Disney during Spring Break?

J

jlcbshaw

New Member
Our family has made several trips to WDW in the last 8 years and of those trips only one was in a Peak time (July 1997), our last was in February of 2002, and the parks where not really empty, but not near as crowded as it was in 1997.

We are looking at going back in March 2003 during Spring Break. Anybody ever been during this time and if so what where the crowds like, also do they extend the hours?

I have read many threads and you guys are really good at telling it how it is, so please let me know your thoughts. Thank you!
:animwink:
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
J

jlcbshaw

New Member
Original Poster
Thanks for the reply.

That is kinda what I expected to hear. If it where just us going we wouldn't go during this time. My sister, her husband and their 3 kids, plus my mom and dad plus one other neice will be going and this is the ONLY time that they can all go together. We have 3 kids and they are use to the lesser crowded times, so they may get a little ancy when it comes to going during this time. When you say longer hours, what does that mean?
 
Upvote 0
E

Erika

Moderator
Originally posted by jlcbshaw
When you say longer hours, what does that mean?
Click to expand...

If you are used to going during less busy times, the parks close a lot earlier. They stay open later during spring break and over the summer, with the exception (I believe) of DAK.
 
Upvote 0
T

TURKEY

New Member
Epcot will still be 9-7, possibly 9-9.
AK will probally be 8 or 9 to 6 or 7.
MK will probally be 8 or 9 to 10 or 11, maybe midnight on weekends.
MGM will probally be 8 or 9 to 10 or 11.
 
Upvote 0
TIGGER-FAN

TIGGER-FAN

New Member
Been there during spring break when the parks are wall to wall people. A lot of college students around also. Expect lines to be very long in the afternoon hours.
 
Upvote 0
K

KathyG/poohbear

New Member
I went during March around the 7 or 9th and stayed for 7 nights in 2000 and 2002. The lines were not near as long as summer. I heard this was spring break week for college students. As long as we used fastpass smartly it was not that bad.

A couple of things had over an hour wait but we used fastpass. Alot of things were 10 - 20 minutes. It is nothing like summer months in my opinion. If you are taking about Easter week that would be a whole different story.
 
Upvote 0
kimrn87

kimrn87

Member
We visited at the end of Spring Break 2001. I did not think it was too bad. We did make use of the Fast Pass which helps a lot. At least the weather was nice when we went. I can tolerate crowds as long as it isn't HOT.
 
Upvote 0
E

Elaine

New Member
Spring Break

This is the perfect time to stay AWAY from the All Star Resorts!!! Unless of course you are the one on Spring Break. That was the one trip that we actually left WDW 2 days early and came home because of being terrorized by Spring Breakers at the All Star Resorts. The behavior was unbelievable and the security didn't ever get control of them. Obsene(sp?) phone calls in the middle of the night - don't even know how that could happen but it did, soap suds all over the sidewalk from the fountain by our room (like ice to walk on) noisey PI people returning to their rooms at 2am still partying, and on and on. It was a magical nightmare.
 
Upvote 0
Grumpy56

Grumpy56

Member
I agree that where you stay makes a big differnece at a busy time such as spring break. We were there in March of 2002 and stayed at the Polynesian which made all the difference, transportation is so great from there and we had a lovely oasis to escape to when the parks got too mad in the afternoons. When we were there, MK was open every night till midnight, that's how crowded it was. It was a great time to go because there was so much extra entertainment, fireworks at MK every night, the weather was great and because we had been so many times before we knew how to avoid the most crowded places and pace ourselves. By getting up early, and using fastpass we avoided the worst of the lines. You can have fun, but it really helps to plan at a time like spring break.
 
Upvote 0
E

Erika

Moderator
Originally posted by KathyG/poohbear
I went during March around the 7 or 9th and stayed for 7 nights in 2000 and 2002. The lines were not near as long as summer. I heard this was spring break week for college students. As long as we used fastpass smartly it was not that bad.

A couple of things had over an hour wait but we used fastpass. Alot of things were 10 - 20 minutes. It is nothing like summer months in my opinion. If you are taking about Easter week that would be a whole different story.
Click to expand...

I think later March tends to be a lot worse, because most school districts have spring break during that time. Both times I went were incredibly busy, with lines upwards of an hour. Of course I still had a great time :)

Edit: Both of those times were pre-Fastpass, so that can also make a difference.
 
Upvote 0
D

Disneynutcase

New Member
Uh...er...eep...not to burst anyone's bubble, but...

The hours you're hoping for might not be too great. We went last April (officially late spring break) and discovered, much to our pre-planning horror, that parks were only having long hours during the weeks before and after Easter. All other times (like two weeks before and after Easter), parks were opening late morning and closing way early in the evening--I think MK closed most nights by 8:00pm.

Easter this year isn't until mid-April, so you might just find your March trip to not be as "peak season" as you hoped. Saturdays will have longer hours and things like Spectromagic and fireworks will be performed at MK. Weekdays may not be so kind. And don't expect CoP or Timekeeper to be open. Last year, the only time either of these two attractions were open was during extended Easter vacation hours.

And the most infuriating thing, at least what we discovered, was that the parks were still pretty darned crowded. Disney just used some lame "it's not as croweded" logic as a convenient excuse to close shop early.

With that said, the shortened hours didn't bother us so much since we had three young kids in our party who were crapped out usually by 8:00pm anyway. But if they were older, we would've taken more issue about this, particularly since WDW charges the same admission price for 8:00am-midnight hours as it does for 10:00am-6:00pm.

When does WDW post hours for March? Should be sometime early in 2003. Hopefully enough of us complained to CM's and management last year to not make the same inane shortened hours happen this year. Good luck.
 
Upvote 0
DanStat

DanStat

Well-Known Member
We always go during Spring Break time, and refuse to go at any other time. Compared to summer or Christmas, Spring Break is like having the parks to yourself!

I love the time of year down there. The weather is perfect, and the hours of the parks are better than usual.

If I could suggest one time of the year to go, it would be during the traditional spring break period.
 
Upvote 0
F

FourFourSeven

Member
I've been there during spring break three or four times. It's not a bad time to go, provided you plan carefully. If you arrive at parks at least 1/2 hour before opening, avoid the Early Entry park, hit the long-line rides first, and judiciously use Fastpass, you can avoid most lines over 10 minutes.

On the other hand, if you arrive at the MK at 11:30 and go to Space Mountain, you'll have hour-plus lines.

I think the advice in the "Unofficial Guide" on avoiding lines, while always sound, makes the biggest difference during a moderately busy time like spring break.

The weather is great, and, if you're from the north, it's really nice to go someplace warm when you're ready to scream from snow and slush.
 
Upvote 0

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom