Wait Times in Spring Break

[TestTrack]

I am going to Disney starting march 31 for 5 days. What are the wait times I should expect during this period of time. Try to give some examples of what times on certain rides. Also do you think it will be less crowded then previous years because of economy, Sept., of just low attendence in general. I don't have to worry about Test track because the people who I am going with work for GM so we can go to the lounge and skip into the ride:sohappy: (right? ). Thanks for your help!

 

[wanabeimagineer]

Wait times vary a lot during Spring Break because not everone has the same days off. For me Spring Break starts next friday. It really is different for everyone so very hard to predict.

 

[TestTrack]

Yeah I never thought of that. has anyone been there this week and can give me rough estimates on certain rides or confirm that if you work fo GM you get to skip the line on test track?

 

[gbstud2004]

Hey I was at Disney last year during Spring Break. Lines are VERY long. I was their during "official" spring break because I got the "Spring Break '01" pin. Be sure to get a fastpass for Test Track as soon as the park opens before doing anything. We got there as they unlocked the gates, and there was already a two hour wait (with no early opening, how that happed I don't know) and we got fastpasses for 3 in the afternoon beause they were almost all gone. So do that fast! And don't let the lines discourage you... We did all we wanted to do... So it IS possible.
~Greg

 

[no2apprentice]

Last year we were at WDW the week before Easter week. Most of the popular attractions were hitting the 60 minute wait by about 11 to 11:30. We made great use of FASTPASS and the longest we waited in any line was 25 minutes, due to planning, luck, and of course, FASTPASS. The year before (2000) we were down around Easter, but I can't remember which week. Once again, pretty crowded. I can't remember if they had started FASTPASS; I think they were still installing the stations.

Looking at the park hours, I'd guess you'll be down at a peak time. Sorry, don't have any info on Test Track. Have a great time!

 

[Fievel]

Yeah..you better be ready to stand in line.

When I was in college, we went to WDW during spring break once, and swore never to do it again. After that I'd stay home during spring break and go dow to WDW in mid January instead.

 

[thumper]

When I was in college, we went down to Disney during our Spring Break (St. Patrick's week). It was crowded!! I clearly remember waiting an exceptionally long time for Thunder Mountain, although one college student decided to break out a tune and sing the theme to "Beverly Hillbillies" (and everyone joined in!) I also remember Pleasure Island being packed, partially due to St. Pat's Day and partially due to Spring Break crowd.

 

[wanabeimagineer]

Originally posted by TestTrack
Yeah I never thought of that. has anyone been there this week and can give me rough estimates on certain rides or confirm that if you work fo GM you get to skip the line on test track?

I can't confirm about the GM thing, but I'm sure that if the person were with you and had proof that he/she does work there, it would make sense that you could.

 

[HMFan]

I went last March and the lines varied from park to park. The day we went to AK there were short lines for everything. The longest we waited was 20 min for Dinosaur. MGM wasn't bad either, thank god for FastPass though, the longest wait there was 30 min for ToT. Epcot and MK were a totally different story though. We didn't get to ride on Test Trak, by the time we got there the standby line was 2 hours, and all the FastPass tickets had been given out. We went to MK and only got on Splash Mountain and that was after using FastPass. MK was so crowded and we were absolutely miserable! When we got off Splash Mountain the wait was like 2 and 1/2 hours! The shortest wait that we could find for any attraction was 90 minutes. So we packed our stuff up and headed out of the park. A little disappointed that we didn't get to do everything in MK, but we did get to do everthing that we wanted at MGM, AK, and Epcot (with the exception of Test Trak).

 

[SnowWhiteKL]

Last week, my mom, sister, my best friend surprised me with a trip to WDW over February break! I'm really excited, but worried about lines because we're only going to have 4 days in the parks because we're driving from New York. Since I haven't been to WDW in a while, I don't remember if there's an easter parade anymore, and if there is, can anyone tell me how to get a spot on the parade route, or will that be impossible?

 

[DisneyWorld30th]

Good Luck!

 

[Bdis86]

Okay, here is some Spring Break info:

Disney has a Spring Break pin out all spring, not just for a week, and it's not limited.

Disney uses a system to establish hours for spring break. The longest hours are the week before Easter, thus is the most crowded week. The second longest hours are the week after Easter, thus the second most crowded week.

SLEEP IN! Go to the parks around 2, and stay till they close, however, it is hard to get FastPasses after 2 for: Test Track, Splash Mt., and Space Mt.

Disney trashed the Easter Parade, (and I was the last one to see it. I was there on Easter of 2000, and saw the parade by Splash Mt.) but they still add about 2 floats to the end of the normal parade. The best spot is in Frontierland.

The day parade at the MK usually goes from Frontierland to Main Street. SpectroMagic does the route the other way. At Epcot Tapestry of Dreams goes counter-clockwise around the lagoon.
At the Studios, Stars & Motorcars starts on New York St., and ends at the park entrance. At AK, the Parade starts in Africa, goes all the way around Safari Village, Goes across the Asia Bridge, and takes the path to Africa. Crowd control is horrible!


If you get too many long lines, use Fast Pass as much as possible. If you need to, you can use a Fast Pass from any day as long as the time is the same, only because CM's don't look at FP dates. Just the times. A little sneaky I know, but it works. Shhhhhhhhh!!!!!!
Tips: Forget Splash Mt. , unless you get a FP, or it is your last ride of the day, right before park closing.

