My wife and I have booked a trip to WDW next week (March 10-14th) and we are staying the Coronado Springs resort (going w/o kids). We have read in 2 different travel books (specifically written for Disney World) various tips on surviving in the Disney theme parks during Spring break. Most suggest choosing the park that offers the early day admittance and moving to another park around 11am when it gets unmanageable; others suggest to avoid the early day theme park all together. Which stategy works best? We know that it is going to be very busy and we are concerned that if we move to another park at 11am it won't be worth the wait to transfer to the other park.

Hi,
We have always avoided going to the park that has the early entrance because that park seems to be the busiest that day. We always go to the back of the park (it doesn't matter which one) and work your way to the front through out the day. It is the opposite of what other people do. Most people go in the park and start working their way to the back. Hope this helps.

I agree with the previous advice. My aunt goes to Epcot once or twice per year (she lives in the area) and by starting at the opposite end of most folks and going in reverse she avoids most of the worst crowds. i woudl add that if there's a particular ride/attraction you have a very interest in and it's one that's quite popular, head for that first to get on line and then go to the back of the park. Years ago when we went to Disney and Universal we did this for Space Mountain and the Back to the Future Ride and were able to minimize our waiting time dramatically (I'm sure they're out of date by now but back then they were wildly popular rides).

Make sure you take advantage of the Fastpass option. As soon as you get to a park, go directly to the ride that you most want to go on that offers that option and get your Fastpass. Then go do whatever else you want until your time slot comes up. You'll still end up in lines for the other rides, but it will save you a lot of time for the most popular ones. We used Fastpass when we were there last Christmas, and thought it worked great! Go to <www.wdwig.com> for lots of helpful Disney advice .

Here is my $.02
If you are going to be there for a few days, pick one park each day, and set a return to your favorite the last day.

From my experience, going between Kingdom and Epcot is easy because of the monorail. Going between any others is not, and we avoid planning between other parks. [Don't like to wait for busses...]

Many people plan their day to eat dinner at Epcot, then stay to see fireworks. A number of years ago Disney found many people left Epcot after they ate - so in their Disney way an employee suggested fireworks to keep people around and spending money. Hence, the light & fireworks show each Epcot evening.

We've been (2 kids) 4 times in the last 3 yrs. & here's the strategy we've found to be most effective.
1. Since you're on property-use the early admission and be at the park the minute it opens (I know it's can be a hassle getting everyone up and out in the morning, however, trust me you will not regret this decision).
2. If you get to park when it opens you can go on most of the popular rides before noon and then go back to the hotel for lunch, swim, &/or nap.
3. Approx. 2:00-3:00 go to another (or same)park as the crowds will start to slow down again in the afternoon/evening
4. Be sure to by Park Hopper pass
5. As mentioned above-use Fast Pass when it's an option (not all rides use)
6. Also check to see if they're (WDW) is offering a late night at any of the parks. The last time we were there you could pay a mere $10 and that entitled you to run of approx. 1/2 the park (they shut down the kiddie area etc.) till 11:00. We truly did not have to wait in line for a single ride! In fact, they just let us stay on Splash Mountain and ride time-after-time if you wanted. Enjoy!!

Go to the website WDWIG.COM for all the information you need. She has some great suggestions and good ideas that you can use for your trip. Have a great time.

You will enjoy Coronado Springs...we stayed there our last visit. Be sure to purchase the refillable cups on site for both hot and cold drinks. Now, I don't know how long the parks are open in March but we would go to the park as early as possible, stay until around noon, go back to the hotel for lunch and a swim, rest and head out around supper time to the same park or to yet another one. It depends on the type of passes you have. Now, we did sonething really unkosher...we would drive over to the Beach Club property and park out front, saying that we were going for lunch...2 years ago there was really no security. Go into the lobby and exit out back to the pool area, turn left and in 5 minutes you are in the back side of Epcot close to the Canada pavilion...a lot less crowded than doing it the other way. Oops, now I am in really big trouble. Hey ,it has worked the last 2 times we were there. By the way, spring break varies so much you will not get the crowds you may think you will!

We just got back from Disney - we stayed at the Boardwalk (which is right near the Beach Club and yes it is a nice easy walk into Epcot!!)
You must take advantage of the early opening!! We literally got on 8 rides in the hour and a half that it was open early. Also, they say that it opens 1 hour early but they open the gates at 7:30am which is an hour and a half. We try to book a late breakfast or an early lunch so that we enjoy the park until around 11:00am and then go eat. After that we take a break and head back to the hotel. The other down time in the parks is the hour and a half before closing. Yes!!!Take advantage of the Fast Pass - we got on right away using that. At magic kingdom - go in and do all of the tomorrowland rides then fast pass (save it for later) at Winnie the pooh and be ready to head over to splash mountain right when it opens (at 9:00) then over to thunder railroad and then you can go back to Winnie the Pooh (the line gets to be about an hour at that ride)
Epcot - head right to Test Track - get on and when you come out use the fast pass so you get to do it again (when we came out of the ride at 11:00 I went for the fast pass and the time I could go back was 5:10) then head over to Energy and then over to imagination - the land is a great place for lunch.
Animal Kingdom - get there for opening (8:00) and go right back to the Safari - then work your way back to the Dinosaur ride. We tended to get right on everything. Enjoy your trip!!!!

I agree with prior poster who recommended wdwig.com - go to this site & print out any info about must-sees, early openings, e-ticket nights, etc. DEFINITELY go to the early opening park when it opens, you will be able to ride the most popular attractions in a fraction of the time. When the park starts to fill up, go to another one - usually the park that had early opening the daybefore will be less crowded (see tips on wdwig). DO use the fastpass option later in the day. Don't use it if wait time is less than 15 minutes. Find out when a parade is scheduled for MGM or Magic Kingdom, or Epcot, and skip the parade and instead go on attractions - there will be NO LINE. (We rode Space Mountain 5 times in a row last year by going there at parade time) HAVE FUN!