Tiny green shoots have started to break through the soil around our house, and spring is on the way! If you are ready to pair a magical time of year with a magical trip, keep reading for our tops tips for spending your spring break at Disneyland Resort.
Plan for Spring Break Crowds at Disneyland
If you are visiting Disneyland because your kids are off of school for the week, just assume that many other families are doing the same. Spring breaks at schools around the country mean heavy crowds at Disneyland Resort. While you cannot control who else shows up at the parks, you can arrive with a good strategy for how to deal with crowds.
First, try to arrive for park opening or (AND!) stay through park closing. No matter when we visit, this is our favorite way to avoid crowds. You can read our advice in What Time Does Disneyland Open? and When Does Disneyland Close? If you want to be present for both open and close, you can also consider taking a break midday and avoiding the largest (and often grumpiest) crowds.
Lighting Lane passes come at an extra cost, but we like to purchase them to avoid long waits. You can read about them in Disneyland Lightning Lanes: How to Super-Charge Your Visit. For other time saving tips that do not cost extra, see Disneyland Virtual Queue Guide, How to Use a Multiple Experiences Pass at Disneyland and Disneyland Mobile Ordering Guide.
Finally, if you have to wait in line at Disneyland, you might as well enjoy it! We share our advice for this in Make the Best of Your Time in Line at Disneyland and Fun Questions for Connection While Waiting in Disneyland.
Feast on the Disney California Adventure Food and Wine Festival
Disney California Adventure Food and Wine Festival is happening February 28 to April 21, 2025. This beloved annual event is a tribute to the culinary splendor of California. The Disney California Adventure Food and Wine Festival takes place (as the name suggests) at Disney California Adventure Park. Some special festival entertainment is included with general admission like live music in Paradise Gardens Park, a culinary dance party with character and this SuperKitties Show for the Disney Junior crowd. Some culinary demonstrations are included with general admission while other popular offerings, like wine tasting seminars, are available for an extra fee.
The headliners of the Disney California Adventure Food and Wine Festival are the ten marketplaces: special booths with limited-time food and beverages. These festival-specific menu items can be purchased individually, or you can purchase a Sip and Savor Pass to sample more of them.
Our personal headliner for the Disney California Adventure Food and Wine Festival is actually Soarin’ Over California. During the festival, the Soarin’ Around the World attraction is temporarily replaced with the original iteration of the ride: Soarin’ Over California. While I might be swayed by love for my home state, the California version of Soarin’ is my favorite, and I heartily encourage you to jump on it while you can.
Find Extra Spring Fun at Disneyland Resort
Disney California Adventure Food and Wine Festival is foremost among special spring events, but it is hardly the only seasonal offering you might encounter during spring break. Unless you are visiting in late spring, it is unlikely that your spring break trip will include the special anniversary offerings for Disneyland Resort’s 70th celebration, which officially begins on May 17, 2025. However, there are some other fun seasonal opportunities.
If you are visiting between March 28 and March 11, 2025, you will have a chance to experience celebrate all things Stars Wars with Seasons of the Force at Disneyland Park. There will be enhanced nightly performances of “Fire of the Rising Moons” over Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Over in Tomorrowland, Space Mountain will transform into the Star Wars themed Hyperspace Mountain.
On select nights during Star Wars Season of the Force, there will also be Disneyland After Dark special events. These require a separate event ticket. For two nights at the beginning of March, you can also buy a ticket to the after-hours 90’s nite.
You can even have some fun outside the parks in Downtown Disney District or in either park and with Eggstravaganza 2025: a seasonal scavenger hunt. You search for the hidden character “eggs” and mark your map with provided stickers when you find them perched around the area. When you are done, you show your map at a redemption location for a themed keepsake. To participate, you purchase a map for $9.99 plus tax. The maps are specific to three different hunt locations: Disneyland Park, Disney California Adventure Park and Downtown Disney District.
For an overview of the 2025 Disneyland Resort event calendar, see Disneyland Schedule for 2025: Plan Your Visit!
Wear Layers
Be sure to wear layers to Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park for your spring break trip. Temperatures can vary wildly over the course of even one day and certainly over the length of a multi-day trip. We like to carry our extra layers in small backpacks, but you may wish to keep yours in a locker or at your (hopefully nearby) hotel.
We share tips about our preferred base layers in What to Wear to Disneyland: Part I, Base Layers, and we offer broader advice about what to wear and bring in Disneyland Travel Essentials: What You Need to Pack.
Check for Spring Discounts at Disneyland
Despite spring break being a busy time at Disneyland Resort, you can still find some discounts. The special offers are dependent on when you visit, and, in some cases, your home address. You can see the latest here.
At this point, you may have already bought your tickets and made your hotel reservations. If that is the case, we have some fun ideas for sharing your trip plans with your family: Disney Trip Reveal Ideas: Spring Break Edition.
Thank you for reading these tips for visiting during spring break at Disneyland Resort.
We hope you have a wonderful spring. For our best general Disneyland trip planning advice, please visit Step-by-Step Disneyland Prep
If you are traveling with little ones, we have two recent articles just for you: Travel Fun for Kids on the Road and in the Sky, Travel Essentials and Kids’ Travel Essentials: What to Pack For Your Family Trip. If you will be flying for your spring travels, we recommend 5 Tips for Flying on Airplanes with Kids and Long Beach Airport is Awesome for Flying with Kids.
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