Disney in April Questions

[Principal Skinr]

My wife has hijacked my Florida vacation plans and has decided that instead of the beach in Bonita Springs, she wants to take the kids to a resort in Orlando and do either one or two days at Disney.

How crowded is it at the Magic Kingdom during the first week of April? What day of the week is least crowded?

One more...Which other park besides the Magic Kingdom is good for young kids (10 and under)?

Any tips are appreciated. I'm still working on her to do the beach, but I'm probably not going to win. Maybe I can do a hog hunt one day to console myself.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

FYI: First week of April is PRIME Spring-Break time for elem. and secondary schools.

It'll be busy.

-J-

 

[iamaclone45]

FYI: First week of April is PRIME Spring-Break time for elem. and secondary schools.

It'll be busy.

-J-

This. It will be busy.

I would reserve two days for theme parks. It will take you at least one full day to get through Magic Kingdom, especially with younger kids.

Another good park for younger kids is Animal Kingdom.

 

[JeepArn]

FYI: First week of April is PRIME Spring-Break time for elem. and secondary schools.

It'll be busy.

-J-

2nd the busy part but not as busy as summer and shouldn't be too hot either. As for a second park, SeaWorld is a good one for the kids.

 

[mrjarrell]

Indy is correct. It's likely to be crowded. Magic Kingdom is OK, but not as good as Animal Kingdom, IMO. The kids will love Animal Kingdom. If you stay at the Disney resorts you'll save on parking and transport, because you can use Disney's transport system as part of the package.

 

[ruger1800]

Make sure you check the disney calender, a friend of mine unknowingly went on gay pride week, and was not amused.

 

[hornadylnl]

The gay days are late may, early June. We almost picked that week in 09 but ran across it on the net. We are going back for 2 weeks this June. 2 days wouldn't even begin to do Disney justice. We were there for 7 days last time and didn't get to do everything we wanted to.

I was really dreading going to Disney due to crowds and lines but loved it so much that I couldn't wait to go back right after we left. The more days you go, the cheaper it gets. A single day ticket is around $80. A 10 day tickets gets you around $30 per day. We're going to spend Mon-Fri in the parks for 2 weeks and do beaches and downtown Disney on the weekends. We've already got our Cirque du Soliel tickets.

 

[littletommy]

The best time we've found to go was the week before Christmas. I would urge you to save the Disney trip for a time when you can spend at least a week there. There is so much to do in all the parks that a day or two just won't cut it.

If you choose to disregard my advise and go anyway, you absolutely must dine at the Ohana restaurant in the Polynesian resort. It's in the Magic Kingdom. The bread pudding is probably the best thing I have ever eaten, period.

 

[littletommy]

The gay days are late may, early June. We almost picked that week in 09 but ran across it on the net. We are going back for 2 weeks this June. 2 days wouldn't even begin to do Disney justice. We were there for 7 days last time and didn't get to do everything we wanted to.

I was really dreading going to Disney due to crowds and lines but loved it so much that I couldn't wait to go back right after we left. The more days you go, the cheaper it gets. A single day ticket is around $80. A 10 day tickets gets you around $30 per day. We're going to spend Mon-Fri in the parks for 2 weeks and do beaches and downtown Disney on the weekends. We've already got our Cirque du Soliel tickets.

I'm very jealous! We are not going this year.

 

[hornadylnl]

I think if you only go for 1-2 days, you'll be extremely disappointed. There isn't a single park there that you could fully cover in 2 days. In our 7 days, we were rushed. In our 10 days this time, we plan to take it a lot easier.

 

[Principal Skinr]

Indy is correct. It's likely to be crowded. Magic Kingdom is OK, but not as good as Animal Kingdom, IMO. The kids will love Animal Kingdom. If you stay at the Disney resorts you'll save on parking and transport, because you can use Disney's transport system as part of the package.

The hard part for us is 9 kids. I checked Disney resorts and it said they don't have anyplace big enough for our group. The resort my wife reserved has two luxury suites connected for a fairly reasonable rate.

You guys are making me feel a bit better about it, if she gets her way. (She usually does.)

Keep the tips coming! We could do more than two days, but it drives the cost up, even though the per day price goes down.

 

[hornadylnl]

10 and older are considered adult price so keep that in mind. I couldn't imagine trying to keep track of 9 kids in that place.

 

[Principal Skinr]

10 and older are considered adult price so keep that in mind. I couldn't imagine trying to keep track of 9 kids in that place.

My wife is a pro at it. For starters, she'll dress them all in the same bright shirt color, like lime green. They are very well behaved, too, again thanks to my wife. Keeping me from getting lost is another challenge!

