June or October?

[princesses2]

I'm trying to decide when to go. Originally, I had planned for 6/10-17. But after reading how crowded, the parks are and considering it's the Summer season I'm having second thoughts. I'm remembering my last trip to DL in March, 2005. It was our Spring Break and turned out to be Easter as well so it was VERY crowded. I was disappointed by the long lines seeing how my kids are small (6, 4, 1), we couldn't wait for 45 min. to an hour for rides. We didn't end up doing as much as we had hoped.

Okay, now for the next trip I do not want a repeat of our last trip. I know Summer is popular but I was thinking that it won't be too crowded yet since it's early in June. Am I wrong to think that? Has anyone gone at that time in the past? June is a good time for us b/c it's right after school ends and before Summer camp begins.

Now, I do not like to pull my kids out of school. But I'm considering early October b/c I think the crowds will be gone by then. Weather will still be warm so kids can swim. I believe 50th celebration will still be going on. But will Disney cut back on shows, parades, park hours and such compared to the Summer months? We loved the shows, parades, fireworks, hotel swimming pools. They were the highlights of our last trip. Has anyone gone in early October in the past?

One thing I do know for sure is that we'll be staying at GC this time. It was just too hard at the end of the day to walk back to DL Bonita Tower with three very tired kids. Of course, DH and I ended up carrying them back to the hotel. We would walk past GC and I wished that was our hotel.

So if you were my shoes, when would you go?

 

[camouseketeer]

You're pretty much right on with list of the pros and cons.

June:
much more crowded
warm to hot weather
shows/parades/fireworks on most, if not all, nights of the week
very long park hours

October:
more moderate crowds (this year it was more crowded than usual in October)
more moderate weather
more limited show schedule
shorter park hours

It just depends on your priorities. There have been good arguments made on these boards for the summer because of the longer hours and greater show schedule. For me, however, I would never brave the summer with my small kids (2, 4). I just know we wouldn't enjoy ourselves due to the long waits and large crowds. BUT we don't do a lot of shows due to their ages, so they are not a priority for me.

If you are going to pull your kids out, you might want to consider mid-September. I was there this year and the park was not crowded at all. We did the Parade of Dreams midweek, but there were not fireworks scheduled until the weekend. From my reading of these boards, mid-September was much better crowd wise than October.

Good luck in your decision and have a magical trip!

 

[iceskatejen]

Yes, park hours, shows, fireworks, parades, etc... will be cut back in October. Also, there's a very good possibility that the 50th celebration will be over at that point (yes, the math says it should end Nov 5, but I've heard that it'll actually end at the end of Sept). Also, IASW may be closed for the holiday overlay. But, that particular week of June is usually quite busy, also with shorter park hours because of Grad Nights (which are usually on Wednesdays and Thursdays).

 

[Amy&Dan]

Well thats a tough call! We have been in both months and had great stays and weather both times. In fact, we had this same choice for our family and chose June because of the lengthier hours, probably will have the Electrical Parade going and more fireworks. When I checked the weather averages for those two months, they were almost identical, with the average highs being in the high 70's and lows around 60. June can be cloudy in Southern California but rainfall averages are low.

In September when we were there, they only had Remember on the weekends. As far as crowds go, the 50th is making Disneyland more crowded period. Early June will not be as bad as late June and July, but it will probably be more crowded than October. One note, Gay Days is usually in early October at Disneyland, I know this can affect crowds and hotel availablity. I would expect that regardless of early June or October it would be a safe bet that crowds will be less than when you went over Easter.

P.S. We will be at the Grand Californian from June 16-21, so depending on your decision we might be there at the same time!

Okay I just read the other postings on this. If the 50th does end the end of September and Remember is no more, I would go in June. That is such an incredible fireworks display it is worth the trip IMHO! Also, I second another posting about September. We have been two years in a row the week after Labor Day and it was wonderful. Moderately crowded on the weekends but the week days so slow you don't need longer hours! Although again, they will only run the fireworks on the weekends. Also you mentioned hotel pools, I have swam in the DLH and PP pools all year, even in February and December, they keep them warm so swimming is doable regardless of when you go.

 

[disney-super-mom]

We have young kids also (DS 6 and DS 2) and actually we like the shorter hours because by 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm, our kids are just plain tuckered out.

