When to go? Where to stay?

[MrsTigger]

Hi,
It's been a very long time since we have been to DLP but we are planning our first trip with our daughter. She will be roughly 22months.
We can't decide whether to go September, October or November next year. Bearing in mind crowds,price and weather, when would you do for?
Also trying to decide between one of the lake hotels, is there any refubs or closures in those months we should in think about before booking?
Thanks

 

[tennisfan]

I would probably do either October or beginning of November. Get the dates right and you could do November and experience Bonfire season & Christmas season. October you have halloween season

I think the next hotel to have a refurb is going to be the Cheyenne. When they do the HNY it will be closed whilst they do that one

 

[MrsTigger]

I lile the sound of christmas season my other half thinks it will be too cold, not sure there will be that much difference though to October whether wise? What are the dates for the Cheyenne refurb? I think we were hoping to stay at Newport or Sequoia.

 

[A Small World]

Hi Mrs Tigger - Good to see you on here again. Congratulations on your little girl.
We went a few yrs ago for a weekend in November at the start of the Christmas season and it was very very busy so if you can avoid weekends it would help.
Ive since been a couple of times in December and much prefer that - I don't think Im much in a Christmas mood in November.
It is cold but also might be cold in September as well - you just need to wrap up well with layers and make sure you have a blanket for your little one in her stroller.

Newport Bay is in the process of a refurb now and should be finished by the time you go and S Lodge had a refurb a couple of years ago . You can now book a Golden Forest room at S Lodge which gives you a hot breakfast in a separate room and one hotel fast pass a day per person as well as drinks and cakes in the afternoon so this might be an option for you.

 

[MrsTigger]

Hi Mrs Tigger - Good to see you on here again. Congratulations on your little girl.
We went a few yrs ago for a weekend in November at the start of the Christmas season and it was very very busy so if you can avoid weekends it would help.
Ive since been a couple of times in December and much prefer that - I don't think Im much in a Christmas mood in November.
It is cold but also might be cold in September as well - you just need to wrap up well with layers and make sure you have a blanket for your little one in her stroller.

Newport Bay is in the process of a refurb now and should be finished by the time you go and S Lodge had a refurb a couple of years ago . You can now book a Golden Forest room at S Lodge which gives you a hot breakfast in a separate room and one hotel fast pass a day per person as well as drinks and cakes in the afternoon so this might be an option for you.

Hello again, aww thank you!
Humm don't like the sound of busy haha, yes I said September could be as cold. Is september/October any better crowds wise? December will be busy for us as its our daughters birthday closely followed by christmas so not so keen on going in December.
Sounds good with the forest rooms, I'll look into that .

 

[DLPDreams]

We've been in September before (before my eldest started school - now we are limited to school holidays which isn't ideal!). While it doesn't have a theme as such i.e. not Halloween or Christmas, it was nice weather not too hot, but hoodie weather and it was really quiet. I would pick that time to go in a heartbeat if I could!

There were hardly any queues and lots of characters around. I am not sure if it's still the case but they sometimes have character training in September so you often see more just wandering around - as I say though, not sure if this is still the case.

As it will all be new to your DD, I think September would be a great time to go as you won't miss a 'theme' iyswim.

We stayed at SQL last October for Halloween - stayed in GF room and it was our first time in the hotel as usually say in the DLH (it was a budget trip though as we were saving for WDW this summer!). The GF was nice for not that much extra and we did like the separate breakfast and afternoon drinks/tea. The extra FP is a bonus too. My favourite hotel is the DLH and you may get a good deal for early/mid September if you keep a look out. But if not, I do like SQL and would be happy to stay there again.

 

[OldSchoolReasons]

End of November midweek is normally quiet but fairly cold. Early October is a good balance between weather and crowds.

 

[elena_n2o]

September you can get really nice quiet days, with fairly good weather. October, still decent weather, and Halloween (avoid weekends and school holidays, and you'll have very little queues anywhere). November can be very cold, very wet, but Christmas is on...

Personally for a first visit (first of many I hope!) with your little one I would choose September. There's plenty to do and see without the additional shows and characters that Christmas and Halloween have, so I always find it slightly more relaxing. The weather is usually very good, and the parks are relatively quiet (better the second half of September once everyone's in school). And as DLPDreams said above, it's a good time to see lots of characters just wandering around!

If the budget is OK, I would choose the New York, it's close enough that you can easily walk back for a rest during the day, rooms are big and comfy, breakfast is wonderful. Otherwise, I would go for the Sequoia. Or if you can get a good deal for it, the Disneyland Hotel of course

 

[MrsTigger]

OK thanks September is looking good. I was thinking the other day that maybe going in a non theme time would be best. It will all be new and exciting to her anyway. Plus we want to do Wdw next and that would be in halloween season so I don't want her to think that's what Disney is like all the time haha.

Humm so if we don't book with the current 2day and 2nights free is there likely to be another deal?
Also we are planning to go by Eurostar, is there cheaper days to go and when can we book for September? Looks like we'd need to book the hotel and then book the train to get the deal atm.
Thanks

 

[zanzibar138]

Wow I haven't been on this board in a long time! I just wanted to point out that the inaugural RunDisney half marathon will be on the last weekend in September next year (hence the reason I am back on the board!). I would expect it to draw extra crowds for the few days before and after (as it will draw a lot of international visitors wanting to take the opportunity to explore the parks). As it's the inaugural run too, it could be chaotic. I would stick to the first 3 weeks of September to avoid any additional crowds/chaos potentially caused by the run.

 

[zanzibar138]

Sorry duplicate post

 

[MrsTigger]

Thanks we will keep that in mind.

 

[petals]

I lile the sound of christmas season my other half thinks it will be too cold, not sure there will be that much difference though to October whether wise? What are the dates for the Cheyenne refurb? I think we were hoping to stay at Newport or Sequoia.

We went in 2012 at the start of the christmas season I think it was aronud the 7th of November. It was cold but it wasn't freezing cold if you know what I mean. Hats, scarves and gloves on and we were good to go. We managed to catch one of the bonfire nights as well and that show is awesome!