CA residents:When is "summer" at Disneyland -planning for 2017

[ngl]

We live one hour from WDW, are DVC members, and Annual passholders. Needless to say, we go to WDW frequently and know all the ins and outs. HOWEVER, we know little to nothing re Disneyland and are planning a trip there next May/June!

Our kids are 7 & 5 and finish school the Friday before Memorial Day weekend. We were planning to fly into LA on either Sat or Sun, visit some friends there and then head to Disneyland on Monday. We would do parks Tues, Wed, Thurs and return home to FL on Friday.

Question: I read on the boards that like summer at WDW, Disneyland is a zoo. When do most kids in CA get out of school? (Understanding there isn't a universal date but any info would be appreciated). We would be there the day after Memorial Day (May 30)for the rest of that week. Anyone have insight into crowds that week? I have consulted various crowd calendars and some say they are busy others say they are not. Also, DVC points are lower that week for Grand Californian which would lead me to believe crowds are less but those two things are not necessarily a correlation.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!!

 

[gottalovepluto]

I do! Not going this year but we have gone Memorial Day to Friday the previous 2 years. Crowds are busy! Kids in CA start getting out at Memorial too. LA doesn't get out until mid-June so Disneyland rates really kick up then. The parks were surprisingly crowded both times we went but the hotel (GCH) didn't feel super crowded. (I've also been in July right after Carsland opened so I know what super summer busy feels like.) There are lots of school groups in the parks that time of year between grad nites and normal day-trip groups celebrating whatever at the end of the school year. So it WILL be crowded. The key is EMH. The first couple hours are the quietest the park will be all day and night.

We love going that time of year! Full park hours post-Memorial Day, discounts still available because locals are in school and pool weather! OH- the golden rule about DL crowd calendars? DON'T BELIEVE THEM. It's so hard, so tempting to believe, but they lead people astray so often. IMHO asking here is your best bet for good opinions on crowds so thumbs up to you!

(Also, I know NOTHING about DVC but I have seen people talk about how hard it can be to snag GCH so maybe make sure to grab that as soon as they allow you to.)

 

[Disney Dad ADL]

In my area of Northern California, schools are getting out around June 9, but I'm sure it varies with school district.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

This thread will give you lots of helpful info for planning your trip: A DLR Guide for WDW Vets.
Also, this thread is from last year, but can still give a general idea of school calendars: 2015 Calendar of Events & School Breaks and DLR.

 

[only1mouse]

Disneyland is busy with locals. Unlike WDW. local Colleges get out typically in May. Public schools are typically mid June. Memorial Day weekend will be packed but after that it should be lighter. Also the parks will get busier as the day goes on because of the locals who stop for dinner or a quick couple of rides.

 

[beachdreamr1229]

I'm a teacher and my school district gets out the first week of June, but as other said, many local universities will be out. I've gone the week after memorial day in the past. It's not half as bad as late June-early August, but you do run into grad nites occasionally, which can be annoying.

 

[Ndusmama]

Unofficially summer starts memorial weekend. The week after that weekend is busy but not insane busy. If you have dvc through vgc book at exactly 11 months or you will NOT get a room. If you don't get a room and choose wait list but still want to go your kids will like the dlh. The water slides are great and the headboards have a nice touch that the kids might like. I think the last time I booked the points were only 5-10 more than the dvc. You do have to convert points though. Another thing to note is that there is NO pool hopping in California. I've always looked at www.isitpacked.com for crowd forecast and it seems pretty accurate to me. Ultimately it will give you a general idea of what to expect. Local public schools will not get out until early June. Most kids will be from field trips. Colleges get out usually around that time too.

 

[ngl]

Thank you all so much!! After viewing numerous crowd calendars it appears that this is our best shot at "lower than high time" crowds that coincide with school breaks (i.e. spring break, Tgiving, Christmas). We understand it will be busy though. And definitely have calendar already marked to book GCV right at window opening! Thx for the links as well. I'm sure I will have lots of questions in the next year!!

 

[maltdizzy]

BTW, Disneyland's Grad Nights run from mid-May to mid-June. It never matter to us, but it does to some.

I can say, having been away from the West Coast for the past few years, I can't believe how crowded DL has gotten. We went during a school week and lines were longer than what we used to average on almost-peak days.

 

[SMD]

Locals have no issue pulling their kids out of school to go to the parks, especially the last few weeks. They also tend to stream in after school and after work when you start getting into the longer hours or when it starts getting dark later. The parks have been busy constantly since the 60th started. We won't know if that will change until it changes. The last 2 years the So Cal ticket promotion ended before Memorial Day, but the previous years when it covered the last week of May or the first few days of June it made several extremely crowded weekdays leading up to the expiration of those tickets. One thing that I would expect before next summer is for DLR to go back to fewer or no nighttime shows during the week. If that's the case you can also expect to see a lot of locals with lower level passes coming to see those shows one last time before their summer block out any time they're offered during the week, starting after Memorial Day.

 

[ngl]

This thread will give you lots of helpful info for planning your trip: A DLR Guide for WDW Vets.
Also, this thread is from last year, but can still give a general idea of school calendars: 2015 Calendar of Events & School Breaks and DLR.

OMG - that link has it ALL! Thank you SO very much!