Trip report: Spring Break in Disney World observations and tips

My family visited Walt Disney World Resort over a Spring Break weekend, spending time at Epcot and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park. Here’s what we noticed — and what surprised us.

Spring Break Crowds

Traveling during Spring Break (the weekend before Easter weekend, to be exact), we braced ourselves for heavy crowds, but never encountered any bottlenecks.

We later realized two tiers of annual passes were blocked out during our visit. Additionally, while some school districts may have already been on Spring Break, our local public schools always align with the Easter holiday, which was still a week away. Compound both of these factors, and we had a relatively breezy weekend in terms of crowds (or rather, lack thereof).

Our longest wait was for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at Epcot. After arriving for our virtual queue appointment around 2 p.m., we still waited about 80 minutes in line.

On both park days, it seemed that after the initial Early Entry rope drop crowd (Disney resort guests only) rushed to the headliner attractions, those queues simmered down, even after the park opened to all guests. Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure only had 15-minute wait around 10 a.m. Likewise, Avatar Flight of Passage at Animal Kingdom commanded just a 25-minute line around 11 a.m.

Disney100

Is Disney100 still happening? Yes and no. The large, platinum photo-ops are gone from each park, as are the Disney100 banners at Epcot and most merchandise resort-wide.

That being said, guests can still purchase Disney100 balloons and can still meet Mickey and Minnie in their Disney100 outfits inside the Imagination! Pavilion at Epcot. At around 4:40 p.m., we waited 10 minutes to meet the mice. Score!

For what it’s worth, the new Mickey & Friends character greeting location will debut at Epcot inside CommuniCore Hall when that facility opens on June 10, 2024.

Grand Cottage

The Grand Cottage — a spring-themed dessert stand at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa with accompanying Easter eggs created by Disney cast members — is delightful.

I loved seeing each design and reading about the cast members’ creative process throughout the area. I didn’t even know this tradition existed until this year.

So Much Stitch Merch

We were surprised but happy to see so much Stitch merchandise — not at one specific location, but throughout all of Disney World. Many items also featured Angel aka Experiment 624 from the 2000s show “Lilo & Stitch: The Series.”

Loungefly mini-backpacks, sweatshirts, plush toys (of all sizes), Crocs … you name it, you can probably find Stitch on it.

In 2023, Disneyland Resort cast members voted Stitch as their favorite Disney character, according to the Orange County Register. Perhaps Disney recognized Stitch’s enduring popularity and followed suit with merch.

For those not visiting Disney World soon, nearly 200 Stitch items (including many we saw in the parks) are currently available online through Disney Store.

Flower & Garden Festival

The older I become, the more I realize I’m a museum person. I really enjoy taking things slow and observing visuals, displays, and signage in public spaces more than I used to. As such, I loved strolling Epcot in the midst of the International Flower & Garden Festival, and felt like I could’ve spent hours doing nothing but quite literally stopping to smell the roses.

In the hustle and bustle of Cosmic Rewind, Soarin’, and other attractions, the ephemeral exhibits of the Epcot festivals are easy to overlook, but shouldn’t be skipped.

And that frosted citrus iced tea at the Joffrey’s near the Canada Pavilion, only available during Flower & Garden? Bliss.

It’s Tough to Be Hopper

Though Disney hasn’t announced an exact ending date, the “It’s Tough to be a Bug!” 3D show inside the Tree of Life at Animal Kingdom will close sometime in the future. In its place will be a “Zootopia”-themed attraction, the details of which have not been made public.

Because of that, my family treated this trip as a farewell to our tenure as honorary bugs. Unfortunately, the Hopper animatronic wasn’t working during our show; Hopper’s voice remained an offscreen presence, perhaps interpreted as an artistic choice for guests new to the attraction.

“It’s Tough to be a Bug!” is an opening-day attraction, having debuted with Animal Kingdom on April 22, 1998.

Final Goodbyes to DinoLand

Somewhat similar to “It’s Tough to be a Bug!,” DinoLand, U.S.A. will not remain in its current state much longer, but Disney has not publicly confirmed the extent of the area’s transformation, which stories and characters will be present in the replacement attractions, or a timeline for DinoLand’s extinction.

Since my family doesn’t anticipate returning to Animal Kingdom before DinoLand closes, we said our goodbyes to Diggs County, the Dino Institute, and the wacky lore of this corner of the park.

We also made a discovery: all these years and we didn’t realize there’s an epilogue to Dinosaur. After disembarking the ride vehicle, most guests head toward the ride photo screens. On the opposite wall, though, monitors display security footage of Dr. Marsh and the Dino Institute’s security team chasing Dr. Seeker, following his rogue plan! Uh-oh!

