March Break Crowds?

[PensFan]

Hey all ... recently got back from our most recent trip and had a great time experiencing the parks at a different time of the year for the first time after always going in AUG

Anyhow I wonder what are the crowds like during our elementary schools MARCH BREAK?

Looking at planning out our next trip and thinking March might be a good time ... Im just im not too keen on travel during the peak times as flights are expensive, crowds are big etc.. but not sure if that's reflected at Disney with the crowds!

Any info or experiences would be great... thank you!

 

[MikeyNS]

We were there last year for March Break (Nova Scotia's Mark Break) and I found it quite busy, and I consider us to be regulars and fairly experienced.

I'm going to avoid that week this year and probably go in February, as the prices are cheaper and the crowds will be lower.

 

[dvcdisney]

We have been going in March and August for over 10yrs now. Before that we would go in May and October when the kids were not yet in school.

Now we are left with 2wks in March (week before and March break) and 2 weeks in August. From our experience, March break was definitely busier and more crowded than August. But to be honest, I prefer March since August is extremely hot and we end up spending most of the time at the resort pool (mostly stayed at Beach Club Villas in August). So that's usually how we vacationed - March was spent mostly in the parks with occasional breaks at the resort and August was mostly resort with morning and evenings at the park.

 

[dancin Disney style]

I've gone several times for March break including the last two years in a row. The weather the last two years has been absolutely glorious but other times it's been just ok. Crowd wise the parks are slammed. Our break week in Ontario is the same as the state of Florida. This past MB we were in the MK on the final Friday and it was shoulder to shoulder crowds.

 

[starvenger]

I haven't gone during March Break in years - busy season for my wife so we can't go anywhere. But my recollection of Pearson was that it was insane Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

 

[starvenger]

I'm going to avoid that week this year and probably go in February, as the prices are cheaper and the crowds will be lower.

I think good prices can be found for Feb if you go during Reading Week for the universities.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Looking at Touring Plans, crowds are anticipated to be at near capacity for March Break, at least Monday to Friday. Weekends are slightly lower

 

[PensFan]

Thanks folks ... I considered March because well .. the weather!

It's hard for my wife to have time off during school so that's why we always went in AUG but managed to go OCT this year and I know Christmas would be a zoo and expensive both for disney and flights but thought might get away with lower crowds during march break! Guess not .. lol

Next on my list would be right when school is out so EARLY JULY! ??

 

[Scar1199]

Both my wife and I work at a school so we can only go at certain times and I'm not doing summer because of the heat and Christmas because of the cost. So we've gone 2 of the past 3 March Breaks. I found it busy, but we were able to do everything we wanted to do and eat where we wanted. We stayed late at MK one night and rode Splash 3 times in a row, and walked on 7DMT and Big Thunder. Our first year was during Mardi Gras so I was told it was busier but Mardi Gras is the end of February this year. And we've always had beautiful weather.

 

[bankr63]

DW is a teacher, so it is March Break or nothing for us. I guess it is fairly busy, but if you are a veteran and know how to tour, it is very manageable. Arrive early, ride the headliners, use FP+ to the fullest, skip out mid-day and come back for the evening fun. We always choose our parks according to the crowd calendar (UT or UG) and they have never steered us wrong; we've come home and I've seen posts here about the horrible crowds that have left me scratching my head saying "what crowds?". Almost like we were going to different WDW's.

Thinking over our last two trips with FP+ now, I will say that it has changed our pattern a bit too. At 30 days out, the best rides are often only available for afternoon or later, so we have started arriving a bit later, and hitting the lesser attractions first. But we certainly use the crowd calendars to pick the correct park.

 

[isabellea]

Our March break is always the first week if March and the crowds are usually pretty light. The only thing I don't like about early March are the chilly early mornings.

 

[mort1331]

I hate crowds, always go 3rd week of September. But for the last two years have ventured down for Ontario's March break. I have to say I was very pleased and would always go now. Yes we do RD and mid day break. The only park that we have seen busy is the MK. But toured proper and with right FP we did not notice crowds that I would be cringing at. I have seen those pictures and would not be part of that.

 

[Frozen2014]

I've wondered this too. We would never go at Christmas since everyone has the same Christmas break so it must be insane, but at least March break and the States spring breaks vary.

For us we decided on August (and then Disneyland instead if WDW to avoid the humidity) but went through the same dilemma.

 

[hcoker1]

I'm a teacher so March Break is our only choice (well at least for the next five years...). We try to get to the parks as soon as they open and leave around 1:00 or 2:00. Even if we stay later, I don't find it too bad and we tend to only do our FP rides after noon. My mentality is that I'm on vacation and having a break from school so I don't kill myself anymore. I always enjoy running into someone I know from home in the parks or at the resort, it has happened EVERY trip so far!

 

[mab2012]

Thanks folks ... I considered March because well .. the weather!

It's hard for my wife to have time off during school so that's why we always went in AUG but managed to go OCT this year and I know Christmas would be a zoo and expensive both for disney and flights but thought might get away with lower crowds during march break! Guess not .. lol

Next on my list would be right when school is out so EARLY JULY! ??

I know this post is a bit dated, but I'm going to reply anyway.

We were at WDW in early July this past summer. We didn't go to the parks, so I can't comment on the crowds. But the weather... ! I'm pretty heat-tolerant, at least by Canadian standards, but I would not have wanted to be in the parks at that temperature. It was nearly 40 degrees and over 60% humidity, so humidex in the high 40s. And let's not forget the blazing sunshine. The only tolerable outdoor place to be at that temperature is the pool, and even that is not exactly refreshing. The concrete was hot enough to burn your feet on the way from the deck chairs to the pool - we had to look for the few wet and shaded spots to break up the trip!

That said, if you're used to August, I guess July is probably not much different.

We've had pretty good luck at March break, but my kids get two weeks off at their independent school and we usually choose the one that is *not* the Ontario/Florida/Texas/Canadian East Coast break week. We've had great weather, usually sunny and mid-twenties, but I know it can be hit-or-miss at that time of year. The parks are busy, but manageable with some planning. Placement of Easter matters. Last year Easter was early, and ran into the second week of my kids' break. That tends to compress crowds into a smaller window. People like me then push back into the Ontario break week, rather than the even-worse Easter week. When Easter is later in April, the March crowds are probably a bit better.

 

[JuicyFruit]

We went in the last week of March 2016 during Spring Break ( in Alberta ). I must say, it's was very busy. We headed out to the parks very early and took advantage of magic mornings. Crowds were manageable. By noon, it was wall to wall people. That's when we took a mid-afternoon rest back at the hotel before heading out again for evenings. Another thing that surprised me was it was quite chilly especially in the evenings. It was definitely not "shorts" weather or swimming pool for me.

 

[Canadian Girl]

Easter was early last year. I think that kind of cause a blip in crowds towards the end of March. Hoping this year will be different.

 

[keaster]

Our March break is the second week of March. We find the beginning of the week is fairly light for crowds but by the end it starts to get busy. Any later in March I think it would be way busier.

 

[buyerbrad]

We've gone the last 2 years during the Ontario March Break. Here are trip reports of our 2 days at MK and AK from 2016:

http://www.disboards.com/threads/mk-with-infant-toddler.3493043/#post-55361726

http://www.disboards.com/threads/ak-today-with-toddler-infant.3492318/#post-55349886

 

[xipetotec]

We have found that first week of March is not bad. But when you start getting into Mid-March it can get quite heavy.