We did the tubing, so they provided the tubes for us. I believe you can rent ski gear at one of the shops on location.

Skied in early April a couple of years ago and the conditions were good. Although some of the slopes were icy around 3 pm when the sun began to go down as a result of snow melting. No idea about the forecast this April.

We did visit in the summer in years past. There is still a lot to do. Hiking, biking, slides. We only made a day trip out there, but it was really nice. Great weather. Scenery is beautiful. We had an 18 year old and a 16 year old with us. They enjoyed the activities offered.

They ski lodge and downtown are fairly close. We rented a SUV and was very accessible to drive. If you plan on skiing a majority of the time, I would suggest you stay at the ski lodge. Then when you go downtown, there is a free bus transportation called the lift that will take you all over. Check out the Lift website. Otherwise if you stay downtown then you will have two haul your ski equipment to the lodge. The ski lodge is neat. There are lots of stores and things to do. Downtown is really cute. Great restaurants, bars and a cool ambiance. We love Winter Park.

Usually resorts open in November. At most resorts snow is made for lower areas to accommodate beginners and lessons if snow is marginal at that time. Contact resort as you get closer for details. Rentals can or cannot be included with lesson packages depending on what you sign up for. I’m pretty sure Winter Park has outer garments to use but goggles, gloves, items of a more personal issue, I’m not sure. Contact rental department for these questions.

Yes... at the base of the mountain, there's a outdoor patio to watch skiers come down the mountain

Yes you can bring food into the resort area.

Crowds picked up as the day wore on so I would strongly recommend that you get there when it opens to get a few rides on the alpine slide in before more people show up. Also, the “mountain storms” tend to show up in the afternoon. Our kids gave up around 2:30ish because lightning was in the area and the lift closes until it clears.

We went there on a Monday and there were no lines and no crowds. However, we stayed close by and saw the parking lot over the weekend had a lot of buses and kids galore. I wouldn't try it Fri-Sun, even on a bet.