2019 or no??

[abcboys]

Ok, like a lot of people I like to get a jump start on vacations way ahead of time and since we aren't really going anywhere for 2018 I've already been planning on vacation for 2019. We talked about going to WDW but I I don't know we've already done that although the last time was in Oct. 2011 I just kind of wanted to do something different. I have on my bucket list to someday go to California so I thought why not do that and do 2-3 days at Disneyland and some other area attractions.

So I got to planning. My plan was sometime June or July 2019. Looked at all the crowd predictions, AP blackout dates and how they affect things, figured out what we would more than likely do with our other 3 days, narrowed my hotel choices down to 2 or 3 and even worked out which airport would work for flying out of landing etc. Pretty much any time I was bored I was planning for 2019.

Now, I had heard my middle son mention about Star Wars Land opening in 2019 but I didn't give it too much though.....till today. I got to reading about "horrendous crowds" and words like it will probably be "bottlenecked" over and over again that will happen in summer 2019. Now I know they don't have an official opening date and I suppose it could be anywhere late May to July but the thought of that is making me second guess all my plans. lol I knew summer time in general would be busy but my kids are older (jr. high and high school) and I can no longer take them out for off season like we did in 2011. I can handle "busy" but I don't think "insanely busy" sounds the least bit fun and spending all that money....ugh!!

I guess I don't have to decide right this minute but do you think it will be horrendously bad or bad but manageable? We (or I) could care less about Star Wars Land but DH does have to have his vacation days turned in by this fall for next year. Would you chance a probably once in a lifetime trip around those dates?

 

[Geemo]

Ok, like a lot of people I like to get a jump start on vacations way ahead of time and since we aren't really going anywhere for 2018 I've already been planning on vacation for 2019. We talked about going to WDW but I I don't know we've already done that although the last time was in Oct. 2011 I just kind of wanted to do something different. I have on my bucket list to someday go to California so I thought why not do that and do 2-3 days at Disneyland and some other area attractions.

So I got to planning. My plan was sometime June or July 2019. Looked at all the crowd predictions, AP blackout dates and how they affect things, figured out what we would more than likely do with our other 3 days, narrowed my hotel choices down to 2 or 3 and even worked out which airport would work for flying out of landing etc. Pretty much any time I was bored I was planning for 2019.

Now, I had heard my middle son mention about Star Wars Land opening in 2019 but I didn't give it too much though.....till today. I got to reading about "horrendous crowds" and words like it will probably be "bottlenecked" over and over again that will happen in summer 2019. Now I know they don't have an official opening date and I suppose it could be anywhere late May to July but the thought of that is making me second guess all my plans. lol I knew summer time in general would be busy but my kids are older (jr. high and high school) and I can no longer take them out for off season like we did in 2011. I can handle "busy" but I don't think "insanely busy" sounds the least bit fun and spending all that money....ugh!!

I guess I don't have to decide right this minute but do you think it will be horrendously bad or bad but manageable? We (or I) could care less about Star Wars Land but DH does have to have his vacation days turned in by this fall for next year. Would you chance a probably once in a lifetime trip around those dates?

If you're not a SW fan, I'd say skip DLR for 2019. Unless you can book your trip late May, in the hopes SWL opens after your trip.
I feel the parks might be a little slower the few weeks leading up to the opening of SWL. Other than the Grad-Nights in May/June.

Plan your trip to DLR but make sure you can cancel plans without fees if SWL opens.
Have a back up vacation location if DLR falls through.
There should be enough time to do fine tuning to which ever trip you go with.

Geemo

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Would Spring Break 2019 work for you? It seems unlikely that SWLGE would be open that early. The parks are usually pretty crowded for Spring Break (peak crowds = the two weeks before and two weeks after Easter), but Disney plans for that with longer hours and increased staffing. If you don't mind the crowds but know you don't want SWLGE, that might be a time frame that could work for you.

 

[azdisneylover]

Ok, like a lot of people I like to get a jump start on vacations way ahead of time and since we aren't really going anywhere for 2018 I've already been planning on vacation for 2019. We talked about going to WDW but I I don't know we've already done that although the last time was in Oct. 2011 I just kind of wanted to do something different. I have on my bucket list to someday go to California so I thought why not do that and do 2-3 days at Disneyland and some other area attractions.

