Poohbear03
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2009
What can someone expect Easter week this year? (March 31-April 7) Any tips?
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How Bad is Easter Week?
- Thread starter Poohbear03
- Start date
picatinny
Definate Disney Addict
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2009
Busy crowds. Those are the dates we are going and we have tried to plan the parks accordingly to the historic crowd calendars i found on different sites. We usually go at the less busy times, but cant for this trip. Be flexible and roll with it is the plan for me.
mickeyluv'r
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2005
With prices these days, WDW has kind of spread the crowds a little.
1. first advice is to try and stagger your visit by a few days. The two weeks surrounding Easter are busiest; esp the week before Easter. Easter 2018 falls on April1, so worst week is Mar 25-April1, followed by April 1-April 7. Crowds are much lower after April 7. They aren't much better on March 19-23, but they are slightly better. If you are able to go one of those days, do as much touring as possible on those days.
2. Peak weeks always used to be a great time to enjoy as many peripheral hours as possible...but these days, those peripheral hours aren't as useful as they once were. When the parks aren't full, many rides now only operate at partial capacity. So don't assume early morning or late nights= shorter lines.
3. bad weather is still your friend, if you like lower crowds.
4. The last time we went on a peak week, and had an in-park lunch ADR, the lunch wait was absurd! With an ADR, we waited almost an hour past our ADR to be SEATED, then more for any food to arrive. I say this as someone who has done MANY Easter week ADR's over the years. My advice if you want to eat lunch in the parks, then eat a QS lunch at a slightly off-time like 11:30am, or 2pm. Even better, make an 11:45am ice cream bar your lunch! Eating at resorts is good, but avoid 'Ohana on a week like Easter. Oh, speaking of ADR's, you may well do well to get the dining plan. Historically, WDW always added Easter week surcharges to TS meals, especially their buffets. Otherwise, pack some granola bars, and eat a meal or two offsite.
5. If you have a car, eating ONE or two meals offsite is easy and enjoyable on your way to/from the airport. The Orlando area has so many options that it isn't hard to find an inexpensive, in-crowded place to eat, and it will cost much less.
5. Normally, we've always gone to the parks every day. Given the current state of WDW, you'll do well to have a non-park day. Tour resorts like the Boardwalk, play mini-golf, swim, ride free boats, enjoy your resort's free activities, that sort of thing.
6. Consider a day at Universal! If you have a WDW package/no car, then this might not be feasible.
7. Try to avoid dumb things. The line at the MK Starbucks will be insane at 9:30am. Ditto for the standby line of SevenD and Pandora. Easter week is a good time to get by using your in-room coffee maker.
1. first advice is to try and stagger your visit by a few days. The two weeks surrounding Easter are busiest; esp the week before Easter. Easter 2018 falls on April1, so worst week is Mar 25-April1, followed by April 1-April 7. Crowds are much lower after April 7. They aren't much better on March 19-23, but they are slightly better. If you are able to go one of those days, do as much touring as possible on those days.
2. Peak weeks always used to be a great time to enjoy as many peripheral hours as possible...but these days, those peripheral hours aren't as useful as they once were. When the parks aren't full, many rides now only operate at partial capacity. So don't assume early morning or late nights= shorter lines.
3. bad weather is still your friend, if you like lower crowds.
4. The last time we went on a peak week, and had an in-park lunch ADR, the lunch wait was absurd! With an ADR, we waited almost an hour past our ADR to be SEATED, then more for any food to arrive. I say this as someone who has done MANY Easter week ADR's over the years. My advice if you want to eat lunch in the parks, then eat a QS lunch at a slightly off-time like 11:30am, or 2pm. Even better, make an 11:45am ice cream bar your lunch! Eating at resorts is good, but avoid 'Ohana on a week like Easter. Oh, speaking of ADR's, you may well do well to get the dining plan. Historically, WDW always added Easter week surcharges to TS meals, especially their buffets. Otherwise, pack some granola bars, and eat a meal or two offsite.
5. If you have a car, eating ONE or two meals offsite is easy and enjoyable on your way to/from the airport. The Orlando area has so many options that it isn't hard to find an inexpensive, in-crowded place to eat, and it will cost much less.
5. Normally, we've always gone to the parks every day. Given the current state of WDW, you'll do well to have a non-park day. Tour resorts like the Boardwalk, play mini-golf, swim, ride free boats, enjoy your resort's free activities, that sort of thing.
