Need advice for trip on Easter week

[pnelson384]

I am going to Disney World with my family (including kids 5, 8, 11) from 3/26 to 4/1, and I need advice on what parks to do on which days. We are staying at the Polynesian, with the Magic your way plus dining, and a 7 day park hopper pass. Any suggestions? Any suggestions for a fun Easter (I'm a little scared of the crowds on that day!) We want to stay with the 4 main parks since this is our first trip. Thanks!

 

[jstehman]

I'll be there during the same period. Fortunately for us, we have been there many times and understand what we are getting into. In prior years, the wisdom was to go to the park the day after its "Early Entry". So if MK had an early entry on Sunday--- go the following day. But since they have changed the early and late days... the patterns aren't set yet.

Since you are staying on property, my suggestions would be to use early entry and late evening to your advantage. Pace yourself. Take family radios so you can split up when the opportunities arise. Make sure you have PS for sit-down meals. Use Fast_Pass. Know before hand which activities & rides are a must. Get everyone in good walking shape. Hope to see you there!

 

[lisa0477]

I am going at this time also. I wanted to go early March, but can't let my little miss any more school. I am just hoping it won't be too bad!! We are staying off site so I won't get any of the early advantages. That stinks. I have 3 that are 2 and under and a 7 year old. I am just trying to plan the best that I can.

 

[DisneyMim]

You picked a very busy time for you first trip. Nobody knows better than I do that sometimes it can't be avoided, my husband is a teacher and we have always had to go during his schedule, not the best!! LOL!! We have been there during Easter and have had a wonderful time, but we were not first time visitors, have been there too many times to count, and know the ins and outs. That being said, my best advice is to "go with the flow". I would avoid MK on Easter Sunday, it is VERY busy. Epcot is a good park as it is large and will appear not so crowded. I would strongly suggest park hopper tickets. That way if things got too much in one park you could park hop to another. Make ressies for Easter Day for any meals you might want, but be forwarned that some prices go up for that day and it is very busy with not only out of town visitors, but locals as well. From my experience they seem to rush you and for the money it can be annoying. I think you will find that later in your vacation will be better, that is, a little less crowded. The weather should be nice and Easter being early might make a difference, maybe not so crowded as it is in April. I hope you will have a wonderful vacation and love Disney as much as I do!!

ENJOY!!

 

[Chim Chiminy]

Long response, but I hope it helps
We went last year the week leading up to Easter. We actually left the Saturday right before, long drive home.

Best part about going at that time was the park hours. The parks were open late, Mk was open until midnight! And they ran the parades twice. We caught the last Spectromagic one of the nights we were in MK and it was great, uncrowded.
Take advantage of the fact that you are at the Poly and take mid day breaks. I know you said it is your first trip and you probably want to go, go, go and see everything. But if you feel that you are getting tired or your kids are cranky, take that break. It will do wonders.
Use Fastpass if a line is longer than thirty minutes.
Make Priority Seatings if you haven't already. Restaurants were packed with people being turned away.
Stay flexible and be willing to change your plans.

On Easter, some of the resorts have activities for the kids. Easter Egg hunts, that sort of thing. Ask when you check in. I was really bummed that we missed that, but we had to work around hubby's schedule.

The Easter Bunny makes appearances in MK, right near City Hall in a little courtyard type area. Of course we missed this too. As soon as we got in line it was announced that the EB was leaving to go check on some eggs......oh well, at least we got a glimpse of him.
You can ask at City Hall about appearance times.

Here is how we worked our schedule, kind of. WDW was the most crowded I had ever seen it and we still felt like we saw what we wanted, didn't wait long in any lines, and had a nice relaxing trip with plenty of pool time.

Arrival Day--Saturday around 6pm. Checked in, got to our room, ate dinner in the room. Went to DTD until 11.

Sunday--Slept in. Hung out at pool. Went to Epcot at 3pm. Saw Cranium Command, Rode M:S, rode Spaceship Earth, went to Mexico. Rode El Rio del Tiempo, ate at the Cantina, walked around World Showcase a bit, after dark rode Test Track twice with no wait! Then we left.

Monday--AK Early Entry day, but my crew slept in a bit. Arrived for our 10am PS at Breakfastasuarus. Park was very crowded so we did five attractions then left. Swam in the evening.

Tuesday--MK. We got there around 8:20, which is good for us. I used the Unofficial Guides touring plans and we didn't wait in any line longer than 15 minutes. Got my daughters hair cut at the Barber Shop and watched the 3pm parade from there. Left to nap and eat in our room. Returned around 6:30 refreshed and closed out the park.

Wed--Pirate Cruise for the kids at the GF. Back to resort to nap, swim, play tennis, shop. Dinner at the Poly.

Thurs--Epcot, again a late start to our day. Did everything we wanted to.