 

[jedi]

I think if you only go for 1-2 days, you'll be extremely disappointed. There isn't a single park there that you could fully cover in 2 days. In our 7 days, we were rushed. In our 10 days this time, we plan to take it a lot easier.

My wife is a pro at it. For starters, she'll dress them all in the same bright shirt color, like lime green. They are very well behaved, too, again thanks to my wife. Keeping me from getting lost is another challenge!

Op go here
The DIS Discussion Forums - DISboards.com - Powered by vBulletin

They have HARD CORE Disney Fans that plan their vacations down to the min. for their families. They will be able to help you make a detail plan based on your very, very limited 2 day stay.

As others have stated for best returns you really need 7 to 10 days at the resort.

Best advise I can give you is remember this is a VACATION so don't rush!
My parents would take us as kids and it was ride this, run to see this, race to go do that, oh their is Mickey run to that. It was NOT A VACATION at all.

I took the kids in 2010 (2 and 4 years old) and we spent 8 days, 7 nights and took it slow. We only visit 3 parks and saw certain things and the rest of the time just let the place dictate what we saw. Granted we did have a ton of character meals (lunch, breakfast, dinner). But alas to fully that advantage of that you really need to stay on site.

Go to the other board and they will help you out a TON!

 

[24Carat]

My wife is a pro at it. For starters, she'll dress them all in the same bright shirt color, like lime green. They are very well behaved, too, again thanks to my wife. Keeping me from getting lost is another challenge!

You are fortunate. Any 9 youngsters in our extended family would require Field Dog Electric Training Collars with at least a one mile range!!

 

[littletommy]

Side story on Disney....we were at Disney Hollywood studios, and had just watched a short film about Walt Disney. In the film he said that when his daughter was young, he dreamed of having a place where he could take her and both of them could have the time of their lives, hence, Disney World. Just moments after watching that film, we were walking through the park and a woman with a 4 or 5 year old kid was in front of us. She was saying "Oh my god, shut up, I'm so sick of your crap" to the whiney kid. The irony made me bust out laughing. My wife and kids all looked at me like I was crazy.

 

[sepe]

The gay days are late may, early June. We almost picked that week in 09 but ran across it on the net. We are going back for 2 weeks this June. 2 days wouldn't even begin to do Disney justice. We were there for 7 days last time and didn't get to do everything we wanted to.

I was really dreading going to Disney due to crowds and lines but loved it so much that I couldn't wait to go back right after we left. The more days you go, the cheaper it gets. A single day ticket is around $80. A 10 day tickets gets you around $30 per day. We're going to spend Mon-Fri in the parks for 2 weeks and do beaches and downtown Disney on the weekends. We've already got our Cirque du Soliel tickets.

You'd probably actually be better off going during gay days as I've noticed during travels, that crowd is usually MUCH more polite.

Plus if you ever see a male walking around decked out in Disney gear, even if he is with his wife and kids...he is 10x gayer than Richard Simmon's fem. boyfriend.

I think if you only go for 1-2 days, you'll be extremely disappointed. There isn't a single park there that you could fully cover in 2 days. In our 7 days, we were rushed. In our 10 days this time, we plan to take it a lot easier.

I think if I had to go at all, I'd be angered/disappointed/frustrated.

As for the OP, maybe you can pay your kids to tell mommy they don't want to go to Disney.

 

[Classic]

Disney is awesome any time of year. 1 or 2 days is rough, just too much to see. Stay at a park resort, even the lower end ones give you lots of advantages in the park, like 1 hour early park entry on certain days. That will be the least crowded hour you get. Go to one park, go early and plan to stay late.

If you worry about the $ you are spending it can ruin your day. You are going to Disney for only a few days and likely it will be a while before you get back. Disney is wonderful but it does run on $ and they tend to charge for everything. Relax and buy a few souvenirs, take lots of pictures and pig out on fast food (smoked turkey legs are great and they are huge).

Use the Fast Pass feature for all the rides you feel like are a must do and fill in the time with the less popular attractions.

If you have AAA you can get lots of little benefits and discounts (free close-in parking at all the parks). You just have to remember to ask. Magic Kingdom has a AAA lounge where you can get a FREE soda and relax in a cool quiet lounge area and check out your next adventure.

 

[woundedyak]

I've been to disney on spring break and it aaaaaaas rough. Super crowed and really long lines. If it means anything. I've been to disney plenty of times. The best time to go is a week before xmas. Empty parks, Killer hotel rates, No lines, perfect weather, and everything is in lights for xmas.

 

[13Hollow Points]

Animal Kingdom is fun. Kilimanjaro Safaris is a must do, the kids will love it.