter. That and the week after Christmas is a time I will NEVER go again, not enjoyable at all.

 

[starbox]

We went last year and it was - the worst I have ever seen, and I've been the week before Christmas, New Years and we travel in the summer.

Nothing could have prepared me for the spring break crowds - it's the only time I've ever felt like I had to get out of the park or lose my mind. A few examples:
HM - saw the line over 200 minutes, the full que was open and the line stretched back past the riverboat.
EE - a wait of 90 minutes at 9:05am - got there before rope drop, power-walked to EE, I sent the kids through the walk-in line while I got fastpasses and by the time I had fastpasses, standby stretched past the restrooms outside EE.
CS lines out the doors of MK restaurants at lunchtime.
Parade-ending type crushes of people on walkways - when there was no parade!!
ADRS - We waited at least an hour PAST ADR time at every single restaurant.

Thank goodness for DVC and frequent trips - because after a couple of days, we changed our expectations and decided we would not even try to ride all the rides - we spent LOTS of time at the pool and playing mini-golf.

I'm going again this year - but we'll just be there to enjoy the sunshine and pools, not to do the parks for more than a few hours at a time.

 

[BLLB]

We almost always go during Spring Break, DH is a teacher, and it is usually the week before or after Easter. We are early birds, so we hit the parks at opening and come back for naps/swimming around noon. We go back to the parks after dinner. We think it is very manageable.

We have went once in October and once in May. Crowds were definitely lighter, but we toured the same as above.

I believe the UOG says that Christmas is the "worst" followed closely by weeks before and after Easter.

Hope this helps.

 

[Starr W.]

The whole Easter at WDW is why we go to Vero Beach for the week.

We only have to have DH deal with the "Soprano T-shirt" gang at the pool.

 

[LoriKutchey]

We either go at Easter or in June. The crowds are about the same at either time is what we have experienced. We are going this Easter, but in June have elected to go back to Longboat Key for the beach this year.

 

[kristenrice]

When you refer to "around Easter", are the crowds worse the week before Easter or the week after? Our spring break is always the first week of April. Next year, we will arrive ON Easter Sunday. I am expecting our stay to be very crowded.

 

[dtheboys]

Yes, it is CRAZY!!!!!!
I hate going at Easter, but we have no choice....that is our school spring break....my wife teaches, so we go as the school break goes....

 

[kaffinito]

Hummm... just what I need to talk myself down from the ledge. We were there at the tail end of Spring Break on our first trip, and didn't think it was that bad. This year IF we go it'll be over Easter. I just don't know if I can wait 5 more months until my next trip. I know the boys want to go back too.

 

[Dano1182]

We have gone every year for the last 9 years at easter

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO GO TO ANY PARK ON EASTER SUNDAY.Get to pol early and stay there?
Many locals use this day to go to the parks.The crowds are unbearable
We spend a lot of time at pool relaxing
DON"T waste your time going to Magic Kingdom unless you want to wait for everythingIt is a complete madhouse.
Fast passes go quick
we once spent five hours there before we gave up after one ride.
Seaworld and Unversal are more laid back this time of year.


As for the others you need to be flexible
if you have young ones do not promise them anything.Play it by ear.

 

[bonnielynn]

Is the week before 4/2-4/10 just as busy.. ?

 

[momoflizandains]

We went the year before last the week before Easter. We used Tour Guide Mike's recommended parks, and it was completely manageable. We got to the parks at rope drop and got to do everything we wanted. We DID NOT sleep in, though. The parks were a zoo at night, but we looked at it like anything we got to ride was a bonus. We are going again this year April 5-10. Good luck.

 

[drusba]

Week before Easter and week of Easter are both hugely crowded. Those two weeks along with Christmas week are the three most crowded of the year followed closely by days right around July 4. As you can see from posts some think it is bad others not too bad at all, which i believe reflects mainly individual tolerances for an otherwise huge crowd. So what does it compare to other times if you been then. Many, many years ago Disney used to actually release crowd figures for different seasons by giving out average daily entries to MK. Those have changed since (probably just more crowded) but if you have been to WDW and thus know some of the seasons, the average entry figures (counts anyone who entered twice in one day as 2) were about the following: off-seasons such as Sep, most of Jan, early Feb, much of May in the 25,000-35,000 range, Oct and Nov other than holidays in the 40,000 to 45,000 range, spring break weeks other than the two Easter weeks 45,000 to 55,000 and Thanksgiving was also at the high end of that, most summer weeks, 55,000 to 65,000 with Jul 4 time getting to 75,000, Christmas and the two Easter weeks 85,000 to 100,000.

Have been a number of times Easter and Christmas and have also been most other times of the year. Those three weeks really make any other time of year feel like off-season. Easter is somewhat less bad when it is in mid-April rather than in March. This year may also see a drop just because of the economy. The crowds at MK on the streets in the afternoon can get so thick that it can take more than 35 minutes just to walk from Space Mountain to Splash Mountain. The stand-by lines after about 10:00 in the morning will be huge. Soarin will exceed 3 hours and approach 4, Test Track 3, the mountains 2 1/2, even Treehouse can get a line well over an hour.

Counter service restaurants can have 45 minute and longer lines during prime eating times. For sit-down restaurants at dinner, you should assume you must make an advance ressie or decide instead not to eat. True story that shows a little of the wise-guy in a CM: We were at Crystal Palace on a Thurs before Easter for a 5:30 ressie waiting in the check-in line. Group of four in front of us did not have a ressie and asked the CM if they could be put in for the "next available time." After looking at the computer for quite some time, the CM looked up and said "Tuesday at 8:45."

In essence, it will be hugely crowded. Early mornings are usually better and you can actually get on some things fairly easy then. Late afternoon to early evening at MK can mean that some rides other than the biggies can get quite short (under 20 minute lines) even if they had 80 minute lines at noon. Note after 8 p.m. huge crowds actually move in again at MK. During parades even the mountains can sometimes fall to 40 minutes or less. Epcot late afternoon can be the same. For example, Spaceship Earth can have hour line or longer in the morning because most who enter hit it first, and no line at 3. If you are going to do line wait at Fantasmic, you need to get there 50 minutes or longer beforehand to assure getting a seat for first show but when they have two as they often do during holidays, the late one is a walk-in even at start time. Use fastpass as much as possible and be aware that fastpasses for popular rides can be gone before noon for the rest of day and night. MK can sometimes close for parts of the day to new entries because of capacity. If you do waterparks, be aware that those can fill to capacity by 11:30 and if you actually want a seat in the shade you best be there at opening.

If there Easter Sunday try to avoid MK as most everyone goes there that day expecting to see something they cannot see other days of the week. They are mistaken. Nothing happens at MK on Sunday that you cannot see other days of the week. Best to hit Epcot or AK which usually have "lighter" days on Sunday (its relative -- still crowded just not as much as other days).