Is Easter weekend really that bad??

[w8ting4pooh]

Or maybe I should entitle this - "Am I crazy to consider going for Easter weekend?"

Thursday - Monday - four full days (a new park each day) and a half day in MK....half of me REALLY wants to go and the other half says save your money and wait til the end of summer.

My 11 y.o. and I went to Disneyland the Monday before Xmas week and it was awesome. I took the unofficial guide and didn't even need it. We did the entire park in one day including most of Fantasyland. Did this spoil it for me? Will I be miserable when I see the crowds at WDW?

I'm thinking, OK, we'll open and close the park every day and just take a break in the middle. I'll just plan every day really carefully and we'll be fine. Our kids are theme park commandos - even the 3.5 year old can keep up with us when we go morning til night. Am I just doing some wishful thinking?

 

[Kreid001]

We'll be there!

We're staying at the Polynesian!

Here's our Plan:

4/12 - Arrive
4/13 - MK
4/14 - AK
4/15 - MGM
4/16 - Epcot
4/17 - most-likely MK & Luau
4/18 - most-likely Epcot & Cirque
4/19 - Typhoon Lagoon & Disney Quest
4/20 - Discovery Cove
4/21 - Sea World
4/22 - Leave

 

[jennymouse]

My DGD & I went the week leading into Easter weekend 2001. It was extreamly crowded at any park by 11:00am. We arrived before opening and was one of the first to get in. My DGD even got to be the "Gatekeeper" for MK one morning. We left the parks around noon, went back to the resort & swam, then hit the parks again after an early dinner. In the evening at MK we had little waits while everyone was seeing the Spectromagic parade. Really, we did/saw just about everything we wanted to. I wouldn't hesitate to go again during Easter. As long as you know it will be PACKED and plan for it, you can do it. We had a most magical trip.

Oh, if I were going to do it again, I think I would try to do AK different. That park gets sooooo crowded so fast, that I wouldn't mind trying going a couple days around 3 o'clock until close with hopes that most folks would be leaving around that time. If that doesn't work, I believe I'd skip AK entirely on a busy week like Easter week. We love that park, but there's just something about it that makes it crowded. You said you have the Unoffical Guide....well, that cartoon picture of everyone being all bunched up is exactly how it was Easter week by 9:00am!LOL

 

[DisneyKidds]

When DW was teaching we used to go to WDW during Easter break a lot. We did it more than once - so it couldn't have been that bad.

It will be very crowded. Actually, the busiest day we ever saw at the MK was on an Easter Sunday. We went for the Easter Parade. It was mobbed and we vowed to never do that again.

All that being said, you can have a great time over Easter at WDW. Get to the parks EARLY, EARLY, EARLY. We always liked to take a break around noon to relax a bit and avoid the biggest crowds of the day. We always went back to the parks in the late afternoon.

Be prepared for the crowds, prepare yourself mentally for the crowds (it is amazing how much your satisfaction can be affected by your expectations), have a plan, be smart, use fastpass - and you can have a great time if you go.

 

[drusba]

It is extremely crowded. MK will be the worst of the group. Lines for popular rides can be over 2 hours (3 hours for Test Track) from 10:30 on (till closing with some relief during parades). Fastpasses can run out before noon. Even Swiss Family Robinson, the most lame of all attractions in MK, can have a sustained 1 hour line for much of the day. Hit parks early to get on things you want; expect to have some rides you may never go on. Some attractions (Pirates, Haunted Mansion, and MGM and Epcot attractions other than Test Track, Rockin Rollercoaster, Tower of Terror, and Li'l Mermaid) can sometimes be fairly easy to get on between 3:30 and 8. Lines can lighten during a parade or during the first Fantasmic at MGM (they usually have two a night then)

Make PS's for dinner if you have any desire to eat dinner at a park sit down restaurant. On the Thursday once saw a family of four walk up to Crystal Palace at 6:00 without a ressie and ask for "next available seating time" for dinner. The CM's response after studing the computer was, "Tuesday at 8:30."

MK can fill to capacity Easter Sunday (and sometimes the day before and after). Don't go there on that date. Epcot often has its lightest day of the holiday season then. Nothing goes on at MK on Sunday that does not occur other days of the week (the "Easter" parade, which is simply the daily parade at 3 with Easter themed floats added, is also shown the other days).

 

[Gillian]

Save your money and wait until the end of summer

I've been there Easter week. Did the touring plans. Yes, it helped, but it's a zillion times better to go when the crowds are low, if you can.

We are going the 1st week of march this year. I fully expect crowds, but will deal with it. It's a bonus trip on our APs & before DS turns 3. Cheap. But after going the 2nd week of september this year, when the parks were EMPTY, it'll be hard. If we could go any other time, we would!

 

[MELSMICE]

Easter - extremely crowded. We've done it for a few years now but will continue to do it because we enjoy the 2 week break while our kids are out of school. We also enjoy taking advantage of their weather while it is still chilly back home. (I live in Buffalo, NY!)

I wouldn't deter you from going as long as you realize how crowded it will be. If you are hoping to see & do everything you should probably consider a time with less crowds.

Also, from looking at your itinerary, I would say you would need at least 1 - if not 2 - days of just sitting at the pool. If you are planning on opening & closing parks every day, even with a daily break, you will all be exhausted half way through your trip.

My kids love the parks, but some days they are so tired that all they want to do is swim, play in the sand or sit & read a book in a lounge chair.

Have fun no matter what you decide.

 

[Talinthor]

Originally posted by drusba
Swiss Family Robinson, the most lame of all attractions in MK

LOL

 

[kevin_cambs_uk]

I went last year at Easter time for my honeymoon, we had to go because we were taking my step daughter. Wow ! It was my forth time and it was incredible absolutely packed. We drove past Blizzard Beach to show my wife and daughter what it was like and there was a sign outside saying full !

I have never seen so many people. Splash mountain was a 2 hour queue, if you didn't get a Fast Pass.

After 2 days we worked out to get to the park an hour before it opened so that we were in the queue, espcially at MK where you have to get either the boat or the monrail over there. ehen we did MK we were up asnd out of our hotel at 7:30 !

This year were going in July, and I have promised my wife one day we will go when its scholl holidays and to a deluxe hotel too!!