Best time to go to DW

[echo63]

Hi everyone . I'm a newbie to this board, and a complete novice to DW. My only visit to DW was when DD#1 was 4 yrs old. She's 10 now, and DD#2 just turned 4, so time to plan a trip to DW. We have no qualms about pulling DD#1 from her school for a week or so, and thought we ask all the experts out there what trip dates would be the best based on crowd and weather factor. I must warn you, however, that we live in northern CA, so we have extremely low tolerance for anything other than a mild weather . My choice of dates are as follows:

9/29/06 - 10/9/06
12/31/06 - 1/9/07
2/16/07 - 2/26/07

I realize that next Feb dates are Prez week, so probably both crowded and expensive. Thanks for your comments.

 

[mommystieg]

Hi and welcome to the DIS I don't really have much to offer--we always visit during June I do know that the week of 12/31-1/09 can be pretty busy. I am pretty sure that some of the parks closed to capacity on New Year's Eve

 

[Jenn Lynn]

If you go on your September/October dates you can get free dining and do MNSSHP.

We went the first week in 2004 and didn't think the crowds were bad. I will probably be hot. We live in WI and don't have that heat, but we always take afternoon breaks when it is the hottest.

 

[kstinw19]

We always go the September week that you have down. We find that the crowds are minimal and it's a nice time of year. It is very hot, though, almost summer like temps. And you do have to worry about hurricanes.

The week after Christmas is a great time to go too. It is incredibly crowded until Jan. 1st and then it absolutely empties out! It is amazing how many leave on Jan. 2nd. You do take a chance with the weather though, it might be too cold to swim.

Personally, from working there for 4 years, I like the September week (obviously!). It's so empty and you are not fighting to get on any rides. And they have the free dining option this year too.

 

[Cruz91]

You need only to consult two places, which will give you best odds of getting what you want. First, check the weather. The site below is a trip planner and shows the historic temp ranges and precip for dates you enter. For dates you had, Sept - Oct dates average daily high is 86, Dec - Jan time is avg high of 70 (but can get quite cool at nights), and the Feb dates has avg high of 75 and less chance of cool weather.

http://www.wunderground.com/tripplanner/index.asp

Once you pick your best weather (I'd say the Feb dates is best), check out crowd images at the website below. Unfortunately, they don't have info for your Dec or Feb dates updated yet, but for last year, the dates you selected in Feb were VERY busy (maybe President's Day week or something). Your second best weather bet would be probably the Dec - Jan timing, and last year's schedule showed Dec 31 is packed (duh), but the rest of the week is not crowded at all. The final week (Sept - Oct when weather may get too hot - at least for my taste) doesn't look like it's gonna be too crowded for you. So if you can take the heat, maybe that's your best option??? Of course, nobody can guarantee any of this, but when we followed the Unofficial Guide's recommendations for crowds and Wunderground's weather forcast, it worked perfectly for us.

http://www.touringplans.com/tp2/UG2_index.php?PageID=14

Have a great time!

 

[vtstate]

i just want to tell you we went to dw from december 28 till jan. 5 4years ago and we had to buy hats and mittens. it was so cold and to top it off it rained so we had to buy rain coats. so if your use to good weather this date might not be the best for you because it can get cold

 

[mikymouse]

We went in March 2006 (with a late April Easter) and we had perfect weather for us sunny, no rain, high in the low 80's, no humidity or bugs! This was suppose to be spring break crowded but we always went to park opening and were not bothered by the crowds. We loved going in March and will most likely go in early March late Feb for the next trip.

 

[Cruz91]

I wouldn't go too much by what any one person says about an experience with weather. Every year, the weather is different. The best you can do is go by trends and pray! When I asked people about going when we did this year (first week of March), a lot of people told me they ran into rain/cold/whatever... We went and had zero rain for 9 plus days and highs in the mid 70's to low 80's. Most of all, though, don't spend the week wishing you'd had different weather. Make the most of what you have!