Glad to see this thread. I was just about to post on this topic myself to get some insight from the always helpful disboards community. We’re relatively experienced
Disneyland travelers, but haven’t been to WDW since our honeymoon 16 years ago. My wife is an elementary school teacher, so our options are essentially limited to Spring Break, Jun-Jul, or Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays. I don’t think we’re likely to choose holidays for a variety of reasons.
My issue boils down to weighing the crowds vs. heat decision. My general understanding is that Spring Break (ours is typically about 3rd week in March) is very heavy crowds, whereas the first week of June is somewhat less crowded. We’re under no illusions that there is ever a truly an un-crowded time at WDW or Disneyland, but all things being equal we certainly prefer to avoid heavy crowds. The downside to early June is the heat. We’re from Boise, Idaho, so while we’re familiar with hot summers (100+ is not uncommon), we’re not used to humidity.
We’re a family of four (Two girls = 10 & 7), definitely plan to stay on site, with resort pools being an important factor in our choice of lodging. We’re open to the strategy of spending our afternoons at the resort and morning/evenings in the parks, but even then, if it’s brutally hot by noon and stays that way until sundown, is it worth it? Naturally the parks are our main reason for visiting, especially since our kids have never been.
Here’s what I see as advantages to each:
Spring Break advantage(s): Cooler weather.
Early June advantages: Comparatively lower crowds; Marginally lower lodging expense (??); Great pool weather; option to stay longer.
If not for the heat issue, June would be the easy winner, especially if crowds are truly lower. On Spring Break, we’re working with a maximum of 8 nights, 7 park days. Whereas in June we could swing 9-10 nights and 8-9 park days.
I would greatly appreciate any insights or personal anecdotes.