Who's been in Disney Easter week?

[borgthe]

If you have, was it unbearably crowded? I'm debating whether to go or not over Easter. I HATE crowds. What is it like at Easter? Thanks!

 

[CTmommyx3]

Well we were there the week after and the crowds seemed very heavy! I have read that the week before and after are some of the busiest.
I would think it would be crowded. The way Easter falls this year it happens right along with alot of the East coast spring breaks.

 

[ChelleinNC]

Christmas, Easter and 4th of July are the busiest times of the year. The parks have been known to close the gates, at least for a few hours. If you choose to go at Easter, plan to be at the parks before rope drop and to get as much done as early as possilbe and then spend time at the resort.

 

[PiperG]

Last year we went the week before Easter. Yes, it was jammed. However, we used TourGuideMike's program and actually had a fantastic time. Using his program we "zigged" while the others "zagged" and got in tons of rides desipte the crowds.

I would not recommend going without using his service. You can get more information by going to www.tourguidemike.com

 

[moepanz]

We always use Tour Guide Mike and it is AWSOME! I would get it, Especially when you know WDW will be packed.

 

[corinascot]

We were there the week after Easter in 2005 and 2007. It's very crowded, but we had a great time. We'd get to the parks at opening and go back to the resort or to lunch around 12-1. That's when the crowds would get unbearable to us. We'd swim and rest and go back after 5-6. The parks open early and close late. The one year we were there, MK opened for resort guests at 7am everyday. So, when we'd head back to the resort at 12-1, we'd already had 5-6 hours in the park. And with emh til 2 am some nights, we had to chose btw am and pm some days.

We had a dining reservation for one sit down meal everday. If you didn't have reservations, you couldn't get into the sit down places. We did many lunch reservations. Might as well be relaxing over lunch than fighting the crowds. I also found DTD to be too crowded for my tastes. Didn't enjoy our evening there that much.

The crowds lessened as the week went on. By Friday, the parks weren't that crowded.

 

[GovieMom]

I HATE crowds. What is it like at Easter?

The two weeks surrounding Easter Sunday are about as crowded as it gets. TGM or no TGM, if you hate crowds, Easter is not the time to go.

 

[mmmears]

We were there a few days before Easter and the week after Easter a two years ago. It was crowded and expensive. We used the touring plans that we made from UOG and TGM, but it still took longer to wait than we are used to. Also, there are shows that were full 30 mins prior to their start, like Indy at DHS, that we never got to experience. It's also one of the most expensive times to visit.

That being said, we're thinking about trying it again, since our DD's Spring Break is during that time next year and we aren't comfortable pulling her out of school, esp. just to go to WDW. For us, it's a long flight, so we dont just want to go for 3-4 days.

If you can avoid Spring Break, you should. Otherwise, there are lots of families there during that time. There was even an egg hunt and other things at our resort on Easter. And weather wise, it's the nicest we've experienced in Orlando!

 

[madalex]

We were there this year from the Wednesday before Easter to the Friday after easter. It was very crowded, no doubt about that, but in a manageable way. In the end, it was really not as bad as I would have thought it would be. By the Wednesday after Easter, the crowds were starting to diminish.

 

[jel0511]

I've been the last 3 Easters, and it's USUALLY mobbed!!!! This year wasn't so bad, with Easter being early and a lot of schools moving their spring breaks to April. I"ve been Christmas, Summer and I'd NEVER seen this many people!!!! Expect up to 3 hr waits on the most popular rides without fast pass and fast pass on those rides to be out by noon. We really like the weather at Spring Break, but we're taking next year off and probably will go in the summer on 2010, just to try something different.

 

[MiaSRN62]

We went one year (and never again), the week working up to Easter. This was Easter week 1999. Mon/Tues/Wed before Easter was bad but doable. But come Friday/Sat/Easter Sunday it was horrible.....and not doable ! Could not even walk in the MK on Sat. And this was about 10-11 am.

We ended up leaving the parks on Sat (the day before Easter) and never went back. We hung at our resort and left the day after Easter. We felt we really didn't get good use out of about 3 of our Hopper ticket days.

