Stuck on dates...

[leebee]

We've done both. August, hands down. Easter was the worst trip we've ever taken.

 

[StarGirl11]

I'm not a summer person in general due to sensitivity to heat. But between April and August I would pick August. Sure August is hot but I sure the heck woudn't want to do the crowds in April. I've done that at DL. Swore I would never do that again. Six years on still haven't.

 

[saraheliz]

We are trying to make the same choice for 2021 so I feel your pain! Luckily Easter is a bit earlier in 2021(we're in NE so April vacation is always the third week of April regardless of Easter) so I'm hoping that would help a smidge with April...I'd lean towards August but we have two family members who are terrible in heat so that's not good for us. In your case, though, I'd go with August since your April choice involves Easter. We actually decided not to go in 2020 in part because our little guy will still be too short for a lot of rides but also because April vacation is closer to Easter with too much overlap.

 

[TinkerPan]

We have been both in April the week after Easter and in August. I am of the school "Never Again in August." The heat was just awful. There is a reason Disney discounts rooms and tickets then.

You have to decide what factors are the most importance to you. But for me I'd go with April despite the crowds. When we went the week after Easter in April a few years ago the weather was delightful. Yes it was crowded but the nice weather made handling crowds so tolerable. Remember too Disney will have all hands on deck, i.e. adequate staffing, both queues sides of attractions open, etc. You also mentioned your mother could come in April. To me this would be a big deciding factor. Many happy memories to be shared with family.

Whatever you decide wish you a happy fun trip.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I'd do the earlier dates. The later dates have a better chance of a hurricane. I've always had hurricanes around labor day and the end of August. By the way, if you get an private messages offering you points to rent, ignore them. There are a lot of scammers out there preying on unsuspecting people.

 

[spacegirl2007]

I wasn't there but watched crowd levels the week of Easter this year (4/21-28) and they seemed like they were not that bad. Easter was a week later this year than it will be next year, so that probably had an impact. I think the last 1/3 of August is still really busy because so many people are trying to wrap up vacations before school starts. It's been busy this year. Of course with a longer trip it matters less, but I think it depends on you and your family too - the heat can really zap your energy. My daughter can't hang for late nights so we can't take advantage of longer hours and cooler(ish) weather in the late evenings. Personally, I'd only go in August if it was adults-only or solo. But heat makes my family grouchier than people.

When does your school get out in the Spring (assuming not year-round)? If you get out by the end of May, that might not be a terrible time to go.

 

[Chickinvic]

August hands down.

 

[MomOTwins]

August. The money you'll save is huge, and just run a search on this site for spring break crowds and you'll see it is another level of crazy. 300+ minutes for 7DMT, 120 minutes for second tier rides like Buzz Lightyear, nothing in the park with under an hour wait. Sheer madness.

 

[Chickinvic]

August. The money you'll save is huge, and just run a search on this site for spring break crowds and you'll see it is another level of crazy. 300+ minutes for 7DMT, 120 minutes for second tier rides like Buzz Lightyear, nothing in the park with under an hour wait. Sheer madness.

That sounds like misery to me. I really don't understand why anyone would want to be there when you can't get much done. Not my idea of a good time. If I want to fight crowds I'll go hang out at Costco on a Saturday.

 

[spacegirl2007]

A lot of it depends on the timing of Easter - a later Easter means crowds are more spread out between mid-March and Easter. April crowds this year were very moderate - March was much busier. Easter was late this year, it's a week earlier next year. The average wait time for SDMT the week following Easter (4/21-4/28) this year was 105 minutes acc'd to TP's historical data, which is pretty typical.

 

[snoopy5386]

I did both this year sorta - our spring break is just Good Friday - Easter Monday, we went, had a flight delay, got home at 1 am, got up and went to work the next day (also a school employee) and we were just there last week. I'd pick April honestly. The heat was hard, the rain unpredictable and while the walking around crowds were lower the drop in wait times wasn't significant.

 

[TCRAIG]

I went one time to WDW during April school break week - it was so crowded at MK we literally could not turn around - NEVER AGAIN! We circled thru the park without riding anything and just went back to the hotel...Christmas was far less crowded -