Week before Easter Help!

[mel373]

Hi!
First time going to Disney during a school break (the week before Easter). I am good at planning and using FP. Question is - I usually pick the parks with no extra morning hours even though we stay on property.

The week I am there MK has early morning 8-9am hours every single day except Thursday of my week. I normally would pick that day to avoid the higher crowds with the early hours but now I am thinking everyone will have the same idea and off site people will go on that Thursday because they won't have the advantage of the early hours all the other days of the week.

Anyone have any advice on what day to hit MK that week? We are going the 10-18.

Thanks!

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

I am going that week as well and I am staying offsite for the first time in like 14 trips!
Normally I choose to take advantage of AM EMH at MK.
This time I'm avoiding any EMH like the plague so we are going on Thursday.
If I were you I would change my thinking and go during AM EMH. You can get so much done in that first hour alone!

 

[mel373]

I am going that week as well and I am staying offsite for the first time in like 14 trips!
Normally I choose to take advantage of AM EMH at MK.
This time I'm avoiding any EMH like the plague so we are going on Thursday.
If I were you I would change my thinking and go during AM EMH. You can get so much done in that first hour alone!

Thanks for the reply! I think that hour will be great but we don't have hoppers and I think the parks with the EMH get more crowded. I am probably right about most off site people going on Thursday since that was your thinking too!
I guess with the crowds that week it really won't matter anyway. I heard it can be brutally crowded! We usually take the kids out of school and those times are getting crowded too but I haven't done a full week when schools are out!

 

[cnunley424]

We are going in a couple of weeks and MK will be 8am-11pm all week. We are planning to hit MK before rope drop and use the express transportation around 10:00 to hop to a different park and start our planned FPP. Haven't tried this before but I'm hoping it's a good strategy and a lot of people will be sleeping in!

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Thanks for the reply! I think that hour will be great but we don't have hoppers and I think the parks with the EMH get more crowded. I am probably right about most off site people going on Thursday since that was your thinking too!
I guess with the crowds that week it really won't matter anyway. I heard it can be brutally crowded! We usually take the kids out of school and those times are getting crowded too but I haven't done a full week when schools are out!

We generally don't do hoppers if we are there long enough that we can spend 2 full days at MK and 1 full day at the rest and we always take advantage of EMH and I don't find it to be any more crowded as I think many people think like you and assume it will be more crowded so they avoid it or park hop which makes it not as crowded.
That's just my opinion.
Look on the bright side nothing can be as brutal as Xmas to NYE. I've done that and still had plenty of fun.
To me it doesn't matter how many people are in the park but rather how long the lines are and often times when its very crowded I find that people are more or less just walk,ing around and not waiting in line for attractions.

 

[wilkeliza]

Going the same week. We actually aren't doing any mornings at the park because it is also Star Wars Celebration. Since we have tickets to the conference we will do mornings there or chill at the hotel and then not go into the parks until 5.

 

[skuttle]

Don't be surprised if some of those early mornings get pushed to 7am. During our Easter trip, we did the morning EMH every other day. Totally worth it because you can get a ton done! If it got too crowded, we left mid-day after our FP times and went swimming at our resort, then went back to the same park later that night. We quit doing hoppers years ago.

 

[babyruth]

I'm a little more concerned that the park hours are going to change now that we are a month and a half out and my plans are complete! We've been at Easter before and it wasn't horrible if you plan. I think the people who don't have a great time are the ones who didn't come to boards like these to know what to expect. We will be at MK 4/13 if all goes according to plan. I'm going by Kenny the Pirate for crowds.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Don't be surprised if some of those early mornings get pushed to 7am. During our Easter trip, we did the morning EMH every other day. Totally worth it because you can get a ton done! If it got too crowded, we left mid-day after our FP times and went swimming at our resort, then went back to the same park later that night. We quit doing hoppers years ago.

Since I'm staying offsite I'm really hoping for MK to extend its hours to 8am on Thursday.

 

[babyruth]

Since I'm staying offsite I'm really hoping for MK to extend its hours to 8am on Thursday.

why is that? with the new morning procedure wouldn't that mean having to get there prior to 7am?

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

Since I'm staying offsite I'm really hoping for MK to extend its hours to 8am on Thursday.

