How crowded is Disney in April - the week before and after spring break? How long
are the line waits? Would it be better to go at some other time (we are limited to holidays and summer)?

Dear Lynn.
You sound like you are in exactly the same situation we are. My family is too limited to holidays and summer as my mother is a teacher and I am studying at university. We are travelling from the UK this April. It will be the fourth time so far that we have visited at this time.

Admittedly the queues are long, but don't let this put you off. Waits at Disney and the other parks will always be long during holiday periods, and it is a fact of life. Wherever you go you will have to wait. Lines for the top rides usually top an hour during the busyt periods. To avoid them get there early, or visit during lunch time when every one else is queueing for hot dogs etc, or when a parade is on. This advice(from Fodor's book) has helped us greatly in the past.

Many people are worried that queues will be especially long due to the millenium celebrations. Don't worry. It will be the same for everyonew else. Wether you go in April or summer. It is probably one of the few things you can gaurantee in life "Queues in Floridian theme parks will always be long at holiday periods"

Don't let this out you off. You will love it. I know we do and we are still hungry for more.

ENJOY !!!!!!!

We took our children to Disneyland in April 2 years ago for the very reason that it would be less crowded than during spring break/Easter, and that airfares and hotels were cheaper too.

Had a wonderful time and line-ups weren't that long. If they were they moved quickly. I agree that it's best to arrive early to do rides and kids are keener then too.

One thing though, a few of the rides were being repaired at this time as crowds are down so we didn't get to go on Indianna Jones ride, so expect some of that.

The week before & after spring break will be crowded, but not as much as spring break itself. if you are going to go during a holiday, I would choose Spring break or Thanksgiving ( summer too hot, and Xmas can be frigid - I was there!). You can avoid long lines by arriving very early - you can get into selected parks before the general public by staying on the property. i highly recommend "The Unofficial Guide" We have been 6 times - 3 of those on Holidays & never waited more than 10 minutes for anything!

Lynn,
Also be aware, that numerous Universities & school districts have their spring break at different times. They could take place any time from 3 weeks before Easter to 3 weeks after Easter, give or take a week or 2. If you are implying the week around Easter, that may be when numerous schools have Spring Break, but not all.

Bill echoed what I was thinking as I read these notes! "Spring break" runs from the beginning of March until about the end of April. We live in Tampa and getting to the beach during those periods is almost more trouble than it's worth. A normal 1/2 hour drive doubles. Humidity is lower then though so the waits are more tolerable. It is still the dry season so weather is normally beautiful.
Disney's quietest time is Sept/Oct, just after schools have gone back. Of course then you are at about the peak of hurricane season.

Just as an fyi, Disney is instituting a new program for the top 13 rides at Disney World. You will be able to enter the park and select a "ride time" for these top 13. This ride time will be the equivalent of a reservation and will allow you to plan your day and spend less time standing in line. The details are supposed to be posted on the Disney web site now (I did not check for this, but heard a Disney exec on a Disney-owned Detroit radio station last week)and the new program is effective January 1,2000.

I've done Disney World twice during the last week of April, but these trips did not coincide with spring/Easter breaks. Personally, I'd rather be anywhere but Disney during a major holiday. I've done New Year's Eve Day at Disneyland twice--it was very, very, crowded.

Disney now has a program similar to the one Randy spoke about called Fastpass. We used it twice on Space Mountain in October, and found it to be the most efficient way to go on the ride when the lines were long. Both times the lines were an hour or more. We got our fast passes which gave us a window of time during which we could return and go on the ride. We left, went on a couple of attractions, and walked right onto Space Mountain. We only waited a few minutes at the top while waiting to load. I've been there 18 times, so feel free to email me if you have any questions.

Hi Lynn

We went to DisneyWorld in April (Easter break) this year... Yes it is crowded and there will be waits for the rides... They do try to move the lines pretty fast. What we did was arrive at the parks just when they opened and did the popular attractions first!! Do see the Electric parade in Magic Kingdom...(WONDERFUL)... If you do go Easter Break you'll still have a wonderful time in Disneyworld... You can't help but have FUN!!! It's the most magical place on earth!!!

First I need to ask-do you mean Disneyworld or Disneyland?
I've been to Disneyworld a ton of times, most recently this past November.
There were hardly any lines at all. We went the week of Teacher's Convention (November 12-20) & I would highly recommend going then if your kids have off from school for Teacher's Convention too. The weather was perfect-not too hot or cold & the lines were minimal!
We got to use that "Fast Pass" thing & it was great!! It cuts down your wait time tremendously! We were a little leary at first, but don't let it intimidate you! It's so worth it, but it is not offered on all of the rides yet. If you have the opportunity-definitely take advantage of it!
Another thing that we took advantage of was something that was offered to resort guests only. For $10 you could get special admission into the Magic Kingdom from 9-12 midnight. The 9 most popular rides were opened & there was hardly anyone there! We went on Space Mountain & Thunder Mountain 3 times in a row! You should also take advantage (if you stay on Disney property) of getting there on the days that they open up specific parks 1 hour early just for resort guests. It saves alot of time on lines-get to the most popular rides 1st-you'll be amazed at how quickly you'll get to go on!
Have fun-we already booked our trip for November of 2000 b/c we had such a great time last month.
If you have any other ?s, email me at my personal email address.