Numerous "random" questions...

[AVeryDifferentDisneyDad]

Hello fellow Disney folks.

I have pouring over these forums or a few months, now. A HUGE "Thank You" to the owmets/managers of this site, and to the many members who post useful and informative information!!

Now on to the random questions:

We are coming this March-April. First time EVER coming during Spring Break time. 4th time visiting in last 12 years. Be honest: is this the worst time to come (crowd-wise)? Is so, serious advice on maximizing our 3 days?

Follow-up to above: we have Park Hopper tix and I see MK stays open till 1am all three night we're there. Will the parks clear out substancially after fireworks, etc even during Spring Break?

Will the area in front of Cinderella's castle be done by the end of March? If not, what kind of room is available for watching the fireworks, parade, etc.?

Will the Sorceror's hat be completely removed from Disney Studios by the end of March?

Will Pirates of the Caribbean ride be re-opened by then?

We're staying out at All-Star Sports area. Never stayed at one of the Value Resorts. How long a bus ride to get over to MK?

That's all I can think of for now. Sorry if it's in the wrong forum, moderators! Thanks - in advance - for any and all answers!!

Sincerely,
AVeryDifferentDisneyDad

 

[Doodlyday]

I would say the hat is totally removed by the end of March, and I think POTC will be back open (the refurb is beginning of the month if I remember), but I'm not sure on either of those. Can anyone confirm for the POTC referb?

 

[tcool]

Will the area in front of Cinderella's castle be done by the end of March? If not, what kind of room is available for watching the fireworks, parade, etc.?

Will the Sorceror's hat be completely removed from Disney Studios by the end of March?

We're staying out at All-Star Sports area. Never stayed at one of the Value Resorts. How long a bus ride to get over to MK?

That's all I can think of for now. Sorry if it's in the wrong forum, moderators! Thanks - in advance - for any and all answers!!

Sincerely,
AVeryDifferentDisneyDad

Hub Reconstruction should be wrapping up I think this month maybe next?

The BAH should be gone by March

I don't count the time it gets from A to B, but it seems like maybe 20-30 minutes?

 

[LAM378]

I've been following POTC news closely because I'm heading down in May, and I'm 99% sure the refurb dates haven't been announced yet. Anything is possible but I doubt they'd close it before Easter at this point. Some people on another thread suspect it's going down in mid-May. I can only check FP availability until March 13th but it's showing up as an option through then. I'm betting you're good to go on Pirates, DisneyDad!

 

[AVeryDifferentDisneyDad]

Thanks so much for these responses!

I have the Disney App so I occassionally check the wait times during the week just for fun. On several different occassions, POTC wasvlisted as "Closed" so I asdumed the refurb had already started! Guess it just keeps breaking down! =-(

 

[StarWarsGirl]

Follow-up to above: we have Park Hopper tix and I see MK stays open till 1am all three night we're there. Will the parks clear out substancially after fireworks, etc even during Spring Break?

Yup. Even when it's crowded, for about the last hour or two, it really clears out. It starts clearing out after fireworks, then it really clears out all of the sudden.

Will the Sorceror's hat be completely removed from Disney Studios by the end of March?

Based on the progress, I'd say definitely

Will Pirates of the Caribbean ride be re-opened by then?

I don't see it on the refurb list.

For a list of refurbishments, click here: http://www.wdwmagic.com/refurbishments.htm

We're staying out at All-Star Sports area. Never stayed at one of the Value Resorts. How long a bus ride to get over to MK?

20-30 minutes depending on how the buses are running, how many stops they make, etc.

For future reference, out of the values, Pop has the best bus service. 10-15 minutes to MK, 5 minutes to Epcot, buses run like clockwork. Well worth the additional money

Be honest: is this the worst time to come (crowd-wise)? Is so, serious advice on maximizing our 3 days?

I don't think it's as bad as Christmas. But it will be crowded. As far as maximizing your time...
Make sure you have your FP+ booked. You will not be able to do 7DMT unless you book it now, so do it ASAP.
Plan your day so you either arrive right at rope drop or stay late.
Plan your meals at non peak times. QS restaurants can get crowded during peak times.
Avoid MK on Saturday.
If you wanted to do TS meals, make sure you have your ADRs
Work your way from left to right of the park.

 

[AVeryDifferentDisneyDad]

StarWarsGirl

Awesome!! Thanks SO much! We are only doing QS meals this time. With only 3 days of park time, i didnt want to tie up a character meal everyday like we usually do. The kids are cool with it.

We're having to stay at Music because of the dance group my daughter is with - they are our excuse - er, I mean REASON - we are going to Disney again!

Left to right? Really? Why is that? That one is new to me!

Again THANKS! This forum is down right... well... magical!!

 

[MaryJaneP]

Left to right in MK has 2 reasons that we have heard before. 1. Most people enter park and go to the right out of habit and maybe because they want to do Space Mountain first, so counter-direction may help. 2. Left has many great rides (Splash, BTMRR, HM, POTC, etc). So depending on how your FP+ schedule works, left may be to your advantage.

 

[LAKid53]

If you go during the weeks of Spring Break, it will be crowded with both public school kids and college spring breakers. But not like Hell Week - the week between Christmas and New Years which is wall to wall people. We go late April, so we miss the Spring Break crowd; not sure if the Magic Kingdom experiences the tiered closing during Spring Break weeks. Just pray that this is not another time of the year for the Brazilian Tour groups.

