Anyone been to WDW in Feb/March/April?

[Mazzy]

I had posted on the Trip Planning board asking about crowds in the 2-3 weeks before Easter and all the replies I got said the Spring Break crowds were terrible!

Has anyone been in Spring? Just trying to find a period of time when the weather is quite nice, crowds not too bad, but it doesn't seem to be easy!

Love to hear from anyone who has actually been in the Spring. My original plan was to go 3 weeks before Easter, then come home Thursday before Easter Weekend, but the comments have now put me off!

Any ideas would be more than welcome!

 

[Janice]

Hi Mazzy

Chris and I went for the last two weeks in March last year (just after I had my operation) and we found it quite perfect.

The crowds were enough to give atmosphere - but not long unbearable queues.

The weather was almost perfect, not too hot, although we did have a very chilly day when we did the Illuminations Cruise with Spottydog and family. The day before we were due to come home though - we had a severe rain storm - of hurricane proportions, and spent the whole day glued to the TV. We were advised not to leave our rooms and the Weather Channel and News were giving bulletins continually following the storm across the state. The worst area was right across WDW and Orlando so it was quite frightening, but interesting, in a bizarre sort of way.

But that was an unusual occurence and it wouldn't deter me from going at that time of year again

The only time we encountered any big crowds was towards the end of the holiday but only in Pleasure Island during the evening? Spring Breakers.

HTH

 

[Astrid]

Hi!

I've been in March three times and wouldn't hesitate to go again at that time of year.

Yes, you can hit Spring Break and a huge influx of youngsters but it didn't bother us at all and didn't seem to make any difference to our holiday. Things tend to get busier the nearer you get to Easter but we always leave before Easter actually starts so never encountered any huge queues.

Weather wise it's always been fine. This year it was brilliant, in the 80s the whole time with just a couple of showers. In '99 and '01 we had some chilly days and some days of rain but generally, I felt, it was ideal 'doing the Parks' weather! The nights do tend to get chilly though so take a warm top. On our last day this year both Water Parks were full to capacity at midday because of the brilliant weather and Spring Break so that's something to bear in mind.

HTH

Astrid x

 

[Mazzy]

Well Janice and Astrid - you have made me feel a whole lot better!

We really did want to go in the 3 weeks leading up to Easter as we always find that time of year drags SO slowly, so it would be something to look forward to in the depths of Winter!

From your comments I think we will go back to our original plan then, unless anyone else has had a different experience?

 

[Astrid]

Glad to be of help Mazzy!

3 weeks before Easter sounds heaven to me!! (got room in your suitcase for an extra one?!!)

Astrid x

 

[Mazzy]

LOL Astrid - what, with all the kids clothes?!

Yes, I think March 2004 will work out better, as originally we were going back October 2003 which would have only been 9 months after our return in Jan, but DH now has an important boat show in October but won't know the date until early next year, so we couldn't book as far ahead as we would have needed to get the flights. I think we will appreciate March much more though, as the few months after Christmas are always pretty grim aren't they? Or is that just me??

By going 3 weeks before Easter, the kids can have their 'allowed' 2 weeks off school, then the third week they will be off anyway, so it's a good way to get a long holiday and the flight prices are quite good for that time of year! I don't know how anyone can afford to go in term time, it is such a HUGE difference in price!

 

[Hilary]

I agree with what has already been said about going at that time of year - the weather's great (not too hot, not too cold), the crowds can get BIG, but not unbearable (although we found Easter itself a little too crowded for comfort!).

One thing that caught me out when I went last year on a DIY trip was that I expected it to be off peak because the UK flight prices were low then, but the Orlando hotels were at peak rates because of Spring Break - somehting to check out if you're weighing up DIY vs. package.

 

[Mazzy]

Hilary, thanks for the info re the hotels, I had actually just found that out on the Resorts Board, like yourself I was thinking it would be low rate, but I guess with the Spring Break etc they put the prices up.

How did you get on last year? Did you manage to get any DC or AP discounts? I would rather book independently if poss, as Virgin Holidays don't let you book a Disney Resort without a pass included, and it would work out better for us to get Annual Passes.

Thanks

 

[Hilary]

How did you get on last year? Did you manage to get any DC or AP discounts?

I had a really great deal last year with an AP rate coming up a couple of weeks before we went.
I booked the accommodation with Dreams Unlimited and (to save a bit of money because of the peak rate prices) we decided on three nights in All Star Movies and four nights in Port Orleans Riverside. In the end, my DU agent got the POR for less than the ASMo would have been, so we switched to have the whole week in POR! If I remember rightly the POR rate started out at around $195, then came down to $145 (DC discount?) and ended up at $105 (ASMo was $116)!

Of course, if you do decide to DIY in the hope of getting a discount, there's no guarantee that a better rate will come out, so you have to be prepared to pay the going rate just incase it doesn't.

 

[SpottyDog]

Mazzy, we've only been at that time of year for the reasons you've already quoted - cheaper UK prices, decent weather (apart from 2001) and more bearable 'crowds'. Spring Breakers are ok- just they make the place busier than we're used to - but that's still way quieter than we hear at other times of year.

We wouldn't go any other time- except one planned trip for November to see the Chritmas lights etc.

 

[WDWfan uk]

Hi Mazzy We've been five times around this time of year - it's been wonderful! Usually great weather and always zero humidity. It depends when Easter falls as to how much you are affected by 'Spring Breakers'. A late Easter usually means that some will be returning to school/college directly after Easter. There aer different holidays for different schools in different states.
The weekend before Easter, the resort hotels fill up and so from that weekend until after Easter it is very busy, but knowing this we try to plan accordingly - doing other stuff besides the parks.
Are you planning on visiting anywhere else in Florida or are you staying in Orlando?

 

[Mazzy]

Thanks for that Spotty - did you book a package or independently? After realising the hotels are peak rate I'm wondering whether a package would work out better.

Shirley - thanks for your positive comments! Easter will be 11 April in 2004 so I don't know how that will affect Spring Break - there are so many different dates for different areas it's hard to work out isn't it? The dates for 2003 have been posted on the main DIS planning boards, and there are colleges and schools taking spring break from Feb to April, so it's anyone's guess really!

As the plan is for 2004 we haven't really thought about what exactly we are going to do, we will wait until we get back from WDW in January and then give it some thought, but whilst I'm sat here twiddling my thumbs I thought I'd do some research on dates for that time, saving the legwork when we actually want to book!

 

[SpottyDog]

Mazzy, we've always gone 'packaged' before but V's busy workin on a DIY jobby fer next time. I just turn up and hope the debt never catches up with us.