Spring break season is here, and the crowds at Walt Disney World are surging in response. We’ve seen Lightning Lane selling out, including the most expensive option, plus options for single attraction passes have sold out as well.
We’ve seen wait times for some of the most popular attractions hitting the triple digits, and skip-the-line services selling out as spring break descends. Let’s get into the details of this crazy spring break season and how it’s impacting the theme parks. At Mickey Visit, we report on recent news like the upcoming DAS shareholder vote and Disney making sweeping ride changes in response to guest feedback.
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Spring Break Crowds Amongst the Worst All Year
Spring break crowds are out in full force at Disney World, and with spring break often comes some of the worst wait days to visit of the year at the resort if you look just at high wait times. Spring break is one of the busiest times at Disney World because school breaks throughout the United States are staggered throughout mid-March and early April, so there is a continuous wave of families visiting rather than in just one week.
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For Florida in particular, the timing also coincides with some of the best weather, with far milder temperatures and lower humidity compared to summer. There are also seasonal offerings like the EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival, which increases demand for that particular park, plus the proximity of spring break to Easter, which results in some families planning holiday trips.
If you’re following along with our Mickey Visit Disney World Crowd Calendar, you can see we predicted Above Normal Crowds for mid-March lasting until mid-April. You can expect Above Normal Crowds at Disney World for the next month, with some variation depending on which park you visit.
Most Expensive Lightning Lane Pass Sold Out
Walt Disney World Lightning Lane Premier Pass includes access to each available Lightning Lane attraction once per day. Guests simply enter the Lightning Lane with no need to secure return times, which makes the process quite simple and quite appealing to families! This is the highest-priced tier of Lightning Lane available at Disney World, and it can range anywhere from $119 for the lowest crowd day at Animal Kingdom to $449 for a peak crowd day at Magic Kingdom.
The price of Premier Pass for Magic Kingdom reached its peak on March 15 at $449. Premier Pass also sold out for all Walt Disney World theme parks on March 15 and 16. As of the time of writing this, Premier Pass was also sold out for all parks except for Animal Kingdom on March 17 and March 18. Looking further into the week, Magic Kingdom is consistently sold out until March 21, but that likely won’t last long.
Magic Kingdom always sells out first, followed closely by Hollywood Studios, then EPCOT, with Animal Kingdom selling out last. The peak pricing for Lightning Lane Premier Pass right now includes Magic Kingdom for $449, Hollywood Studios for $349, EPCOT for $249, and Animal Kingdom for $199. Keep in mind, this is per person. This pricing remains consistent through April, with no sign of price reductions anytime soon.
As for Lightning Lane Multi Pass, it is still available to purchase, but the selection of available rides is limited. This is especially true for Lightning Lane Single Pass, with Rise of the Resistance sold out for an entire week, along with most of the other options like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and TRON. Flight of Passage seems to have the most availability out of all the popular single pass rides.
Disney World Rides Hit Three-Digit Wait Times
Hollywood Studios, in particular, is under a strain since Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster is now closed for its reimagining into a Muppets theme. At rope drop, it appears more people than ever are going right to Slinky Dog Dash, with wait times hitting 120 minutes right at park opening. The same appeared to happen with Avatar Flight of Passage, which also hit 120-minute waits right at rope drop. It’s always good to do the opposite of what the crowds do. In the case of these two rides, I would pivot and head to something else!
Animal Kingdom is also under strain now that DINOSAUR is closed, with Kali River Rapids hitting a 105-minute wait, which is an unusual wait time for that ride! But if you’re on that side of the large theme park, there isn’t much else to do, so it does make sense! You can read more about all the new attractions and their opening periods for Disney World here.
You can see a look at the wait times around 10 AM on Sunday, March 15, below across Disney World:
After seeing these high wait times, it’s not a surprise that Lightning Lane Premier Pass sold out. I would pay a pretty high price to avoid waiting in lines that long as well! As I was watching the app, the wait times just kept climbing, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see even higher times throughout the day.
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If you visit Disneyland or Disney World when it’s crowded, it’s always best to be prepared. Arrive at the theme parks early and stay late after the evening shows end. You can read more about our tips for beating crowds at both Disneyland and handling crowds at Disney World in our separate articles.
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