august or september?

[tenneycjt]

for the last 5 years we have taken our disneyland trip about teh third week in september, Luv the halloween stuff and have good luck with weather and crowds. Stayed at the Grand for the first time last year , luved it. Out of curiosity i cked the 3rd week in agust which happens to be my bday, and to my surprise the hotels are cheaper. What are the pros and cons of these 2 time periods, I am still leaning to september bur disnyland on my b day would be magical. I thought for sure summer vacation would be more expensive?

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Check when the lower AP blocks are lifted in August. The first week the blocks are lifted can be pretty crowded, especially if school hasn't started yet for the bigger districts.

 

[Geemo]

for the last 5 years we have taken our disneyland trip about teh third week in september, Luv the halloween stuff and have good luck with weather and crowds. Stayed at the Grand for the first time last year , luved it. Out of curiosity i cked the 3rd week in agust which happens to be my bday, and to my surprise the hotels are cheaper. What are the pros and cons of these 2 time periods, I am still leaning to september bur disnyland on my b day would be magical. I thought for sure summer vacation would be more expensive?

There are a few things you can check out to see which time frame to choose for your trip.

The calendars for the different AP block out dates. Click on each of the five levels to open the specific calendars.
https://disneyland.disney.go.com/passes/blockout-dates/
Historical hours thread You can see which rides might be closed for overlays
https://www.disboards.com/threads/historical-dlr-park-hours-entertainment-and-refurbs.2291124/
2018 Calendar of Events & School breaks scroll thorough the first three posts for details. Information for 2018 is added as it becomes available.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/2018-calendar-of-events-school-breaks-and-dlr.3635162/

 

[chickapin parterre]

3rd week in August is summer vacation for who?

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

3rd week in August is summer vacation for who?

My kids' school district doesn't start until August 29, and there are a couple districts around here that still wait until after Labor Day to start up, so even though a lot of school districts have moved up start dates, not all have. The public universities in California don't start until between late August and late September either. So I guess the answer is that many young people have summer vacation, and parents often choose to take time off for family vacations when their kids have time off.

 

[wildflower329]

3rd week in August is summer vacation for who?

Most of the school districts in Washington start either the last week in August or the week after labor day.

 

[figment_jii]

The SoCal and SoCal Select AP blockout ends on Monday, August 20 (first day they're able to get back in the parks). I'm not sure the weekdays (Mon to Fri AM) will be that busy, but I would expect a pretty good uptick in crowds on the weekend (Fri PM through Sunday). For many of those guests, it's the first time they're able to be in the parks since June. Mid-August is also when the parks begin to transition from the summer operating schedule to the non-peak season schedule, which might mean shorter operating hours and reductions in entertainment.

Personally, if I could only pick one, I would go with September because I really like Halloween at DLR. From a crowd perspective...I think both have the potential to be busy, especially on weekends.

 

[tenneycjt]

I think im leaning to september, just think it will be too crowded on august 21st, last year my biggest dissappointment was that soarin went down the day after I got there for an unscheduled 3 day refurb, i was so bummed, it was open the first day i was there and reopened on friday the day after i left. Keeping my fingers crossed this year

 

[tlcdoula]

We just booked for August, actually August 22-27th, it was the only time that I could get off and it is my birthday! Funny how I was looking at info for our trip coming up in a few weeks and started thinking about the incredicoaster opening up and thought hmmm wonder if I could squish in another trip before my annual pass expires... Next thing I know I have booked flights with our points for hubby an I and we are going..

I still figure a birthday at disney even if it is busy is better than having to work haha... Hopefully with Max pass it will be ok.