Dl on Memorial day weekend - survival tips?

[mommyof2boys1girl]

I am trying to convince dh that we don't have to consider the Memorial Day weekend a writeoff - that we could actually have some fun even if it is crazy busy.
Normally I wouldn't plan to go over this weekend, but the weekend before (May 16-18) is a long weekend here, which means we can fly to LAX on the 16th and return home on the 24th and dh will only need to take 4 days off work.
So it looks like we will be there over the Memorial day weekend too. Dh wants to just get 5 day hoppers (we plan to take a day trip to Legoland for one day), since he says the parks during Memorial Day weekend will just be nothing but lines and frustration. Is he right? Should we just avoid the whole weekend? Is there some things we could do that aren't usually very popular (ideas like Innoventions, some of the other shows, trying various restaraunts, etc...)? Keep in mind, by the Memorial Day friday, we will have already put in a good 4 full days at the Parks.
I want to get 7 day hoppers and still go, even just for opening/first 2 hours, then we can always run away back to the hotel when the crowds get too large. It just makes me sort of sad - the idea of being shut out of the parks for the last two days of our trip - so near and yet so far...

What does everyone think? 5 day, or 7 day hoppers?

 

[alvernon90]

We are going the same weekend you are, but we are leaving on Thursday so we can avoid even the beginning of the Memorial Day crowds. YMMV.

 

[pixiewings71]

Well, my bday is the 25th so we are driving down on Saturday the 23rd and probably going into the parks for a while that night, then we will go in for a while on Sunday and leave in the afternoon, let the kids swim and then go back that night. We know it will be crowded but since we have APs and make frequent trips we will be OK with leaving. For you I don't know....I've never actually been on Mem. Day weekend so I'm not sure of the crowds but you could do something like Knotts, or go to the beach instead. You could also just play it by ear and see if you want to go in, upgrading to add a day to your PH is not that $$$ especially when you get into the higher PHs.

 

[bumbershoot]

I would make sure to have tickets for all days. Once you get past the 5 day hoppers the price is mimimal anyway, right?

That way you can bip on in, grab a FP for something you know you'll love, go and hide out in bug's land, ride the FP ride, etc. You and the kids *might* just want to swim by then, but you might not...they might want to go on Heimlich's 18,000 times in a row, and it would be better to have that ability rather than NOT have that ability.

 

[tink too]

We arrived at DL on Memorial Day last year. Yes, there were crowds but they weren't unmanageable and we still managed to do pretty much everything we planned to that day including the Electric Light Parade at CA and Fantasmic!

 

[Disney Dreams]

Survival tip for any busy time: Just accept that it WILL be busy, there WILL be lines, it WILL be crowded. Once you accept that - you'll be fine.

Things will take longer. You will need more patience. There are going to be LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of people.

But you are still at Disneyland and you are there on your 5th+ day, so.... who cares?

Take the time to do things commando-style tourists never do:
- Sit in NOS and people watch.
- Sit and truly enjoy the Dapper Dans
- Watch all the movies in the Cinema on Main Street (not just 1)
and on and on and on.

Or..... leave Disneyland (ah, the horror!) and see some of So. Cal's other amazing offerings. Of course, it's still Memorial Day weekend "there" too, so.....

- Dreams