Epcot Music

This was our first visit to Epcot since World Celebration Gardens opened last year and the park introduced its new background music (titled “Epcot’s Gamma Theme“) composed by Pinar Toprak.

The park’s new theme is beautiful, and I was surprised and impressed by how thoroughly it’s woven into the soundtrack throughout all of Epcot.

Orlando Spring Break Weather

Visiting the third weekend in March, we found Orlando weather to be temperate. Rain was in the forecast for both our park days, but only happened on one of them (not quite a downpour, but more than a drizzle). We definitely needed rain gear that day, but the temperature never reached more than 75 degrees.

In fact, the temperature maxed at 80 degrees during the whole weekend, with one day being quite sunny. We all wore shorts both days, applied sunscreen maybe twice, and returned home sunburn-free. We brought a light jacket for the evenings, but your mileage may vary.

“Hey, Disney!”

This was our first Disney resort visit since the installation of the “Hey, Disney!” devices. Similar to Alexa (and in some ways integrating specific Alexa capabilities), guests can ask “Hey, Disney!” park information, weather forecasts, and more.

The “Hey, Disney!” alarm wake-ups are adorable. Upon saying, “Hey, Disney, set an alarm for 6:30 tomorrow morning,” we received a message from a different character all three nights: Donald Duck, Fozzie Bear (the Muppet), and Rocket (from “Guardians of the Galaxy”). Our favorite was Donald, who comically encouraged us, “It’s time to do what you wanted to do!” when the alarm beeped.

We also enjoyed the music playlists “Hey, Disney!” has on deck. These weren’t just selections of widely circulated songs from Disney movies, but rather curated ambience tracks, with such themes as “Coco” and Main Street, U.S.A.

Mears Connect

This trip was also my first time utilizing Mears Connect: the de facto replacement of Disney’s Magical Express, the former bus transportation service from Orlando International Airport (MCO) to Disney World, which Disney discontinued in 2022.

Magical Express was free for Disney resort guests, and was operated by Disney; Mears Connect is neither of those things.

Nonetheless, Mears Connect tickets were easy to purchase a week before our trip, and the process was seamless. We waited maybe 10 minutes (if that) for our transport from MCO to Disney, and the bus for the return trip from Disney to MCO promptly arrived exactly at our pick-up time. Both directions, our ride stopped at a few other Disney resorts, plus a few non-Disney hotels on Hotel Plaza Boulevard near Disney Springs.

For our arrival trip, Mears placed our party of four in a van with four other guests. On the way back, we traveled in a traditional bus similar (if not identical) to the former Magical Express.

While it’s definitely a bummer to pay for something that was previously a grand total of $0, our Mears Connect experience was enjoyable and semi-affordable, at $16 per person, per direction. We’d use it again.

We Don’t Talk About Genie+

Also on the topic of “upcharged services that used to be free,” Genie+, Lightning Lane access, etc. is now unfortunately a significant line item in a Disney vacation budget. Unlike Mears Connect, though, the Genie+ guest experience is decidedly not very smooth.

While I don’t have time for semantics today, we enjoyed the flow of our day thoroughly more at the park we didn’t use Genie+ (Animal Kingdom) vs. at the park we purchased it (Epcot). Disney seems to think the parks are better experienced without a plan, too.

Rope Drop Timeline for Epcot and Animal Kingdom

Park opening, Early Entry start time, rope drop … the simple question “What time does the park open?” can have a few different answers, and involves similar-sounding terminology. The inquiring guest can backtrack and ask a different question: “What time should I be at the resort bus stop?”

In Disney-speak, the posted Early Entry times refer to when rides start operating, not when the park gates physically open. On a day when Early Entry begins at 8:30 a.m., for instance, resort guests are often admitted into the park at 8 a.m. (in my experience, at least), at which time they can proceed to a holding area or sometimes all the way to their first attraction until the rides begin operating.

Especially for resort guests trying to take advantage of their head start in the park, these timelines can be important. Here was our experience with rope drop timelines (staying Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside).

Animal Kingdom (Early Entry was 8:30 a.m., park opened to all guests at 9 a.m.)

Epcot (Early Entry was 8:30 a.m., park opened to all guests at 9 a.m.)

On both park days, we weren’t in a hurry. We wanted to get to the park early, but no big deal if we weren’t at the front of the pack.

Pal Mickey Still Works

One final observation: Pal Mickey, a geolocation-driven plush toy from the 2000s, remarkably still works at Disney World, despite having been discontinued 16 years ago. Read all about him in our previous report:

For a throwback to spring break past, take a look at Disney cast members’ Easter egg displays from 2022:

If you’re interested in visiting Walt Disney World Resort, we recommend Mouse Fan Travel for a free, no obligation quote and free help throughout your trip.