I am also staying offsite that week. Thursday will be my MK day too. It would be so nice if they opened at 8:00! The earlier they open, the fewer people will be there during the first hour or two. During Easter 2015, we stayed onsite and did do EMH. Got to MK at 6:40 in the morning for 7:00 AM EMH and had 2.5 golden hours in MK almost all to ourselves!

 

[Andy S]

We're going that week as well. Thursday is definitely your best bet for MK, but if you're staying onsite why not try to take advantage of AM EMH and then hop to a less busy park?

If I were a betting man, I would definitely put a wager down that the park hours get pushed earlier to 8 am. Less likely, though still possible, is that they cancel the EMH hrs on at least one of the mornings and open up the entire park to the public at 8 am, but that call won't be made until late March.

Yes, if they open at 8 am it would mean getting to the park by 7 am. I would rather get up early, nap and stay up late to maximize my time at the park. I'll sleep when I'm dead.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

why is that? with the new morning procedure wouldn't that mean having to get there prior to 7am?

So that I have 1 hour more of park time.
Yes I'd probably arrive around 7am.
Do you have a problem with me getting up early?
Heck if others don't want to get up that early my family will be able to enjoy even more attractions in that time.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

OP, how did your trip go?

We just got back from our Easter Week trip last night. Overall, I would say it was a great trip. We went to WDW for DD's softball team's Disney High School Spring Training. The team, coaches, and a few parents stayed at Pop. Since we have to start paying for college in a couple of months, we stayed offsite at Vacation Village at Parkway. We could see the ESPN fields from our balcony - we were that close. We used 3 days on our 10 day no expire hoppers with waterpark fun tickets.

Between prebooked FPs and SDFP with our old magic bands from a previous onsite trip, we got a lot done over Easter Week when crowd levels were *10s at the parks.

Sunday 4/9: Arrival day...or should I say arrival night. The drive took 13 hours, so we didn't get in until 10:00 PM.

Monday 4/10 - We began with a relaxing breakfast at the Poly (Captain Cook's, sat outside on the terrace) followed by the pool at our resort, drinks with the other parents at Pop's Petals bar in the afternoon, dinner at The Boathouse in Disney Springs, then drinks and live music with the other parents at the House of Blues patio.

Tuesday 4/11: We started at AK. We got SDFPs at park opening for the morning for Kilimanjaro Safari and Dinosaur and an evening FP for Primeval Whirl. We had a PPO ROL Tusker House breakfast, rode EE at rope drop, and saw Flights of Wonder. We used our prebooked FPs at HS starting at 12:30 for TOT, RnR and Star Tours. We checked the kiosk for TSM when we were done, but those FPs were long gone. We did manage to see the 3D Muppet Movie after waiting about 20 minutes. We just missed the Indiana Jones Stunt Show; it filled to capacity just as we walked up. Every show was packed...every single seat filled with tons of people waiting in line. I have never seen the Muppet theater at capacity before. I also wanted to take DH on the Great Movie Ride. There were SDFPs available for it, but we literally ran out of time. We had to leave the park at 3:30 for a 4:00 softball game. Later we returned to AK for Primeval Whirl, dinner at Flame Tree and ROL.

Wednesday 4/12: We had a double header softball game in the morning, so we didn't get to Epcot until 12:30. We used our prebooked FPs for Soarin, Mission Space, and Spaceship Earth. We used single rider for TT (only a 25 minute wait at 1:30 PM). We did SDFP for Living with the Land and Nemo. You may think "Really...you needed a FP for Living with the Land and Nemo???" YES, we really did if we didn't want to wait in line for 60 minutes! Wait times mid day at all the parks were insanely long! We spent the late afternoon/early evening snacking around the World Showcase at the F&G food kiosks, then left at 6:00 to head to HS for Sci-Fi milkshakes & appetizers followed by Star Wars Galactic fireworks.

Thursday 4/13: We got to MK a little before 8:00 AM. We had prebooked FPs for 7DMT, Splash Mt and Big Thunder Mt. At park opening we rode Space Mt, Under the Sea, Small World, and Haunted Mansion. We tried Peter Pan right after Space MT but the wait was already at 40 minutes (too long for me, I did try SDFP but could only get 11:15 PM - too late, so we skipped it this trip). I got SDFP that morning for Pirates, Jungle Cruise and Buzz in the early afternoon & early evening. After we finished with all our FPs, I booked 4th FPs for Pooh and Dumbo. In between FPs, we had an 11:50 lunch at BOG, did Country Bears Jamboree, Carousel of Progress, Tiki Room, Incredibles Dance Party, Monster's Inc Laugh Floor, dinner at Cosmic Ray's and Wishes. We also left the park at around 3:00 for naps and came back at 6:00 PM. By 10:45 we were ready to head back to our condo. We got a Mickey bar and a Dole Whip float for the walk to the parking trams.

