Traveling to Disney World during Spring Break - PREP 351

Shannon interviews travelers about their experiences at Walt Disney World over Spring Break. The weeks that everyone traveled are in March of 2023.

In this article

Rachel G.

Rachel is from Minnesota and had an early Spring Break and spent March 3-11 at Walt Disney World. They originally planned to arrive on the 4th but cheaper flights had them coming in a day earlier.

Rachel traveled with her sons aged 8 and 10 and Rachel’s mom. They left behind the grown men who weren’t as excited about Disney World.

This was the first time they had been in a while and the first time traveling with this travel party. They stayed at Caribbean Beach for the majority of their trip. Because they added a day, they stayed at the Hilton Buena Vista Palace near Disney Springs for their first day.

They were in the Aruba section at Caribbean Beach. They loved this location because it was so convenient to use the Riviera buses and the skyliner station at the Riviera.

They really loved the resort. Rachel says it was very large and they put in a lot of steps, but it felt really quiet.

The weather for their trip was very hot. It was in the high 80s but Rachel said it felt much warner. The weather was a shock to their system because it is still winter back in Minnesota!

Rachel says that the crowds really only felt crowded at Disney Springs on the weekend when they arrived. The crowds in the parks, especially the first part of their trip, were manageable.

The crowds ramped up toward the end of the week.

Rachel didn’t have any trouble making reservations, which she credits to having an 8 day trip. She focused on the harder to get reservations toward the end of the trip.

Rachel used Genie+ every day of the trip. She was able to stack lightning lanes for the evening. They took advantage of the lighter crowds in the mornings to ride what they could.

Rachel did note that sometimes they didn’t end up using the lightning lanes in the evenings because her boys were too tired. She also had to manage the different desires and energy levels of her boys.

Because of the plans Rachel made and the information she had, she was able to pivot when her boys needed to change gears. She was able to present options and change things with their needs.

Rachel said she would definitely visit during spring break again.

Kaitlyn

Kaitlyn and her family traveled to Disney World March 10-18 for a multi-generational trip. Kaitlyn and her husband, almost 3 year old and 1 year old, Kaitlyn’s parents and her sister and husband.

Kaitlyn and her sister split the planning for the trip. Her sister has traveled to Disney World for spring break. This was their children’s first trip to Disney!

They stayed off-site about 15 minutes away and everyone stayed together. Everyone flew in via Jet Blue from Boston. They stayed at an airport hotel for one night before getting a large rental car and going to their rental home.

The weather while they were there was great, but the crowds made things difficult. They did utilize Genie+ every day of their trip. It was expensive but waiting in lines with small children was not an option.

They were not successful in booking individual lightning lanes due to being off-site.

It was also slightly difficult to get dining reservations. They couldn’t get reservations 60 days out but they were able to get what they wanted by utilizing alerts. They were even able to get same-day reservations!

They were able to do all of the things that were priorities even with the crowds. However, the crowds will definitely keep them from traveling during spring break again.

Brittany

Brittany traveled with her family of 5 – her 6 year old daughter, husband, and her parents during spring break. Their travel dates to Disney World were March 11-18.

They have had many trips to Walt Disney World, but this was their first time staying at Shades of Green. She and her family drove, but her in-laws flew. They arrived on March 12. Even with the airport still being busy that week, her in-laws didn’t have any issues.

They had 5 day park hoppers that they purchased with a military discount. They were able to go to all of the parks during their trip and used Genie+ at Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Epcot.

When Brittany booked their dining reservations, they weren’t able to get everything they wanted, but eventually they did. They were able to get Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique but only in the afternoon. They weren’t able to get Beaches & Cream or Space 220 reservations at times that worked for their schedule.

The weather was very unpredictable for them during their trip. They had to purchase sweatshirts because it was so chilly, there was some rain, and they had some heat in the 80s as well.

Brittany says of all of her trips to Disney World, she’s never seen it this crowded, even at Christmas and New Years. The crowds and the wait times were very high. One of their afternoons they ended up doing the scavenger hunt around the World Showcase because there wasn’t anything else to do without much of a wait time.

Because they go so often, they weren’t worried about doing everything. Brittany helped ensure that her in-laws were able to do everything on their list.

Brittany said that the rooms at Shades of Green were some of the nicest rooms they’ve ever stayed at on property. The convenience of using the monorail at the Polynesian was also really convenient. She said that the buses were scheduled so they knew what to expect.

The resort was very large and she said that the resort was very quiet. They didn’t miss out on many onsite benefits, but they did miss being able to walk to a park.

Rachel D.

Rachel and her family took a Spring Break trip for March 16-23 with her husband and 4 kids, 9, 6, 3, and 8 months. Her oldest turned 9 on their arrival day. They had a direct flight from Nebraska to Orlando.

They stayed at Boulder Ridge, Beach Club, and the Polynesian. They were in a studio room in all three resorts. It worked out okay because her youngest daughter is so young and her older kids are okay sharing bedrooms.

Rachel found that it to be much colder than she anticipated and she says she didn’t bring enough clothing for colder weather.

They planned their park touring so they didn’t find the lines to be too long, but navigating the crowds was challenging when trying to get around. Rachel said that the World Showcase was especially crowded and difficult to walk around.

They used Genie+ for Hollywood Studios and Epcot and purchased individual lightning lanes as well. The only thing that sold out was the times to see the Princesses at the Magic Kingdom and the line would stay very long for most of the day.

Rachel didn’t have trouble getting dining reservations for their trip. She did have alerts set up and received notifications during her trip to get what she wanted.

She went to Disney Springs on Sunday and said it was far too crowded. She wouldn’t recommend doing that. She does recommend having a plan and using Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lanes. They didn’t want to have to wait in a really long line with two children that couldn’t ride everything.

Rachel says she would travel during Spring Break again but would need to manage the expectations. She says that the after hours even was wonderful and didn’t have crowds at all.

Leave me a message(including trip report submissions)

Please use the SpeakPipe link below to leave us a message with your first name, location, and trip info.

You can do that using your computer or phone at https://www.speakpipe.com/WDWPrepToGo

Subscribe to get new episodes

There are a few ways to get new episodes of WDW Prep To Go (if you’re used to listening on the website, subscribe so you can take new episodes with you on your phone)