1st timers planning for week after Thanksgiving 2015...

[loveysbydesign]

...just wondering if that is a good week to go or not?
Also is it warm enough to take a sidetrip to the beach?

We are from PA and have never been west of the Mississippi

 

[Sherry E]

...just wondering if that is a good week to go or not?
Also is it warm enough to take a sidetrip to the beach?

We are from PA and have never been west of the Mississippi

Hello, loveysbydesign!

The weather in Southern California can be iffy and unpredictable in November/December. More than likely, there will be quite a few warm days -- probably warm enough to visit the beach, though the ocean could be a bit chilly. It could be in the 80s, or the 70s -- but it could also be raining and 50 degrees, and 30 degrees at night. In the early mornings it will be very crisp.

Crowd-wise, the time frame immediately after Thanksgiving week and before mid-December is decent. It's not empty or quiet because the holiday season is extremely popular and lots of people come out to see it. Also, this is the year of Disneyland's 60th anniversary, and we are not yet sure what may be in store for that, or how it could affect crowds. But, that time frame is after the Thanksgiving break and before mid-December (which is when a lot of people begin to take Christmas breaks), so that can sometimes result in days that are not overly, ridiculously crowded.

I would say that the time frame in which you are going is not an off-season time to go, so it won't be slow or quiet for long, but it is a better time during the holiday season -- you can get the full array of holiday fun, while not experiencing the massive crowds that one would find between Christmas and New Year's Day.

Have you read HydroGuy's thread -- A DLR Guide for WDW Vets? It highlights the differences between DLR and WDW, so that WDW vets visiting DLR for the first time will know what to expect.

Since you will be visiting during the holiday season, I welcome you to join in or follow my Disneyland at Christmas/Holiday Season Superthread (which covers Thanksgiving and New Year's as well) -- it has a lot of info and discussion that may be of help and interest to you. (Our current holiday season ends tomorrow, and I have to change a lot of the "2014" references on page 1 to "2015," but all the information is still applicable except for specific dates of certain things, which will change this year.) The whole first page is filled with info or links to info, photos, articles, blogs, etc. -- and the subjects range from important dates to remember, to holiday foods/treats, to holiday happenings at the 3 Disney hotels, to other holiday things to do outside of Disneyland Resort, to in-park holiday activities, etc. There is also a section for Trip Reviews/Recaps (some of which are very brief, and some of which are more detailed), so you can get a sense of what people said about crowds during the holidays in 2014, 2013, etc.

Also, we're a fun, friendly group in the Superthread (with a lot of combined knowledge of and experience with Disneyland during the holidays), and we discuss the holiday season at DLR all year long. If breaking news comes in, we chat about it (even if it's months and months in advance). If rumors trickle out, or any kind of developments that could possibly affect the holiday season, we discuss that too. We're there to answer questions all year.

 

[Kyjin]

The week after Thanksgiving is great! You'll get to experience holidays at the park with not too-heavy crowds. I did the Monday after Thanksgiving this year, and it didn't seem that busy. Weather, however, can be a bit unpredictable. The week of Thanksgiving this year, we saw record highs in SoCal, getting up into the high 80s/low 90s. The next week, however, temperatures dropped and there were rain storms. December is the wettest month in SoCal, so do keep that in mind. I'd expect weather ranging from the 70s to 80s, which isn't super warm swimming at the beach weather (the Pacific is colder than the Jersey shore!), but you should get at least one nice day to walk around the beach and dip your toes in the water.

(Also yay for more PA people! I moved to LA a year and a half ago, but I'm from southeastern PA originally )

 

[figment_jii]

This thread was asking about the period after Thanksgiving as well (although it was for the week after the one you were talking about).
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3364539

I would also hop on over to the Christmas SuperThread to see how folks reported things were this year.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3358217&page=20

In general, the week after Thanksgiving (11/29-12/5) is not a bad period to go, but it's not going to be empty in the parks either. The holidays are in full swing (decor is up, overlays are up, Christmas parade, fireworks, and WoC should be running). It is among the quieter times during the holiday season (except on the weekends, when I would still except high(ish) crowds), but there will be lines (unless it's raining). If you want to see holiday decor, then I would either go that week, the week after, or the week before Thanksgiving. It won't be walk-on rides, but I don't think the weekdays will have wall-to-wall guests either.

 

[loveysbydesign]

Thanks everyone! I will check out those threads! We were originally planning to go in mid June but since it very well may be a once in a lifetime visit, we'd really love to see DLR all decked out for the holidays!