Yikes! The parks look packed (on the app)!

[Whistlebee]

We go at crowded times frequently since we come from northern California and have had to work around school schedules for years. We were there Thursday-Saturday last week and while crowds were not terrible for spring break, we did experience some of that shoulder to shoulder feeling on several occasions throughout the day when walking the main corridor in DCA. I feel that the closure of the Bugs Land thruway combined with the popularity of the Food and Wine Festival combined with the walls along part of the main corridor makes for a really crowded feeling.

You have been given lots of good tips so follow them. Maxpass is really very helpful. Many times during our most recent visit, I found times offered in the app that we wouldn't have gotten at the kiosks. You do have to pay attention to the clock and book each fastpass as soon as possible if you want to maximize usage. This isn't necessarily a habit that a regular AP visitor has gotten into which is why I'm pointing it out since you are taking less frequent visitors with you. Also, I would say to hop a lot. We were willing to move back and forth frequently between the parks throughout the day, and that combined with Maxpass helped us hit all the headliners.

Thanks for the heads up on the walking situation where you encountered the shoulder to shoulder foot traffic. Honestly, I’m going to have to evaluate if this trip will be worth it. I think for the most part we can get by dealing with the lines for rides but if we are walking shoulder to shoulder with others I don’t know if I or my sister-in-law could handle that. If it’s just a tiny bit of the trip we can do it, but if it is a lot I think we will consider canceling.
There’s a chance we could reschedule to Easter Day and the following Monday and Tuesday but I’ve already requested independent study from my kids schools and my sister-in-law will probably be moving around Easter weekend. Not sure if it’d be worth it to try and move our plans around at this point.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Thanks for the heads up on the walking situation where you encountered the shoulder to shoulder foot traffic. Honestly, I’m going to have to evaluate if this trip will be worth it. I think for the most part we can get by dealing with the lines for rides but if we are walking shoulder to shoulder with others I don’t know if I or my sister-in-law could handle that. If it’s just a tiny bit of the trip we can do it, but if it is a lot I think we will consider canceling.
There’s a chance we could reschedule to Easter Day and the following Monday and Tuesday but I’ve already requested independent study from my kids schools and my sister-in-law will probably be moving around Easter weekend. Not sure if it’d be worth it to try and move our plans around at this point.

Like I said, my family and I are used to the crowded times, so I do understand that what I'm willing to put up with may be very different from what you want to deal with. That DCA corridor was really the worst of the trip this time around, and I do expect that to still be the case with even more crowds. We often just went roundabout though past Soarin' and Grizzly if we weren't interested in visiting the food and wine booths, and that was less congested, so perhaps that might be something you want to try if you find the center pathway uncomfortable. I'm kind of feeling that crowds at Disney these days are just the norm so re-scheduling a trip due to worries about crowds is kind of a crapshoot.

 

[juxtapose]

We were there last year in TouringPlans 8/9 crowds. My best advice is get there 30-45 minutes before park opening and really take advantage of the first 3 hours the park is open. Then go back and rest after lunch and come back around dinner. The lines to enter the security for the park at 10-11 were just insane but we didn't encounter any lines 30-45 minutes before park opening and had very few lines for rides the first few hours.

 

[Meriweather]

Here now.....pretty horrible.
Rope drop is the time to get things done but then it is super crowded.
We always come in April (DH 's birthday) and it has never been this bad.

 

[katyringo]

Early early early.

Don’t get too discouraged about fastpasses being “gone” remember they are gone because people have them booked through the whole day and you will too if you arrive before parks open and get through the gates and can start booking and stacking them for your day.

 

[Whistlebee]

Here now.....pretty horrible.
Rope drop is the time to get things done but then it is super crowded.
We always come in April (DH 's birthday) and it has never been this bad.

Hey, can you describe “horrible” a little more? How long after rope drop are things still “manageable “? Thank you!

 

[Whistlebee]

We were there last year in TouringPlans 8/9 crowds. My best advice is get there 30-45 minutes before park opening and really take advantage of the first 3 hours the park is open. Then go back and rest after lunch and come back around dinner. The lines to enter the security for the park at 10-11 were just insane but we didn't encounter any lines 30-45 minutes before park opening and had very few lines for rides the first few hours.

