WDW in mid-March?

[Clare]

We typically visit WDW in late January or early December. Next year we are planning to take a 3-night cruise, followed by a few days at the parks. Since we want more than just a day or two in the parks, we've decided to go over our school's Spring Break so we don't have to take the kids out as long.

Our cruise is Thursday, March 13 - Sunday, March 16..........then we will tour the parks from Sunday, March 16 - Friday, March 21.

(Easter 2014 isn't until April 20th, if that makes a difference.)

For those of you who have traveled at this time, I'd like to hear your experiences. What kind of crowds should we expect? What is the weather like?

I'm hoping the extended park hours (compared to what we are used to) will help offset the larger crowds (again, compared to what we are used to).

Your thoughts?

 

[slimplaw]

The last time I went during Spring break was in March 2011. It was very busy that year. The line to get a fast pass for Safari in AK stretched past Tusker House and this was in the morning. Previous Spring break trips had not been so busy, but I don't know how busy the last 2 Spring breaks have been. I haven't been back at this time of year because 2011 was so very busy. But, I'm sure I'll go some other time during Spring break since some of my family can only travel at certain times of the year.
The weather was very nice in March. Highs were probably in the mid to upper 80s.

 

[DizneyLizzy]

It'll be busy because it's spring break season, but the weather and extended hours make up for it!

 

[Clare]

Slimplaw, that's exactly what I'm afraid of

DizneyLizzy, that's exactly what I'm hoping for

Anyone else willing to share their experiences or tips for touring in mid-March?

 

[GovieMom]

(Easter 2014 isn't until April 20th, if that makes a difference.)

It really won't make a difference, as mid-March is peak college-break season. We went at that time several years ago, and the parks were jammed. The weather was lovely though; mostly sunny and mild.

 

[madonniac]

We went for Spring Break 2013 and the parks were packed. The closest I can relate to it, being from New Orleans, is Bourbon St. during Mardi Gras. That being said, we utilized out fast passes properly and had a good plan going in so we were able to do mostly everything we wanted with minimal waiting. If you don't sit down and research to get a good strategy, prepare to wait in really long lines and fast passes running out by noon. That will make the difference between another story of a horrible Spring Break experience or a great trip with a little crowd interference.

 

[Clare]

If you don't sit down and research to get a good strategy, prepare to wait in really long lines and fast passes running out by noon.

I'm more than willing to do that. We utilize touringplans.com to plan our park days, so hopefully that will help. A couple other factors that will likely help our perception of the crowds as well.....

1. We usually travel with extended family, but this trip it will just be me, DH and our 3 kids. Those of you who have traveled with larger groups know how much extra time it takes to do ANYTHING, especially because we are constantly splitting up then texting/calling to meet back up. Essentially, we spend a fair amount of time waiting around on each other. That won't be the case this time, which should make us at least a bit more efficient with our time.

2. We are fairly frequent WDW visitors, so there are very few attractions that we MUST do. If a line is too long or the FPs are gone, we'll just move on to something else. In fact, I'm looking forward to trying some things we never make time for because we're always doing the "big" attractions.

Thanks for the input everyone. I appreciate it so much, as it's very important to us to know what to expect. I'm guessing most anyone on these boards knows the feeling or you wouldn't be here

 

[lizabu]

I'm going on the same cruise. We're doing WDW first then the cruise. It's our Spring Break so I'm expecting it to be super busy. You will be doing you WDW days once us Canadians have gone home so maybe it won't be as bad.

You should join our meet thread over on the DCL board.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3065214

 

[Clare]

I'm going on the same cruise. We're doing WDW first then the cruise. It's our Spring Break so I'm expecting it to be super busy. You will be doing you WDW days once us Canadians have gone home so maybe it won't be as bad.

You should join our meet thread over on the DCL board.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3065214

Thanks! I'll do that once our plans are firm! We've already moved this cruise once!

 

[DizneyLizzy]

As a seasoned mid-March traveler, I might be able to offer some new perspective!

I just got back from a trip to WDW June 7th-12th. My husband, many of my friends, and I are teachers so we go when school is out. This was our first time going in June - we literally finished teaching our last day, went to the airport and flew to Disney.

