Spring Break 2013? I must be insane!

[nilseks]

I always said I would never, ever go to Disney over a holiday week. We always pulled our kids out of school during off times, but now they are getting older and it's hard to miss school and sports.

Working around DS' baseball schedule, the only time I can come up with for a trip is the week of Easter 2013. We have never been to DL so I would like to enjoy it and be able to get on all the rides. Is it even worth going at that time, or will it be a COMPLETE madhouse that week?

 

[DLR29]

With a good plan and the right mentality, you can still have an amazing trip. In fact, I like to go during more crowded times because the park hours are longer (8am-12am every day) and the nighttime entertainment runs every night as well (which it doesn't during the "off season"). Also major rides are less likely to be closed for refurbishment during busier times, although the past few springs have had at least 1 major attraction down for a long-term rehab.

I highly recommend reading Hydroguy's "DLR for WDW vets": http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599

It has the answers to probably 9/10 of your questions.

 

[chttyangel]

I am headed down in April for my 4th Springbreak at Disneyland. I have enjoyed them all. Yes; the parks are busy. Yes; the lines get crazy. BUT plan ahead and you will be fine. We always follow these simple tricks;

1) Get to the Park when it opens. We get there as early as possible and hit the rides that tend to be a little slower moving; like PP and Nemo. If you get there early you will enjoy the first few hours with little crowds.
2) Use Fast Pass.
3) Take a break mid-day. Usually by 1:00ish it starts to get really crowded. I remember standing outside Tarzan in just a sea of people. Couldn’t walk without touching someone. Headed straight for the gate, came back that night and it was enjoyable again.
4) Take advantage of the Parks being open late. The later it gets; the more the crowds start to thin out.

Also; we tend to skip the shows....If everyone is over watching F! then the lines over in TL or other areas tend to be smaller. This year thou I think we are going to stop to see some of those because that stragey has had us missing out on some good stuff. We also tend to not take any breaks in the morning; the lines are too short to stop and have a snack. We just push through til afternoon and stop then. I also am planning on using Ridemax one day to make sure we hit all the favs at least once.

YES; I will admit my November trip was allot more relaxing and I would prefer that time. But with two kids in high school; that is not happening. So I try to look on the bright side (longer hours, more shows/characters) and just have a really good plan of attack!

 

[nilseks]

Awesome! You guys are making me feel better! I need to learn all the abbreviations--I only know them for WDW, lol.

I just noticed that I can get a free DL planning book on Amazon Prime this month for my Kindle. Guess it's time to start reading up and learning about DL!