Those there in 3 week of March (12-19) How was it?

[Matty_Disfan]

We are headed there for this week next year. We have usually gone end of April and so this is our first experience with Spring Break Crowds.

Don't try to talk me out of it, this is the week we have to go.

So let me know what you saw:

-Ride lines?
-RD crowds
-What worked?
-General 'vibe' of the parks
-weather?
-Did you need to bail because of the crowds?
-FP+ availability (offsite - 30 days out)
- lesser attractions with long lines?
-Ebb and flow of the day?

We plan on hitting rope drop most days, and leaving at 1pm heading back after supper. Kids will be 4,9 and 11.

 

[HM2012Butler]

It depends on how Easter falls. that might be far enough out to avoid some crowds but March can be pretty hectic. you really did have it pretty nice coming at the end of April.

 

[asbyrneva]

Easter is very late next year April 16th. I'm guessing you'll still have some crowds but not like this year when Easter was a full 3 weeks earlier and much closer to the week you are planning.

 

[Minniemoo15]

We were there 14-21. This is a week later than we usually go, and very close to Easter, so it was a bit more crowded that I was used to.

That being said, everything was completely doable. We booked a pre park BOG breakfast which forced my family to be at MK for rope drop (we usually sleep in) and we got everything done that we wanted to. I highly recommend the bOg breakfast. The park was very quiet for the first two hours which is when we got the most done.

Overall the only line we got caught waiting in was Enchanted Tales when the posted wait time said 20 mins but it was really more like 40. Other than that we didn't wait more than 10 mins top in anything all day... with a decent touring plan and FP+ a lot can be accomplished. Epcot was also very doable.

Weather was great. We got every FP+ we wanted at 30 days out, at the time we wanted, including SDMT and A&E (though we got lucky with a cancelation for A&E).


Honestly, the most crowded place was Disney Springs. It was wall to wall crowds and slightly more than frustrating to try to navigate.

 

[Matty_Disfan]

Wow on the Disney Springs. My SIL wants to go there and see it, but I am a little 'meh' about it. I think we will go, but I want to do the balloon ride, and maybe get a silly hat and then bust out. Don;t want hours of shopping.

The crowds seem manageable.

Your responses were really helpful and made me a lot less concerned with this trip timing.

Anyone else?

 

[richmo]

I was there March 9-15, which spanned parts of two calendar weeks. Both were college spring break weeks. Interestingly, going by t-shirts, I thought there were more northeastern schools represented the first week and more midwestern the second. The parks were busy, but manageable as long as you set up FP+'s ahead of time. I was also able to get a decent 4th and 5th at MK (I think both were BTMRR, one late afternoon, one evening).

Can't really comment on rope drop crowds. I usually don't make an effort to make rope drop, but one day at MK I arrived just as they were starting to let people in at MK. The crowd didn't seem excessive and it was not before the scheduled park opening (I know sometimes they let people in 15 min or so ahead).

The weather was good. Highs each day were between 84 and 87 and it stayed in the low 70's at night. Never needed my sweatshirt. Of the 7 days I was in the park, it drizzled once for a minute or two. Never needed the rainjacket either. I have been there similar dates in the past and the weather has been quite different. This year (and last year) it has been much warmer than normal when I was there. If you go around then, make sure you bring something a little warm, especially at night and raingear/poncho. (One day there was an 80% chance of rain and it didn't happen)

I was also offsite, so under the 30 day FP+ rules. I had no problems with the headliners I wanted (7DMT, TSM, Safari, TT).

The parks were busy, no doubt, but it didn't feel overwhelming to me. Of course Fantasyland was a slow spot, but I didn't feel crushed by people anywhere else. I was even surprised that I was able to stay thru Wishes near the hub and waited for only one monorail back to the TTC. I think I was back in my car by 10:30.

 

[bwang123]

We are going the same week next year. The last time we went this week was in 2011 and 2012. While more crowded than the other times we go, the additional crowds were very manageable and the weather was perfect.

 

[Matty_Disfan]

Awesome, thanks for so much detail!

 

[Nebraska_Disney]

I was there March 7- March 16, 2016. I will say that the crowds were way lower the week of March 7th up to March 12. We did rope drop at most parks during that time and along with our FP+ options, we got to do almost everything during that time. Weather was great, breezy and cooler with High Temps in the mid 70's and no humidity and no rain. Saw a lot of Ohio, Michigan, and Texas families. By the 12th, you could see/sense the next influx of Spring Break crowds. Crowds went up significantly and wait times did too. We only hit about 2 rope drops between the 12th and 15th, which was our last park day. We also had Daylight Savings time on the 13th, so we closed MK down on the 12th and slept in on the 13th, spending the rest of the day at Epcot. The busiest I have ever seen Disney on any of my 10 trips was on March 14-15. By noon, wait times at MK were 120+ for Space, Splash, BTMM, and 7 dwarfs. Crowds were insane, think wall to wall people. We were glad we had done all of what we wanted prior to this time and cut out of the parks for pool time. The temperatures went up on the 13th to the lower 80's and the humidity came back with them Only saw a few sprinkles of rain 1 day during our 10 days in Orlando. We were onsite and had no issues with any FP+ reservations, but were 60 days prior for our window.