6. Consider a day at Universal! If you have a WDW package/no car, then this might not be feasible.
7. Try to avoid dumb things. The line at the MK Starbucks will be insane at 9:30am. Ditto for the standby line of SevenD and Pandora. Easter week is a good time to get by using your in-room coffee maker.
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mickeyluv'r
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2005
Staggering your arrival/departure and choosing an off-time helps at the airport, too! Otherwise you get it ever step of the way: airport security lines, baggage lines, bell services, hotel arrival....
On a week like Easter, it is great to have a 10pm landing!
But then it always pays to zig at WDW when the crowd zags.
Another little zinger....what to do about milk? I can't drink coffee without milk/cream, but dislike cremora, and keeping milk cold is a pain in hotel rooms. a potential solution is to get Parmalat-style milk boxes. You can bring them in checked luggage, you can find them with some kid-meals (the food court at any airport?).
If we have a car, a stop we like to make is the Whole Foods at the exit for Sand Lake DR coming from MCO. It isn't super cheap, BUT..you can get milk boxes, and they have a fabulous prepared food section with tons of produce and a nice area to sit. There's also a few cheap places to eat in the same plaza. It is very close to Universal. They are also good if anyone in your group has special dining needs (allergies, vegetarian, etc)
Publix is another alternative. (esp if you arrive via Tampa.) Publix is good quality, and the ones in the WDW area cater to travelers. I find Walmart isn't so great, as they tend to carry large packages.
I've gone back and forth about grocery stops over the years, but now we often stop for a few snacks, drinks, water, and produce. For us, WDW doesn't offer enough produce, and often the places that do have produce only have the few kinds of produce we don't like. Good luck finding a blueberry at WDW! Also, WDW doesn't offer much food after midnight. If you stay out late, then it pays to have a few snacks in your room. Easter week, we stay out late.
Ooh, if you arrive via Tampa/192....there's a fun citrus stand called Orange World up that way. March is the end of FL citrus season, but you can get a bushel of high quality citrus for a good price there, and it is cute! It looks like a giant orange! Some of the roadside orange stands are TERRIBLE, but that one is decent.
Another nearby area that's pretty nice, and close to WDW, is Celebration. If you want an evening away from the theme park crazy, Celebration is highly manicured.
An offsite eatery we like not very far from the MCO airport is called Azteca D'Oro. It is at 12403 south Orange Blossom Trail. (It is a local chain, but that's the only one we've tried.) We found it near the JW Marriott. While mostly the kind of basic Mexican place that you'd find in any medium-sized city: fajitas, margaritas, burritos, chips. The upside is that we get a tasty TS meal for less than the price of a QS meal at WDW with no ADR. It gets busy for weekend dinners, but we've always been seated inside of 5min.
On a week like Easter, it is great to have a 10pm landing!
But then it always pays to zig at WDW when the crowd zags.
Another little zinger....what to do about milk? I can't drink coffee without milk/cream, but dislike cremora, and keeping milk cold is a pain in hotel rooms. a potential solution is to get Parmalat-style milk boxes. You can bring them in checked luggage, you can find them with some kid-meals (the food court at any airport?).
If we have a car, a stop we like to make is the Whole Foods at the exit for Sand Lake DR coming from MCO. It isn't super cheap, BUT..you can get milk boxes, and they have a fabulous prepared food section with tons of produce and a nice area to sit. There's also a few cheap places to eat in the same plaza. It is very close to Universal. They are also good if anyone in your group has special dining needs (allergies, vegetarian, etc)
Publix is another alternative. (esp if you arrive via Tampa.) Publix is good quality, and the ones in the WDW area cater to travelers. I find Walmart isn't so great, as they tend to carry large packages.
I've gone back and forth about grocery stops over the years, but now we often stop for a few snacks, drinks, water, and produce. For us, WDW doesn't offer enough produce, and often the places that do have produce only have the few kinds of produce we don't like. Good luck finding a blueberry at WDW! Also, WDW doesn't offer much food after midnight. If you stay out late, then it pays to have a few snacks in your room. Easter week, we stay out late.
Ooh, if you arrive via Tampa/192....there's a fun citrus stand called Orange World up that way. March is the end of FL citrus season, but you can get a bushel of high quality citrus for a good price there, and it is cute! It looks like a giant orange! Some of the roadside orange stands are TERRIBLE, but that one is decent.
