Anyone Been to WDW At Easter?

[iluvamystery89]

it looks like the week following easter sunday will be our only chance to go to wdw next year-has anyone been during this time and if so, was it really crowded? hot? were the restaurants packed? any info, advice or experiences y'all have had are greatly appreciated! :sunshine2:

[ligrumpygirl]

This is one of the busiest times of the year!!!! Especially if it is in April...

We have gone a few times at that time and the lines rival July 4th! This year, we did not go on one ride because I wouldn't wait on the lines!

[iluvamystery89]

oh geeeez, DH has a crowd phobia (which is why we usually go in september, but DD is starting middle school this year so that's out). would the end of may/beginning of june be better? i'm open to suggestions, lol.

[m 'n c]

Well things have probably changed since I went 10 years ago the last week of May but I don't remember it being all that bad. (but that was 10 years ago!) I would think May would be crowded but not as bad as the week after Easter because some kids would still be in school but a lot will be out as well.

[iluvamystery89]

thanks :) with DD going into middle school, our options are really limited-thanksgiving week (fall break), spring break or immediately following the end of the school year at the end of may. i thought spring break would be our best option, now i'm not so sure...

[shades99]

We live near Disney and visit the parks almost every weekend. Disney hosts their "Festival Disney" during March-April-May. LOTS of chorus/band/orchestra/dance, etc...groups in the parks during this time. The parks were very crowded - not holiday crowded - but, more crowded than the "slow" periods between Disney's various main events. I do know all of the value resorts were sold out and filled with teenagers (4 per room) this year if that gives you any kind of indication to the crowds in the parks. Spring Fest runs all week long with the kids performing in the parks and other places around Disney property. The weekends during this time are full of parents watching their kids perform as well. Out of the 3 nights & 4 days my dd spent at Disney this year, I would estimate that only 4-5 hours were occupied with actual orchestra activities. The rest of the time was spent with her 2 assigned classmates in the parks. On a side note, the teacher made them travel in groups of 3 to eliminate "couples" issues. I think that is pretty clever and was really funny to watch the kids faces when they found out this was a rule on the trip.

Here's a link with Festival Disney info & dates for 2009:

http://disneyyouthgroups.disney.go.com/wdyp/detail/detailPage?page=FDItineraryDetailPage

It really is getting difficult to go during a low period because Disney has found ways to fill the parks year-round. There are marathons, golf tournaments, baseball spring training, etc. When there isn't an event filling the resorts, Disney sends out emails to Florida annual passholders offering special rates for resorts to fill them up. The least crowded time is during the extra magic hours if you are staying in a Disney resort. The absolute least crowded time & park is the Magic Kingdom during any of their special parties - Pirate & Princess, MNSSHP, MVMCP. We obviously have to buy special tickets for these events but it is so worth it! We were sitting right under Tinker Bell when he flew from the castle last week during Wishes! It was really cool!

[PSL1013]

We were there once during Easter....wall to wall people!! You can't get anywhere near the attractions, we did get to see the Easter Parade down Main St. which was really nice but we were standing about 20 people deep. :rotfl: We were there the week of July 4th twice and Easter week was way more crowded in my opinion. I mean, I would go, if there were no other options but that is because we have been there and done everything a million times and it wouldn't be necessary to go on rides....but it wouldn't be a relaxing vacation unless you went to just lay around the pool but what's the point of that? :rolleyes:

[OhMari]

The week before Easter seems to be more crowded than after Easter.
I've done Easter twice. My biggest tip, is get to the parks at Opening. You can pretty much get everything done by 11:30-noon. Go back to your hotel and swim, than come back for a few late nites.

At the MK watch the parades in front of Hall of Presidents. You only have to show up 15 minutes early. For Wishes, you can find a decent spot anywhere, since a lot of people leave the park after the parade.

The only park I found bad was Epcot early in the morning. I don't know why, but I guess I just picked a day, when everyone else was there.

[PSL1013]

The only park I found bad was Epcot early in the morning. I don't know why, but I guess I just picked a day, when everyone else was there.

It might have been because they closed MK..this will happen when they reach capacity, which could happen early in the day if it's a major holiday or close to one....then everyone goes to another park that is still letting people in, in this case they probably took the monorail over to Epcot on this particular day that you were there, just a thought? No idea though, it could have just been a coincidence? I don't like crowds at all and we always go in Oct/May and have pretty good luck but we also have no kids at home anymore that require us to travel during school vacations which we did have to do for many, many years. With the gas situation and airfare costs at the moment, maybe people won't be traveling as much in the future?

[iluvamystery89]

this is SUCH a difficult choice...it'd be so much easier if we could just go in september as usual, lol. we would all love to see the parks decorated for christmas and attend the mvmcp, but DD doesn't get out of school until 4-5 days before christmas, so crowds would be awful then, i'm sure and DH would be VERY uncomfortable in that situation. would dec. 19th-22nd/23rd be worse than easter? anyone?

[~Kathie]

Easter is April 12th. Most of New England has Spring Break from April 13-April 17. A lot of people go to WDW.

We have gone at the end of May the beginning of June and there were less crowds. It was a great time to go and the weather is nice. Memorial Day is May 25, 2009 and the parks are busy that weekend, so keep that in mind.

Many schools (at least the ones in the Northeast) don't get out until the middle of June especially if there were snow days so if you go after Memorial Day and before the teen week of June you should be okay.

I've never been to the parks that late in December so I can't help you with that.

While our kids were in school, we only traveled to WDW during Spring Break. Their schools had big consequences for unauthorized absences. They didn't consider vacations to be a good reason for them to be out of school. We would just bite the bullet and go. We tried to plan our time and took advantage of the early mornings and late nights so we could get it all in. Yes there were crowds, we were on vacation......we had to be flexible.

Not easy when the kids are in school.......hope you figure it out.

[WDWfan]

We were at Animal Kingdom last year on Easter Sunday and the crowds were pretty small. We went to Epcot the next day and it was packed. Later that week, the dc and I tried to do the Magic Kingdom and the line for the tram was so long that we left. So, it's crowded. It was also pretty cool in 2008, the weather in FL varies.

We're part-time FL residents, waiting not-so-patiently to be full-time, that's why we were able to go for the day.