WDW for Easter Break or End of August?

[Nicolia123]

We are looking to go to WDW with about 15 family members, kids are ages 2 through 9 next year. Our options are to go during Easter Break 2015 (last week of March/first week of April) or the 3rd week in August. I know that one of the pros of April are that it will be much cooler and the pros of August are less crowds and the resorts will be less expensive. However, I am having a hard time deciding if cooler temperatures and paying more are worth going at a much hotter time but with less crowds and cheaper rooms. Any BTDT advice? Thanks so much!

 

[Karbase8]

I went one day Easter Break in 2010 and it was insanity! Even smaller scale rides had close to 2 hour waits. I go the third week in August every year since and it is lower crowds, it does tend to rain more but I still enjoy it. It is very hot during the days, last August we had beautiful evenings. My vote is for August, but you know your family best! Despite the heat and some rain we always end up having a great time

 

[downtownbrown]

I would avoid WDW during easter break, christmas break, and spring break at all costs, the crowds are insane. I've been towards the end of august before and am planning on going again this year and it's not to bad.

 

[DizneyLizzy]

If it were just my husband and I traveling, we would do Easter break because it's easier for two of us to get to the parks by 7 AM (the MK literally opens at 7 AM for EMH that week!) and move around quickly before the masses descend. We would pick higher crowds (and prices) over the August weather.

HOWEVER in your case, with a group that large, I would do August. Not only will it be much cheaper (Easter break prices are insane) but the crowd levels will be much lower. With a big group, it can be hard to mobilize everyone to get to the parks early, so Easter break could be disastrous for you guys.

 

[MrsDuck]

I would do August - cheaper and less crowded.

 

[ucfknight]

If you are truly talking Easter week it is insanely crowded. I would personally brave the heat at the end of August. If you go at the end of August, you can probably go to the parks for 4 hours to start the day, go back to the hotel to swim/relax/get-out-of-the-heat for 4 hours, and then go back to the parks for 4 hours to end the day and you'll get more done than if you stayed at the parks for 16 straight hours right around Easter.

 

[ArwenMarie]

We love the last week of August...not sure how the third week is, I'm sure it's good too.

It really is hot though, hotter than hot. Hotter than the hottest hot. So realize you won't be able to tour all day like you can in cooler weather.

Start out bright and early, rotate in air-conditioned attractions, duck back to the resort for the midday which is brutal, wait out the inevitable daily storm, and then head back out at night. Make sure everyone has a Frogg Togg, they are awesome. And eat lots of ice cream, that helps too

 

[mcd2745]

End of August - hands down. We're doing the week after Easter this year (and did the same last year). While I expect this year to be better than last year since Easter is 3 weeks later, it will still be pretty crowded. We did the last week of August a couple of times (doing DCL that week this year instead) and, while hot of course, was overall a an excellent time to go. Crowds are much lower - little to no waits (including practically walking on to Soarin' on afternoon) - and prices are lower. The biggest downside, for me at least, was not the heat (that can be managed with smart touring), but that they already start cutting back the hours at the parks, so you get some earlier closures and reduced scheduling ofthings like parades and F!, etc.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

I would not go that Easter week if you paid for the trip. With Easter in the middle of Spring Break, the crowds are going to be Christmas like.

 

[mcd2745]

I would not go that Easter week if you paid for the trip. With Easter in the middle of Spring Break, the crowds are going to be Christmas like.

Yeah, last year and next year, Easter was March 31 and April 5, respectively. Right around the peak time for breaks that aren't tied to Easter. So it gets insane - last year sure was with MK capacaity closings every day the week leading into Easter. We went the following week and it was pretty bad - especially early in the week, but got better as the week went on. We're hoping this year is better as the breaks should be more spread out with Easter being 3 weeks later.

 

[TJA]

We go to Disney every Easter, pretty much. We also go to Disney the last week in August (we have annual passes....). From our experience, when Easter falls at the end of March/very early April, the crowds are heavier than when Easter falls in late April (like this year). If your family can deal with crowds, you would be ok. We love it, no matter how crowded, but we go to Disney a lot and don't feel the need to do everything each trip. With the utilization of Fast Pass Plus, you'd get to have some fast passes for your trip, so at least you'd be guaranteed to get on your must-do rides. There are kinks in the system right now since it's all new, but by the time you go hopefully FP+ will be of great benefit.

The end of August.....we pick that time because of the huge difference in cost and it's refreshing to actually have a lower-priced trip. However, we don't enjoy the weather, not because of the heat but more because it rains pretty much every day, even if just a short downfall, but some days it lasts longer than that. We find it to be a nuisance, no matter what we're doing whether it's at the pool or walking thru a park.

I'm the outcast on this, I know, but I'd probably go with Easter time frame. But only if your family can handle the crowds. We much prefer the weather at that time of year, and we don't mind the crowds. Our all-time favorite time to go to Disney used to be in May because the weather was perfect that month, but with the kids in school now, we need to pick school breaks which is what I assume you guys are doing.... If the 4th of July week is an option, that was actually a great time to go. We didn't get a lot of rain last year and there were room discounts for that week too. Good luck!

 

[TwizzleMouse]

August is better. I would never go Easter unless I won a Disney contest or something of that nature.

I have gone in mid-August a few times and while is it is very hot and there is usually a thunderstorm system just about every afternoon for a few hours, it would never stop me from going. The crowds are lower and we always have a nice time.

Best of luck with whatever you choose.

 

[goofyintoronto]

We always go to Disney the 3rd and 4th week of August. Crowds arent bad at all!!!! It will definitely be a better choice than easter break.

