Spring break: give me the good, the bad, and the ugly.

[pinkpeony6210]

I know it will be busy, but is it unbearable? We're looking into getting a room through Dave's DVC rental, so price wise it isn't too expensive. April is our only option considering we're going in October, and I can't take anymore time off from work.

[curbsideprophet]

I am curious to hear any stories from this time. I do not want to pull the kids out of school as they get older so this might be the best time for us.

[Wines Not Whines]

We went to WDW over spring break this year (the week after Easter). 

The good: The weather was great. There were a couple of hot, humid days, but overall it was very tolerable, and it was perfect in the evenings. It was warm enough for us to go to the pool, which was awesome. We were there during the Epcot Flower and Garden festival, so there were a lot of different (and tasty) food options (it's turned into a mini Food and Wine festival). 

The bad/ugly: It was very crowded. Our strategy was to arrive for rope drop, see as much as we could until things got crazy (usually around 11 am), and leave for an afternoon break. Then we headed back into the parks for dinner and some rides in the evening, after we thought crowds would thin out a little. Plus we had our 3 FPs to use. Things were pretty sane for the first couple of hours in the morning, but the crowds never thinned out in the evening. We were at MK until 11 pm one night, and lines for the coasters were still 2 hours long.

Despite the crowds, I would go back over spring break again. I still think it's better than summertime, because it's less hot, and it's a smidge less crowded than Christmas week. 

[ilikedonuts]

2017 will be better because Easter is so late so a lot of schools are having spring break non Easter weeks (before and after). It will still be crowded for most of March and April but I think it won't be non stop 10s on the crowd calendar.

[spaghetticat]

I just read a post on Disboards where a lady went over spring break and she said she was horribly depressed bc they wasted all that money on a terrible time because it was so crowded. I would take that with a grain of salt but it makes me think twice of ever going there then.

[lala]

May 31, 2016 12:53:24 GMT -5 ilikedonuts said:

2017 will be better because Easter is so late so a lot of schools are having spring break non Easter weeks (before and after). It will still be crowded for most of March and April but I think it won't be non stop 10s on the crowd calendar.

That's an interesting thought. Around here most schools move spring break to coincide w/ Easter, even when it's late. But I know other regions aren't the same. 

Weather wise it would be great. Crowd wise...I don't know if I could take it, honestly. 

[ilikedonuts]

May 31, 2016 13:36:33 GMT -5 lala said:

May 31, 2016 12:53:24 GMT -5 ilikedonuts said:

2017 will be better because Easter is so late so a lot of schools are having spring break non Easter weeks (before and after). It will still be crowded for most of March and April but I think it won't be non stop 10s on the crowd calendar.

That's an interesting thought. Around here most schools move spring break to coincide w/ Easter, even when it's late. But I know other regions aren't the same. 

Weather wise it would be great. Crowd wise...I don't know if I could take it, honestly. 

Ours always moved them too, but now school gets out the 4th week of May (first year for this) so they don't do spring break past the first week of April.

[Wines Not Whines]

May 31, 2016 13:31:29 GMT -5 spaghetticat said:

I just read a post on Disboards where a lady went over spring break and she said she was horribly depressed bc they wasted all that money on a terrible time because it was so crowded. I would take that with a grain of salt but it makes me think twice of ever going there then.

I think you just need to manage your expectations if you're going over spring break, Christmas, or another very busy time. If this is a once-in-a-lifetime trip, I would reconsider. If you go to WDW every couple of years, and you don't feel like you need to ride every ride, meet every character, and see every show each time you're there, then it may be fine. 

[stephm0188]

I took my kiddo last spring break for a spur of the moment trip. We booked it the week before we left and planned to do two water park days and two MK days. The water park days were fantastic. The weather was a bit on the cool side so the parks were virtually empty.

MK was a different story. We did EMH and were there for rope drop. We left after lunch each day because it was just too crowded for us by that point. I think we waited in line for Splash Mountain for three hours because the alternative of being out in the crowds trying to get from point A to point B wasn't appealing.

[Deleted]

May 31, 2016 13:31:29 GMT -5 spaghetticat said:

I just read a post on Disboards where a lady went over spring break and she said she was horribly depressed bc they wasted all that money on a terrible time because it was so crowded. I would take that with a grain of salt but it makes me think twice of ever going there then.

Is that the woman with ten kids because...what?  And it sounds like she didn't do any Fastpasses.

