Tell me about Easter

[Cynister]

We've never gone at this time before. We've mostly gone in May. Please tell me what you enjoy about going for Easter. What's the weather like? What are must-do things? What special events do you enjoy?

 

[ArwenMarie]

We went the week after Easter last year.
The weather was perfect but the crowds were very very high.
We didn't spend much time in the parks.

 

[alliecat523]

We went the week leading up to Easter this year. Crowds were there but nothing unmanageable. We did the Easter egg hunt which was a blast. We enjoy F&G which is usually on during this time too.

Weather varies. This year was hot but not sweltering (I can't handle the heat physically).

 

[Robo]

Each year can be different, crowd-wise.
It all depends on Easter's timing in relation to many schools' Spring Break.

If they overlap, WDW parks will be
Busy
Busy
Busy
Busy
Busy
Busy
Busy
Busy
Busy
Busy
Busy
Busy...

 

[hakepb]

A co-worker just pointed out that a roaming Star Wars Celebration / convention will be in Orlando the week before Easter
http://www.starwarscelebration.com/Orlando/Home/

 

[chocolateavocado]

Following along, as we *may* be planning a trip for Easter. We have to work around ds's school schedule, which leaves- Thanksgiving, Christmas & Easter. We don't get any other breaks that are more than 1/2 day + 1 full day off. We did Thanksgiving last year & loved it! Wish we could go again this Thanksgiving, but since we can't- our choice is Easter 2017 or wait until Thanksgiving 2017.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Weather at WDW can always be variable, but March/April is usually very nice, and tends towards being dry (rain-free). It depends what the jet stream does. Also, where weather is concerned, major blizzards across the lower 48 can happen well into April. Big storms up north can = cancelled FL flights. WDW's pools are heated, but spring can be wonderful, or it can be iffy for swimming.

With the weather comes beautiful flowers all over WDW, especially Epcot. If you come from a cold place, the sun and green leaves are wonderful in themselves.

The biggest downside, these days, IMO of Easter visits to WDW, is the sky-high pricing. Onsite Easter hotel rates have been jacked sky high! WDW also quietly jacks up the prices on food! AND no discounts.

The parks get busy, but you get more peripheral hours. If you can take advantage of them (Before 9am, and after midnight!) you'll get to do more. If, on the other hand, you rigidly need to stick to a strict schedule (9am-5pm park time, lunch ONLY at noon) then Easter might not be for you.

Last, you asked about special events. Our best new way to visit WDW during holiday weeks is to move around. We spend a few days at WDW/Universal, and the rest some place else. Just getting off theme park property (in the MCO area) saves a bunch.

Our new trips cost (FAR) less, we eat better food, and other places are less crowded. We get a little theme park fix, then relax and enjoy the fine weather.

 

[DizDaD7]

Following along, as we *may* be planning a trip for Easter. We have to work around ds's school schedule, which leaves- Thanksgiving, Christmas & Easter. We don't get any other breaks that are more than 1/2 day + 1 full day off. We did Thanksgiving last year & loved it! Wish we could go again this Thanksgiving, but since we can't- our choice is Easter 2017 or wait until Thanksgiving 2017.

wHAT aBOUT bOTH?

 

[chocolateavocado]

wHAT aBOUT bOTH?

I like the way you think!! I would LOVE to be able to do both (and am kinda secretly hoping that would be possible!) If it wasn't so expensive (but certainly worth every penny imo), I would definitely do both times! If I can only do 1 time, I don't know which we'll choose- Loved Thanksgiving (esp MVMCP) but Easter is less of a wait, lol

 

[DizDaD7]

I like the way you think!! I would LOVE to be able to do both (and am kinda secretly hoping that would be possible!) If it wasn't so expensive (but certainly worth every penny imo), I would definitely do both times! If I can only do 1 time, I don't know which we'll choose- Loved Thanksgiving (esp MVMCP) but Easter is less of a wait, lol

Hmm tough one...Weather and such and Holiday decorations at Thanksgiving, vs. the MAD rush around Easter & F&G Festival...

Good luck in whichever you choose. Here's to Hopefully going both times though.

 

[Cynister]

A co-worker just pointed out that a roaming Star Wars Celebration / convention will be in Orlando the week before Easter
http://www.starwarscelebration.com/Orlando/Home/

Shhh! This was supposed to be a short weekend trip! Now my husband will be scheming to make it longer. Generally I would be ok with longer vacations but we're already going for longer later in the year.

 

[hammie59]

I actually like going at Easter. I enjoy the theming, the little events, and the excitement of going to Disney right after a long cold winter. Yes it's very busy, but manageable if you plan it right. Obviously, the actual week of Easter is usually the busiest. We did MK on Easter Day once (1998???) and it was crazy town, however that was in the days before fast-passes I believe. In 2014 we went the week after Easter and it was fine. Not May crowds, but not insane either. That was the trip we went to the beach for Easter week, then Disney the following one. Most schools were back in session by then so that probably helped a lot with the crowd levels (we pulled our kids out for 5 days). We went at the end of June last year, and to us, the crowds were very similar to our 2014 trip.

