Another 60th Anniversary/when to go thread :)

[lalasmama]

DH just "surprised" me with planning a solo trip to DLR in spring 2015. I've done the solo thing before, so that's no big deal to me.

My real question(s) lie(s) in the timing of this trip. I have my choice of nearly any time in the spring, with some caveats: (1) It must be Thursday-Sat park days, (2) It must not be Mother's Day weekend, and (3) I have to give us a few months to recover from our Christmas DLR trip at the beginning of December.

I know there's no magical knowledge of exactly when the 60th Celebration is going to start (at least, that we know about right now). And I know that it would be best to avoid Spring Break times. So, I'm thinking late April or early May.

So, here's my questions:

(1) Spring Break crowds should be gone at the end of April typically, correct?
(2) 60th Celebration crowds won't be ramping up significantly in April/May, correct? (I understand this one is a complete guessing game!)
(3) With the above planning caveats, when would you choose to go?

 

[SMD]

They're having an event on the 17th with the first details about the 60th. It doesn't make any sense that they'd hype the event, then let something leak 10 days or less before the event.

 

[Fantaluminishes]

Over the past several years, Disney has been pretty consistent about a few things:
1. Year-long celebrations are pretty-much gone. Limited Time Magic was a colossal flop. The last successful year-long event was the Year of A Million Dreams. The last major one was the Happiest Celebration on Earth during Disneyland's 50th.

2. The Memorial Day Weekend 24-hour events have been a successful launch to the summers season.

3. The last theme park anniversary celebration was Disneyland's 50th in 2005. Since then there have been several anniversaries that were all-but ignored. WDW (40), Epcot (30), DHS (25), DAK and DCA (10).

Yes, Disneyland's 60th is a big milestone. But is it a bigger deal for fans than for Disney itself? How will Disney incorporate both U.S. resorts into a celebration without repeating what they did in 2005?

My gut tells me we will see a rather small celebration of the 60th, that will be limited to next summer. There will probably be some "plussing" at Disneyland (and maybe DCA), and a new parade and/or fireworks show. But there clearly aren't any new attractions in the works for next year.

People are wishing for MSEP to return to DL. I don't know about this. There are no credible rumors of it leaving WDW, where it is enjoying sustained success, and since MK just got a new daytime parade, it makes no sense to replace MSEP.

Speaking of wishes. One thing that never comes up at DL is the possibility of Spectromagic or a different nighttime parade coming to California. Now that would be awesome. But logistically, it's hard to imagine a nighttime show taking place twice each evening at DLR with the fireworks and Fantasmic. How long has it been? Perhaps the current schedule with the daytime parade running twice is all they can handle at that park.

 

[lalasmama]

They're having an event on the 17th with the first details about the 60th. It doesn't make any sense that they'd hype the event, then let something leak 10 days or less before the event.

Totally forgot that I heard/read about the 17th! Interested to see what's announced, and continue my planning from there. Unlike many, I have ZERO interest in being a part of the festivities!

 

[figment_jii]

(1) Spring Break crowds should be gone at the end of April typically, correct?

For the most part, yes, I think the Spring Break crowds will have ramped down by the end of April. The AP blockout for spring is from 3/28/15 through 4/11/15, so that is usually when they expect the largest spring break crowds.

(2) 60th Celebration crowds won't be ramping up significantly in April/May, correct? (I understand this one is a complete guessing game!)

HydroGuy has a thread where he makes guesses about when things will happen for the upcoming 60th based on the timeline for the 50th. He's guessing that things will start in May.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3280301

If you do go in May (especially mid-to-late-May), Grad nights will likely have started. I didn't find the Grad Night crowds to be all that problematic, but some folks don't like dealing with them. The 2015 dates have not yet been announced, but HydroGuy has another thread tracking the historic dates.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2298400

I don't have a sense for when the 60th events will start, but I'm inclined to say that at the very latest, they'll start with Memorial Day weekend (the kickoff to the summer season).

(3) With the above planning caveats, when would you choose to go?

Is your goal to avoid the 60th events? If so, I would probably aim for late April rather than May.