2021 Easter Guide to Disney World
Walt Disney World celebrates Easter with foods & desserts, entertainment, and decorations in the parks & resorts. In this guide to Easter 2021, we’ll share tips for enjoying the special festivities plus the big return of something eggs-travagant! (Updated March 19, 2021.)
First, we don’t want to oversell Easter as a holiday or special event at Walt Disney World. It’s not even remotely on par with Christmas or Halloween. While there are some decorations in a few of the resort hotels and special offerings at Magic Kingdom and Epcot, other hotels and parks ignore the holiday completely. Aside from a random cupcake or dessert, you might never know it’s Easter at Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom. Well, aside from the spring break crowds.
The crowds are reason-enough to avoid Easter at Walt Disney World. They more than outweigh the holiday offerings, so if you’re debating whether an Easter trip to Walt Disney World would be ‘fun’, that’s your answer. In reality, most people reading this are probably visiting at Easter for lack of better options, as it coincides with school spring break and weather makes it a more desirable time to visit Florida than summer…
First, crowds. Contrary to some misconceptions, Easter itself is not a ghost town at Walt Disney World because everyone is at home spending time with their families. (This is a persistent myth about every holiday and the Super Bowl, and we’re not sure why.)
To the contrary, as we discuss in our April 2021 at Walt Disney World post, the weeks around Easter are pretty busy. However, it’s even worse in years when Easter is in March, as Spring Break and Easter school break schedules are more likely to align. In any case, expect crowds to let up after April 11, 2021.
If you’re looking for some more tasty Easter or spring-themed desserts, there are several cakes and cupcakes around Walt Disney World. Above is the seasonal Easter cake available at Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe, which is a fantastic lemon flavored cake.
This is not mentioned in Walt Disney World’s 2021 Easter Foodie Guide, but to our recollection, it hasn’t been in the past either. One dessert that is mentioned: Easter Cookies n’ Cream Bonbons (pictured below). You’ll find these and many other Easter desserts at Beach Club Marketplace, and they’re absolutely fantastic. Well worth the walk over from World Showcase!
For the most part, other Easter desserts are found at counter service restaurants in the resorts, and don’t really bear mentioning. The options at Gasparilla Island Grill sound good (they usually are!) as does the bunny cake at Contempo Cafe.
Beyond that, several Walt Disney World restaurants will be offering Easter brunch. These include Olivia’s Café at Old Key West Resort (view menu and make reservations here), Ale & Compass Restaurant at Yacht Club (view Easter brunch menu and make reservations here), and Whispering Canyon Café at Wilderness Lodge (view menu and make reservations here).
In seemingly insignificant but actually very big news, Walt Disney World has confirmed that the resort hotel easter egg displays will return for 2021! These eggs-travagantly detailed pieces of sweet edible art are created by Disney’s talented pastry chefs and featured at various resort hotels.
Even if you’re not visiting for Easter, this is huge and unexpected news. Edible displays were cancelled for Christmas last year, which Walt Disney World attributed to physical distancing guidelines.
While it’s true that these Easter eggs typically draw smaller crowds, it’s also true that both types of edible displays cost money, and that’s part of Disney’s unstated calculus. With hotel occupancy starting to pick up, it would appear that Walt Disney World is starting to get comfortable restoring aspects of the guest experience.
These Easter egg displays are pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but they’re a delightful “little touch” and the cumulative effect of such little touches is the essence of Walt Disney World. Bringing stuff like this back signifies more incremental progress towards normalcy, and we can expect to see more of this going forward.
Here are the locations and dates for the 2021 Walt Disney World Easter Egg Displays:
- Disney’s BoardWalk Resort – Lobby area (available for viewing March 26 to April 4, 2021)
- Disney’s Grand Floridan Resort & Spa – Lobby area, concierge level, and Grand Floridian Café lobby (available for viewing March 15 to April 4, 2021)
- Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort – Carriage House (available for viewing April 1-11, 2021)
- Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resort – Beach Club lobby, Yacht Club lobby, Ale & Compass Restaurant, The Market at Ale & Compass (available for viewing March 18 to April 4, 2021)
Words don’t do these Easter egg displays justice, so here are some more photos from two years ago (the last time they were out):
That’s a wrap on everything we’re anticipating for Easter 2021 at Walt Disney World.
What follows is Easter entertainment and activities, you can find in an normal year. While Walt Disney World hasn’t confirmed one way or the other whether this stuff will return in 2021, we assume it will not. However, if you’re visiting in 2022, here’s what you can probably expect…
At Magic Kingdom, you can meet Mr. and Mrs. Easter Bunny in the “Bunny Lane Garden” in Town Square Courtyard on Main Street, U.S.A., which is tucked away by City Hall just inside the front entrance to Magic Kingdom. (It’s the same spot where Santa meets.)
This meet and greet is beautifully-decorated with pastel-colored birdhouses and pots full of vibrant spring flowers. It typically runs for a couple of weeks leading up to Easter, from 9:00 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. daily. A PhotoPass photographer and character attendant are present to capture images.
In our experience, the wait times for this meet and greet aren’t too long. That’s probably because these characters aren’t recognizable to the average guest as “Disney” and because the location is not visible as you enter the park. We noticed a handful of parents with children in spring dresses and outfits, so we assume it’s a popular spot for that.
We ended up waiting about 10 minutes to have our photo taken with Mr. and Mrs. Easter Bunny, and this was midday on what was otherwise a busy day in Magic Kingdom. We’d hazard a guess that wait times for this spike on Easter Sunday, but otherwise it’s something of a hidden gem meet & greet!
