Just how crowded is Disney World during spring break weeks?

Parent Cafe
21

<p>

</p>

<p>Mine, too. Actually the last time we were there he was 7 and even though I had been to WDW a number of times before, on that trip I had one of those ‘aha’ moments…like why in the heck am I willing to stand in the heat all day for rides that basically last three minutes? Anyway, we haven’t been back but son has been for school trips. He said he would like to go back. Trying to figure when a good time would be - I have found the fall or even January or Feb to be the best times. Rest of the time, too hot or too crowded or both.</p>

22

<p>The new Harry Potter section at Universal should divert some families from WDW parks.</p>

23

<p>Epcot is great,particularly if you go during the Special events like flower show or wine and food,though that brings the crowds…Best place to stay is near the Boardwalk,our fav is the Yacht Club…so much more to do at night in that area as opposed to onsite hotels such as Contemporary,Grand Floridian,et al</p>

24

<p>

</p>

<p>We haven’t been as an entire family since the kids were early to mid-teens but now that all five Ds are in their 20s, three of them visit Disney once a year. They love it and are never at a loss for things to do - rides, nice dinners, swimming, mini-golf, real golf, shows. Magic Kingdom is nostalgia to them, they enjoy Epcot, Universal, Animal Kingdom. In recent years, they’ve stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge which they all love. Harry Potter was a treat for those who went in 2010. They all talk about us doing an entire family vacation there again someday, probably when my granddaughter is a little older.</p>

25

<p>Problem with Animal kingdom is after the parks close, there is little to do there,as you are kind of remote. The Boardwalk area allows much more to do at night with the nightlife and performances on boardwalk,ice cream shops,bars,et al</p>

26

<p>We went last year in March and it was not horribly crowded. We stayed near downtown Disney and it was great to go over there in the evenings…</p>

27

<p>

</p>

<p>They’ve never found a problem, in this regard. There’s transportation available, if you’d like to do something more than is available at your resort.</p>

28

<p>I am 21 and would be thrilled to go to disney again. We went once when I was in 6th or 7th grade, and did Sea World and Universal when I was a teenager. I loved them all so much, fiance and I might go theme park hopping for our honeymoon. Nostalgia is kickass in your early 20s, and I am not sure disney ever really stops being fun-- I was too chicken for half the rides when my parents took me before and would relish a second chance, especially now that I have enough endurance to actually get through a whole day at the park.</p>

<p>We did Universal during Spring break (and disney, but I was too young to remember that), and it was crowded but not terrible. After doing Sea World in July-- which was the most crowded I have ever seen a theme park and so hot we all got sick, I would take on any crowd during the cooler months.</p>

29

<p>

</p>

<p>LOL, I never claimed that our Disney vacations have been relaxing! It’s a pretty stressful thing, actually (the crowds alone are stressful.) WE did wait more than 10 minutes for things like shows where there is no fast pass. But if you know how to work it, you really can avoid waits. (You have to wait 2 hours between Fast Passes.)</p>

<p>My kids still love Disney. My 18 year old really truly wants to be a Disney Princess. She would rather do the Disney College Program than study abroad.</p>

30

<p>^^^Mine too.</p>

31

<p>A friend from church advised us to defer our first Disney trip until the kids were past nap age. Good advise! </p>

<p>We went when the kids were age 8 and 11. It was an awesome time! Our package allowed us to pick one special event. I insisted on the character breakfast. DH and kids groaned about their being too old (which was true). My answer, “They won’t be any younger the next time we go!”). </p>

<p>We have not been back since vacations usually revolve around family visits in the Northeast. But we do have precious memories of Disney. And also Kennedy Space Center, since DD was a space nut at the time.</p>

32

<p>I sometimes post on a travel board. On that board and to some extent on this thread. I’m amazed when people mention a Disney vacation and others actually post “don’t go there, go to __ instead.” Lots of love and hate for Disney. I don’t think anyone posted on the Grand Canyon thread, “Go to New York City instead.” Just an observation that Disney parks bring out some pretty strong feelings.,</p>