We did all this without a smart phone or the app, just used the FP+ kiosks. I do want to have a smart phone for our next visit because it would be easier to change things once I have the SDFPs booked. We met a dad at Epcot who was able to get a 4:30 FEA for his family that afternoon by stalking it on the app! I felt like we did the best at MK and the worst at HS. HS is just so small now with not many offerings to disperse the crowds. BUT we got a lot done on our 3 park days and didn't wait longer that 25 minutes (for TT) over Easter Week when crowd levels were *10s! Success!!!!

*Crowd levels:
4/11: AK - 10 out of 10, HS - 9 out of 10

4/12: EP - 10 out of 10, HS - 10 out of 10

4/13: MK - 10 out of 10

 

[mel373]

OP, how did your trip go?

We just got back from our Easter Week trip last night. Overall, I would say it was a great trip. We went to WDW for DD's softball team's Disney High School Spring Training. The team, coaches, and a few parents stayed at Pop. Since we have to start paying for college in a couple of months, we stayed offsite at Vacation Village at Parkway. We could see the ESPN fields from our balcony - we were that close. We used 3 days on our 10 day no expire hoppers with waterpark fun tickets.

Between prebooked FPs and SDFP with our old magic bands from a previous onsite trip, we got a lot done over Easter Week when crowd levels were *10s at the parks.

Sunday 4/9: Arrival day...or should I say arrival night. The drive took 13 hours, so we didn't get in until 10:00 PM.

Monday 4/10 - We began with a relaxing breakfast at the Poly (Captain Cooks, sat outside on the terrace) followed by the pool at our resort, drinks with the other parents at Pop's Petals bar in the afternoon, dinner at The Boathouse in Disney Springs, then drinks and live music with the other parents at the House of Blues patio.

Tuesday 4/11: We started at AK. We got SDFPs at park opening for the morning for Kilimanjaro Safari and Dinosaur and an evening FP for Primeval Whirl. We had a PPO ROL Tusker House breakfast and rode EE at rope drop. We used our prebooked FPs at HS starting at 12:30 for TOT, RnR and Star Tours. We checked the kiosk for TSM when we were done, but those FPs were long gone. We did manage to see the 3D Muppet Movie after waiting about 20 minutes. We just missed the Indiana Jones Stunt Show; it filled to capacity just as we walked up. Every show was packed...every single seat filled with tons of people waiting in line. I have never seen the Muppet theater at capacity before. I also wanted to take DH on the Great Movie Ride, but we literally ran out of time. We had to leave the park at 3:30 for a 4:00 softball game. Later we returned to AK for Primeval Whirl, dinner at Flame Tree and ROL.

Wednesday 4/12: We had a double header softball game in the morning, so we didn't get to Epcot until 12:30. We used our prebooked FPs for Soarin, Mission Space, and Spaceship Earth. We used single rider for TT (only a 25 minute wait at 1:30 PM). We did SDFP for Living with the Land and Nemo. You may think "Really...you needed a FP for Living with the Land and Nemo???" YES, we really did if we didn't want to wait in line for 60 minutes! Wait times mid day at all the parks were insanely long! We spent the late afternoon/early evening snacking around the World Showcase at the F&G food kiosks, then left at 6:00 to head to HS for Sci-Fi milkshakes & appetizers followed by Star Wars Galactic fireworks.

Thursday 4/13: We got to MK a little before 8:00 AM. We had prebooked FPs for 7DMT, Splash Mt and Big Thunder Mt. At park opening we rode Space Mt, Under the Sea, Small World, and Haunted Mansion. We tried Peter Pan right after Space MT but the wait was already at 40 minutes (too long for me, I did try SDFP but could only get 11:15 PM - too late, so we skipped it this trip). I got SDFP that morning for Pirates, Jungle Cruise and Buzz in the early afternoon & early evening. After we finished with all our FPs, I booked 4th FPs for Pooh and Dumbo. In between FPs, we had an 11:50 lunch at BOG, did Country Bears Jamboree, Carousel of Progress, Tiki Room, Incredibles Dance Party, Monster's Inc Laugh Floor, dinner at Cosmic Ray's and Wishes. We also left the park at around 3:00 for naps and came back at 6:00 PM. By 10:45 we were ready to head back to our condo. We got a Mickey bar and a Dole Whip float for the walk to the parking trams.

