I just got back from a (very) delayed honeymoon during Spring Break of 2024, March 8th-16th, and I am filled with new tips and tricks to share with you! Was Spring Break as crazy as everyone makes it out to be? Where did we stay and would we stay there again? Did we get on all the attractions we wanted to? Read on to find out!
The Trip
First, let me tell you about how and why we structured the trip.
We picked this week because it was my husband's spring break from graduate school, so he wouldn't have to miss any classes (we later found out that the school either changed the dates of the break or he and I had both looked at the wrong calendar, and his spring break was actually the week before. Big oops, considering our nonrefundable, non-changeable reservations. Luckily his teachers were okay with him missing a class, and even more luckily, his unit was too). I work in a school, and my school had one holiday and one parent-teacher conference day during that week, so I only had to miss three student days.
Ironically, something we hadn't discussed until mid-way through planning the trip, both of our sets of parents also took their honeymoons to Disney World.
We started the trip at Universal, staying at the Loews Royal Pacific Hotel. We were in Universal for the first weekend, from the 8th to midday on the 10th. Then we took an Uber to transfer to the Villas at the Grand Floridian for the Disney portion of the vacation, from the 10th to the 16th.
Going to Universal before Disney worked well for us. For one, it's closer to the airport than Disney is, so the Uber was a little cheaper than it could have been. My husband had never been to Universal, so it was nice for him to experience it before theme-park tiredness set in. We had the Universal Express Unlimited pass because of the hotel we chose, and it was a few days before the spring break crowds really came, so it started our vacation off on am easier note.
The Hotels
We specifically chose some of the higher-end on-property hotels knowing that this was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of a trip.
Universal Orlando - Loews Royal Pacific
At Universal, we stayed at Loews Royal Pacific Resort, a South Pacific-themed deluxe hotel on the property at Universal Orlando. The main reason we picked this resort was the Universal Express Unlimited benefit.
All guests at the Hard Rock Hotel, Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, and Loews Royal Pacific Hotel on Universal Orlando property receive the Universal Express Unlimited as a perk of their stay. The Express pass is good for each day of your reservation, including check-in and check-out day. We stayed two nights, 3/8 and 3/9, and received the pass for three days, 3/8, 3/9, and 3/10.
The room, number 1123, was wonderful. We were on the first floor, which I usually don't love, but there was enough foliage in front of our window that I wasn't worried about privacy. We had one king bed and a pull-out couch. The bed was really comfortable, soft without being too soft. The temperature of the room was cool but not cold and though I think we could've adjusted it if we needed to, we never did. Housekeeping came daily. There was a coffee maker in the room, but admittedly, I didn't figure out how to use it correctly until the second or third attempt. I wish there had been some instructions.
We went in the hot tub one night, but it was closed the next night, which was disappointing. The pool was a large, zero-entry, beach-themed pool. There was a boat water feature/splash station on one end, but I never saw any of the kids playing on it. I did, however, always see kids in the opposite end of the pool playing water volleyball. The pool bar was fine. I didn't try the drinks, but I did order chips with salsa and guacamole that were pretty good. The platter was huge. It wasn't on the menu, so I'm glad I asked if they had it.
We went to Jake's American Bar one night for a snack, which was a mistake because we were definitely too full to eat it. The theming was neat, but nowhere near as impressive as in Universal or Disney parks. It was a large space but only the bar area was crowded, which, on a Friday night especially, just felt kind of off-putting to us at our table along the wall, far from the bar. The drinks were good, though not memorable.
We visited the TukTuk Market a couple of times. Their selection of breakfast food and snacks was good. Their ability to make a latte was not good. Despite the additional cost, when my husband ordered a latte, we watched them pour regular coffee into a cup and then pour regular milk in--definitely not what I would call a latte.
One thing I really loved was their text concierge service. When we checked in, they asked for a phone number and immediately sent us a text message introducing their concierge service. You could text that number with any questions or concerns about anything at all, and they would get back to you within a few minutes. We never waited more than 10 minutes for an answer, and we were able to get a ton of questions answered (including: is there transportation between hotels? No, but here's how to get to the walking paths; tell me about spa services. Here's everything you need to know about the spa at Portofino Bay; can we use the pool after we check out? Yes, and there's a shower and locker room in the fitness center).
