Spring Break Visit

[LauraR]

You know I don't think it's a put-down of WDW to say it was too crowded to have fun. Sometimes dodging other people and waiting in line will wear you down. My family just went to WDW last week, but we only spent one day at Epcot, and two days at Typhoon Lagoon. I was afraid to even try the MK, AK or MGM. But when we went to Epcot and Typhoon Lagoon we were there before opening to maximize our options on things to do. By afternoon we headed out. It made me wonder how anybody ever park hops during the busiest holidays. The fastpasses are all gone by afternoon, so you're just stuck with long lines. Two of our other days we went to Seaworld, because I'd heard they handle crowds better than WDW. When we went at opening we saw and did alot, but when we went in the afternoon all the shows were full by the time we got to them and getting through the crowds was exhausting. Unless it's the off-season, I think we'll stick with early morning touring, and afternoons at the pool.

 

[Belle1962]

Having 'tracked" Spring Break for several years (I plan the family get togethers) this was the first year in OVER FIVE YEARS that all the kids in the family had the same spring break week (MD, GA, MN, SC, & VA). Usually some have break the week before Easter, some have it the week after and some have it not even around Easter. (We had a huge family get together here this year). I think this was just one of those odd years when MOST schools picked the week before Easter and hence more people were on break.

 

[beattyfamily]

Originally posted by Kate-n-sam
Or maybe they are just trying to stir up some trouble

I'm sorry but complaining that Easter week was just too crowded and un-enjoyable is NOT "just trying to stir up some trouble" IMHO.

There's nothing wrong with this post. Disney is not always perfect or a perfect experience. I welcome comments on Spring Break vacations so I can plan accordingly.

 

[spunkystuff18]

I'm sorry if anyone thinks I was just "trying to stir up trouble" I was just stating my opinion on what it was like to be there week before Easter. I love the World as much as you all do but I just would never go back during any holiday. Yes, we did get to each park at opening and yes we did use fast pass when they were still available. And, I have been reading this board and others since January trying to find out everything I can to make our trip better.

 

[gingermommy94]

Just wanted to say that I'm sorry your trip was disappointing. Maybe just chalk it up to a learning experience and try to focus on the fun you had there. I KNOW you had some fun..even just a little bit

 

[rigman64]

We too just got back stayed April 2-11. I talked to several cast members and they said Easter was far worse than Christmas, every resort on property was filld to capacity. We took the advice of one CM & skipped EMH. We went to another park & it worked well. We only used FP 3 times & gave them away twice because the standby line was 5-15 minutes. If you got there at opening & got out by 11-11:30 it was not a problem! The crowds were huge and people were mean!!! Two of my party were cussed out by others we did not share the Disney Magic. To them I say stay home or go to Universal, we don't need your kind!!! Also, we skipped the resort transportation & drove, they saved lots of time. Our best experience was at MK on Tuesday AM, we immediately went to the train at the entrance & went to SM & BTMRR. We rode both rides several times without waiting!!! At MGM on Saturday, it did not go as well because Rockin' Roller Coaster was shut down & consequently everyone headed to Tower of Terror, even with that I think we waited maybe 10 minutes. Also, I have gone to WDW in June & July, & feel that those times are just as busy in the parks, if not busier. Disny does such an awesome job getting people through the rides, I was impressed. The resorts on the other hand, were packed!!! There was no parking, people were parking every were. I would probably avoid going during a holiday if it is your first time.

 

[tinkerbell60]

We were at WDW from April 2-8, the first 2 days were busy but not unreasonable, MK and Epcot. Sunday we did EMH at MK and got on most everything in Tomorrowland and Fantastyland but left at 11:00am after breakfast at the Crystal Palace because the crowds were huge by then. EMH is great if you can be an early riser, but I wouldn't schedule a character breakfast for an EMH morning again - I felt like we could have gotten more done if we hadn't rushed off to breakfast. Monday at AK was really rough - we didn't end up with a great opinion o f AK and I think the crowds contributed to that, I'd like to go back on a more reasonable day.
With the exception of MGM which we just couldn't hit right - we did see most everything we wanted to, and have things to look forward to next trip. My only complaint now is I have Disney withdrawal really bad!! I can't wait to go back and DH wants to go somewhere different next vacation.

 

[Chim Chiminy]

We just got back from our trip 4/3 to 4/10.
Even with the crowds we had a great time. Weather was nice.
Our longest wait time was 25 for It's Tough to Be a Bug.
Our most crowded park by far was AK on 4/5. I will never ever do EE again. We usually avoid those parks with EE, but I thought we could get a lot done at AK by going.
Well, apparently the whole of WDW resort had the same idea that day! They closed the gates due to capacity around noon and didn't re-open them until 2 or 3. Of course, we found that out when we were leaving that afternoon.

We had to bypass certain attractions, but we also saw a lot of attractions we had previously missed.