Another nearby area that's pretty nice, and close to WDW, is Celebration. If you want an evening away from the theme park crazy, Celebration is highly manicured.
An offsite eatery we like not very far from the MCO airport is called Azteca D'Oro. It is at 12403 south Orange Blossom Trail. (It is a local chain, but that's the only one we've tried.) We found it near the JW Marriott. While mostly the kind of basic Mexican place that you'd find in any medium-sized city: fajitas, margaritas, burritos, chips. The upside is that we get a tasty TS meal for less than the price of a QS meal at WDW with no ADR. It gets busy for weekend dinners, but we've always been seated inside of 5min.
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Jessirip
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 12, 2016
We're going then too and I'm nervous about the crowds, but to try to compensate we:
- Upgraded our room from All Star Sports to an AoA suite anticipating we'll be spending more time back at the resort (we wanted the room to spread out with 2 bathrooms and TVs, and the kitchenette).
- Chose not to do the dining plan in order to take advantage of mobile ordering (hope they don't change that before we go!).
- Planning to RD most days, tour for an hour, then FPs early and leave the parks for a bit after a later lunch.
- Only grabbed a few ADRS in advance... lunch on Easter Sunday at MK so we can be assured a place to sit (LTT), and then the hard to get ones (BOG Dinner, Sci-Fi, CRT). I did have one planned for every day but was getting too stressed about where we'll be and when.
- Chose to buy park hoppers, even though we may not need them. If MK is shoulder to shoulder one day we wanted to be able to enjoy someplace else that evening.
- Booked a dessert party for HEA so we don't have to stake out a spot too far in advance.
And most importantly, working on the right attitude! This is our kids first visit at 3 & 6 and they are going to have the best time just being there. I can't wait to see it through their eyes.
- Upgraded our room from All Star Sports to an AoA suite anticipating we'll be spending more time back at the resort (we wanted the room to spread out with 2 bathrooms and TVs, and the kitchenette).
- Chose not to do the dining plan in order to take advantage of mobile ordering (hope they don't change that before we go!).
- Planning to RD most days, tour for an hour, then FPs early and leave the parks for a bit after a later lunch.
- Only grabbed a few ADRS in advance... lunch on Easter Sunday at MK so we can be assured a place to sit (LTT), and then the hard to get ones (BOG Dinner, Sci-Fi, CRT). I did have one planned for every day but was getting too stressed about where we'll be and when.
- Chose to buy park hoppers, even though we may not need them. If MK is shoulder to shoulder one day we wanted to be able to enjoy someplace else that evening.
- Booked a dessert party for HEA so we don't have to stake out a spot too far in advance.
And most importantly, working on the right attitude! This is our kids first visit at 3 & 6 and they are going to have the best time just being there. I can't wait to see it through their eyes.
GPC0321
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2015
We went Easter 2016 (Good Friday through the Wednesday after Easter), and it was our first time visiting WDW in 17 years. We definitely zigged when the crowd was zagging for the most part, and because we weren't really into riding headliners, it was definitely manageable.
We were just back for December 17-20, and it seemed more crowded. Maybe it's because we weren't "zigging" this time, and were partaking in all of the big holiday draws. Still fun though.
If you make the most of rope drop and FP+ and eat QS at off times, you should be fine.
We were just back for December 17-20, and it seemed more crowded. Maybe it's because we weren't "zigging" this time, and were partaking in all of the big holiday draws. Still fun though.
If you make the most of rope drop and FP+ and eat QS at off times, you should be fine.
22Tink
BC, Canada
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2015
We'll be there March 25-April 4 and I'm going fully expecting crowds. I actually had my dates mixed up and thought Easter was the next weekend but my flights were already booked so it was too late to change our dates. All we can do now is go with the right mindset and go with the flow! At least we'll be at Disney! I've got the HEA dessert party booked (also hoping for a FEA dessert party when the dates open up) and at least 1 TS meal booked per day so we can decompress a little and I've tried to choose our parks based on the least busy for each day on the crowd calendars. Even with how crowded I'm thinking it will be, I still managed to get all the ADRs I wanted, even some tricky ones so I'm hoping FP will be that easy! I am considering upgrading to hoppers though in case we want to switch parks if the one we've chosen happens to be busier than anticipated.
