Celebrating Easter at Walt Disney World

“In your Easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it, you’ll be the grandest lady in the Easter parade.”

Walt Disney World is a destination at any time of the year, but holidays are an extra special occasion for those lucky enough to visit when they are being celebrated in the parks. When you think of holidays at Disney World, you probably think of Halloween and Christmas, and rightly so. They are the major players and the ones that Disney really pulls all the stops out for. With celebrations lasting months, special holiday party events, and decorations galore, they truly are something to behold and something we HIGHLY recommend you doing if you have not already. (We’ll be posting some entries on these holidays and parties later!) However, Disney also does special things for other holidays that while maybe not on the same scale as Halloween and Christmas, still offer a pretty special way to celebrate.

One of our favorite holidays to spend at Walt Disney World is Easter! We got the opportunity to visit during our Spring Break (we’re both teachers) in 2019 which happened to also fall on Easter weekend. We had never really given much thought of planning a visit for Easter specifically, but with Lincoln at the prime Easter bunny age of 2, we couldn’t resist. We planned a special family trip which included Krystle’s parents, her brother and his girlfriend, and aunt for the week and we had an enjoyable and memorable timer. In reality, it was probably the best and most festive Easter we have ever celebrated!

If you’re looking to celebrate Easter in WDW, there are a few different ways to do so: from hotel displays and egg hunts to meeting Mr. and Mrs. Easter bunny, there is something for everyone. Many of the deluxe level hotels (and a few other places) put out extravagant decorated Easter egg displays and were not talking about just any “dip your egg in the dye” types of Easter eggs, but huge chocolate eggs carved into amazing works of art, both Disney and non-Disney inspired. We took the time to visit a number of the displays, but found some of the best at the Yacht Club, Contemporary, and Grand Floridian (although every egg we saw was great)! While it might not be on the same level as the huge gingerbread houses these same hotels create for Christmastime, they are still a true show of skill and talent and the smell of chocolate filling the lobby really put you in the mood for some Easter candy!

Speaking of hotels, some little ones might worry that the Easter bunny might not be able to find them if they are away on vacation, but that doesn’t have to be the case. The hotels put on a number of Easter events including egg hunts on the property and the chance to meet some Disney characters in their Easter finest. And if you want to make waking up in a Disney hotel room on Easter morning even more special for your little ones, look no further than Disney’s Floral & Gift service which offers pre-made or personalized Easter baskets! Lincoln loved waking up to an Easter basket filled with Disney candy, a chocolate bunny, little toys, and a stuffed Bolt (his favorite character at the time). We opted for the personalized option which we ordered about 4 weeks before going down. We were able to select everything we wanted right on their website and picked it up the night before right at the front desk! (As a side note, if you’ve never used Floral & Gifts, they are great…a little expensive, but that’s expected at Disney, but they put together a very attractive gift for any occasion and we’d definitely recommend them if you’re looking to add a special surprise for your trip).

Once you leave the hotel and head to the parks, you’ll also find special Easter events going on. Over at EPCOT they offer a fun Easter Egg Hunt of their own with large, decorated eggs hidden throughout World Showcase for you to find. While you can do this on your own just for fun, Disney has also created a more official game (the Egg-stravaganza Scavenger Hunt) for you to partake in should you wish. If you do, head to select merchandise locations (we usually get them from Port of Entry or World Traveler), purchase a map ($7.99), and start hunting. Once you have located all of the eggs, return to one of these stores and get a special prize! We have to say the prize isn’t really all the spectacular or anything, but it is a fun experience (for kids and adults) and a nice way to walk around the World Showcase. Lincoln absolutely loved looking for the eggs and got so excited when he found one and got to put the sticker on his map! The best part about this is the event is not just limited to Easter weekend. It begins in mid-March and basically goes until they run out of the scavenger hunt maps (a little after Easter).

Heading over to Magic Kingdom, where we spent Easter Sunday, you actually won’t “see” too much Easter around the parks as they don’t really decorate. In pre-pandemic times, when we went, we got to meet Mr. and Mrs. Easter bunny for a great character meet-and-greet and picture opportunity. They were located in the small courtyard to the left of City Hall under a decorated canopy. We have to say, that these Easter bunnies were actually cute, not those terrifying ones you usually find at your local mall, but would we really expect anything less from Disney? However, be warned that waiting to see the Easter bunny, on Easter (the only day to find him at Disney), results in a bit of a wait. We arrived shortly after noon and were in line for almost 2 hours and the line only got longer as we stood there. However, it was once again all worth it seeing Lincoln run up to them with hugs and giggling abound. And you can’t beat a Disney Photopass photographer taking your picture! Aside from meeting the Easter bunny, we also enjoyed the “Easter parade.” While definitely not as large as the parades put on for the other holidays, this short parade is full of spring-inspired decorations, pastel dresses and suits, and of course Mr. and Mrs. Easter bunny. The parade is only a few minutes in length and actually goes down Main St. just before the daily (and larger) Festival of Fantasy parade. However short it was, it was still a nice way to enjoy the Easter holiday and enjoy something different.

Now, it wouldn’t be a holiday if you didn’t talk about food and while Disney again doesn’t really pull out all the stops for Easter when compared to something like the Christmas parties, they do offer some tasty treats. We decided to go with an Easter brunch on our visit and tried the brunch offered by California Grill. CA Grill is one our favorite restaurants on property in general so we decided to try it (it is available throughout the year on Sundays) and boy are we glad we did! It has easily become one of our FAVORITE MEALS (that’s right, not just favorite brunch, but meals) in WDW! We’re not going to go into too much detail on the brunch itself right now as it deserves its own post in the future, but we’ll just say if you haven’t tried it yet, you absolutely NEED to! Other than just maybe splurging on a nice meal at one of your favorite restaurants in honor of the holiday, Disney does offer up some specialty treats for the occasion. Ranging from Easter themed cupcakes and cookies to the traditional chocolate bunny, there are plenty of treats for you to enjoy throughout the hotels and parks!

Overall, while it’s tough to compare celebrating Easter at Walt Disney World to say, enjoying Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, it was honestly a very nice holiday visit. You don’t feel rushed or crowded like you might during Halloween or Christmas, but instead are offered with a more laid back, go-at-your-own-pace day. Whether you’re taking a stroll through World Showcase hunting for Easter eggs, waving to the “grandest ladies in the Easter parade,” or just enjoying a special meal with family, Walt Disney World once again proves to be a great place to celebrate!

We'd love to hear if YOU have every celebrated Easter at WDW! Be sure to follow us over on Facebook to get in on the conversation!!!! Thanks everyone for reading and See Ya Real Soon,

Matt, Krystle, (and Lincoln)