Go to the late showing of Fantasmic! and SpectroMagic- the best place for SpectroMagic is in the Splash Mt. Area, on the Splash Mt. side. This way you can zip to Splas or Big Thunder Mt. right after the parade with little wait.

Make dining reservations NOW!!!! (407)WDW-DINE

Don't trust Wait Time Signs. They highly over-estimate by about 25-50%. The CMs are wrong about 25% of the time too.

Most live shows are a waste, except Festival of the Lion King and Fantasmic! of course. Don't waste your time.

Want to go on a dumbo-like ride? The shortest wait is always the Magic Carpets of Aladdin in the MK. Also a neat spot for the fireworks if you time it right.

Pin trading is a great way to spend the day!

Use the Smoking Areas if you need to smoke!

Kali River Rapids will run out of FastPasses earlier than normal, and will have long lines.

Park hours are changing for the better at the last minute this year. Check www.disneyworld.com for the latest updates and note that the Magic Kingdom is open till Midnight again, for the first time since August! (MK was open till 1 on NY's EVE) Normally when the park is open till 12, SpectroMagic is shown at 9 & 11, with the fireworks at 10. The Internet hours don't say this, but I've gone against them and been right before!

Be prepared for lots of Teens and College Kids!

These are line wait times for rides that will have waits at or over 30 min. during the mid-day after the parade (except for Fantasmic!)

Primeval Whirl will be officially opening on March 31st. Soft openings will happen from now up until the 31st. For anyone who doens't know, Primeval Whirl is a wild mouse type coaster that is in Dinoland in Animal Kingdom.

Magic Kingdom

Splash Mountain 120 min.
Space Mountain 120 min.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad 90 min.
Haunted Mansion 30 min.
Peter Pan's Flight 120 min.
Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh 90 min.
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin 75 min.
Barnstormer 30 min.
Jungle Cruse 60 min.
Pirates of the Caribbean 30 min.
Dumbo 60 min.
Astro Orbiter 60 min.
The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter 60 min.
Tomorrowland Indy Speedway 90 min.

Epcot

Test Track 300 min. I am NOT over-estimating at all
Malestrom 40 min.
Body Wars 60 min.
Living with the Land Boat Ride 60 min.
"Honey, I Shrunk The Audience" 45 min.

Disney-MGM Studios

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith 120 min.
Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 30 min.
Disney-MGM Studios Backlot Tour 30 min.
Voyage of The Little Mermaid 90 min.
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! 60 min.
Star Tours 60 min.
Great Movie Ride 30 min.
Fantasmic! line up about 2 hours before show

Disney's Animal Kingdom Park

Dinosaur 60 min.
Kilimanjaro Safaris 120 min.
Kali River Rapids 120 min.
It's Tough to be a Bug! 30 min.
Primeval Whirl 60 min.

Remember, the above wait times are for the standby lines, not Fast Pass.
Well, that's it! Have Fun!

 

[DisneyFreak721]

So, would all these rules apply for March 23rd - 27th? That's when I go, and I think I sprouted my 8th gray hair (and I'm 17) after reading that.

 

[Bdis86]

yes, this list is for both weeks connecting Easter, the second being about 5 min. shorter for everything.

 

[Grumpy56]

Thanks for all the GREAT information. We are going this Friday for 8 days and I'm so excited even those wait times will not dampen my spirits. It is always good to be prepared but the main thing is RELAX and have fun! It's Disney!

 

[tommy112973]

so the week of april the 7th will be pretty busy huh, thats a bummer, i was think that most people would have had there spring break by then...do you think it will be that busy...any of you???

 

[hallowboy11]

Week of April 7th

Yeah, I know the week of April 7th will be pretty crazy. That's when my friends and I are coming down. Many of the resorts are totally booked - I've been checking. But what I don't understand is that the park hours for that week are AWFUL! I mean, the Magic Kingdom closes at *6!* on Wednesday!

I've written wdw.guest.communications@disney.com to see if they would add more hours! Anyone coming down this week should do the same!

Keep on smilin!

Kevin

<wolf whistle> - Stitch

"Get your own movie" - Belle

 

[Bdis86]

Disney is changing hours all over the place, but 2 weeks after Easter is a little late. It won't be as bad then. I'd say wait times will be 20 min. less then, and even more for some rides, with the exception of Peter Pan's Flight. lol.

 

[hallowboy11]

But it still will be. That's Spring Break for most of Georgia High Schools. It's late Spring Break for some colleges. Any why would many of the resorts - including the Swan and Dolphin - packed out?? We did this last year.. and it was slammed. But at least then the park hours were a little later.. and we had two E-Ticket nights. This year there are NO E-ticket nights that week.. but TWO for the next week - three weeks after Easter.

 

[tommy112973]

I dont think they are as packed as you think, I have been monitoring the disneyworld web page and the only 2 resorts that i cant get into is the AS Movies and the Coronado, Coronado because of a convention, but other than that, they still had rooms open, i have my fingers crossed and hope the right answer would be 20 minute waits...

as for those hours, they are terrible, its a peak season with off peak times, that really sucks!!!! And no E RIDE nights!! that is even worse, we can only wait and watch there holloway....lets pray together.......