 

[Gophers]

We were there March 12th through the 20th. We did Universal on the 12th and 13th with Disney Springs thrown in on March 12th. Parks were fine and no issues with getting to ride what we wanted. Will agree on Disney Springs on the weekend....it was wall to wall people. Went back on a Thursday night and it was much more enjoyable.

• Ride lines -after lunch time the lines were over an hour for the major rides and some as long as 90 minutes.
• RD crowds- were not to bad. At Universal new Harry Potter section was crazy packed. Hard to even walk through shops.
• What worked? FP+ was great. Character meet and greets (Tusker House, Cinderella's Castle) were very good. Tried the Hoop Dee Doo show at Fort Wilderness. Was Fantastic. Well worth the money. Star Wars meet and greet was great.
• General 'vibe' of the parks. Magical. Crowded during 12pm-6pm
• weather? Monday Tuesday hit 90 and that was unexpected. They said it's normally around the low 80's. Did rain on our last day but not bad enough to ruin the day.
• Did you need to bail because of the crowds? No issues at Disney
• FP+ availability (offsite - 30 days out) lesser attractions with long lines? FP+ we were able to get a 4th and 5th but not to the major rides at MK.
• Ebb and flow of the day? Just depends on how much time you want to spend each day. Some of us (we had 14 in the group) went back to resort the last 3 days and then returned around 6pm. It seems better for me to get that rest.
  

 

[soniam]

We were there that time frame in 2015 and 2016. This year might have seemed a little bit busier. I didn't really think about it until I went and looked at the Touring Plans crowd calendar for the two time periods. Disney Springs definitely seemed more crowded this year than last. Can't attest to FP+ 30 days out, since we did most at 60 days. I think it was busier, because it was the week before the week of Good Friday, so closer to Easter. It's still going to be a busy time, 6-9 crowd levels, but I would go again at that time. The weather is really nice, and the Flower & Garden exhibits and booths at Epcot are awesome. Universal didn't seem worse to me, but I haven't checked the crowd calendars between the two.

 

[Matty_Disfan]

Wow, thanks guys. Very specific and helpful answers.

 

[richmo]

...Disney Springs definitely seemed more crowded this year than last. ...

I'd agree with that, but the good news is if you're driving, the traffic around the Disney Springs area is much, much better than it was last year with the new approaches and exits to/from DS. Its still busy at night, but the daytime traffic gridlock is gone.

 

[suse66]

We were there March 12-19 and had no issues at all. We didn't do rope drop but utilized our fast passes well and did a lot of the classic attractions that weren't as crowded. The weather was amazing (78-84 and sunny every day). We were onsite at the Yacht Club which we really enjoyed. I think you'll be fine. It's a great time to go!

 

[soniam]

I'd agree with that, but the good news is if you're driving, the traffic around the Disney Springs area is much, much better than it was last year with the new approaches and exits to/from DS. Its still busy at night, but the daytime traffic gridlock is gone.

We did drive to Disney Springs twice, and it wasn't bad at all. We drove from Contemporary on Monday night, 3/14, and again from Polynesian on Wednesday night, 3/16. The parking garage is really nice.

 

[mkla2015]

We were there March 9- 21. Crowds were fairly low until the 12th. On the 12th, many spring breakers arrived- according to crowd calendars I've looked at most days after the 12th were level 9-10 in all parks.

• Ride lines - were very high from around 12pm- 5pm... before and after the wait times weren't bad

• RD crowds- we had 2 prepark openings (BBB, CP) and the crowds lined up were not bad... we aren't rope droppers though...

• What worked?Our normal touring plan is arrive to parks at 9am, FP 11,1,2, Back to the resort for swimming and naps 230-6pm, back out to the parks at night. This worked great for us.. always has so we'll stick to it.

• General 'vibe' of the parks. Everyone seemed happy, people were pleasant, CM's were great.

• weather? Hot during the day- I think they had a heat wave because temps were higher than normal. Nights and mornings were nice

• Did you need to bail because of the crowds? We left during afternoons when it was most crowded

• FP+ availability (offsite - 30 days out) lesser attractions with long lines? We stayed onsite... we did get 4th and 5th FP and were able to change our FP around with no issues- just the major attractions were booked

 

[bksomody]

Just returned, went from 3/23-3/30. Spent 2 days at Universal which seemed much more relaxed then wdw. Rained &/or thunder stormed everyday & even hailed one day. I actually preferred the rain because the crowds weren't as bad. I'm a teacher so we only travel during holidays & this was the most crowded I've ever seen it. We've been new years week, presidents & MLK Weekend which was busy but not as busy as this week. MK on 3/29 was wall to wall people by 11:00. Even the FP lines were long. By about 1:00 I was done, couldn't navigate through the parks or see the walkways. I went last year during 3/16-3/19. Although it wasn't Easter Week the crowds were about half of what I saw this year. Easter being early this year did have an impact. You had all your March spring breakers plus Easter week spring breakers in a shorter time frame.