33

<p>We have vacationed at WDW many times since our first time when our twins were about 5. Our whole family enjoys visiting there. I have found that staying on site and buying the multiple park passes works best. We usually buy one or two days less than we are staying and do one day that is a waterpark/downtown disney day. We find that being able to hop from park to park is very useful. If one park is extremely busy or does not offer enough to fill the day you can head to another. We try to go to the Magic Kingdom in the evenings. Fireworks and Parades and most of the smaller children have crashed. The best trip ever was a week ending Labor Day weekend when Hurricane Frances came to town. The park was open on Friday but with no flights coming in it was 0-10 minutes for everything! They closed the park for the next two days but we were in a Deluxe resort that year so it was ok to be confined. Would not have wanted to be at a value resort!</p>

<p>The kids were at the Harry Potter part of Universal on Jan 2 as part of a Band trip. It was quite crowded.</p>

34

<p>We have done it suring school vacation weeks and found that if you get there right when they open, leave around lunch, go back to your hotel for a swim and lunch and then return around dinner, it isn’t too bad. Do the popular rides first. We also do breakfast reservations at whatever restaurant is serving breakfast in the park we are visiting. First, it gets everyone up and out of bed, second we are right in the park when it opens. There is also a list which parks are most crowded on what days. For example MK is crowded Mondays because is is the start of the vacation for a lot of folks so visit another park instead that day.
[Walt</a> Disney World - Disney World Vacation Information Guide - INTERCOT - Walt Disney World Inside & Out - Info Central](<a href=“http://www.intercot.com/infocentral/weather/whentovisit.asp]Walt”>Walt Disney World - Disney World Vacation Information Guide - INTERCOT - Walt Disney World Inside & Out)</p>

<p>have fun!</p>

35

<p>Very useful website:</p>

<p>[Disney</a> Dining & Reservations | Walt Disney World Resort](<a href=“http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/reservations/dining/]Disney”>http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/reservations/dining/)</p>

<p>Make dining plans as soon as your dates are finalized for any restaurant that you feel impelled to visit. They have improved their food tremendously as that was one complaint many people had in the '80s. If the website tells you the place is full, call 407-939-3463 (WDW-DINE) as they don’t release the full seating to any one method. You can also show up 30 minutes before you’d like to eat. You’ll wait a bit but they can usually work you in as people make plans and then change their minds. </p>

<p>Our favorites include Liberty Tree in MK for lunch (character dining at night), anything Japanese in Epcot, Le Cellier in Epcot (almost impossible to get into but you never know), and Yak and Yeti in AK (just don’t order anything that says ‘crispy’…it never is). At Hollywood Studios (no longer MGM), we haven’t found anything all that good to eat but the theming in the restaurants is great. Try Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater. You sit two in a row in an old car and watch weird 50’s trailers for bad old sci-fi movies…not recommended for small children but unlike anything else.</p>

<p>But the best Theme-Park restaurant hands-down – and not just my opinion but that of travel-writers galore – is Mythos in Islands of Adventure. Def. eat inside. </p>

<p>Haven’t been to Harry Potter yet…from what I understand Universal undersized the capacity of the ‘sights’ with the result that it is <em>always</em> crowded. When you can only fit a dozen or so people in a shop at a time, there will be lines. I was down there when they were working on it so saw stuff from the outside; they’ve done a remarkable job on the ‘look’ but I think they misjudged capacity badly. </p>

<p>In answer to HP, Disney is revamping and adding to FantasyLand. There will be a new castle and a whole section devoted to Beauty and the Beast. Opening scheduled for Mid 2013. They are also adding quite a lot of interactive activities to the lines – go through Winnie the Pooh for an example.</p>

<p>Toon Town will close Feb. 12th for this refurbishment so it will be a little harder to find the Mouse and friends. They will increase their ‘round-the-parks’ appearances. </p>

<p>Finally — I told you I’m a Fiend for this stuff – with people over 16 in your party, you might consider a behind the scenes tour. You can get to the information on tours at the website above. Backstage sights include the famous Utili-dors, the corridors that run everywhere under the park. Most people do not realize that the Disney Parks are merely (!) the top floor of a vast complex. The tours are pricey, and some are lengthy, but you see things others do not. Last time, we took the Segway tour/training around Fort Wilderness and really enjoyed that, though it wasn’t exactly a ‘backstage’ experience.</p>