So I got to planning. My plan was sometime June or July 2019. Looked at all the crowd predictions, AP blackout dates and how they affect things, figured out what we would more than likely do with our other 3 days, narrowed my hotel choices down to 2 or 3 and even worked out which airport would work for flying out of landing etc. Pretty much any time I was bored I was planning for 2019.



Now, I had heard my middle son mention about Star Wars Land opening in 2019 but I didn't give it too much though.....till today. I got to reading about "horrendous crowds" and words like it will probably be "bottlenecked" over and over again that will happen in summer 2019. Now I know they don't have an official opening date and I suppose it could be anywhere late May to July but the thought of that is making me second guess all my plans. lol I knew summer time in general would be busy but my kids are older (jr. high and high school) and I can no longer take them out for off season like we did in 2011. I can handle "busy" but I don't think "insanely busy" sounds the least bit fun and spending all that money....ugh!!

I guess I don't have to decide right this minute but do you think it will be horrendously bad or bad but manageable? We (or I) could care less about Star Wars Land but DH does have to have his vacation days turned in by this fall for next year. Would you chance a probably once in a lifetime trip around those dates?

If I was planning a trip to Disneyland in 2019, I would make sure I could stay on site (Grand Californian) and hope staying on site would give you some advantage to seeing SWL Galaxy Edge. I think late July or first week in August would be safe so you could see SWL.

Whatever you decide, I know you will have a great time!

 

[Winnowill]

We're moving our girls' trip next year back to its original March weekend just to avoid SWL.

 

[disneylover102]

I’m considering a trip in late summer next year. (Obviously lower crowds are nice but you can still get a lot done during these times by doing Rope drop, Fastpass, and late night.) I am SO pumped for SWL even though I’m not a huge SW fan. Any new Disney land is amazing and both rides sound amazing!

 

[sherilaine]

We are planning to go early 2019 and then we'll return in a couple of years once the force field dies down some....

 

[Pdollar88]

I looked at this thread and then put it out of my mind, moving on to planning to visit DL at Halloween 2019 in October. Now I'm thinking that's a crazy idea, and I should stick with my early March or early May plan. Even though I **really** want to see the Halloween offerings.

Good thing I reserved a room for March off-site, I guess.

 

[drjackal31]

We were going to go in 2019 but decided to move it up to December this year. It'll still be busy but I'd like to see Disneyland before the Star Wars hoopla starts.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

I looked at this thread and then put it out of my mind, moving on to planning to visit DL at Halloween 2019 in October. Now I'm thinking that's a crazy idea, and I should stick with my early March or early May plan. Even though I **really** want to see the Halloween offerings.

Good thing I reserved a room for March off-site, I guess.

Is HalloweenTime 2018 absolutely out of the question, even for a very short trip?

 

[Pdollar88]

Is HalloweenTime 2018 absolutely out of the question, even for a very short trip?

I would tend to say yes - I already have a Halloween visit to WDW scheduled in September, with airfare purchased (prices most likely weren't going below the fare I got).

I could perhaps go in October - I just don't know if I could get that much time off work. And it would have to be a less than ideal trip - short and on likely a Thursday - Sunday. But I'm going to double check - that could be an alternative.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

... I could perhaps go in October - I just don't know if I could get that much time off work. And it would have to be a less than ideal trip - short and on likely a Thursday - Sunday. But I'm going to double check - that could be an alternative.

For just a taste of HalloweenTime at DLR, a Thursday - Sunday trip isn't bad. You would likely get at least one MHP on a Friday. Party dates will probably be announced this summer, with tickets going on sale in July. That gives you a lot of time to do some research and to start checking hotel rates. Last year was the first time that DCA got decorated for Halloween, and Disney did a great job. A party ticket gives you up to 8 hours in the parks, so you might not even need to buy a park ticket for that day (although lots of people do buy park tickets, too, so they get the morning and early afternoon hours in the parks before the party). Lots to think about, I know. But at least you have this option.