Our favorite dining experience while at Universal was Strong Water Tavern at Loews Sapphire Falls Resort. We walked there from our hotel; it was maybe a 10-minute walk. This place was excellent. The food and drinks were so good. I highly recommend the grilled octopus. My husband is an octopus connoisseur and he said it is some of the best he has ever had. The drinks were excellent.
The Villas at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort
There is a reason the Grand Floridian is Disney's flagship resort. It is beautiful, filled with early-20th-century charm, and the cast members there consistently go above and beyond, even for Disney.
Perks for all guests at Disney resorts include the ability to book all of the dining reservations for your stay up to 10 days (60 +10) 60 days before your check-in day; early theme park entry, which allows resort guests to enter the parks 30 minutes prior to official park opening; the ability to purchase individual lightning lanes at 7:00 AM; free parking at the parks; ability to book Disney dining plans; early access to event tickets; free towels at the water parks; and starting in 2025, free access to the water parks on check-in day. Deluxe and DVC guests also have the added benefit of extended evening hours, which see a park stay open two hours later than the official closing time on select dates.
Here, we stayed in room 9510 on the fifth floor of Big Pine Key in a resort-view room. We had two queen beds and a pull-out couch. We had a dual vanity with a lighted mirror and the toilet and shower were separated from the sinks by a sliding door. There was a balcony that overlooked the pool. At night, we were pleasantly surprised that we were able to see the fireworks from our balcony. The bed was comfortable. It was a really nice touch that there was a nightstand on one side and a little shelf on the other, with each having ample outlets, including USB and USB-C outlets.
The TV was kind of fascinating in different ways. It was really nice to see our name on it when we walked in, that felt like the embodiment of Disney magic. The landing page on the TV was decorated in Grand Floridian style and played a song that seemed to fit the early 20th century theme. Unfortunately, that theme was loud. Whenever we watched anything else, we had to turn the volume way up to hear the program. When the program was done and we went back to the menu, the theme music was too loud. It wasn't really a problem, just a little annoying.
We visited Gasparilla Island Grill several times, and it was always great. The coffee was always warm, the lattes were good, and the food was great, even the prepackaged salad I got. We also visited the Enchanted Rose. It was a beautiful space. The drinks were good. The food seemed a little expensive for what it was, but looked good; we didn't actually try it. It all felt very upscale. We didn't try any of the other dining experiences at the hotel, but the Easter celebration was going on while we were there, so we did visit the little Easter treat hut in the center of the lobby. It was cute, but neither my husband nor I loved the treats we got.
The feature we appreciated most, and part of the reason we picked this resort, was the transportation. The resort monorail runs from the Grand Floridian directly to the Magic Kingdom, then on to the Contemporary, the Ticket and Transportation Center, and the Polynesian, so it was really easy to visit each of these resorts. We typically found ourselves using the walking path to get to and from Magic Kingdom. It's about three-quarters of a mile long. There's a little bit of shade along the path, but not much, and only a few benches, the majority of which are in the smoking area. It would not be a good option for the hottest or rainiest days, but luckily, the weather was relatively mild while we were there. I found it convoluted to get to Epcot. We had to take the resort monorail to the TTC then transfer to the Epcot line. There were buses directly to Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom.
The Crowds
I'm not going to lie to you - if I don't have to, I don't think I'll go back in March again. We could see the crowds pick up practically by the hour.
The first day, a Friday afternoon in Universal, really wasn't so bad. By the nighttime, though, it was crazy. In general, in both Disney and Universal, we found the early morning and the end of the night to be the least crowded times. Crowds picked up by 11:00 each day, and at Disney anyway, didn't really start to subside until after the nighttime entertainment.
A time lapse of the crowds in Toy Story Land.
That being said, we still got to do everything we wanted to do. We had the Express passes at Universal, of which we took full advantage.
The only attraction we waited for there was Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure. I think the posted time was 80 minutes, and that was about how long we waited. I'm glad to have done the attraction once, but I don't think I need to do it again. The storyline was nice, and the ride itself was fun, but it's too tame and too short to be worth the long waits it garners. For Velocicoaster, we waited about 25 minutes using the Express pass. Everything else was ten minutes or less.
