anything special for Easter?

dbutterfly

Earning My Ears
Joined
Sep 16, 2002
Will be at Disney for Easter vacation. Is there anything special going on? We won't be on-site. Just how crowded is it really?
Am kind of scared going over a school vacation, have been in Dec. and Nov. with no crowds. Thanks for all info.
 
We have never been at that time of the year but I have read several posts that say it's fairly crowded then. You could try doing a search for "Easter" and maybe find out if there was anything special happening this past year during that time.

Also, bumping this up for you. Maybe you'll get some responses.

Denise
 
As far as special decorations or events, there is not much as Disney does not treat Easter like it does Christmas. You will see some additional Easter decorations but most hardly noticeable; the daily MK parade gets some extra Easter themed floats for the week leading up to and including Easter Sunday: an Easter rabbit character sometimes appears (often just the White Rabbit in Easter garb), a few of the resort buffet restaurants have an Easter brunch, and a number of the resorts have Easter Egg hunts on Easter where the Easter Bunny and sometimes Mrs. Bunny show up. That is about it. Most restaurants simply continue with their regular daily menu. Park hours are usually long, like MK to 11 or 12 and MGM to 10:30 or 11.

As to crowds, if you went in December and November with light crowds (and thus obviously did not go Christmas Week), then mainly be glad that you were able to do everything then. Whatever crowd you saw multiply by about 4. MK mid-day gets to almost elbow to elbow on the streets and popular rides have 90 minute to 2 hour lines all day, all evening, with little or no let up; Test Track at Epcot and the Safari ride at AK can get to 3 hour lines; fastpasses tend to run out before noon for popular rides. PS's for dinner are necessary for any sit down restaurant. MK is usually packed to capacity on Easter Sunday. Many go with belief that something special happens there on Easter Sunday that does not occur the other days of week -- it doesn't so avoid MK that day if you can. Moreover, MK can reach capacity not only Easter Sunday but possibly a couple of other days (such as Saturday and Monday) so that off-site guests might not be able to get in during the afternoon-- thus get there in morning if going. Recommend arriving early in parks to hit some things before huge lines build (which usually occurs by 10), 11 to 3 in any park is most crowded time, from 4 to 8 many of the second tier rides (like Pirates and Haunted Mansion) are sometimes easy to get onto even though they might have hour or longer lines at 10 a.m. Moreover, you can find sometimes that lines reduce briefly to 30 minutes or less for the most popular rides during a parade or during the first Fantasmic at MGM (they often have two a night then). There are no e-nights during the Easter weeks. Epcot and MGM tend to have thier lighter days on day before and of Easter -- note though that lighter is relative as it is in comparison to the other hugely crowded days.
 
Thanks for all the helpful info. Any ideas how crowded Universal/IOA or Seaworld might be. Thanks again.:bounce:
 
dbutterfly...

two words:

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CROWDED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
&
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

but LOVED every minute of it!!!!!!

my ds was picked to dance in the afternoon easter parade with Dale (i think, maybe Chip??)

it was the best way to start off our first trip to disney!!!
 
We've been there at Easter the past 3 years & are going back again Easter 2003. A few things:

--VERY, VERY crowded
--VERY, VERY hot
--If you are trying to see alot, get to the parks BEFORE it opens
--You MUST take a mid-day break to swim or nap. You'll all strongly dislike each other by dinner time if you don't!!!
--If you are staying for 8 days or more look into getting AP's. They are worth the money & very convenient.
--Don't fret about what you didn't get to see. Enjoy what you did see & do.
--DO NOT go to MK on Easter Monday. I have never seen it so crowded.
--Get to water parks before opening time
--Take snacks & water bottles w/ you into park. Saves money & also time waiting in lines.
--Take advantage of FASTPASS

I don't know how long you will be there, but we usually do a park one day & then hang by the pool the next. We have AP's so we will also hang by the pool all day & then go to a park in the evening when it is a little cooler.

We have been there numerous times & still have not seen everything. Just enjoy your time there. Try to relax & have fun. Believe me, when it's hot all the kids want to do anyway is swim.

Have a great time.
 
Can you say GRIDLOCK? It was very, very crowded, starting on Good Friday. We opted to not go to the parks during the day on Easter...we just stayed at the resort and lounged by the pool. We went to see Fantasmic in the evening.

When I say crowded by this I mean...most fastpasses were gone within hours. Lines of over 2 hours long for most of the big attractions.

If you aren't staying onsite, be aware that they closed the park to offsite guests in the afternoon. If traveling with little ones, by all means, take a long break in the afternoon.

Good Luck and have fun!
 


As far as going to a park on Easter Sunday - we have gone the last 3 years on Sunday & that has been the least crowded of all the days over the Easter vacation.

My suggestion is go on Easter & skip Easter Monday if you feel okay about going to park on Easter. I guess we are not as religious as many other people.
 

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