 

[Kat913]

We love the last week of August...not sure how the third week is, I'm sure it's good too.

It really is hot though, hotter than hot. Hotter than the hottest hot. So realize you won't be able to tour all day like you can in cooler weather.

Start out bright and early, rotate in air-conditioned attractions, duck back to the resort for the midday which is brutal, wait out the inevitable daily storm, and then head back out at night. Make sure everyone has a Frogg Togg, they are awesome. And eat lots of ice cream, that helps too

Just curious- what's a "Frogg Togg"? Is that some kind of cool poncho?


PS-another vote for aug. Hated the Easter week crowds. We have never been in August though so I can't be sure until I've done it once-going 3d week of august this summer. We have been there the 3d week of Sept. though & it was sizzling hot & POURED every day(no exaggeration. There was a hurricane off the coast causing the rain ) for a week straight & I still perferred it over the 2 times we went at Easter break!

 

[DVCFan1994]

We go to Disney every Easter, pretty much. We also go to Disney the last week in August (we have annual passes....). From our experience, when Easter falls at the end of March/very early April, the crowds are heavier than when Easter falls in late April (like this year). If your family can deal with crowds, you would be ok. We love it, no matter how crowded, but we go to Disney a lot and don't feel the need to do everything each trip. With the utilization of Fast Pass Plus, you'd get to have some fast passes for your trip, so at least you'd be guaranteed to get on your must-do rides. There are kinks in the system right now since it's all new, but by the time you go hopefully FP+ will be of great benefit.

The end of August.....we pick that time because of the huge difference in cost and it's refreshing to actually have a lower-priced trip. However, we don't enjoy the weather, not because of the heat but more because it rains pretty much every day, even if just a short downfall, but some days it lasts longer than that. We find it to be a nuisance, no matter what we're doing whether it's at the pool or walking thru a park.

I'm the outcast on this, I know, but I'd probably go with Easter time frame. But only if your family can handle the crowds. We much prefer the weather at that time of year, and we don't mind the crowds. Our all-time favorite time to go to Disney used to be in May because the weather was perfect that month, but with the kids in school now, we need to pick school breaks which is what I assume you guys are doing.... If the 4th of July week is an option, that was actually a great time to go. We didn't get a lot of rain last year and there were room discounts for that week too. Good luck!

Our school vacation starts the day after Easter this year. We get to Disney on the Monday following Easter. I have been worrying about the crowds, and this makes me feel a bit better. Have you ever been at Christmas/New Years? We used to go (pre kids) every year at that time and the crowds didn't bother us. Then once we had kids we went once (huge family trip) at that time said never again. If you've been, how would late April Easter crowds compare to the last week of December?

 

[*disgal*]

If you would have asked me this before FP+ I would have said hands down Easter. But I don't think I would say that now.

As you can see from my siggie, most of our trips have been either an Easter/Spring break or late August/September. We had a great time with low crowds during our late summer trips. Hated the humidity and once we even had to leave because of a Hurricane. All in all though, we made it thru and had a great time.

Then, one year we decided to do the dreaded Spring break week. lol I had a lot of experience deciding how to tour a Disney park but honestly I was scared. We planned on being at MK the saturday before Easter. Yeah. I know.

But with a plan, we got to do everything we wanted and some things two or three times. We were amazed! Honestly, it was the best trip to Disney we've had to date. I can't even believe I'm saying that. lol But this was with the OLD fp system where you could get as many fp's as you wanted and they looked the other way if you came after the appointed fp time. Ah....those were the days.

The way it stands now, even though we will be going next month again (but most likely the last time for a while) I don't know if I would advise going at that time of year anymore. I mean, if you have a choice not to.

I hope I never see Florida in August or September again.....we really hated the weather, but the lower crowds for the number of people you have....well, even with the heat I think you would have a better advantage at getting to do all that you want.

Happy planning! I would love to go with a big group like that someday. Sounds like a lot of fun.

 

[TJA]

Our school vacation starts the day after Easter this year. We get to Disney on the Monday following Easter. I have been worrying about the crowds, and this makes me feel a bit better. Have you ever been at Christmas/New Years? We used to go (pre kids) every year at that time and the crowds didn't bother us. Then once we had kids we went once (huge family trip) at that time said never again. If you've been, how would late April Easter crowds compare to the last week of December?

Sorry but we have not been to Disney during Christmas/NYear week to compare the crowds. From our experience at Easter, the crowds really do seem to depend on when Easter falls. Last year with Easter falling early (seems like it was March 31?), MK was very crowded by early afternoon every day during Easter week. The trick was to get there in the morning and leave once it hit 1:00ish and the crowds thickened. We did not have any problems at the other 3 parks, but as a general rule we tried to get to the parks in the morning to beat the crowds. This Easter we are happy to have FP's in advance so we don't have to rush to the parks early, plus we don't expect the crowds to be as bad as when Easter is earlier.

 

[flutterby3744]

We went one year on Easter- never again. The crowds were horrendous. I expect crowds at WDW, but these were over the top.

If it were me, id choose August. But then again, heat doesn't bother me.

 

[corinascot]

We've done the week after Easter several times. It is very crowded. We get to the park at rope drop, go back to the resort when the crowds get to us (usually around 1) and go back to the parks in the evening.

We have also done June twice. And I went in July once. I think they end of August will be much less busy

But I love Easter b/c of the weather. We live up north in the cold and we love to get away at Easter. Even when I was in a crowd, I had moments of just enjoying the sun on my face. Glorious! We are going in 2 weeks. The crowds will probably be awful, but I'd still rather go in spring than summer.