This would be our plan. Arrive 30 minutes before opening. Try and stay for 3 hours and then I guess go to the pool for the afternoon. Then maybe back into the park from 4-7. Our kids will only be able to get up super early if we put them to bed early too. I will say we are okay not doing everything. Me and my girls had annual passes this year and we made REALLY good use of them. My sister-in-law is not the biggest fan of Disney but I know she is excited to take her girls. My nieces will just be happy to be there.

 

[midnight star]

This would be our plan. Arrive 30 minutes before opening. Try and stay for 3 hours and then I guess go to the pool for the afternoon. Then maybe back into the park from 4-7. Our kids will only be able to get up super early if we put them to bed early too. I will say we are okay not doing everything. Me and my girls had annual passes this year and we made REALLY good use of them. My sister-in-law is not the biggest fan of Disney but I know she is excited to take her girls. My nieces will just be happy to be there.

Have a rough idea of what you want to do. So you know what fastpasses to aim for.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

I guess that was my thinking too. I think I forgot that last year Easter was so early. We also went in mid-April last year for Spring Dapper Days, and it wasn't terrible at all...

Spring Dapper Days last year wasn't super crowded because it conflicted with Viva Las Vegas! (a very big rockabilly/swing event). This year, Viva is the weekend after DD, so the crowds can attend both events instead of having to choose. Spring DD should be better attended this year.

For the OP: don't forget to use MP to look for cancelled FPs throughout the day. Even with the recent crowds, we've been able to snag some choice FPs late in the day and in the evening for rides that had no FPs left.

 

[Cal-Pie]

Here now.....pretty horrible.
Rope drop is the time to get things done but then it is super crowded.
We always come in April (DH 's birthday) and it has never been this bad.

I think the spring ticket promo has definitely brought the pre SWGE crowds Disney was hoping for.

 

[DLgal]

I think the spring ticket promo has definitely brought the pre SWGE crowds Disney was hoping for.

I wish they would end this promo. It isn't necessary at all.

 

[midnight star]

Just checked the app, it doesn’t look awful. Cars is obviously out of fastpasses, and the next one with returns in the evening is Toy Story. Other than that, everything looks reasonable. Plenty of return times left

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

Here now. DCA looks slammed. RSR FPs were gone before 10am. Disneyland is busy but not too bad honestly. At least not at the moment.

 

[StarlitNight05]

I wonder why DCA has been SO busy lately. I've been noticing that since tracking the app the last few weeks.

 

[DLgal]

I wonder why DCA has been SO busy lately. I've been noticing that since tracking the app the last few weeks.

Food & Wine Festival.

 

[Whistlebee]

Here now. DCA looks slammed. RSR FPs were gone before 10am. Disneyland is busy but not too bad honestly. At least not at the moment.

Thanks for the update!!! That’s what it looks like on the app. I thought DCA (which we love) looks INSANE but DL looks manageable. If you have time, check-in later and let us know how your day went.

 

[Whistlebee]

Just checked the app, it doesn’t look awful. Cars is obviously out of fastpasses, and the next one with returns in the evening is Toy Story. Other than that, everything looks reasonable. Plenty of return times left

Lol, DCA looks crazy to me but I agree DL doesn’t look too bad.

 

[StarlitNight05]

Food & Wine Festival.

Ahh, that's right. Thanks.

 

[goodeats]

Is there a thread that lists what school districts have which weeks for spring break?

I know a ton of local districts that have Apr 1-5 off, but none that have Apr 8-12. Our district is the 15-18, which aligns with the blockout calendar.

 

[DLgal]

Is there a thread that lists what school districts have which weeks for spring break?

I know a ton of local districts that have Apr 1-5 off, but none that have Apr 8-12. Our district is the 15-18, which aligns with the blockout calendar.

Redondo Beach Unified has April 8-12. My sister teaches there and they are taking a Disney cruise next week. Our district (Irvine) and several in San Diego area have this week off.