I will never go during Easter again.

 

[Lives4Disney]

We were there just this past Easter from the Tues before Easter until the Wednesday after. I thought the first couple days of our trip were surprisingly pleasant. From Good Friday on, though, it got UGLY and then UGLIER. We LOVE WDW , but by Wednesday it felt good to be going home. We didn't spent a whole lot of park time this trip because of the crowds. We enjoyed the resort instead. There were a lot of issues with the monorails breaking down, too. They told us it was due to the system being so overloaded & stressed. We had to walk to the GF from the TTC after a ride that took about an hour to get from MK to TTC.

 

[MsStinkerBelle]

WDW at Easter is almost as crazy and crowded as Christmas. It wasn't too bad the week before Easter week but the crowds were equivalent to how things are right before Christmas Eve. Now Good Friday on through Easter Monday, the crowds are nutz!

 

[brentalex]

We were there at eater in 2006. Other than our day at the AK, we had a wonderful time. At the AK it was morning EMH, got there 20 minutes before the EMH opening and the place was packed. There was no effort to check for resort guests, they were letting everyone in, but they only had 2 turnstyles open as if they were only letting in resort guests. Took almost an hour just to get in. Now granted EE had just opened and everyone wanted to ride it, but there should have been some crowd control, or all of the turnstyles should have been opened. Other than that day, getting to the parks early was great, would definitely use the morning EMH.
I did buy TGM for the trip, even though I thought I knew enough about how to plan the days. I was very disappointed in the reports. His report about AK had not yet been updated to even mention that EE existed. He said to avoid morning EMH, while we found morning EMH at the MK and Epcot to be great ways to get a lot done. You just need to be there before the opening. I requested and go my money back when I returned. If you do decide to purchase the TGM service, do so well in advance of the trip. The site is huge and not the easiest to navigate. You need time to learn it.

 

[monorailsilver]

I went the week before Easter in 1999 (got engaged that trip).

The weekend before Easter was fine, as were Monday, Tues & Wednesday.

By Thursday I could sense it getting more crowded & Friday a bit more.

The Saturday before Easter I vowed I would never go a holiday week again. The MK was open late that night-midnight or 1am (I forget). I hadn't left a park before closing since my younger days. That night at about 10, I told my soon to be dh that we were leaving. I was so sad but the lines were horrid.

 

[hammie59]

Easter week is crazy. I've been there twice at that time. Not my first choice for vacationing to WDW if I can help it.

 

[themcgoos]

We have been to WDW 4 times at Easter and this last time, 4/13 - 4/21 at POR, during spring break. We have no choice, as we are tied to the schools schedule and cannot go in the summer. It is crowded, but not unbearable at all. Having said that, keep in mind that I am talking about getting to the parks at or right near opening. Incredibly (to us) we have found that the crowds, even at Easter and spring break times, don't start to really pick up until noon or even 1:00pm. We still don't get why so many people start their days at the parks so late, but it works for us! haha We (DH, DW, DD9, DD13) love it from opening until about 1:00pm and are able to get on or into just about anything we want with very little wait time. We also use fast pass as efficiently as possible and double our pleasure on the really crowded rides (Soarin', EE, Test Track, RNRC, Space & Splash Mountain, etc.). So we go from opening to about 1:00pm, have a 1:00pm-2:00pm-ish ADR at whatever park we are at that day, after which we head back to our resort to swim, relax, shop, whatever, for a couple of hours, then regroup and head back to a park or DTD in the evning for however long we want. It works great for us every time. Enjoy.

 

[ntsammy5]

We were at WDW only once over Easter -- 1995. Things were very crowded, but we had a great time anyhow. We decided never to go back over a major holiday though. So far we've stuck to that.

 

[Crystal824]

I went over Easter in 1997, and it was very crowded....still fun but expect crowds.

 

[smep013]

We were there this past Easter in the week leading up to Easter. As you got closer to Sunday, the crowds were noticeably larger. The beginning of the week was okay. Almost as crowded as summer.