We normally going during our mid-late March spring break (not Easter), and honestly, I think I preferred spring break in terms of crowds and weather. I think the crowds are pretty comparable, but the weather in March is literally awesome (not humid, no daily thunderstorms/showers to dodge), and the park hours are long.

When given the choice, as long as my March spring break isn't too close to Easter, I will go that week from now on instead of June. We still had a great time in June, but it literally rained and/or stormed every day, and it was super hot and humid from 8 AM on.

 

[Clare]

When given the choice, as long as my March spring break isn't too close to Easter, I will go that week from now on instead of June. We still had a great time in June, but it literally rained and/or stormed every day, and it was super hot and humid from 8 AM on.

Thanks so much for this info.! It's great to hear, and I'm feeling better and better about this trip.

 

[NeedMoreMickey]

I think it makes a big difference if your trip is around the same time as Easter. To me is seems like colleges and private schools take their break mid-month to the end of month while public schools take their break around Easter. I’ve been visiting WDW every March since 2006, the first couple of years around mid-month and the last few years the third week. I would say the lines are manageable most of the time and we have gotten to ride everything we wanted to ride. This year we went the first week of April during the kids Easter break and it was like going in the middle of summer, the lines were very long.

As for the weather we love going in March, most of the time we are in shorts during the day but occasionally we may wear capris or light weight pants, we get cold easy. At night still can be in shorts or capris and will throw a sweatshirt in the backpack.

 

[AR81]

I am struggling with the same dilemma but our trip won't be until 2015... Financially speaking 2014 is just not in the cards for us. I started a thread about this yesterday how crowds compare spring break vs. summer. I always assumed it would be about the same. I just had a trip this year in late February (Presidents day week) and the weather was awesome. Everyone said how crowded it was with that week being a break for some school and the marathon was also that weekend. But we had a tremendous time with a good plan each day. Now in 2015, we won't be able to pull the kids out of school like we did this time so our only option is Spring Break or summer. I am leaning towards spring break as well mainly because of the weather. Our spring break is also the second week of March and it's never tied to Easter. Someone can correct me if I am wrong- but isn't usually the weeks that are tied to Easter the busiest? Where we get the nightmarish threads about the crowds and park closures, etc...? I am hoping since our spring break is early in the season it won't be so bad... maybe it's wishful thinking?

 

[DisneyAllyC]

I was wondering this too since my mom and I are working on going for my spring break at the beginning of March. I hope it's not that bad as far as crowds go.

 

[MermaidMommy]

I think it makes a big difference if your trip is around the same time as Easter. To me is seems like colleges and private schools take their break mid-month to the end of month while public schools take their break around Easter. I’ve been visiting WDW every March since 2006, the first couple of years around mid-month and the last few years the third week. I would say the lines are manageable most of the time and we have gotten to ride everything we wanted to ride. This year we went the first week of April during the kids Easter break and it was like going in the middle of summer, the lines were very long.

Many public schools have spring break in March, and are not tied to Easter at all. Most of Texas' public schools, for example, have spring break the second week of March every year. That's a lot of people! I would not categorize mid-late March crowds as manageable -- this year, those were some of the busiest weeks of the year.

 

[bwang123]

We went during spring break march 10th week in 2011 and 2012. I would not hesitate to go during this time again. Yes, crowds do build up in the afternoon but the weather is perfect. We made it to park opening, knocked out a lot of rides and either took an afternoon break or hit rides with small wait times during crowd peak times. The longest line we waited in was Small World at 25minutes because my daughter wanted to ride it a second time when crowds were high. Also, we enjoy the Flower and Garden Festival which we were able to attend again this year in May and had a great time visiting all of the food booths.

 

[collegeprogram01]

when would you consider the spring break time? first 3 weeks of march?

 

[Cdn Gal]

It's the Canadian Spring Break as well as the Texan Spring Break! It is crazy busy but at least it is full of friendly people who are pretty easy going and like to have a good time!

 

[lemondog]

We went mid-March of 2010. Crowdest I have ever seen it, even worse than July. We used Ridemax and UG for touring plans, were there by rope drop every day, and it was manageable. Still...never again!

 

[Clare]

Must admit, I'm still a little nervous about a mid-March trip, but I think we are going to plan well, do rope drop & not stress! Thanks so much for all your input.....would love to hear more experiences & tips!