[spaghetticat]

May 31, 2016 21:10:26 GMT -5 @notquiteblushing said:

May 31, 2016 13:31:29 GMT -5 spaghetticat said:

I just read a post on Disboards where a lady went over spring break and she said she was horribly depressed bc they wasted all that money on a terrible time because it was so crowded. I would take that with a grain of salt but it makes me think twice of ever going there then.

Is that the woman with ten kids because...what?  And it sounds like she didn't do any Fastpasses.

I am really curious about her backstory. Someone said she was now pregnant with #11. And she was super dramatic about everything, but I do feel bad that she really sort of wasted $13,000

[Deleted]

May 31, 2016 21:37:02 GMT -5 spaghetticat said:

May 31, 2016 21:10:26 GMT -5 @notquiteblushing said:

Is that the woman with ten kids because...what?  And it sounds like she didn't do any Fastpasses.

I am really curious about her backstory. Someone said she was now pregnant with #11. And she was super dramatic about everything, but I do feel bad that she really sort of wasted $13,000

Yeah I was fascinated with the trip report.  I mean she spent all her savings. She's connected to the DISboards forum.  She obviously put a lot of thought into planning this trip.  But she sounds like she didn't have any of the "go with the flow" attitude I feel like you need with ONE kid at WDW, much less 10.  I cannot even imagine wrangling 10 unhappy kids in bad weather at a crowded WDW but I would hope that if I voluntarily made that trip I would have a better attitude or plan for it.

[curbsideprophet]

Can I get a link to this woman with ten kids post?

[spaghetticat]

I googled disboards depressed hell and it came up. Yikes.

www.disboards.com/threads/im-home-severely-depressed-spring-break-was-a-nightmare.3498505/

[spaghetticat]

Jun 1, 2016 11:18:06 GMT -5 @upnorth said:

I'm interested in the answer to this because are thinking about going next year. Our spring Break is the week of April 2 and one calendar projection I saw had crowds at Low+. I don't have a subscription to touringplans to see if this matches up. I know it is peak time for expenses/costs but because our spring break is so early, I'm hoping it is accurate and it won't be super crowded.

I remembered reading that they weren't sure about April yet because not all spring breaks have been decided. I think I saw it on WDW prep. If you want, I can check Touring Plans when I get home.

[jeaniebueller]

Jun 1, 2016 5:59:16 GMT -5 spaghetticat said:

I googled disboards depressed hell and it came up. Yikes.

www.disboards.com/threads/im-home-severely-depressed-spring-break-was-a-nightmare.3498505/

Everything about her description is annoying to me. Duh, the hotel rooms are small. It will be difficult to keep track of TEN kids after you exit a ride. The crowd levels will be ridiculous. It rained, noone can help that. None of this should have been a surprise. And car accidents on the drive back....eeesh. I get that it sucks when things don't go your way, but she sounded like a huge Eeyore.

[curbsideprophet]

Jun 1, 2016 11:18:06 GMT -5 @upnorth said:

I'm interested in the answer to this because are thinking about going next year. Our spring Break is the week of April 2 and one calendar projection I saw had crowds at Low+. I don't have a subscription to touringplans to see if this matches up. I know it is peak time for expenses/costs but because our spring break is so early, I'm hoping it is accurate and it won't be super crowded.

TP has sun Apr 2nd as an overall 8 but then levels drop as the week goes on. Overall low of 4 on Wed. A couple parks got as low as level 3 that day.

[lala]

Well that's an entertaining thread. She's such a debbie downer - she kept track of the accidents they occurred? hello, that's what happens on a road trip on an interstate during spring break.

There are very few things that occurred during that trip that were actually disney's fault. Most of it was crappy luck and poor attitude/planning.

[leeba25]

Wow! I want to understand how she checked out on her family and stayed in the room while the rest of them went to the park for the day! I have trouble disappearing by myself and I only have two kids. Lol

[mslhb]

May 31, 2016 12:53:24 GMT -5 ilikedonuts said:

2017 will be better because Easter is so late so a lot of schools are having spring break non Easter weeks (before and after). It will still be crowded for most of March and April but I think it won't be non stop 10s on the crowd calendar.

This is what I am hoping. Our spring break is the week of March 27th. I saw a clicky poll on the disboards awhile ago and it looked like various spring breaks were spread out fairly evenly over March and April in 2017. We are now constrained by a school calendar so Christmas, spring break and August are our best options. I can't stand extreme heat so spring break is looking like our best option. Since this isn't our only trip ever I figure as long as we go in with realistic expectations it should be fine.