 

[Pdollar88]

Given a choice for a 2018, would you do a Thursday-Sunday trip (October 11-14) or a Saturday-Tuesday trip (October 13-16).

I could also go the last weekend in September to try to get a discount at a Disney hotel. It doesn’t look like discounts are normally offered for early October. Going in September would mean WDW and DL in the same month though!

 

[jbh275]

I've already budgeted points for a Oct. 2019 stay at VGC just for Star Wars Land. I too hope there are some kind of perks for staying on site. We'll see.

 

[soniam]

We had planned to do DL in summer 2019 for D23 Expo, but now it's during son's first week of school. I will still be going by myself. My plan is to book a VIP tour. I think that's the only reasonable way that I could see SWGE, which I really want to see. I think the fall could be good for people who don't plan on doing SWGE. However, it could be that SWGE is so crowded that people give up and do the other parts of the parks, which would make everything terribly crowded. Wait until 2021/2022, during Disney World's 50th. That might draw the outside visitors away some

 

[Blue32]

Any chance so many people postpone their trips because of SWGE opening that it just ends up being somewhat normal summertime busy? Wishful thinking I know....

 

[PairOfDice]

Any chance so many people postpone their trips because of SWGE opening that it just ends up being somewhat normal summertime busy? Wishful thinking I know....

If only, right? I'd like to take a different vacation than Disney in 2019 to avoid the insanity but if we can't manage to stay away we'd consider going the week after Labor Day. We went during that time last year and the crowds were delightfully light. It was wonderful! I sure it wouldn't be that light with SWGE but definitely better than summer right after it opens. I hope anyway.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Given a choice for a 2018, would you do a Thursday-Sunday trip (October 11-14) or a Saturday-Tuesday trip (October 13-16).

I could also go the last weekend in September to try to get a discount at a Disney hotel. It doesn’t look like discounts are normally offered for early October. Going in September would mean WDW and DL in the same month though!

I would hedge my bets and go with the Thursday through Sunday trip only because I think you will have a better chance of hitting one MHP on a Friday. Since we don't know the party dates yet (and in past years there have been MHPs on Mondays and/or Tuesdays, but not always), there usually are parties scheduled for Fridays. Also, odd as it seems since October is now a really busy time, October is still considered low peak by Disney. So having a weekend should give you a full nighttime entertainment schedule to choose from. Lastly, do you have to stay on site? You can have a really fun trip and save so much money by staying off site at DLR. Everyone has their favorite places. We love the Candy Cane Inn. Other people love the BWPPI or the PVI for the proximity (closer than the on site hotels!). The early hour perk won't make such a big difference if you'll be solo and using MP.

 

[Jedi Mouse]

Summer 2019 is going to be crazy.

Any chance so many people postpone their trips because of SWGE opening that it just ends up being somewhat normal summertime busy? Wishful thinking I know....

Probably not. As Yogi Berra said, "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded".

 

[Pdollar88]

I would hedge my bets and go with the Thursday through Sunday trip only because I think you will have a better chance of hitting one MHP on a Friday. Since we don't know the party dates yet (and in past years there have been MHPs on Mondays and/or Tuesdays, but not always), there usually are parties scheduled for Fridays. Also, odd as it seems since October is now a really busy time, October is still considered low peak by Disney. So having a weekend should give you a full nighttime entertainment schedule to choose from. Lastly, do you have to stay on site? You can have a really fun trip and save so much money by staying off site at DLR. Everyone has their favorite places. We love the Candy Cane Inn. Other people love the BWPPI or the PVI for the proximity (closer than the on site hotels!). The early hour perk won't make such a big difference if you'll be solo and using MP.

I don't need to stay on property, I just thought the extra hour might make a difference for such a short trip. But I will be solo and using MP, so thank you for saying I should be okay! I love the look of the Candy Cane Inn!

I'm still super torn about going this Halloween. I'm sorely tempted to just press my luck for October 2019 or just "regular" DL in May 2019 - but some things I would like to see may disappear by that point (Paint the Night).

Thank you for consistently responding. I feel nervous making these decisions by myself.