Spring break strategies?

[kristenbrandt]

We've been several times (early march, mid-may, late september), just usually not during peak weeks. School schedule dictated our travel times this year, so we're heading down 3/27 - 4/3 and understand it will be prime time. Any suggestions for how to best navigate the world, maximize fun, etc. for DSs, age 4 and 7? Already have ADRs, but are really flexible and would appreciate any tips!

 

[LaurenT]

Rope Drop, Rope Drop and then, of course Rope Drop. It will be the only way to get things done. Get to rope drop, get a FP, get on 2 rides, get another FP....it's good that you have ADR's..it would be unlikely that you'd get to have a sit down meal otherwise!!
If you have any interest in Pixie Hollow and the rest pof the toontown Meet and Greets, be at the toontown rope no later than 9:30 - maybe a little earlier since it is peak time..if you have a stroller for the 4 year old, park it somewhere outside of toontown so you won't have to waste time dealing with it. A good idea would be to bring a bagged breakfast and enjoy it while waiting at the toontown rope.

 

[liamkelly]

Rope Drop, Rope Drop and then, of course Rope Drop. It will be the only way to get things done. Get to rope drop, get a FP, get on 2 rides, get another FP....it's good that you have ADR's..it would be unlikely that you'd get to have a sit down meal otherwise!!
If you have any interest in Pixie Hollow and the rest pof the toontown Meet and Greets, be at the toontown rope no later than 9:30 - maybe a little earlier since it is peak time..if you have a stroller for the 4 year old, park it somewhere outside of toontown so you won't have to waste time dealing with it. A good idea would be to bring a bagged breakfast and enjoy it while waiting at the toontown rope.

whats a rope drop ? is that the minute it opens ?

 

[Just Giddy]

...We always go at spring break- The trick is to plan to leave the park when it gets crowded, and to pace your self. Here's how we do it:
Eat a light breakfast in your room ( fruit, juice , pop tart etc)
Go to the early open park and be there at opening.
Make a PS for a late breakfast- (10:30 ). Ride as much as you can until then. This will act as a brunch.
After you eat, the park will be filling up, ride anything that has a wait of less than 20 minutes. At noon, the lines will shorten as people stop to eat lunch.
Leave the park around 2pm. Return to hotel for a late lunch, a swin, a nap ( you'll need it- you were up at the butt crack of dawn to get to early opening !!
Head back to a different park in the afternoon. ( the early opening park will be really croweded. )

 

[Eeyore's Wife]

"Rope Drop" is the opening of the park.

I suggest hitting a park that the day previous had Early Extra Magic Hours. You get to sleep an hour later and the other "early birds" are mostly lured to the park with Extra Magic Hours, leaving your park of choice a bit less crowded.

Be there early! Collect Fastpasses in the morning when return times, and hence the next collection time, are soon. DO NOT USE THEM in the morning. Ride the rides without fast pass in the morning.

Head to a late breakfast or early lunch ADR and then head back to the hotel around noon. Swim, relax, take a nap, have a shower (that you might have skipped because you wanted to sleep as much as possible before heading to the park that morning).

Head back to the same park you hit that morning. Use up all those fast passes you collected that morning hitting the big attractions one after the other and then enjoy the evening event, such as Wishes, Fantasmic, or Illuminations of Earth.

Head back to the hotel and try to get a good night's sleep.

The first part of the week will have smaller crowds, according to the site I just checked, so try to get in as many of the "must do" experiences during this relatively less crowded time.

During those really crowded last days, you might have ADRs for resort dining and then explore the resorts and what they have to offer. So, Hoop Dee Doo and all the fun of exploring Fort Wilderness, Kona Cafe and then watching the fireworks from the beach of the Poly or eating at the Wave and then watching the water parade from the observation deck of the Contemporary.

I find the evenings just too crowded with small kids when the park reaches high capacity. I perfer to plan a few things that are still very Disney but not in the UBER crowded parks.


If your kids want to meet characters book character dining so you don't have to stand in mile long lines in blazing heat to meet their favorite character.

Have a great trip. Just make sure to be there EARLY! Make ADRs and have alternative plans for times when the parks get freaky crowded.

 

[Smokeyspawn]

Just understanding that it will be a different experience is important. The crowds can be maddening but they can be fun too. I've done Spring Break 4 out of the past 5 years and each trip was wonderful. We did rope drop every morning except one in the middle of the week. We slept in, went to the pool, went to DTD and then in the evening went for a "kiss goodnite" at one of the parks. The group is usually large enough that we have a FP runner, so we have someone getting FPs while we stood in line. We had at least 1 ADR each day and did at least 1 character meal to avoid the lines for autographs....ONE LAST THOUGHT: realize that everyone there is on vacation too. Some will drive you crazy. Some will make you mad. Do your best to help make their experience as Disney as possible. I promise it will make your experience that much better in return.

 

[kristenbrandt]

REALLY appreciate the advice - we are type-A planners and these posts pretty much confirm what i thought - plan, plan, and have a backup plan.

Unfortunately we feel tied to two character breakfast ADRs, which totally contradicts everything TGM says about dining, as well as missing rope drop, and his advice for which parks/which days. We made them 1/1/10, so there's nothing left that "fits" the ideal touring plan for our week at this point, but i can't cancel b/c this is how our kids get to "do" characters (visit/pics/autographs). We've never waited in line at the parks, except for once last year - TS guys across from TSM.

I guess we'll have to assess the situation when we get there and see what it's really like with crowds. We might all feel like sacrificing the characters for a rope drop and more ride time. I don't think the kids will care too much one way or another, but they've been working on the same autograph books for three trips and visiting characters two or three times at meals takes care of that. DH is nostalgic about the breakfasts ("we always do them, they're so great"), so he's probably the biggest con to scrapping them.

Possibly i have too much info? Not sure if i've taken the neuroses to new heights or if i've armed myself with valuable intel that will benefit us in the end.

again, thanks for the posts.

 

[Eeyore's Wife]

Keep checking to see if any ADRs open up for character meals that are either Late Breakfasts, Breakfasts before the park opens, or Lunch/Dinner.

You can do rope drop and have a character breakfast if you either have breakfast before the park opens, or the best option in my opinion, have a late breakfast that will seem like a brunch.

You could eat that late breakfast outside the parks. Keep looking at O'hana, Chef Mickey, and 1900 Park Fare. They are all just a monorail ride away from the Magic Kingdom. Cape May is just a boat ride away from Epcot or DHS. In addition, look at Garden Grill, Hollywood and Vine, and Garden Grove at the Swan.

While most of them are booked, there are regularly cancellations. Keep trying for a slot if that is really important for your family, but put forth your best effort to be at rope drop. I cannot stress how important that is any time but especially during the busy times of year.

I hope you have a great trip.

 

[kristenbrandt]

Thanks for the info and good wishes! Have been checking on switching ADRs, but nothing available yet. Cancellations will probably happen once we're there with everyone else in america, so i'll keep trying.

Quick questions - what to do first day? arr. MCO at 9, probably at resort by 11, so even green-rated parks will be filling up upon our arrival 3/27. had originally planned to jet to MK, since we're at poly, but don't see the point w/ predicted crowds. DSs are 4, 7 - why we stay on monorail, close to MK. Also, any experiences for/against Pirates & Pals Wishes Cruise as well as Pirate Adventure?

Regardless of DSs fever (ugh) and predicted crowds, we are getting excited for our return to disney next weekend, with touring plans in hand.