Fri--MK, not as crowded as other days. Did everything we wanted to. Left around 10pm

Take jackets or sweatshirts in case. It was very chilly last year at that time.
Good luck, enjoy your trip!

 

[jdonat]

We did Easter week last year.. It's very busy, but not as busy as the week between
Christmas and New Year's eve...
Parks are open late -especially MK, which is open until 11pm or Midnight before and
after Easter -the hours will change as it gets closer.
The weather was really nice -warm days, cooler evenings (maybe a windbreaker), and
the humidity wasn't obnoxious yet.

We were staying at the WL, which had activities around the feature pool -like chalk
coloring around the desk, some coloring contests, and a candy scramble. The scramble
was segregated by age, so's the little kids didn't get trampled by the bigger kids.

Also, at the WL, Minnie and Mickey were there in their Easter best, and so was the
Easter Bunny! The day was really nice, so's they were all out by the big pool.

When we got going to the parks -around 11 or so, we went over to Epcot, as I
figured, like many on the list the MK would be crazy.. EC wasn't bad at all....

We went back to the MK to Watch wishes, and then had a real adventure getting
back to the WL by boat. The winds were so high, the skipper of the boat going from
the MK to the WL and Fort Wilderness needed 3 tries to get docked at the WL.
We found out later that this was the last boat trip that they attempted that night
to the WL and Fort Wilderness, and that WDW shut down ALL water transport about
that time, including the Ferryboats to the TTC. They had some real problems
with the smaller launches that WDW uses to get to the Grand Floridian and the Poly.
Lots of rocking and rolling that night!!! WOW!

Have fun! We're probably going west to DL around the 4th of july, so's we won't do
a spring trip to WDW... Sob! Oh, well....

 

[Julylady]

We (2 adults, 5 cousins ages 9 - 16) were at WDW for a week last Easter. We stayed at OKW - 2 bedroom. Here is a list of things that worked for us.

* Before we went, my 16 year old developed a "survey" with a list of all the rides/attractions. Each kid rated each attraction from 1 (low priority) to 5 (high priority). They analyzed the results and developed a list for each park with priorities. This worked well since we knew in advance what rides/attractions we could skip if we had to. (BTW - This was a great math project for them!)

* Arrive at the early entry park just as its opening. Ride your #1 priority ride first thing with no line.

* Stay at this park until the crowds become unmanageable (usually late morning). We usually had a priority seating for lunch about 11:30 and then left that park.

* Use FastPass for all lines over 20 minutes.

* Always look for the shortest line. The longest line is usually the one closest to the traffic pattern. Often, there are shorter lines down the way...

* Have each person carry their own snacks into the park. Don't spend your time waiting in line at a food cart.

* Take a break during the mid-day. We usually went back to OKW after lunch. Not everyone napped, but everyone rested. We then went back out at 4pm and stayed until closing. At first the teens hated this idea of "resting", but after the 2nd day realized that we were missing the big crowds during the middle of the day. They also had enough energy to keep going full blast until park closing (and still get up for park opening the next day).

* Make at least one priority seating (lunch or dinner) each day. You can always cancel if your needs change, but at least you know you will have one relaxing, sit-down meal a day.

This was the first time we did the parks during a "busy" season and it worked very well for us. We are currently planning a repeat trip for Easter 2006.

Donna

DVC Member since 2001

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Last year 2004 was our 1st easter trip. I wouldnt pick this time, but it coincided with our 3 ds spring break. We were not 1st time visitors and all I can say was I am glad we made all our ps reservations before we left home. Busses were always standing room only. There were lines to get fastpasses and the fast passes had a return time of like 7 hours later, For example at 11 am the fp return time was 7 pm. This is not good if you are planning to park hop or have a dining ps. We stayed at the swan and our 3 ds are teens and didnt want to get up early. Easter Day we started with the character breakfast at the cape may buffet. It was crowded, our waitress betty often disappeared, didnt look like she was happy working etc. Mickey and Minnie were dressed up cute for photo ops in the lobby. We spent the day at epcot. It was pretty uncrowded but the characters werent available as listed. For example it said belle and the beast in france, but they had esmerelda and frollo instead. They kept pushing the alice in wonderland tea party. I think it was free but you had to sign up, I think it included a little egg hunt. That took place in england I believe. We saw pooh and friends more times then I cared for. For dinner we went to mgm and had hollywood and vine. I wanted the fantasmic pkg. but couldnt get it and I tried 2 months out. It poured anyway, unusual they said. Also the night before easter we went to chef mickeys for dinner. I tried forever for that too and all I could get was 8:30 pm, late for us, but I took it. If you plan well, you will have a good time, just pack alot of patience with you. I know the poly has an egg hunt for easter, maybe its goofy at the beach, I am not sure.