We did all this without a smart phone or the app, just used the FP+ kiosks. I do want to have a smart phone for our next visit because it would be easier to change things once I have the SDFPs booked. We met a dad at Epcot who was able to get a 4:30 FEA for his family that afternoon by stalking it on the app! I felt like we did the best at MK and the worst at HS. HS is just so small now with not many offerings to disperse the crowds. BUT we got a lot done on our 3 park days and didn't wait longer that 25 minutes (for TT) over Easter Week when crowd levels were *10s! Success!!!!

*Crowd levels:
4/11: AK - 10 out of 10, HS - 9 out of 10

4/12: EP - 10 out of 10, HS - 10 out of 10

4/13: MK - 10 out of 10

We are still here until Tuesday. Crowds were crazy insane this last week but we killed it in all the parks so far between FP+, SDFP and Rider Swap. I just don't understand how some people still don't use FP. We waited standby for nothing.
Looks like we did the same parks on the same days!
Glad you had a successful trip

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

We are still here until Tuesday. Crowds were crazy insane this last week but we killed it in all the parks so far between FP+, SDFP and Rider Swap. I just don't understand how some people still don't use FP. We waited standby for nothing.
Looks like we did the same parks on the same days!
Glad you had a successful trip

So glad to hear you are having a blast!!!! All I can say is - THANK GOODNESS FOR THE DISBOARDS TIPS!!! Enjoy the rest of your trip!

 

[2PrincessesRmine]

We were there this week too and it was so crowded! I was also commenting on how people don't take advantage of the fastpass system. Granted we used SDFP too, but even the regular ones. We used fastpass at the end of the night to ride Buzz three times on the FP line. I was wondering why all of these people were waiting in the regular line when I was sure at least most of them could have made a 4th or 5th fastpass for it. Oh well, better for me!

 

[michelepa]

OP, how did your trip go?

We just got back from our Easter Week trip last night. Overall, I would say it was a great trip. We went to WDW for DD's softball team's Disney High School Spring Training. The team, coaches, and a few parents stayed at Pop. Since we have to start paying for college in a couple of months, we stayed offsite at Vacation Village at Parkway. We could see the ESPN fields from our balcony - we were that close. We used 3 days on our 10 day no expire hoppers with waterpark fun tickets.

Between prebooked FPs and SDFP with our old magic bands from a previous onsite trip, we got a lot done over Easter Week when crowd levels were *10s at the parks.

Sunday 4/9: Arrival day...or should I say arrival night. The drive took 13 hours, so we didn't get in until 10:00 PM.

Monday 4/10 - We began with a relaxing breakfast at the Poly (Captain Cooks, sat outside on the terrace) followed by the pool at our resort, drinks with the other parents at Pop's Petals bar in the afternoon, dinner at The Boathouse in Disney Springs, then drinks and live music with the other parents at the House of Blues patio.

Tuesday 4/11: We started at AK. We got SDFPs at park opening for the morning for Kilimanjaro Safari and Dinosaur and an evening FP for Primeval Whirl. We had a PPO ROL Tusker House breakfast and rode EE at rope drop. We used our prebooked FPs at HS starting at 12:30 for TOT, RnR and Star Tours. We checked the kiosk for TSM when we were done, but those FPs were long gone. We did manage to see the 3D Muppet Movie after waiting about 20 minutes. We just missed the Indiana Jones Stunt Show; it filled to capacity just as we walked up. Every show was packed...every single seat filled with tons of people waiting in line. I have never seen the Muppet theater at capacity before. I also wanted to take DH on the Great Movie Ride, but we literally ran out of time. We had to leave the park at 3:30 for a 4:00 softball game. Later we returned to AK for Primeval Whirl, dinner at Flame Tree and ROL.

