When to go? Mardi Gras or Easter 2022

[Honeypot]

So, we have booked a trip to Disney next year during our spring break - Feb 25 to Mar 4. A few weeks ago on touring plans the crowd calendar for that week updated to much higher numbers. I realized that we are arriving the weekend after Presidents Day, the (unconfirmed) weekend for the Princess half marathon, and then week of Mardi Gras which is Mar 1.

The only other time we could go, would be to arrive during Easter weekend and do the week after. So for 2022 that would be April 15/16-23.

Based on the timing of events for next year, which week do you think will be busier? Or when would you go?

 

[BayGirl22]

We're going at the same time and that TP bump scared me too. I still think that time will be better than Easter, which was much higher in past years.
Hoping it gets adjusted down as things open up and settle, and FastPass will be back.

 

[fancymouse]

That week will still probably be better than Easter. Easter includes not only regular Spring Breaks, but also schools that get a long weekend for the holiday. We were there that week after President’s Day this year and it was much busier than I expected, but there were tons of Texans and other non-LA visitors there. I think the pandemic coupled with cold spring weather in a lot of the South really boosted crowds this year. I still think it wasn’t as bad as Easter break.

 

[LSUmiss]

The thing I prefer about Easter is the hours. We often go Mardi Gras week & it’s usually packed, but they don’t adjust the hours. Spring break/Easter usually gas much better park hours.!

 

[mamaofsix]

By next year, international travel will be back. I think From Jan-late April it's going to be packed no matter what week you choose. We will be going for 2 weeks in March and TP increased all of our days to 10/10 crowds. We're going anyway and will make the best of it.

 

[isabellea]

Our Spring break is ALWAYS the first week of March and this is our preferred time to go. I never found the crowds to be awful and nothing compared to the Holidays. We are booked at WDW Feb 25-March 3 and then we will switch to Universal for two nights. Cannot wait to enjoy Mardi Gras at Universal as it looks like it's a big deal there.

 

[Krystal659]

As PP said it’s a choice between typically lower crowds (Mardi Gras) and longer hours (Easter/Spring break). We have done both but lower crowds and possibly cooler weather have our vote for Mardi Gras.

***also not sure what the hours would look like in 2022, we were lucky and had EMH.

 

[Honeypot]

We're going at the same time and that TP bump scared me too. I still think that time will be better than Easter, which was much higher in past years.
Hoping it gets adjusted down as things open up and settle, and FastPass will be back.

I noticed that TP has the week after Easter as better than the March week, but maybe it will be bumped up yet. I hope Fast pass will be back as well!

 

[Honeypot]

That week will still probably be better than Easter. Easter includes not only regular Spring Breaks, but also schools that get a long weekend for the holiday. We were there that week after President’s Day this year and it was much busier than I expected, but there were tons of Texans and other non-LA visitors there. I think the pandemic coupled with cold spring weather in a lot of the South really boosted crowds this year. I still think it wasn’t as bad as Easter break.

Thanks. I was hoping that by that time in April most of the spring break would be done, but maybe not. It's tricky to try and figure out crowds not only due to how covid changed things, but also the shifting dates of Mardi Gras and Easter.

 

[Honeypot]

The thing I prefer about Easter is the hours. We often go Mardi Gras week & it’s usually packed, but they don’t adjust the hours. Spring break/Easter usually gas much better park hours.!

That is what was swaying me towards Easter. That at least I know it will be warm, and with longer hours, we could take a mid-day break if needed to go hang out at the pool.

 

[Honeypot]

By next year, international travel will be back. I think From Jan-late April it's going to be packed no matter what week you choose. We will be going for 2 weeks in March and TP increased all of our days to 10/10 crowds. We're going anyway and will make the best of it.

Yes, this might be true due to pent up demand it won't matter and will all just be busy! Whatever we pick, we will just make the most of it too.

 

[Honeypot]

Our Spring break is ALWAYS the first week of March and this is our preferred time to go. I never found the crowds to be awful and nothing compared to the Holidays. We are booked at WDW Feb 25-March 3 and then we will switch to Universal for two nights. Cannot wait to enjoy Mardi Gras at Universal as it looks like it's a big deal there.

Our break is always the first week in March as well. I booked it before investigating too much because I was so excited to book anything, and it looks like generally it's a good time to go. I just didn't know how much the Mardi Gras crowds change that as I had seen a few comments here and there that it was so busy people would avoid it at all costs.

 

[Honeypot]

As PP said it’s a choice between typically lower crowds (Mardi Gras) and longer hours (Easter/Spring break). We have done both but lower crowds and possibly cooler weather have our vote for Mardi Gras.

***also not sure what the hours would look like in 2022, we were lucky and had EMH.

Thanks, I appreciate your opinion as you have done both. My biggest concern is actually the hours, I'm not sure it the more limited hours would bother me or not if it's busy. Would be nice if I knew what the Fast pass plan is!