Did I Pick the Best Time...or the Worst Time??

[CT Disney]

We are heading to DL this summer!!!

We are from the East Coast and have been to WDW many times, but this will be our very first visit to DL.

We wil be checking into the Grand Californian on Saturday, July 11 and checking out on Thursday, July 16. We will then be driving to visit family in the San Francisco area. We have a few other things planned while we are in the Anaheim area, and I'm thinking our park days will be Monday, July 13 and Tuesday, July 14.

When we planned the dates of the trip we had no clue about the 60th Anniversary. Honestly, we planned it around kids' schedules, work schedules and the schedules of our family in San Francisco.

When we called to book the hotel, the CM said, "You know, July 17th is the actual anniversary. Are you sure you don't want to adjust your dates by a few days? There are going to be some really great things on that day that you won't want to miss!"

We could extend our stay in DL by a few days to catch the actual anniversary, but then our San Francisco time with family would be shortened. Plus, I assume the 17th will be totally mobbed.

So, what do you think? Keep our travel plans or adjust? Do you think it will be crazy crowded on the Monday and Tuesday of Anniversary week? Or, will that be a great time to visit because many of the anniversary stuff will be on display, but it won't be as crowded as the 17th?

Help! It's a very exciting problem to have, right?!?!

 

[figment_jii]

So, what do you think? Keep our travel plans or adjust? Do you think it will be crazy crowded on the Monday and Tuesday of Anniversary week? Or, will that be a great time to visit because many of the anniversary stuff will be on display, but it won't be as crowded as the 17th?

I think the parks will be crowded because it is summer and the anniversary activities will likely already be happening, but I don't think you'll see the same level of crowds on Mon/Tue that you will see on the actual anniversary date (Fri). Despite the crowds, I think it will be a great time to visit the parks because of the anniversary events, long operating hours, and full entertainment schedule. So, as long as you are expecting crowds, I think it will be a fun time to visit.

For me personally, I would consider staying in the parks for the actual 60th anniversary day. However, I would only be going to see what happens on the anniversary date (I've never been on the anniversary day). I would expect very high crowds, so the likelihood of getting much done is pretty low.

 

[MontanaMickey]

I think if you are going to be in Disneyland so close to the actual Anniversary is would be a shame to miss it. I am wondering why you are staying several nights at the GCH, but only planning on spending two days in the parks? During busy season, you can easily spend five days in the parks and still miss some things. When you have several days in the parks, it also allows time to justify leaving the parks for things like naps or pool time in the day. In any event you are going to have a blast!

 

[ktlm]

I'm interested in what others think about that question too. We are thinking about going that week, but like you we were thinking about leaving before the actual anniversary date. We went that week last year and it was fine- of course it was not an anniversary year. We are WDW vets too and as far as crowds we did not think DLR was horrible for it being summer. I think it helps that a lot of the APs are blocked. I was thinking the first half of the week probably wouldn't be that bad, but the actual anniversary date itself would be a crowded mess as would the rest of that weekend.

I wasn't thinking the actual anniversary day would be all that fun. I figured we would mostly be stuck in the middle of crowds and not even able to see whatever special activities were going on very well.

Did anyone around here go on the 50th Anniversary day? I would think that would have been a much bigger day than the 60th- since to me the 25 year increments are the big ones. What all special activities did they do that day? I saw an article that said that people started lining up for that day at 3:00 p.m. the day before and it took hours to get everyone into the park--- I'm not interested in doing anything like that!!!!

 

[beachdreamr1229]

I think it's going to be even more packed on the 17th. Summer is always super crowded anyway. You'll see more and get more done the earlier days. If you're there on the 17th, it's for the anniversary and definitely not to try to actually accomplish anything. That's what the 50th was like at least. Couldn't get anywhere in the park it was so packed. So if you want to see the special event, yes, go on the 17th, but if you would rather have fun riding rides and seeing shows, the other days are probably better.

 

[CT Disney]

I think if you are going to be in Disneyland so close to the actual Anniversary is would be a shame to miss it. I am wondering why you are staying several nights at the GCH, but only planning on spending two days in the parks? During busy season, you can easily spend five days in the parks and still miss some things. When you have several days in the parks, it also allows time to justify leaving the parks for things like naps or pool time in the day. In any event you are going to have a blast!

Thank you so much for your replies everyone! We are traveling all day on Saturday from the east coast, so we really only have 4 full days in the Anaheim area. Trust me, I considered spending every minute of those 4 days exploring Disney! We are definitely a Disney family...often heading down to WDW two times per year from Connecticut. But, believe it or not, I have some guilt about this. Just about all of our vacations are in Disney. Lately, I've been thinking that, as my kids get older, I really want to expose them to other places besides Disney. So, since the kids have never been to California before, we wanted to make sure they saw at least a little bit of the area. We are still trying to decide what to do with our other 2 days. Any suggestions? When you add our journey to San Francisco into the equation, this will be our first non-Disney-centric vacation in a long while.

I think it's going to be even more packed on the 17th. Summer is always super crowded anyway. You'll see more and get more done the earlier days. If you're there on the 17th, it's for the anniversary and definitely not to try to actually accomplish anything. That's what the 50th was like at least. Couldn't get anywhere in the park it was so packed. So if you want to see the special event, yes, go on the 17th, but if you would rather have fun riding rides and seeing shows, the other days are probably better.

This is sort of what I was thinking. I think we are going to stick with the Monday and Tuesday so we can see everything without the Anniversary crush. We just spent Christmas week in WDW so I have had my share of huge crowds.

 

[Geemo]

So, since the kids have never been to California before, we wanted to make sure they saw at least a little bit of the area. We are still trying to decide what to do with our other 2 days. Any suggestions? When you add our journey to San Francisco into the equation, this will be our first non-Disney-centric vacation in a long while.

What are their ages?

The Endeavor Shuttle is at the Air and Space Museum
SanDiego for SeaWorld and the Zoo
Hollywood and Universal Studios
Knott's Berry Farm or Lego Land

Geemo

 

[CT Disney]

What are their ages?

The Endeavor Shuttle is at the Air and Space Museum
SanDiego for SeaWorld and the Zoo
Hollywood and Universal Studios
Knott's Berry Farm or Lego Land

Geemo

We have a 12-year-old son and a 15-year-old daughter. Thanks for the great suggestions!

 

[MontanaMickey]

The San Diego Zoo Safari Park (formerly Wild Animal Park) near Escondido is fun and there are great beaches around San Diego (and LA). I wonder if you might enjoy spending a night LA and/or San Diego to enjoy other activities and not have to return every evening to Anaheim (on non-Disney days).

 

[Lilly Belle 84]

The 50th anniversary was very fun! Everyone who entered received golden Mickey ears with the anniversary date embroidered on them. The ears were not sold in the park and you couldn't have the date embroidered on another pair. There were also broadcasts of Walt's speech and some other special things on Main Street and at the castle. We received gold colored Disney Dollars and a couple other things (sorry it was 10 years ago and I had my 7 month old with me!)

We got there about 3 or 4 and while it was crowded we made it onto Dumbo, Small World, Mr Toad, Casey, Carousel, Tea Cups, Autopia and a couple others as well as dinner before the fireworks. I remember all this because my daughter and I look at the photo album from that day a lot LOL!!

We no longer live locally but will be making a trip out there just for the anniversary. It is a very special time to be in the park