Wednesday 4/12: We had a double header softball game in the morning, so we didn't get to Epcot until 12:30. We used our prebooked FPs for Soarin, Mission Space, and Spaceship Earth. We used single rider for TT (only a 25 minute wait at 1:30 PM). We did SDFP for Living with the Land and Nemo. You may think "Really...you needed a FP for Living with the Land and Nemo???" YES, we really did if we didn't want to wait in line for 60 minutes! Wait times mid day at all the parks were insanely long! We spent the late afternoon/early evening snacking around the World Showcase at the F&G food kiosks, then left at 6:00 to head to HS for Sci-Fi milkshakes & appetizers followed by Star Wars Galactic fireworks.

Thursday 4/13: We got to MK a little before 8:00 AM. We had prebooked FPs for 7DMT, Splash Mt and Big Thunder Mt. At park opening we rode Space Mt, Under the Sea, Small World, and Haunted Mansion. We tried Peter Pan right after Space MT but the wait was already at 40 minutes (too long for me, I did try SDFP but could only get 11:15 PM - too late, so we skipped it this trip). I got SDFP that morning for Pirates, Jungle Cruise and Buzz in the early afternoon & early evening. After we finished with all our FPs, I booked 4th FPs for Pooh and Dumbo. In between FPs, we had an 11:50 lunch at BOG, did Country Bears Jamboree, Carousel of Progress, Tiki Room, Incredibles Dance Party, Monster's Inc Laugh Floor, dinner at Cosmic Ray's and Wishes. We also left the park at around 3:00 for naps and came back at 6:00 PM. By 10:45 we were ready to head back to our condo. We got a Mickey bar and a Dole Whip float for the walk to the parking trams.

We did all this without a smart phone or the app, just used the FP+ kiosks. I do want to have a smart phone for our next visit because it would be easier to change things once I have the SDFPs booked. We met a dad at Epcot who was able to get a 4:30 FEA for his family that afternoon by stalking it on the app! I felt like we did the best at MK and the worst at HS. HS is just so small now with not many offerings to disperse the crowds. BUT we got a lot done on our 3 park days and didn't wait longer that 25 minutes (for TT) over Easter Week when crowd levels were *10s! Success!!!!

*Crowd levels:
4/11: AK - 10 out of 10, HS - 9 out of 10

4/12: EP - 10 out of 10, HS - 10 out of 10

4/13: MK - 10 out of 10

I am so happy to read your post for two reasons!!!

1. My son's baseball team will be playing at ESPN next year week before Easter and we are planning visiting the Disney parks. So its good to hear that even though the parks are crowded there are ways to get most of the rides you want without long lines. (This year our spring break schedule was three weeks before easter and we did Universal and watched him play.)

2. Thank you for introducing me to the SDFP's. I will def read up on this and try it since you had good results.

We are already experts at finding FP after our third rode TSM last August 3 times using fp before some people got on the ride in the regular line. May not have that kind of luck during spring break but it may get us on one more time.

Like you, we have no choice about when to visit and watching DS is prioiry for me and DH but DD also wants her Disney park time.

So thank you very much for all your help and Happy Easter Day!

 

[mel373]

So glad to hear you are having a blast!!!! All I can say is - THANK GOODNESS FOR THE DISBOARDS TIPS!!! Enjoy the rest of your trip!

Thank you! Yes couldn't have done it without the tips on these boards.

Unfortunately my oldest daughter started throwing up last night and now my middle daughter is down too...

We are all trapped in the room and the rest of us are doomed

Just stinks all the planning and money spent down the drain. I just cancelled two reservations that I searched forever for and my oldest was so excited for. We are here celebrating her sweet 16.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

Thank you! Yes couldn't have done it without the tips on these boards.

Unfortunately my oldest daughter started throwing up last night and now my middle daughter is down too...

We are all trapped in the room and the rest of us are doomed

Just stinks all the planning and money spent down the drain. I just cancelled two reservations that I searched forever for and my oldest was so excited for. We are here celebrating her sweet 16.

I am so sorry to hear this. It happened with my kids when we were on vacation in Hawaii. It is so disappointing when you lose 2 days of a trip that costs a small fortune. The good news was neither DH nor I caught the bug from the two kids. I hope the rest of your family stays healthy, and the sick ones recover quickly. Whenever I am at Disney, germs and the flu are in the back of my mind. I washed my hand so much that they are actually peeling now!