2018 June or July visit. Need expert advice to help me decide!

[NDDisneydad]

We are a family of 5 (kids aged 16,13,11) and self proclaimed WDW experts (3 trips in the last 5 years) and decided to try Disneyland last June for the first time in over a decade to try something new. Long story short, we loved it!! We stayed at BWPPI and absolutely loved the parks in every way and our hotel's proximity to the esplanade. The parks were busy, but crowds were manageable (we are used to summertime WDW crowds). 3 grad nights happened during our 5 park days but we made the best of it. We are planning a return trip to DL this summer and need some opinions on the best time to go. The dates we are looking at are June 7-13 or July 2-8. We know that 2 grad nights are scheduled during the June dates. We are considering July because a few crowd calendars show less busy parks in July for our dates than in June. I assumed that over the 4th of July holiday the parks would be packed so I was surprised that crowd calendars said otherwise. After some more research, other crowd calendars show 8/10 and 9/10 for crowds on our July dates. What do you DL experts have to say about 4th of July week in the parks? Are crowds lighter in early July or are the parks packed? Any advice or tips would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[sherilaine]

First off Disneyland crowd calendars are not reliable. They have not been for some time. Honestly if I had those two dates to pick from I'd pick the ones that are more convenient for my travel and not bother to look at the park situation. It's busy no matter when you go. We always go during the winter as it's a great escape for us from the cold but otherwise we'd likely now go during a busier time as there are fewer rides down and longer hours. The Pixar Pier opening date has not yet been announced but if I were you I'd pick the July dates just to be more likely to go when that is all open and finished!!

I also believe more passes would be blocked during your July dates.

 

[momof2n2]

How do you k kw the grad night dates, please? We are going to be in SoCal 6/11-7/20 and want four DLR days. Thank you.

 

[NDDisneydad]

How do you k kw the grad night dates, please? We are going to be in SoCal 6/11-7/20 and want four DLR days. Thank you.

These are grad nights announced so far for 2018. FYI, In previous years more dates have been added as needed so this list may change.

Friday, May 4, 2018
Saturday, May 5, 2018
Friday, May 11, 2018
Saturday, May 12, 2018
Tuesday, May 15, 2018
Wednesday, May 16, 2018
Friday, May 18, 2018
Saturday, May 19, 2018
Tuesday, May 22, 2018
Wednesday, May 23, 2018
Tuesday, May 29, 2018
Wednesday, May 30, 2018

June
Friday, June 1, 2018
Saturday, June 2, 2018
Tuesday, June 5, 2018
Wednesday, June 6, 2018
Friday, June 8, 2018
Saturday, June 9, 2018

 

[HydroGuy]

First off Disneyland crowd calendars are not reliable. They have not been for some time. Honestly if I had those two dates to pick from I'd pick the ones that are more convenient for my travel and not bother to look at the park situation. It's busy no matter when you go. We always go during the winter as it's a great escape for us from the cold but otherwise we'd likely now go during a busier time as there are fewer rides down and longer hours. The Pixar Pier opening date has not yet been announced but if I were you I'd pick the July dates just to be more likely to go when that is all open and finished!!

I also believe more passes would be blocked during your July dates.

FWIW @sherilaine is talking about threads like this: https://www.disboards.com/threads/w...ing-plans-website-dlr-crowd-calendar.3196851/

 

[HydroGuy]

We are a family of 5 (kids aged 16,13,11) and self proclaimed WDW experts (3 trips in the last 5 years) and decided to try Disneyland last June for the first time in over a decade to try something new. Long story short, we loved it!! We stayed at BWPPI and absolutely loved the parks in every way and our hotel's proximity to the esplanade. The parks were busy, but crowds were manageable (we are used to summertime WDW crowds). 3 grad nights happened during our 5 park days but we made the best of it. We are planning a return trip to DL this summer and need some opinions on the best time to go. The dates we are looking at are June 7-13 or July 2-8. We know that 2 grad nights are scheduled during the June dates. We are considering July because a few crowd calendars show less busy parks in July for our dates than in June. I assumed that over the 4th of July holiday the parks would be packed so I was surprised that crowd calendars said otherwise. After some more research, other crowd calendars show 8/10 and 9/10 for crowds on our July dates. What do you DL experts have to say about 4th of July week in the parks? Are crowds lighter in early July or are the parks packed? Any advice or tips would be appreciated. Thanks!

With only two grad nights (if that holds) out of 5 park days, I think that impact can be worked around. Just plan those nights for major shows like WOC, Paint the Night or Fantasmic.

Even so, if it was me and I was forced to choose I would feel safer with the July dates.

 

[smartlabelprint]

I’d go in July when the lower level passes are blocked. But really go on your best dates. Not because of crowd calendars.

 

[Butterfly123]

I would go in July. We have been that week in July before and it was busy but manageable. And with no grad nights, and more passes blocked than the June dates, July would be my pick.