2015 - June or July?

[jina]

We want to plan one summer trip to DL before our premium AP's expire. We plan to stay off site and do rope drop at the non-EE park each day. We can do weekdays or weekends and would go for 4 park days.

Crowd-wise which time is better - mid-June, 4th of July week or late July? And are weekdays always better than weekends in the summer?

I'm trying to recall what I read this past summer and I thought some folks said 4th of July was unusually light (?)

thanks in advance!

 

[Happytotrip2]

i

 

[SMD]

I'd just do the week of the 17th and be there for the 60th. If you already have a premium AP, why not?

 

[freckles04]

Sorry to hijack, but I've been struggling about this, too. Originally I was planning a short October trip but realized we wanted a longer trip that was only possible over summer break. Also, it's our first trip to DLR and we want to see it without Halloween decorations and overlays.

I saw that grad nights in 2015 go til June 19th. Are grad nights a time to avoid Disneyland? I can only assume that it is.

I also saw that most of the passholders are blocked by June 26 and I'm assuming to avoid the week before that as a lot of people may be trying to go to the parks while they still can...? I was looking at June 26-July 2 then realized I can't for personal reasons.

I keep reading reports that the week of the 4th is surprisingly light, but others say it's packed, so I'm confused on that.

And then with the 60th anniversary, I'm assuming that's going to bring lots of crowds, too.

My DS will likely go back to school July 31 so we feel a bit limited in our options this summer!

 

[Laz]

I have gone during July 4th week and am planning to go the week before the 4th this year. except for the night of July 4th, I found the park crowds very manageable. Understand that we stayed in the Disneyland Hotel and took advantage of the Early Entry. We used the typical WDW plan of Early Mornings, afternoon breaks, back to the parks in the evening.

 

[disneycat321]

As a former local, I would go with mid-June. The weather is much better, for one thing. Orange County has "June gloom" - marine layer in the mornings=much cooler days! July is much hotter. Also, a lot of Orange County schools start after Labor Day, so they get out in early or mid-June, so even though the SoCal passes are blocked, locals may not be around on weekdays if you go early enough in June.

In my experience, grad nights don't affect a ton (I've gone twice on grad nights, both Fridays). They're also not every single night. It would be good to check on that, though.

I would say weekdays are always better than weekends no matter what time of year. DLR is different than WDW that way. There are plenty of locals with Deluxe and Premium APs who go in the summer, and they are still working on weekdays through the summer. You'll see higher crowds Friday nights for that reason as well.

 

[Happytotrip2]

i

 

[jkbaker]

We were there July 3, 4, & 5. Not near as busy as WDW during the same time. The weather was even nice. Not too hot! We enjoyed the fireworks from our hotel room.

 

[jina]

Thanks all! DD5 doesn't get out of school until the middle of June but I like the idea of it being cooler. We were there last August and it was super hot but we still did OK. Taking those midday breaks @ the pool is the best! That and spending lots of time in the Animation Academy building.

Is the 60th anniversary celebration actually in mid-June? I saw there were a few week days when both SoCal passes are blacked out which seemed unusual (June 17&18). Not sure if we'd want to brave that.

 

[TheDoleWhipper]

The 60th anniversary celebration will most likely be happening by mid-june 2015. Although this is just speculation, it will probably begin sometime around mid-may. They have not planned anything big for it, but they could possibly be bringing back mainstreet electrical parade, with floats paying tribute to the early decades of disney. The good thing is, disney will try to get all the rides up in running by the start of the celebration, as last year, june seemed to have WAY too many rides up for refurb (Space mountain, Alice, Nemo, Grizzly river run). That seems unusual for relatively high season?

I have also been wondering why those days mid-Week in june were blocked out. Our upcoming trip happens to fall mostly during that period. I am thinking that the crowds would be lighter, because most of the levels of APs are blocked out. But I do not think that those dates would be any more crowded, but who knows?

 

[ashleysev]

We were there on the 5th of July a few years ago and the crowds were surprisingly low!

I agree with the PP that weekdays are generally a better bet, but summer really is "busy" every day.