 

[DVCcurious]

Easter 2017 is extremely late. Crowds should be more like an 8 than a typical 10. I would bet June 15- July 10 will see higher crowds than Easter week 2017.

 

[mjkacmom]

Schools in our area have spring break the 2nd or 3rd week in April. This is the first time in several years that it backs up to Easter week.

 

[tlmadden73]

I was debating trying the Star Wars 5k and go to WDW around that date (April 22, 2017) next year but realized:

1) The Star Wars race is a week after Easter.
2) A lot of schools will have Spring Break that week .. (April 16- 22)
3) ..and there is a Star Wars Celebration IN Orlando Easter Weekend. (April 13-16)

Add in all the crowds for those three things and it sounds like the perfect storm for nice weather, but super high crowds on Easter weekend and the week afterward.

 

[drusba]

Easter is April 16 next year. The two Easter weeks are typically the second and third most crowded weeks of the year behind Christmas. The most crowded time is when Easter is in late March or early April since you get a double whammy because, besides that there are many schools that traditonally have the week before or of Easter as their break, there is also a very large contingent that always has late March or beginning of April as the set break time. When Easter is late March or early April, you can get a real risk of park closures at MK due to overcrowding.

The problem with next year is that there are events other than Easter that could add to the already large crowd. That Star Wars convention mentioned above is one. The other is that Disney has scheduled the Star Wars Dark Side weekend with a half marathon for April 21-23 and that could result in larger crowds Easter week. Also just because Easter is late, does not mean the crowd size is going to be less than summer time as mentioned above. I have been both times and Easter, no matter when it occurs, always has crowds larger than any time in summer.

As you will see from comments of others, crowd size is at least partly a matter of personal perception and tolerance. Some will say the crowds are heavy but manageable, others that they are impossible. Having been Easter time a dozen times and also having been almost every other time of the year, I can give you some comparisons. You say you have mostly gone in May. To me May crowds are heavy but manageable. As far as crowd size goes, you should expect the Easter crowd to be about three times the size of crowds that you have seen in May. A noticeable difference will be street crowds, particularly at MK which can get so thick that it can take 40 minutes or more just to walk from one side of the park to the other (in May, you can do that trip in 15 to 20 minutes). Enter MK about 11:30 and get to the bottom of Main Street and look toward the castle and what you will see is not a street, not a sidewalk, but instead a mass of bobbing heads all right next to each other.

Fastpass is critical and you should not go expeecting to do a huge number of things without fastpasses. If you go at park opening, you have some chance to do a couple things without fastpasses before the corwds become huge. The standby lines for popular rides get very long by 11 and stay long through evening. Soarin and Test Track can get to 3 hours. Spalsh Mountain and the roller coasters at MK, and Toy Story and Rockin Rollercoaster at Studios, can get to 2 1/2 hours. Even something as innocuous as Swiss Family Treehouse can get to an hour. A time of day when lines may reduce to 30 minutes or less for some rides is during a parade and thus you might attempt something while the parade is going on. Since parks remain open late, such as MK to midnight or even 1, you can also sometimes find shorter lines during the last hour the park is open. Ideal parade watching spots, including curbside, start to fill 90 minutes to two hours before the parade begins. Be aware that morning times can be tricky since magic hours can disappear simply because they may open the parks to everyone early.

You should make any dinner reservations in park restaurants as far out as you can. True story: we were once at Cyrstal Palace on the Thursday before Easter at about 6 in the evening with a reservation and the people in line in front of us asked "Is there any dinner time available that we can get?" The CM looked at the computer for quite a while, saying nothing, and finally gave the answer: "I can give you next Tuesday at 8:30." In other words, without reservations made well in advance don't expect to eat at any popular buffet or table service restaurants. Moreover at key times for lunch between about 11 and 2:30, the lines at the counter service restaurants can get to 40 minutes or more and seating can be very difficult.

As to great Easter events, there really are not any. Disney treats Easter far more subdued than Christmas. You get some decorations and some addition to the parade, and the resorts on Easter Sunday typically have a type of Easter egg hunt, some crafts, and a visit from the bunny, and sometimes a Mr. and Mrs. bunny. Some of the restaurants at the resorts have an Easter brunch. Otherwise, what you mostly get is higher prices on food and drink. Note, that Easter Sunday is an extremely crowded day at MK mainly because many go there believing something special happens on Easter Sunday that you cannot see other days of the week. That is untrue and it is not worth the hassle going there on Easter Sunday, but also be aware that the day after Easter is often as bad at MK as Easter and there are no light days during the two weeks. Epcot and Animal Kingdom often have their lightest park days on Saturday and Easter Sunday, although "light" is a misnomer because it just means the very large crowds will not be quite as large those days.

Weather is usually ideal. You get some thunderstorms but very often at that time of year those happen overnight rather than during the day. One thing that keeps the parks staying a little short of being as bad as they are at Christmas is that waterparks are open during Easter and weather makes them usable, thus taking away some of the crowds that would otherwise be going to the parks. However, the waterparks can fill to capacity by 11 or 11:30), although they will usually open up again a few hours later.

 

[Cynister]

This is great info, everyone. Thank you!