Need tips for navigating the park with Easter week/spring break crowds

[Ali0812]

Hi all! I would really appreciate some tips on navigating the parks during the week of April 5th-10. I have heard that the weeks before and after Easter are VERY crowded. Normally we make our trip to Disney in October for the Not So Scary Halloween Party. Crowds are fairly low during this time. I have never been during a peak time before, so I am a little worried about what I may have gotten us into. Any tips would be greatly appreciated

 

[StirlingSilver83]

Get there for rope drop and do as many rides as u can from rope drop til about 11ish. Get your fast passes for the afternoon when it's most crowded. And if u don't have young kids the best time to go is from like 9pm til closing

 

[Ali0812]

Thanks for the tip! We usually go during EMH, take a break and then go back until closing. I have just heard horror stories about crowds, wait times, transportation, etc...

 

[JennyDrake]

Get there for rope drop and do as many rides as u can from rope drop til about 11ish. Get your fast passes for the afternoon when it's most crowded. And if u don't have young kids the best time to go is from like 9pm til closing

DITTO!

 

[k1koala]

My daughter & I went that same time last year. We did as much as we could at rope drop and am EMH without using any FP+, then we used our FP+ later in the afternoon. We then just had lunch and walked around doing those rides with 30 minutes or less wait. We also did some during the parades which we dont really care to see. Some wait times could get 120-180 minutes later in the day, but have a game plan and its manageable.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

Thanks for the tip! We usually go during EMH, take a break and then go back until closing. I have just heard horror stories about crowds, wait times, transportation, etc...

Never had any probs with transportation. We usually stay at contemporary and our main parks are mk and Epcot. We drive down though so we have our own car and take that there to Hollywood studios.

We did take the Disney bus once from Hollywood studios back to the resort. My older son wanted to see fantasmic but it was too late for the baby so we all drove to hs in the car, had dinner at 50s prime time and then my hubby took the baby home and I stayed with my older son. This was the beginning of April I believe 2 weeks before Easter. Fantasmic was very crowded and as soon as it was over we booked it to the bus station. We just missed the bus. I thought we were going to have to wait 20 minutes for another bus but then this bus that was suppose to go to the value resorts picked us up instead. There was nobody waiting for the value resorts but there was a really long line for the our resort path. We were in the front of the line so we got to get a seat but it was very crowded.

 

[disneyAndi14]

We are going the same time 4/6-4/13, we are a little worried as well, we have been in the summer so we know busy, is it like that?

 

[bigtony777]

I would recommend getting to the park entrance 30 minutes before park opening. Getting to the park at rope drop versus getting there 30 mins before can make a huge difference depending on what attraction you are going to. Seven dwarfs train ride or TSM are good examples. If you are one of the first into the park, you can ride standby with a 15 minute or less wait. If it takes you 15 mins to get in after rope drop, you could have up to a 50 minute wait with the heavy crowds.

FP+ has really changed the way to use FP. If you will be at the park later in the day, I would recommend scheduling them for later in the day. The one downside to this is that if you use all 3 early in the day, you could get more. I think it works better to get there before rope drop, ride standby for the first few hours and when the crowds get bigger you will have your FP to use.

 

[Eastern]

I've been there during Easter week a few times. Get there at opening; it will be really crowded by 11am. That is when you eat an early lunch and then either go back to the park or back to your resort. Make your FPs for whenever you will be back later on.

In the past it was very doable if you got to your park at rope drop. Not sure if FP+ will change it.