The All Stars all share the same bus. So if you are staying at the All Star Movies - which is the last on the route, you will experience buses that are full when they get to your resort. I do remember once that our All Star had its own bus for the Magic Kingdom, but I think that was during a busy holiday weekend. We stayed at the Pop once because it didn't share a bus with another resort.

And I concur with MaryJane. Go to the left, whether it is bag check, entering the park, riding the attractions, etc. CMs tell you this several times during the Keys to the Kingdom tour. Don't know if it is because Space Mountain is to the right or most people are right handed, but go to the left.

Update: I see that Disney has expanded operating hours during March & April to accommodate the Spring Break weeks, so this should help with the crowds. Just know that anytime you see WDW expanding operating hours, this typically means heavier than normal crowds during that period, hence the parks being open longer.

 

[Kendrab1223]

I have never heard the left/right thing before, but I can say there is some truth to it! We always go right, but we went left first when we went on Wednesday... what a nice surprise that we had a 10 minute wait each for splash and HM. BTMRR and POTC both had short waits as well! We are following this same strategy when we go back next week

 

[Jae99]

We were at All Star Music during the so called hell week of Christmas/New Years. The parks will definitely clear out the later into the night you stay. If EMH's run from 1 am until 3 am you should be able to get lots done. As for the buses I can tell you that it is at most 20 minutes to the MK.

The only time you will share a bus is if you go to AK, it is only about 5 minutes from the resort so they have the bus shared by all 3 All Star Resorts. Every other park had dedicated buses running from the park to All Star Music.

 

[DisneyJunkie]

Ok, I'll try and answer them one by one:

• Spring break time is definitely one of the WORST times to go as you can hit some serious crowds in the parks even for the least popular attractions. I'd advise to find out when the spring break time is over and go the following week if you can. If you can't, your best best is to get to the parks as early as possible and get in on the lines for what you really want to see/do before they get to be outrageously long.
• Even with the late night at MK and park hoppers, sometimes the crowds are still milling about for a while when they know the park won't close for a few more hours. That said, many will choose to leave then and end their night with the fireworks, but with spring breakers, I wouldn't count on the lines going immediately from 60 minute wait to 2 minutes. You just have to be choosy.
• No telling exactly when the work in front of the castle will be complete. Even still there are more than enough decent places to catch the fireworks or parades from.
• The sorcerer's hat at DHS will likely be removed completely within the next 2 weeks (at least judging by the rate of removal I've seen in pictures), so yes in March it'll be gone.
• The Pirates refurbishment has been changed or moved out a bit. Can't tell if it'll be open until closer to the time of your trip. Keep checking here to see what's happening with it.
• From the Value resorts, it'll be a longer-than-normal bus ride to MK because you first have to go through the internal resort stops (stopping and picking up at each location) BEFORE you even leave the resort to head to the park. I'd guess 30-45 minutes from the time you leave your room until your bus ends up at MK (maybe longer).

 

[Mouse_Trap]

The BAH is almost certain to have completely gone by then, but I wouldn't bet against there still being some walls up around it.

By then, they may still be working on the ground underneath the hat - or constructing whatever is going to go there instead.....be that landscaping, a stage or something else.

I doubt the Hub construction will be complete by then, didn't they just move onto the northern sections a few weeks back. I doubt it will all complete until around May/June time.

 

[AVeryDifferentDisneyDad]

Again, thanks for everyone's advice!

Unfortunately, I cant dictate the time we go - for THIS trip. My daughter will be performing at DTD. Thay's also the reason for the resort option. We have already reserved our FP for all three days, and I have the days mapped out for what park(s) on each day. Definately going to go LEFT first at MK and see what happens!

Cant wait!!

 

[Disneyfamily4]

Hello fellow Disney folks.

I have pouring over these forums or a few months, now. A HUGE "Thank You" to the owmets/managers of this site, and to the many members who post useful and informative information!!

Now on to the random questions:

We are coming this March-April. First time EVER coming during Spring Break time. 4th time visiting in last 12 years. Be honest: is this the worst time to come (crowd-wise)? Is so, serious advice on maximizing our 3 days?

Follow-up to above: we have Park Hopper tix and I see MK stays open till 1am all three night we're there. Will the parks clear out substancially after fireworks, etc even during Spring Break?

Will the area in front of Cinderella's castle be done by the end of March? If not, what kind of room is available for watching the fireworks, parade, etc.?

Will the Sorceror's hat be completely removed from Disney Studios by the end of March?

Will Pirates of the Caribbean ride be re-opened by then?

We're staying out at All-Star Sports area. Never stayed at one of the Value Resorts. How long a bus ride to get over to MK?

That's all I can think of for now. Sorry if it's in the wrong forum, moderators! Thanks - in advance - for any and all answers!!

Sincerely,
AVeryDifferentDisneyDad

This is the exact time of year we always go to Disney as well. Last week March & First week of April. A lot of people say stay away during these times, but as busy as the parks are, they are not unbearable. Utilizing the fast pass helps a lot. The stand by lines are horrendous. For the last two years in Epcot, Test Track had over a 250 minute wait with once being as long as 360 minutes. Space, thunder and splash are the same way during the day.

As for the Park Hoppers, they are definitely needed. No matter where we start our day in the morning, being that MK is open past midnight, we always finish our day in Magic Kingdom. Just beware of the Electrical Parade, which I cannot stand. If you don't plan where you need to be, at the start of the parade very carefully, you will most likely get stuck on one side of the park. The crowds for this parade are so huge and with paths blocked off, you can find yourself trapped til the end of the parade.

As for the work in front of the castle, its been two years and I don't think they are done yet. I have two years worth of pictures with that ugly crane in front of the castle.