Also at Magic Kingdom, but only for Easter weekend, there’s a special pre-parade for Disney’s Festival of Fantasy Parade. The highlight of this is the Azalea Trail Maids, a group of 50 high school seniors chosen annually to serve as “Official Ambassadors” for Mobile, Alabama.
The Azalea Trail Maids, wear extravagant antebellum-style dresses meant to look like flowers, and have been marching in Walt Disney World’s parades on Easter for over 40 years. It’s a fun little tradition, and their costumes are gorgeous.
If you’re looking for a religious service on Easter Sunday, that’s offered in the Fantasia Ballroom at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. We don’t have official times for this year, but Catholic Mass is typically held at 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., with Protestant Service at 9:15 a.m. Inquire with the resort directly to confirm times.
Note that parking restrictions have been in effect for weeks at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, meaning you will not be allowed to park here for the religious services. Instead, take monorail or boat service to the Contemporary, or take a bus to Magic Kingdom and walk to the Contemporary.
Overall, unlike Christmas or Halloween at Walt Disney World, Easter is not a time to visit that we actively recommend. To the contrary, we’d recommend avoiding it if you can. However, that won’t be an option for many of you reading this, and it’s possible to make the most of the experience with efficient strategy and by enjoying the limited assortment of special seasonal offerings.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
Have you visited Walt Disney World at Easter? Do you agree or disagree with our advice? Anything else you’d recommend? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback—even when you disagree with us—is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Any news about Easter Religious Services this year?
We loved the eggs on display at Beach yesterday! Thank you for posting the other places to see them. Let me know if you want me to email you the egg pictures I took.
Love reading your blog. It’s SO helped me prepare for this week. 🙂
It does not appear they will have Catholic services this year. I contacted Mary Queen of the Universe which conducts the Catholic services about two weeks ago. I was told they would not have them on Disney property this year at the Contemporary. They did not have Christmas services either on property. They said they will live stream one of the masses from the off-property church. It is not far from Disney but the parking lot can be a challenge due to crowds. When I called the Contemporary, they said they were still evaluating if they would hold services. Seems unlikely.
Ten years ago we were on the Wonder (back when they offered kids sail free on the MX Riviera itineraries!) over Easter. There was a sunrise service and they had the egg display. We didn’t know to expect it and they were amazing! My kids also got a picture with the White Rabbit … thankfully, because just a little while later it switched to Duffy. Ha. Actually, I don’t really mind Duffy, but I wanted the rabbit for Easter.
I cannot find out how to subscribe as there is no link at the bottom of your blogs. Please help.
Can you still Buy the MICKEY & MINNIE with the EASTER EGG ” Body ”
anywhere ?? Stuffed TOY ?
My family and I done Easter Sunday at MK for the past two years and we have had no problems getting on the rides we wanted. We would go first thing in the morning and then leave the park around 3. The Monday after Easter in MK is very crowded so we avoid it and go to another park. I have to say by looking at the wait times on the app recently, the week after Easter is not that bad in comparison.
That’s so freaking cute.
One question – are we able to park at Grand Floridian without a meal reservation so we can look at the Easter eggs?
Sometimes…maybe… worth a try.
BUT If you use your imagination there are many ways in.
Very worst case scenario, a bus from your hotel to MK and the monorail to GF.
Personally, if you can make a res do so. Then go and just order a Mickey Dome, a cookies and cream mousse that’s a killer ($8) which you can split with your significant other. PS bring your refillable mugs and hit the Gasparilla Island Grill first for a beverage that you can bring into the GF Cafe. They also have a very nice Cesare salad which is fairly priced at $8 so a good inexpensive lunch/dinner is doable there.
Thanks for the tip about the Easter Bunny! I may take my kids up there Thursday as that’s when their spring break finally begins!
We have visited Disney at Easter week for the last 15 years. It is very crowded but also very do-able IF you have a great strategy. We get up VERY early and do not stop moving for at least 3 hours as parks open. Do the most popular first and DON’T STOP!! As my kids get older the single rider options help move this day along with less waiting time. Sure we like to create a custom car at Test Track but if we can fly though that and get to Soarin’ with only a 20 minute wait, we go single rider. I usually book fast passes for 1:00 and later. Reason? The park will get extremely crowded after 1:00 and that is when we will rely on fast passes, taking in some theatre type experiences and finally eating something more than a snack type item on the run. If at Magic Kingdom we will see the later parade. Doing pretty much everything is really important to us but I would not call Easter a leisurely week! We have stayed on and off property for Easter week and also visit Disney other times a year but I would call Easter week crowded! Be ready!
Your photos are stunning! Wow!!
I love all the unique eggs around the resorts! I am not sure if you have seen this or not, but this year the All Star resorts did a cast member egg contest where some of the cast at the resort created eggs and guests are able to vote on which ones are best. There are some pretty interesting ones there!
we happened to be on a last minute disney cruise in 2013 during Easter week. it was only our 2nd cruise so weren’t looking for anything special. they did have a service and some similar type eggs in the restaurants, but that was it. i don’t even recall if there was any kind of egg hunt, but we didn’t have kids yet so weren’t really looking for anything special.
Those bunnies look strangely reminiscent of Chip and Dale except white with longer ears…
they are obvious cousins of the white rabbit from alice in wonderland, lol.
I saw those eggs last week and was so impressed with their beauty. The lobby smelled divine. I was in no rush to get back to my resort.
“the week leading up to and including Easter Sunday is one of the most crowded weeks of the year in the parks. (The week after Easter isn’t nearly as bad.)”
Alright, Bricker! You are on the hook for this one! If I arrive on Easter Sunday and find that week to be chaotic (clearly not knowing what the week before Easter was like!), plan on me leaving a harshly worded response to the above declaration!!
You’ve been warned.