Attractions Experienced at Universal Studios: Despicable Me Minion Mayhem*; E.T. Adventure*; Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts; Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit; Men in Black Alien Attack; Revenge of the Mummy; The Simpsons Ride
Attractions Experienced at Islands of Adventure: The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man; The Incredible Hulk Coaster; Skull Island: Reign of Kong*; Jurassic World: Velocicoaster; Jurassic Park River Adventure; Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure; Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey; The Cat in the Hat; The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride
Attractions with an asterisk (*) all broke down either while we were on them or while we were waiting for them. We got walked off of E.T., which I will do a full article on at some point in the future.
In Disney, despite having Genie+ and plenty of Individual Lightning Lanes, we did a lot more waiting for attractions. The crowds had really increased by the time we got to Disney, likely due to our dates coinciding with the surrounding counties' spring breaks and also happening to fall before the annual pass blockout dates. We got on almost everything we wanted. I did kind of wish we had made time for Test Track, but only because I used to work on Test Track and therefore I have a fondness for it.
Our favorite park is Epcot, so we spent a great deal of time there. We spent about 1/2 a day at Animal Kingdom, 1 full and 2 half days at Epcot, 1 full and 1/2 day at the Magic Kingdom, and 1 full day at Hollywood Studios. About a quarter of our half-day at Magic Kingdom encompassed the Keys to the Kingdom Tour.
Attractions Experienced at Magic Kingdom: Enchanted Tiki Room; Jungle Cruise; Pirates of the Caribbean; Swiss Family Treehouse; Big Thunder Mountain Railroad; Frontierland Shootin' Arcade; Haunted Mansion; Peter Pan's Flight; Mickey's PhilharMagic; The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh; Seven Dwarfs Mine Train; Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid; Tron Lightcycle / Run; Space Mountain; Tomorrowland Transit Authority Peoplemover; The Carousel of Progress; Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin
Attractions Experienced at Epcot: Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind; Spaceship Earth; The Seas with Nemo and Friends; Soarin'; Living with the Land; Journey into Imagination With Figment; Remy's Ratatouille Adventure; Gran Fiesta Tour; The American Adventure
Attractions Experienced at Hollywood Studios: Twilight Zone Tower of Terror; Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway; Walt Disney Presents; Toy Story Mania; Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance; Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run; Muppet*Vision 3D; Star Tours - The Adventures Continue
Attractions Experienced at Animal Kingdom: Dinosaur; Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain; Avatar Flight of Passage; Discovery Island Trails; Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail; Maharajah Jungle Trek; Na'vi River Journey
I would guess that our wait time, even with Genie+, averaged about a half-hour to 45-minutes per attraction. We waited 75 for Na'vi River Journey, because it said 45 when we got in line and by the time we had surpassed 45 minutes, we were already committed. We rode Guardians three times, each time with the Lightning Lane, and the experience still took about an hour from start to finish each time.
Remember how I mentioned I used to work in Disney? I did two six-month stints on the college program, including the week between Christmas and New Year's, so I know what Disney looks like when it's crowded. I have never seen some of these attractions as busy as I did on this trip. The crowd for Muppet*Vision was as big as I've ever seen it, with almost no empty seats in the theater. There were long waits for the American Adventure show and The Seas. It wasn't particularly hot out, nor did it ever rain on this trip, so people weren't looking to get inside to beat the weather--it was just crowded.
Overall, it was a wonderful trip! Our hotels were gorgeous, and I'd definitely recommend checking them out if you get the chance. We kept describing this as a once-in-a-lifetime trip, so we let ourselves be more extravagant than we might otherwise have been and it was so worth it.
While I wouldn't recommend choosing spring break as your time to go, we honestly made the best of it. Yes, it was crowded, but we still got to everything we wanted to and even tried some things that we wouldn't otherwise have tried. My mom taught me on my first Disney trip as a kid to pick your top two and look at everything else as a bonus, and that's what we did. It kept our expectations in line with what was feasible and gave us the freedom to be able to sit and watch the world go by without worrying about getting to the next thing. If we needed a break, we took a break.
Here, I've touched on our decision-making process, the hotels we chose, transportation, and the crowd levels. Check out my other articles to learn more about our dining experiences, the many hotels we were able to visit, and some of the extra special events we took part in-- coming soon!
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