Today is the final installment of Mindy's guest posts about her family's Spring Break vacation to Walt Disney World. Thank you again to Mindy for sharing, it was great to hear all about your trip!
This past Spring Break was the most crowded we have experienced to date. We have to do some discussion to decide whether we will be coming back for future Spring Breaks, and if so, what will our expectations going to be. We have to think about whether it is worth $100 more per annual pass to be able to come during spring break and Christmas time. If you have a package vacation with regular tickets, or individually purchased multi-day tickets, there is currently no price difference for peak holiday periods, so ticket price will not yet be a factor for those guests. We have learned that going forward, we have to adjust expectations. I think that one thing we need to expect is that if we cannot arrive early to ride attractions or see shows during the least crowded morning hours, we cannot count on being able to ride popular attractions over and above any Fastpasses that we’ve booked far in advance. That doesn’t mean that we will not be able to ride or see anything else, as there are attractions mostly in theater settings that will be available as walk-up, or we have to plan to spend lots of time in line. It is harder to plan dining reservations if you have to wait in long lines. You can’t wait in a 90 minute line for Test Track if you have a dining reservation in Downtown Disney/Disney Springs in 2 hours. You won’t make it. Weather is also something to think about. It will certainly be warmer than in most of the country, but the weather can be all over the place, chilly in the morning and evening, beautiful and sunny one minute and rain the next. One thing, especially when break falls in March, and again during the Christmas holidays, is you cannot count on pool days. Disney heats the pools, but it’s getting in and out of the pools that can be uncomfortable if the air is too chilly.
I personally would be fine with planning in more resort time in my day. There are still early evening campfires, and movies under the stars. There are children’s and family activities at the pool in the afternoon and there are crafts and games in various locations for a minor charge in the afternoons. Check your resort’s weekly schedule for what is available. You can play miniature golf at one of Disney’s 4 miniature golf courses, you can bowl at Splitsville, rent bikes or surreys. Some resorts still have water craft rentals available. There is also much to be said for resort hopping to enjoy the ambiance and offerings at different resorts than the one you’re staying at. Ft. Wilderness offers lots of different activities that you don’t need to be staying at Ft. Wilderness to do such as archery or horseback riding. You can take a carriage ride at Port Orleans. At the holidays, resort hopping is great because many of the deluxe resorts have fantastic holiday displays such as the life-sized gingerbread house at the Grand Floridian. And speaking of the Grand Floridian, Senses spa at the Grand or at Saratoga Springs is an excellent way to spend an afternoon. My friends and I took some time to do that in January and really enjoyed it. During a busy period I’d also make sure to make a dining reservation if there is a particular restaurant that is a must-do, otherwise, there is always something available if you’re willing to be flexible. Another point in favor of braving the crowds during spring break at Disney is simply enjoying sunny warm days at the EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival. Enjoying the Flower Power Concert Series. We were able to arrive early enough on our last day to get a seat inside the American Gardens Theater to enjoy The Village People. No ticket or special package required.
Although Disney did not offer as extended hours as they have during past spring breaks, they did go ahead and update hours at the last minute for Magic Kingdom to be opening regular hours at 8am. Closing time stayed at midnight, in contrast to previous years which featured 1am closing. EPCOT closed at 9pm every night in contrast to past years when they extended closing to at least 9:30pm. There also were not as many early or late magic hour offerings as in the past. My family will be talking about whether we will continue to come during spring break, and more importantly, plan very carefully. You can’t wing it anymore. One thing that did happen on Thursday which was our next Magic Kingdom day, I was unable to get Mine Train before 9:45pm. Our plan was to return after dinner at T-Rex, but a major thunderstorm rolled in. We expected the ride to be down, so we didn’t return. It was also raining VERY hard. We were surprised when we never got an email stating the ride was down and offering us an alternate. Maybe they don’t do that for weather closures.
Thank you for reading about our Spring Break - I hope you enjoyed it!
THANK YOU Mindy, we loved hearing about your vacation! Thank you for sharing!
(If you would be interested in sharing your vacation trip report, please get in touch; I would love to feature you and your thoughts!)
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