Spring break park pros??

[valeriekc]

For those of you that have been to the parks in the middle of March....please share, How bad is it going to be???
We have traditionally been in May or Oct. but with the difficulty of the kids school schedule we are considering a trip at the height of spring fever!
Of course I am hoping (and expecting) that all parks will be opening early and remaining open late and all attractions open with fastpasses churning to accomodate the crowds. Share your experiences.
Any helpful advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance

 

[eeyore0062]

The parks stay open longer.....?

 

[twan60]

For those of you that have been to the parks in the middle of March....please share, How bad is it going to be???
We have traditionally been in May or Oct. but with the difficulty of the kids school schedule we are considering a trip at the height of spring fever!
Of course I am hoping (and expecting) that all parks will be opening early and remaining open late and all attractions open with fastpasses churning to accomodate the crowds. Share your experiences.
Any helpful advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance

Well we have been going for the last 3 years in mid March, didn't know we had spring break when we purchased our timeshare. The only surprise we found was the airfare. As far as the parks we never had a problem waiting in line for any rides. Even the "hot" rides were a do-able wait and we have 2 kids that waited too. Don't do the e-pass tickets they didn't work for us we did better standing on our own. Hope this works and we will be there in the mad house with you this year too.

 

[sweetpeakaris]

I sure hope it's not a madhouse, lol!

 

[slp87]

We were there in '02 Mar 8 - 17 & '04 from Mar 10 - 21. I didn't feel either year it was horrendous. The only place the crowds were heavy either year was MK and by using FP, we were able to get on rides quickly. Last year there were a couple of nights that MK was open till 11 and I remember MGM having 2 showings of Fantasmic a couple of nights. I do think if you go the 3rd full week of March the crowds start really getting heavier.

 

[Blueberry]

We have been several years mid March, as that is our anniversary time . Last year we spent a long weekend there and it was not that bad, MK gets the most crowded as always..but very do-able with fast pass. As always get to the parks early for the best touring time and enjoy yourselves..

 

[eeyore0062]

Well we have been going for the last 3 years in mid March, didn't know we had spring break when we purchased our timeshare. The only surprise we found was the airfare. As far as the parks we never had a problem waiting in line for any rides. Even the "hot" rides were a do-able wait and we have 2 kids that waited too. Don't do the e-pass tickets they didn't work for us we did better standing on our own. Hope this works and we will be there in the mad house with you this year too.

The difference this year is that Easter comes early... March... so I would expect larger crowds.

 

[valeriekc]

Ok, everyone keeps saying "it's not that bad"...this makes me a little nervous! Everyones version of "bad" is a little different! We are use to MK being busy and Fantasyland being too crowded after say 10:00am...but what about general crowds...in other words is it hard to move around the park because of all the people. Help me out here...I am envisioning just after the parade is over crowded all the time...tell me is isn't so!

 

[jlcbshaw]

Let me start by saying that I have taken my family on numerous trips to WDW, the last two being during Spring Break (03, 04). It is crowded, but managable, compared to the other times we have visited (Feb. 02, Sep. 00, Oct. 99, Jul. 97, Oct. 94). The parks, much to my surprise, didn't seem to stay open very late. However, with planning we were able to do everything that we desired to do. The main attracttions had about 30-45 min waits, but with proper use of FP, things are great. With the new tickets no longer be PHP, I would avoid any EE or LE parks unless you are staying at a WDW Resort. There is another post that has a link to a website that predicts the crowd levels for each park for 05. It looked as the crowd levels will be about a 7 on a 1-10 scale. As far as moving around, I really noticed crowds in all parks except Epcot. Now having said all of that, I would go back to WDW during Spring Break in a heartbeat and still know that I would be able to see and do everything that I have done on other vactions. I am just worried about our trip this year (Dec. 05), I guess just not knowing makes it a little scary. Best of luck, I'm sure you'll enjoy your vacation.

OCBS

 

[jennymouse]

We went the week prior to Easter on our spring break one year and it wasn't terrible. Even though we were staying onsite, we avoided the park that had EE and arrived early, left around 1 o'clock, then went back out at night. The weather was wonderful, warm but not too hot, low humidity. I can deal with quite a bit when the heat & humidity isn't so bad.

 

[jellydisney]

Ok, everyone keeps saying "it's not that bad"...this makes me a little nervous! Everyones version of "bad" is a little different! We are use to MK being busy and Fantasyland being too crowded after say 10:00am...but what about general crowds...in other words is it hard to move around the park because of all the people. Help me out here...I am envisioning just after the parade is over crowded all the time...tell me is isn't so!

I've have been in mid March for 3 years (soon to be 4!). My version of "bad" is waiting 30 minutes or more on every attraction. That being said, if you are smart about what you are doing and when, it won't be "bad". It does get crowded in the parks, especially in the middle of the day.

I follow the Unofficial Guide touring plans as far as which attractions to go on and when. I go early in the morning, leave, and then go to a different park that evening. Go on the the biggies (Space, Splash, ToT, RnR) first thing in the morning or use fastpass, because the rest of the day the standby lines average around 90 minutes. Also, make priority seatings for sit down restaurants if you want to eat around popular mealtimes (12-1pm, 6-7pm).

Those are my basic guidelines; I've never waited more than 20 minutes for anything except Test Track, where I waited 30 minutes--which is my absolute limit for standing in any line! Our trip was 5 days long, and we got to do just about everything we set out to do.