I'd definately go in October, fly in on a Saturday or Sunday when you're all fresh and excited and it's easier for all of you to stay up to watch the fireworks and maybe even Fantasmic. By Monday, you'll have the fireworks out of the way so it's no longer a priority for you, and then just take it easy the rest of the week since you won't have the crowds to fight. You should be able to just relax and go at a nice and easy pace the rest of your vacation. That way no one gets too tuckered out, and you'll all be able to REALLY ENJOY the parks and all the little fun details and the daily parades. When you have to rush from ride to ride, trying to beat the masses and long lines, and running around getting fast passes, well it can become a little overwhelming and tiresome, especially with little ones.

BTW, when we stayed at the DLH, we always took the monorail back to DTD, and then walked from there to the DLH, which was only about 50-75 yards away from the DTD monorail station. That said, the GC is NICE - hope you enjoy your stay there!

 

[Rapunsel]

I actually vote for November.... I remeber one day we went to the park from 10 am to 6 pm and went at a moderate pace and did 28 rides. Walked on to everyone of them...

June is when ALL the school kids go and most are unsupervised. I still rememebr my 8th grade calss trip. it was awful. Please don't waste your time...

If you can JAnuary is also a good time to go. Towards the end. the weather is great and if not, grab a mickey poncho and keep going.. That is what we do..

I have been at all times of the year adn I prefer November and January. But that is just my opinion...

 

[Amy&Dan]

Another factor with June is Grad Nights. I am not sure when they are this year, I believe they are usually early in June. On those nights the parks close early and there are no fireworks. Class trips are usually early in June before school lets out. We were there June 18-23 in 2004. It was surprisingly not that crowded but that was before the 50th had started. Crowds are much worse all the time now!

 

[samkj]

To me it comes down to whether or not you want to pull your kids out of school. We choose not to, but my DH is also a teacher, so in all honesty its not even an option for us. My daughter is in kindergarten, and 3-4 kids in her class have missed a week or so of school for Disneyland trips already this year. We went over Thanksgiving and were actually pleasantly surprised with the crowds. It was no where near what I anticipated (we left DL the day before Thanksgivng, so missed the weekend crowds)

 

[stampinshauna]

I'd say go in October. It won't be too hot, the crowds will be smaller, and hotel rates will be cheaper. Even though the hours are shorter, you'll be able to get more done. It will be nice to have shorter lines to wait in with the kids. It's true that fireworks and parades will be cut back, but they will still do them on the weekends. On the weekdays you can ride all you want and then do the shows & parades on Friday/Saturday.

 

[princesses2]

Thank you everyone. I really appreciate what everyone has said. Good point about Grad Night. I called and verified that 50th celebration will end at the end of September. Since the celebration is a major part of the reason why we're going back to DL, I'll have to look into September instead of October. When I asked DH, he definitely did not want to fight the crowds. So I'm going to look into 9/23.

Should I be worried about the crowds b/c it's the very last week of the 50th celebration? Can't help but feel that everyone will try to make it in before the celebration ends (which is what I'm trying to do, too!). If that happens, I'll be so BUMMED after all this planning to avoid it.

 

[Amy&Dan]

I am glad you found out that the 50th for sure will be ending before you booked October! I think the end of September will be great. I guess a lot of locals in particular may show up to say goodbye to Remember, but during the week when it likely won't be showing you should have low crowds. Also, weekends at Disneyland, especially since Remember started are ALWAYS busy, regardless of what time of year you go. One thing is for sure, you will definitely have lower crowds that week in September than in June and if the 50th is over the end of September you would have missed it in October. So since those two things were the major factors, I'd say you made a good choice!

 

[Rivergallery]

Another idea to consider is May.
I have went in May and the weather was decent- one day there was a little rain. And crowds were very low. This way the 50th would be up.

 

[princesses2]

I would love to go in the Spring but kids have already missed 3 days of school during Thanksgiving break and will miss 2 days during Xmas break so I don't want to pull them out for another 5 days in the Spring. In hind sight, I should've not gone during Spring Break of 2005 and waited a couple more months and gone either late April or May of 2005. Oh well...

 

[Dis Ohana]

If you're going on the last weekend, one bit of advice: if you want to see the fireworks and parade, try not to leave the park and re-enter right before it's set to start. We left the park and tried to get back in before show time, only to be turned away because the park was too full!