what is middle of april like crowd wise?

[julieannbabe]

thinking of going to Disneyland, California in the middle of april - what is the crowds like?

thanks,

Julie from London.

 

[disney-super-mom]

That is right around the end of Spring Break season, so it could be a bit crowded still.

If you could hold off until the last week of April or the first week of May, that would be a better time.

 

[bluegrizzlies1]

Is spring break around the time of easter or does easter not play a part in it.

Reason Im asking is easter is march 23 in 08 so my thinking is middle of april everyone would be back in school by then.

Not sure if this means anything anyone have advice for this ?

 

[LittleWoodenHead]

Spring Breaks occur at different times throughout March and April, though the heaviest concentration is still the week before & after Easter.

The folks at Disneyland try to estimate crowd levels themselves, so one resource is to check out the daily park hours shown on the monthly calendar at Disneyland.com

If you see daily hours of 8:00AM to Midnight, Disney anticipates the Park to be very crowed. Daily hours of 9:00AM to 10:00PM/11:00PM should be somewhat better; whereas, days with hours of 10:00AM to 8:00PM are expected by Disney to be the least crowded.

I have actually been in the Park when they have extended the hours because of larger-than-expected crowds. But the monthly calendar is the closest thing to a crystal ball we have.

 

[romymichelle21]

DB and I went for our 1st trip this year in April, and it was one of those things where he said, "Sure we can go, just pick a day!", and of course I said - "Next week!". Well, 'next week' turned out to be April 14th - right in the middle of Spring Break. His pass was blocked out so he had to pay the upgrade fee (another thing to consider if you have an AP).

Needless to say, the park was a bit full of high schoolers and college kids And you know DB still reminds me of my wonderful choice of date whenever he feels like teasing me So there's an example for you, if it helps!

 

[LittleWoodenHead]

.... Well, 'next week' turned out to be April 14th - right in the middle of Spring Break. His pass was blocked out so he had to pay the upgrade fee (another thing to consider if you have an AP).

You ran into that because Easter this year fell on April 7th. Most Spring Breaks occur around the same time, and Disneyland regularly blocks out Annual Passholders for the week before and the week after Easter. (The 14th was also a Saturday -- which is the busiest day of the week, regardless.)

With Easter falling on March 23 in 2008, the crowd level should be much more manageable by April 14 than what you experienced.

 

[romymichelle21]

(The 14th was also a Saturday -- which is the busiest day of the week, regardless.)

Really? Oops! I must've gotten the date wrong then, it was definitely a weekday - I think the 12th, Thurs. Cuz DB knew better than to try to go on a weekend!

Well - I lose track of what holidays are on what days every year - but I agree with everyone else, just check the calendar on the Disneyland website, and make sure it's not a midnight closing day!

 

[Tink208]

Easter is as early as it can possibly be this year and I know our school district is not scheduling spring break around it; our kids will be out the week of April 7 through 11. It may be a weird year for predicting when the worst spring break crowds will be.