I know that no one can predict the future, but I was just wondering if anyone has any thoughts about the attendance levels at Walt Disney World. Our family is going the first week in April (spring break) and just curious if the those "in the know" think that attendance will be it's usual high for a peak time or if we'll luck out and have a little breathing room.

The economic "experts" here at Disney and in Orlando say Disney won't bounce back until next Christmas. Most of their business these days is from locals and people within pretty close driving distance such as South Georgia.

Spring break here in Florida (public schools) is the week of March 18th, so none of the locals will be vacationing during the week in April.

It was PACKED and had long wait times over X-mas break. I would expect more of the same over spring break.

Another view - I was also there X-Mas break and did not experience the parks being packed.

Having gone to the parks numerous times over the years our family has become quite skilled (even when it is busy) at avoiding long waits by taking full advantage of the Fast Pass at Disney and Express Pass at Universal/IOA. These systems work great and there is no need to wait in 90 minute lines.

It will be packed. You will have time to see maybe 3 or 4 attractions at best. There will be hormonally charged teenagers running rampant and screaming babies and toddlers. Stay home, drink a beer, and count all the $$$ you're saving.

I was just there a few days ago...right after New Year's. And although the other 3 parks weren't packed, the Magic Kingdom was. I was surprised at the amount of people there. I expect Easter break to be packed like usual.

Judging from all of the recent posts, the only place that will be more packed is Hawaii.

I just returned and didn't notice the crowds to be "slack" at all. In fact, I was surprised at how busy the parks seemed to be considering it was mid January.

I was able to do the Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, and MGM all in one day yesterday, the lines were so short. Of course, that's always been typical for this time of year, but this was positively eerie!

Was just checking out Disney's website for park hours. Noticed that they don't have April's hours posted yet. Usually they have "tentative" times posted months in advance. Wonder if this is because they are unsure and have adopted a "wait and see" attitude?

I have been to WDW twice during Easter week. It was packed, but we managed to do all we wanted. Just get there EARLY and get Fast Pass for whatever you want to do. When we were there during the Easter break, the Magic Kingdom was open until 11:00, so we would go back at night and enjoy the parks. We always took an afternoon break at the hotel pool.

Thanks for all the thoughts. We've been to Disney every year over Easter as well, but I just thought maybe with Disney being in supposedly a slump that the thoughts would be that attendance would be different this year, for better or worse. Hmmm....guess we'll find out in a few weeks!

Kris
We were in Disney World 12/30-1/4 over New Years and it was extremely crowded. We were suprised. I expected attendance to be down, but it wasn't. Thank goodness for fast pass. Now I heard before Xmas it was hardly crowded at all. I guess you have to play it by ear.

My sister's family was at WDW over Thanksgiving break. It was packed. They were only able to ride 4 attractions the entire day. An unfortunate waste of the entrance fee. Good luck.