We have been there for Spring Break and/or Christmas week for the last several years and managed quite well. Planning is key ... not a good time to "wing it". We get to the parks at RD (and the parks with EMH morning hours) and hit as many rides/attractions as we can. We schedule our FP+'s for later in the morning. By lunchtime or early afternoon we generally leave the park for a "quiet" lunch at one of the resorts close to the park we have been in and then either back to the room for a quick nap or on to another park. We have never bothered with "additional FP+'s for the afternoon or evening as we have generally found that there is little availability for the rides we like. We instead have spent time enjoying the "less popular" attractions at the parks ... or enjoyed some adult beverages and people watching. We generally retire early (to make RD the next day) but if we stay for the fireworks we consider booking one of the dessert parties to insure a decent view ... this year we will do the dessert party at MK to catch the "new" fireworks show.
Best advice is to plan and adopt a "go with the flow" attitude. Know it will be crazy but embrace the craziness and remember it is the "happiest place on earth"!
Best advice is to plan and adopt a "go with the flow" attitude. Know it will be crazy but embrace the craziness and remember it is the "happiest place on earth"!
Mickey's Best Girl
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2008
All of your points are great but this one is going to be a day saver for you IMO. Mobile ordering was a complete game changer for us in November.
MakiraMarlena
It's a big black fish to you
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2005
All of the Disney resorts have small refrigerators that can keep milk cold. Transporting it in checked luggage would still be an issue though. There are grocery delivery services.
amymgould
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2015
I'll be there the same exact days. I also went last year the week after Easter as well, however, it was later in April, so I think that also had some affect. Regardless, what many people have said - be prepared for the crowds and have a plan. Even though it was really busy last year, I had a great plan, used fast passes, expected not to be able to ride headliners multiple times in a row (and prepared my kids for that!) and honestly, it was better than expected. Have a great time! 79 days to go and I can barely function. lol
teachmedis
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2014
Another thing to note about the busy weeks is everything seems to run at full steam ahead. When we were there for Easter 2015, we didn't wait at restaurants we had reservations to, we rarely had to wait more than five minutes for a bus, the hours were longer. Disney, of course, anticipates the crowds and I believe tries to run as efficiently as possible. Also, the weather is gorgeous. I'll be there for Easter this year and can't wait!
PlutoTheDog89
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 19, 2011
Went for the first time last year.
It was no where what we expected. I mean...we've been going during Christmas, so I think we're just programmed to expect long wait times. Saturday and Easter Sunday were busy due to the break and Flower and Garden. The Tuesday after Easter it was eerily uncrowded. You could fire a cannon down Main Street and not hit anyone. I remember getting back to Coronado and NO ONE was there.
I think the Easter/Spring breaks also fell at a weird and awkward time last year, if memory serves me right.
It was no where what we expected. I mean...we've been going during Christmas, so I think we're just programmed to expect long wait times. Saturday and Easter Sunday were busy due to the break and Flower and Garden. The Tuesday after Easter it was eerily uncrowded. You could fire a cannon down Main Street and not hit anyone. I remember getting back to Coronado and NO ONE was there.
I think the Easter/Spring breaks also fell at a weird and awkward time last year, if memory serves me right.
Easter was late last year, mid-April. I'm still amazed that so many schools move their spring break annually to coincide with Easter. (Whole Constitution, separation of church and state thing.) And I hate it when our spring break, which is always the exact same week, hits over Easter, like this year.
drinkme
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2008
We were there last year for Easter. Because of the late Easter we didn’t think the crowds were as bad as they could have been. We got all the FP we wanted, ride PP standby a couple of times with short wait. Did all the biggies several times. We just couldn’t get reservations for BOG.
After reading all the scary posts on Dis about the insane crowds at Easter I almost cancelled. But I subscribed to Touring Plans & they were so accurate!
HOWEVER, Easter is earlier this year so it may be crazy. I wouldn’t try it if you aren’t a WDW regular. We’ve been to WDW about 20 times so we knew how to navigate.
I do have to say the weather was just amazing. And the Flower show was going on.
Good luck!!!!
After reading all the scary posts on Dis about the insane crowds at Easter I almost cancelled. But I subscribed to Touring Plans & they were so accurate!
HOWEVER, Easter is earlier this year so it may be crazy. I wouldn’t try it if you aren’t a WDW regular. We’ve been to WDW about 20 times so we knew how to navigate.
I do have to say the weather was just amazing. And the Flower show was going on.
Good luck!!!!
Davey Jones II
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2008
At least at most of the All Stars (not Sports, for some strange reason -- we had to take a walk to Music) you can get milk at the resort gift shop.
LuvAriel
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2004
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