Weekend before Christmas or first week of April (Spring Break)?

[Rags123]

Hi, all! I’Ve been give the go ahead by my husband to plan a trip to Universal. Our children are currently 10 and 11 years old. I’m leaning towards going over Spring Break, which unfortunately falls the week before Easter this year. Two years ago, we went to Disney over Spring Break. It was busy, but the crowds were manageable. We ropedrop and got a ton done before the crowds hit. My husband threw out the idea of going right before Christmas. The last day of school is Dec. 19 so we could spend a few days and still be back home before Christmas.

Which time would you choose? How awful are the crowds in the days leading up to Christmas? When the kids were in preschool, we went to Disney in early December and loved the decorations. Are the Universal decorations worth seeing? My husband may not agree to pay for Express Pass or stay in one of the hotels that provide them (although I’ll watch the rates). I was kind of hoping the buy 2 get 2 or 3 deal would return next year for Spring Break, but I’m guessing that there’s no hope of discounted tickets at Christmas. We are committed to traveling during school breaks so don’t suggest going a lower crowd time. My daughter will be in middle school, and they strict about attendance. Thanks for any feedback!

 

[MumziMom]

Just a thought, but I wonder if flights will be much more expensive for the December trip? Your flight home will be right before Christmas, and there will be many more people traveling then. You might want to do a flight cost comparison now, just to get a ballpark idea of those costs before you do any other planning. It just might make the decision for you. I just checked on Expedia, and flights on December 20th are over $600 each from Boston to Orlando. (No idea where you are from - just throwing that out there.) There are no flights listed at all on December 23rd - maybe they are booked up? April flights are significantly less.

 

[Rags123]

Thanks! That’s a good thought. We’ll actually be driving from Atlanta. I have thought about traffic (always an issue in Atlanta), though, and whether it will be worse at Christmas than Spring Break. I sure more people travel in general at Christmas, whereas Spring Break tends to be spread out over a month or so.

 

[mrd7896]

i love christmas due to the decorations/holiday shows and the overall holiday spirit (corny). and depending on your exact dates i don't think crowds are bad or any different than what spring break would spit out.
two years ago i went to disney/universal and we had a longer trip but returned home on the 22nd of december and we were pleasantly surprised with the crowd levels.

i will say that having the early morning access (which will be given to you if you stay on property or my TA has it whether we stay on property or not) is a huge help. Especially if you usually bank on ropedropping. also, i'm sure you are aware but if you stay on certain properties you get free express passes. obviously the hard rock hotel/loews are more expensive but you can weigh the express pass value/priority seating at certain restaurants and if that would be something you can swing.

 

[Rags123]

Thanks for the feedback! I think we’ve decided on Spring Break. My kids’ last day of school is Dec. 19 so it would be tight to try to go and be home by Dec. 23 (we have family obligations for Christmas Eve and Christmas). We have more time to work with over Spring a Break.

I have convinced my husband of the value a one night stay at one of the hotels that provide free expresses passes so that will help.