Peak Crowds

[rookie]

Just wondering what the differences if any are in the 3 potential 2008-2009 dates:

Nov 23-29 (Thanksgiving week)
Dec 28-Jan 3 (Christmas break)
April 13-19 (week following Easter)

assuming you had to choose one and were going to be traveling with 3,6 & 9 year olds what would be best.

[dml]

Due to the fact that all three are holiday periods, there will be crowds.

My brother went during the Christmas break that you listed last year and he said it was unbelievably crowded. For example, he took a pic of the lines at POTC - they were outside of the attraction. The line was so long that they didn't even put a time wait!

I work at WDW in 1999 as part of the college program and I remember telling myself that I would never come around Easter. I'm not sure how the week after is, I guess it just depends when different regions have spring breaks planned.

Thanksgiving is also crowded, but compared to these other two holidays, it might be the better choice.

I'm sure there are many people on this site that have recent first hand experience with these dates. Hopefully they will be able to give you a little more insight.

Regardless of the crowds, you'll have fun - its Disney!
:mickey::mickey:

[Dyanna]

Week following Easter. The rest of the dates are waaay to crowded during these times. Would rather go before or after these holidays even if it means pulling kids out of school. It just is not worth it for us to go to wait in super long lines for a 3 minute ride.

[rookie]

one vote turkey day, one vote for easter eggs and we all agree not New Years?

[GrumpyFan]

According to When to visit (http://www.intercot.com/infocentral/weather/whentovisit.asp) your best bet might be around Thanksgiving. All of those periods are going to be busy, so just plan for it and make the best. We've found that getting park hoppers are great for crowd avoidance. If a park is too busy for us, we'll just hop over somewhere else. Also, don't forget about your resort pool. There were times when our kids were younger, that they would rather swim than go and wait in the parks all day for just a few rides.