Spring Break Pros! Help ease my mind!

[3Gsandme]

Ooooh boy.

We are off season, take the kids out of school people, so I want to lay that down first. Dd's high school band is marching at the MK in 2016! We are very excited! However, their trip dates are Easter Monday through Friday. I know it's going to be packed. Touring Plans tell me it's going to be packed. These are level 10 crowd days. I don't even want to tell my husband. Although, he's pretty smart so I suspect it won't take him long to figure it out. This is absolutely an extra trip that we're squeezing in to be able to see dd march.

So, tips? Hints? It won't be as awful as I'm imaging?

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Go and have fun, but don't put any pressure on yourself to ride. It will be as packed as you imagine, but if it isn't your only trip to WDW, enjoy it for what it is. My son's band will also be marching in WDW next April - but the following week.

 

[HockeyIsLife]

Relax, take a deep breath and take it slow. If you have a mindset that everything is going to take a bit of a wait, but prepare and ustilize your fastpasses the best way for your family you will be fine.
Even when the calandar says its going to be quiet, there are all kinds of factors that can go wrong. It is Raining, too hot, too cold, or GOD FORBID AN INFLUX OF CHEERLEADERS (way worse than a swamp of angry hungry bees....and my daughters ARE cheerleaders), there is no way to plan the perfect time.
The good thing is that the weather should be good...we had perfect weather on our trip. Literally not a drop of rain....

 

[MainMom]

Plan to do some other things outside of the park like Cirque, hoop de doo, tour the resorts, etc.

 

[Ratpack]

We went this past Spring Break and had a blast. Just plan to be at parks at opening and you will be fine. We had one day in each park and pretty much saw everything we wanted. The longest day we had was MK and that was due to the fireworks at night. Since we were offsite, we didn't want to leave and come back. The crowds didn't really show up until about 10 or 11 am.

 

[knkmom]

I agree, go with no big expectations and just enjoy whatever you are able to do!!

 

[bcinohio]

We were at WDW the week of Easter this year for my son's marching band. They marched before the electric light parade. It was crowded but not as bad as I thought it was going to be. We had a great time. We were even at MK on Easter Sunday. We went early and had FP+ in place. The band stayed offsite but were given their ticket numbers before the 30 day mark and my son's group came to our house and my DH set up all their FP+ selections. They got everything they wanted. They got to ride everything they wanted to. I think the longest they waited was 45min for Rock N roller coaster.

One thing that I was glad that I did was I purchased memory maker. My mom, older son, and I stayed on site. My DH and son (who was in the band) had magic bands from a trip last year so even if I wasn't on the ride with them I got the pictures of him and his friends. Also when I was with them and the kids took pictures with the characters I had them scan my band for each of them so I could put them on facebook for all the kids. Also my DH would have them take a group picture when they were at each park. They turned out really good.

Go and have fun!!

 

[Kathryn777]

We didn't do the parks but did other stuff around during this spring/Easter break. Everything was really crowded except for stuff that needed tickets/ reservations. I'd focus on that stuff. Like nice meals, cirque, baseball .

 

[3Gsandme]

I don't know if I will get away with not going to the parks with the two little dds (9 and 6 at the time of the visit). All they talk about is going back again.

I think I have dh convinced to buy annual passes as we'll be going twice in 2016 and the math works out. This way, there's no "waste" to us just going for a few hours and then heading back to the resort to swim and relax. I do love the memory maker idea! It would be a great way to get pictures of older dd whom, I'm sure, we wont see for more than a few minutes total.

I think what is terrifying me the most is the pictures I've seen of the hoards of people on very crowded days.

 

[bwang123]

we went two spring breaks in a row and love it. probably going back in 2017 even though we mostly go during lower times like may and October. weather is great.

 

[Jfsag123]

We went over spring break this year. Though not Easter week, still 8-9 crowd level days. We had a great time and rode/saw everything we wanted to! Arriving for rope drop every day was immensely helpful. Additional positives to consider: the weather will likely be great and during high crowd times the parks have increased hours and fewer things are likely to be closed for refurbishment.

 

[bcinohio]

The MK opened at 7am for onsite guests the whole week we were there. We were they about 6:45 and we got a lot done before 10am. We went early before rope drop each day and we did very well. Set up FP+ and go early and you will be fine. It was our first Easter trip and I was really scared to go but it was much better than I thought. I'm not sure I would actually pick that time of year to go but we didn't have a choice with the band going at that time. It was fun.

 

[jennib5426]

Be at parks at opening, go back to hotel in afternoon for a swim and maybe go back at night for fireworks and such. We did it this way Easter week last year and had a good time with minimal stress. We did stay on property, which helps a lot.

 

[edolee]

Lots of good advice above.

My advice is that the biggest thing that needs to change is your attitude/expectations. YOU WILL HAVE FUN, but my experience is that busy times are the best times to relax and "smell the roses"... Take some time to enjoy people watching. Spread some pixie dust by taking a family photo for someone. Treat yourself to a waffle sandwich at sleepy hollow if you haven't done that before (or similar). Soak up the magic and don't rush.

Sure... get there at rope drop, ride your favorites for an hour or two, then mix in some fp+, and by Noon you should not have had too many long waits, and gotten in your favorites even with the crowds... Then get the heck out of the park during the really crazy hours, and come back later for the evening entertainment.

You probably won't be able to get everything done you normally would at a less busy time, but if you have set your own expectations accordingly, you might just have the most enjoyable trip ever!

Ed

 

[3Gsandme]

Thanks for the great advice. The rope drop/break/evening entertainment was my plan for the days dd isn't marching. I don't know if she'll be marching before FOF or the MSEP. We will be having a nice, low crowd trip later in the year so I'll get my "do it all " fix just six months later. I just want to be sure to make the most of the situation. Not DO the most, if that makes sense, just make sure it's a fun trip without too much stress. Also, it means spending more time at the resort which I regretted not doing the last time.

 

[3Gsandme]

OH! Also, transportation? I think I could easily sell us renting a car if Disney transportation will be swamped/result in long waits. Any advice on that front?

 

[Maddysdaddy]

My family has done Easter for the past two years. Yes the parks are insane, but are manageable if you hit rope drop and power through using standby until 11, head back to the hotel to hang by the pool until around 6 and then head back to the park and use your fast passes for short waits (for three rides, anyway). As the evening progresses, the crowds definitely start to thin out.

I'm a fairly patient person, and think I would lose my mind if I had to fight mid-day crowds.

I'd also recommend that you follow EasyWdw's recommendations for which park to visit on which day. The Most Recommended park will still be crazy busy, but it won't be crazy, crazy busy.