Will we be shocked by the crowds in mid-March?

[Mickeyhugger]

DD, DH and I have always done WDW in the off-months (Sept, Nov and Jan) to save $$. However, we're thinking of doing two days at the parks before going on our cruise. (We each have two days left on our park-hoppers from previous trips.)

I know March is spring-break for most families, and am wondering how packed the parks are? We'd probably even skip MK, as our favorite rides are at Epcot and the studios? DH is the type who turns and walks the other way if he sees long lines. (But I'm wondering that fast-pass might change things? I can deal w/crowds better than he can, as long as it's not hot.)

Thanks for any info!

 

[ShannonRT]

My family went over Spring Break which was in March 2002. It was very crowded at all parks, probably the most crowded I've ever seen them, except for maybe last year on the Friday after Thanksgiving. We've only gone before in early May and late September. But I think it's do-able as long as you get there early and utilize fastpass as much as possible. I would definitely use EMH in the morning and get there at least 15 minutes before opening. You can knock out 5-6 attractions with practically no waiting at that time. Have a great trip!

 

[4forDis]

We went mid March 2003 and the parks were crowded. It did not stop us from seeing or doing anything that we wanted to. We got an early start and utilized fast pass and it worked out fine. It was just tough to manuever around the parks with the crowds.
If you plan well, you'll be fine...and the weather should be great too.

 

[Mickeyhugger]

Thanks for the replies!

We actually enjoy lines sometimes for the rides because it's fun to chat with others. I guess it's just because we're used to lighter crowds and being able to move faster from one attraction to another that we're apprehensive about. I still might persuede DH, as we already have our park-hoppers.

 

[ArielDreams]

I went the second week in March this year on my college spring break (3/6-12) and the parks were pretty much dead. It was perfect! I think it all depends on the week.

 

[bluejasmine]

We went March 28 for 5 days and it was jam packed I have never seen so many people in one place, I was in total shock! It was very doable though. I had everything planned out and we utlized ALOT of fast passes, got up for park opening, lots of people get into the park around 11am. On the plus side, weather was beautiful!! It only rained once during our trip for about 20 min and it was at night after we went to our rooms. Warning... DO NOT try to get into MK right before or right after wishes or spectromagic that is a NIGHTMARE!!

 

[jjarman]

Same kind of thing with us. We went March 12-18. It was crowded, about like in June, but the weather was so nice. Very nice weather. That made it so much more bearable. We just did FP when we could and we rarely waited in a line for long. We had PS for most evening meals which was great. If you want a sit down meal then you have to get PS. We saw many people turned away who did not have PS. I will never go to the parks again in the summer.

 

[krismom]

We are going this March 17-24. I planned it in March because Easter is late this year and all the Spring Breaks seemed to be later also. Now I hope I picked an Ok week! Oh well, at least we won't have to contend with the heat...

 

[suevee]

I think you will be fine. It seems that the crowds flow with Easter as most public school systems have either the week before or the week after as their spring break. So that is when a lot of families plan to go. We are planning to go from March 2 to March 11 next year.

 

[dizplanner]

We are going March 11-19 next year since that is my kids spring break and since they are in high school and junior high, we can no longer pull them out of school. (In fact I asked my son if he want to stay a day longer and come back on Monday and he said no, he did not want to miss school - it is too hard to make up.)

We went in March 2004 same week. Crowds are definately more crowded than in January (although one year we went first week of January and it was still pretty crowded), but the weather was nicer and we really only had one day (our last park day at MGM) where the crowds were bad enough to be an issue (and RNR breaking down several times didn't help either). We did one day per park plus a water park and a day at DQ. The only thing we missed that we wanted to see was Who wants to be a Millionaire. Otherwise, while we certainly didn't see everything, we got to the rides we wanted. It was our fourth trip.

 

[Sher]

We have taken several trips the week before or after Easter and not found the crowds to be overwhelming. Our family policy is to not wait more than 20 minutes and this has worked fine. We use fast passes and early entry and just rely on our knowledge of the park layout. The only problem we have ever had is the crowd for the first Fantasmic show. We waited and then didn't get in. Now we just plan on the second show--more time for rides! As mentioned earlier, the weather is gorgeous!

I'm finding myself forced to take a June trip next year due to scheduling conflicts and I'm wondering if the hotter weather will defeat my crowd strategies. Don't hesitate to go in March.

Sher

 

[RoseRoni2]

We went this year at this time, I will never go again at this time, wait times were over 2 hrs on almost every ride. I would suggest you take advantage of the EMH hours in the morning, I did not and that was my mistake. I missed so much and cant wait to go back next year I hope. Good luck!