Going to Disney World during Spring Break? You might be in for a WILD experience.

It’s one of the busiest travel seasons of the year, as millions of Americans are out of school and ready to travel. Spring Break crowds can often spread throughout March and April, particularly concentrating in the middle of March and the weeks before and after Easter. So if you’re hoping to travel during that time, what should you know in order to conquer the parks?

Everything Will Be More Expensive

First, you’ve got to know before you start planning your trip that EVERYTHING will be more expensive during Spring Break season. Disney World prices many things on a variable basis, meaning prices will be higher during the busier times of year. This means you’ll need to budget higher than usual for tickets, hotel stays, and Lightning Lanes. 

You’ll also have to budget more for your flights during such peak travel season. Ultimately, your vacation could cost hundreds or thousands more by traveling with these dates, so make sure that the cost is worth it to you.

But how can you combat this? There are a few ways! We always recommend checking out the Special Offers page on the Disney World website before you book your trip to make sure you aren’t missing out on any deals that could apply during your vacation. You can also search for deals on Disney gift cards and stock up before your vacation — we’ve had luck in the past with Target, Sam’s, and Costco.

Crowds Will Be High, But Can Vary Day to Day

Overall, crowds will likely be higher during the months of March and April, but they could vary fairly significantly. If you travel during a week that’s a less common choice for Spring Break, you could have an easier time than someone visiting during the second or third week of March (which are, historically, some of the most common weeks to travel).

And even though your vacation might be busy overall, you could still get randomly lucky and have one day during your trip where the crowds aren’t too bad. Sometimes it just happens that way — we visit a park on a random day during a busy season and find it’s not awfully packed.

You Need to Plan Your Dining in Advance

Visitors during Spring Break season think a lot about how to avoid waiting in long lines for rides, but they don’t always give their dining plans the same courtesy. If you’re traveling during a packed time of year, you NEED to plan your dining options in advance. If you want a table service reservation, they open up for booking 60 days before your trip at 6AM ET. For some popular spots, they’ll book up in MINUTES. Save the most popular spots for the days at the end of your vacation — that way, you’ll have the best chance of booking.

And for those doing quick service dining, don’t forget about Mobile Ordering through the My Disney Experience app. Many of the fast food spots have this available, and you can schedule your Mobile Order in advance, then modify the pickup window later on if you need to. The popular quick service spots have Mobile Order windows that book up FAST, so this is very helpful.

If you don’t have the chance to plan your restaurant visits two months ahead of time, don’t worry, there’s still hope! The My Disney Experience app also offers the Mobile Dine Walk-Up Waitlist, which shows last-minute availability at restaurants near your location. You may not be able to dine at the most popular spot in the park, but you could still score a meal at your hotel for that evening or snag a fan-favorite restaurant.

Spending More Hours in the Park Makes a HUGE Difference

Last but not least, I’ve got an important tip that you may not want to hear — the more hours you spend in the park, the more you can accomplish. This may seem obvious, but you can even squeeze in a break midday, as long as you’re in the park for the most IMPORTANT hours of the day. Rope drop and park close are the best times to knock out as many rides with as short of waits as possible.

Rope dropping means arriving at the park entrance 30-60 minutes before it opens. The first two hours and the last two hours of the day always have the lowest crowds and the shortest wait times. If you want to rest but maximize your time, do a midday hotel break instead of starting late or ending early.

So how do you maximize those early and late hours? If you choose to rope drop, make sure to allocate enough time for Disney transportation (we typically recommend at least an hour to get anywhere on property) and grab breakfast and coffee before the park opens (maybe have some quick breakfast options in your hotel room). When the park opens, have a plan of attack and prioritize the most popular rides on your list. We’re not rope-dropping to ride Spaceship Earth, friends! We rope drop to ride Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Frozen Ever After, or Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure.

Whichever popular rides you don’t accomplish during the morning rope drop period, you can save for the end of the night. Keep in mind that this strategy is a little riskier because the ride could go down for technical difficulties. Also, you’ll need to plan any late-night ride time around the fireworks shows (if you want to see them). If you accomplish all the big-ticket attractions early in the day, the late evening is also a great time to knock out the “filler” rides on your list with very short wait times!

If you’re heading to Disney World for Spring Break, make sure you go in with a plan of attack! Having clear goals will make your vacation SO much smoother.

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The Secret to Surviving the Most Crowded Days.

Are you going to Disney World for Spring Break this year? Let us know in the comments!