On 4/6 (Tues.) we arrived at MK at 8:20 and were able to do all of Fantasyland and most of Tomorrowland before we left for an afternoon break.
When we returned we did plenty of rides including Splash and BTMRR before park closing.

4/4 we went to Epcot around 3pm. We rode MS with a 15 min. wait. Did several other attractions, ate dinner, then rode Test Track twice with 10 min. waits before park closing.

Was it busy? Yes. Crowded? Yes. Plenty of people walking around with no plan looking lost???Yes!

We learned a few things, we did a lot of things right. I will use the Unofficial Guide plans again in June. I really believe those plans helped us on our Tues. at MK.

We made use of Fastpass, but only when it made sense.
We saw an awful lot of people getting Fastpasses for rides, just because it was a Fastpass. Example---standby line would be 20 min, but people were grabbing FP's saying "It will save us time, we don't have to wait in line." That made no sense to us, because you still have to walk back to whatever attraction to use the Fastpass. And in almost all instances, the return times were hours away. And there were the FP people crowding up the return line, lining up 15-20 min. early.
Maybe Disney needs to explain Fastpass a little more in detail on the guide maps?

All in all, I wouldn't cross Easter week off my travel list.

 

[disneyjunkie]

Originally posted by Chim Chiminy

We made use of Fastpass, but only when it made sense.
We saw an awful lot of people getting Fastpasses for rides, just because it was a Fastpass. Example---standby line would be 20 min, but people were grabbing FP's saying "It will save us time, we don't have to wait in line." That made no sense to us, because you still have to walk back to whatever attraction to use the Fastpass. And in almost all instances, the return times were hours away. And there were the FP people crowding up the return line, lining up 15-20 min. early.
Maybe Disney needs to explain Fastpass a little more in detail on the guide maps?

All in all, I wouldn't cross Easter week off my travel list.

We used FP a lot. Many times the standby line would be short, but we still got a FP. After getting the FP we'd jump in the standby line and hold on to the FP for later. This way we were able to do the ride several times without waiting in line each time.

We were there April 2-11. It was very crowded, but we had a blast. Taking my son out of school for a trip to Disney isn't an option so we have to go during school break.

As long as we had a plan and were willing to get up early, we were fine.

Right now I'm working on a Christmas trip. We'll be there for Christmas and New Years. After dealing with the Easter crowds, I feel like we can handle anything.

 

[Chim Chiminy]

disneyjunkie

we too have used the grab a fastpass, then get in line technique.

But literally the people we were seeing were just grabbing the FPs because they thought 20 min. was a long line.

We just heard so many comments from people that made no sense to us, but we figured this must be first timers.

And we saw a lot of people getting in line for things that they had no idea what it was. I was asked about attractions many times by people, after they had just spent ten minutes or so in line. The people would decide that the attraction wasn't for them, and they would get out of line even if we were close to the boarding area.

My favorite was getting my daughter's hair cut. We waited an hour, but also managed to see the parade during that wait time. Just as my daughter made it into the chair, a family walked in. They were told there was only one person before them and the wait would be about 30 minutes.
They started to leave and we were all telling them no, don't go. That is actually a short wait time!
After a few minutes of discussion, they finally decided to stay.
Waits of an hour or more are not unusual at the Barber Shop. Maura was the only one in there cutting hair, and she was telling all of us how lucky we were with our wait times.

 

[DisKim]

Is there something wrong with me that even with all this talk of crowds and closing parks, I wish I was there. I've been to WDW twice during Easter and had a great time b/c I planned. My DM and DH made fun of me b/c I was so strict with my plans, but when we were heading out every day at noon and watching the crowds grow, they thanked me profusely. I have no choice but to go at busy times b/c we are both teachers and we have one DD who is school age. I just look at the crowds as a challenge. Ironically, I hate being in crowds, but the crowds at Disney never bother me b/c I love being there. Anyway, thanks for all the reports. We didn't make it down for Easter this year, but we're going next year. I hope you all had a great time.

 

[vettechick99]

Originally posted by spunkystuff18
We also just returned. We were there from 4/5 to 4/8. This was our first trip and the crowds were horrible. It was a 2 hour wait on Monday to ride Spash Mountain, with no fast passes left. Never again will we go during any holiday, that is if we ever go again at all. I knew it would be crowded, but I figured we would be okay with fast passes and the parks open later and all, but when it gets to the point when you cant even tell where the lines for attractions end or begin then it becomes no fun. By Thursday we were at MGM and we were only there a few hours and just couldnt stand the crowds any longer. What a wasted day at the park. JMHO

DONT GIVE UP ON DISNEY YET!! My first trips were always during holidays (SB, Xmas, July 4th), but now that I can arrange it differently, I only go in the off season! Give it one more try when its slow...you won't even recognize WDW as the same place!