Beginning or End of the week?

[alisigns]

Hi all,

We are planning our first DL trip for March 2016. We are WDW vets. It will be my parents, 2 adult brothers, 9 yo niece, myself, and hopefully my foster daughter

We are going to spend 3 days at Disney, 1 at Universal, and then some time in San Diego. For planning, would it be better to start at DL on a Sunday-Tuesday, Universal on Wednesday (or flip), and then San Diego or start in San Diego and do Universal Wednesday and DL Thursday-Saturday?

Thanks!
Aleisha

 

[figment_jii]

When in March are you going? Easter is on March 27 in 2016, which means Spring Break crowds are expected to peak the week before and after Easter. There is also a large convention over at the Anaheim Convention Center on March 11-13 (Natural Product Expo) that has some impacts on the DLR crowds for the last few years. There are also usually cheerleading camps/activities scattered throughout the month that may impact the crowds (the biggest this year was JR Spirit Championship, which holds some of their activities at the Hyperion/Aladdin Theater in DCA).

In terms of whether to do DLR on Sun-Tue or Thu-Sat depends a little on when you are going (are the parks on the Spring Break operating schedule or not) and whether low crowds or longer hours are your priority. If the parks are on Spring Break schedule, then the hours are long all days of the week and there is (usually) full entertainment. If you go before the Spring Break schedule goes into effect, the weekday (Mon-Thu) hours tend to be shorter and entertainment is reduced (i.e., fireworks and F! are only on Fri-Sun).

As a WDW Vet, HydroGuy's DLR Guide for WDW Vets is a good place to get a sense of what is similar and what is different between the two resorts:
http://www.disboards.com/threads/a-dlr-guide-for-wdw-vets.1162599/

 

[alisigns]

Thanks, figment_jii! We are planning to arrive on Saturday morning March 12th and leave the next Sunday March 20th. The DLR Guide for WDW Vets is definitely a wealth of information.

Is there any place that we can find out what the schedule will be at that time and if the fireworks will be daily? Thanks!

 

[tarheelalum]

You can get estimates on the times but DL only gives out their hours/events for about a month and a half in advance. So anything you get will just be a guess based on prior years. Often they are pretty accurate but you can never trust them 100%.

If I were in your shoes I'd probably try to go to DL earlier in the week. Sundays are often really crowded but Mon-Tuesdays are usually just crowded. DL doesn't have an off season any more.

 

[calilou]

I doubt you'll have much in the way of spring break traffic to consider so I think I would pick thurs-sat that week. That way you know you're not there during the big convention Figment mentioned. Also you will have two chances (fri and sat) to catch the bigger entertainment features (fireworks etc). My experience over the last year or so is that Saturdays are often the least crowded day of the week surprisingly! I've been surprised many times and we've even stayed an extra day because we find ourselves in the park on a Saturday and it's less crowded than the weekdays we were there. Crazy! March may be different but I think Sundays and Mondays are generally busy days.

 

[figment_jii]

As others have said, DLR doesn't release it's operating schedule until about 45-days to 6-weeks in advance and then entertainment and other information may not be added until closer to the 30-day mark. If I had to guess, I do think DLR will be on the Spring Break season schedule by March 12(ish) because Easter is March 29th. This year (2014), DLR began the Spring Break season schedule on March 14th and Easter was on April 5th. That being said, it can (and does) change from year to year.

HydroGuy has at thread with the links to the wdwinfo historical calendars. Just remember, Spring Break schedule varies from year-to-year depending on when Easter is and when DLR expects the peak Spring Break crowds. So things to do vary between years...
http://www.disboards.com/threads/historical-dlr-park-hours-entertainment-and-refurbs.2291124/