DL when would you go...Dec? Feb? Summer?

[kayteekt]

WDW vets but first time planning a trip to Disneyland!

We are from the East coast, so looking at making a week of it. 5 Park days. On-site.

Traveling Party: DH and I, DD 16 & DS 12. My husband isn't crazy about going, so I want to make this trip the best it can be, so he'll want to go back!

Main factor would be too crowded to enjoy. I will plan on Genie+ (several days at least).

We are DVC, so we could use some of our direct points if available. I think I can make airline points work for any of the dates.

With school breaks we could go...

December 13-19, 2024 (Fri - Thurs):

• Pros: It *seems* like crowds wouldn't be too bad, lots of blockouts on local APs. Weather seems like it would be good. Get to see DL at Christmas
• Cons: We have a week long trip at WDW (last on our APs this year) in October, so would be awfully close. Too much to do for first time, when adding in Christmas things? No DVC availability. Disney Hotels are $$.

February 22-28, 2025 (Sat-Fri)

• Pro: I think we might could book DLV with our DVC points, that saves a ton of $$. Well spaced from our other travel.
• Cons: Weather looks like it go either way, possibly cold and rainy We love WDW in February as a break from cold.
• Confused on? All the crowd calenders say Feb is great time to go. However when I check, the last week of February, it shows high crowds historically and predicted. We would not be going the week of President's day. It would be a week after. Could it be the beg of Spring break?

July 2025

• Pros: Kids are out of school, can be flexible on dates.
• Cons: Most likely high crowds. Could be hot, we're from SC. Don't go to WDW in the Summer bc of the heat/humidity. Could we do it, of course. But do we want to?
• Confused on? Crowd calendars actually show dates around the 4th of July aren't too bad. Is that true?

When would you go? Any other pros and cons, I'm not thinking of? DL newbies here so completely open to any and all suggestions and advice. Thanks!!

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

I usually go the end of June

Other than long term refurbs like Tianas Bayou and Haunted Mansion, theres no scheduled downtime maintenance
Fantasmic is twice a night every night. Fireworks are every night
Main park open until midnight
Annual Pass Block Outs
Weather is good, sunset about 8pm

I have also been for Lunar New Year in February.
Yes the crowds were lower but the parks closed earlier. It was dark around 5pm and got chilly. Fireworks and Fantasmic are only at weekends.

 

[mdmost]

For me, I want to ride the original Haunted Mansion so February or July are what I would go for. If you wish to see the fun Christmas decorations and ride the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay version of Haunted Mansion then December is fine.

I agree with the poster above, you're going to get more park in July than in February. The chances of refurbs in February is probably higher. The crowds and weather are better but you may be getting less of an experience.

Regardless of when you go, if you rope drop, crowds are less of an issue because you get so much more done in the early hours and can relax more in the afternoon when the crowds are highest.

 

[foolish_mortals]

December 13-19, 2024 (Fri - Thurs):

Inspire Key isn't going to be blocked out that week and there are supposedly 100K Inspire Key holders. Most of the keys aren't blocked until Saturday, so that Friday will be busy. The following week will likely be as well as it's the last week before holiday blockouts for Inspire and Believe Keys

February 22-28, 2025 (Sat-Fri)

Nothing obvious stands out, other than that is usually refurb time so some rides might be down and fireworks only on the weekends. It might be a good option. Weather might be bad and other might have the same idea as you, especially if it is the cheaper day tickets.

July 2025

July is a bit weird in that some random days last year were weirdly quiet or oddly busy. Most likely because of blackouts but the weekends and holiday are usually tolerable with during the week being busy. I agree though, most bang for your buck would be July.

It's tough to time crowds as they do everything possible to attract crowds during slow times, tiered ticket prices, ticket deals for locals, festivals, etc... No matter when you go rope drop will help immensely.

 

[Tinkaboo]

You’re definitely going to get maximum days in July…generally 16 hours/day versus early closure in Feb., plus less entertainment as BPT 2.0 pointed out. Half the passes are blocked in July, but who knows what ticket deals they’ll throw out to get people in, like this summer.

That said, if it was MY FIRST TIME, I’d still pick July. I go Dec., late Jan./early Feb.., April, and late June/July. I avoid the late summer and fall altogether.

 

[disneychrista]

For me I’d go February because I can’t handle the eat of July and December will be crowded.

 

[DizMe]

It's really difficult to predict anymore as others have mentioned above. I often go in July, around the 17th for DL's birthday. That used to mean fairly low crowds because a lot of people are afraid it will be too hot. It's generally fine for me as I live in NorCal where it's typically over 100 during the day in summer--quite a bit hotter than the usual DL temps. The thing to remember is that it isn't the same kind of heat you experience in SC because it's much dryer. While it may get up to mid 80s at the peak, it doesn't feel like what you are probably used to in the mid-80s.

But as others have pointed out, there really isn't a "normal" any longer. There is always something to draw people in, so predicting crowds is impossible very far in advance and your best shot is to look at historical crowd levels from the last few years. A lot of people avoid July because of the perception of heat so I agree with everyone else that July is a good time for your family.

I love to go in December, but so do LOTS of other people and I've seen the crowds really grow in the last few years. I generally go the second week, and in 2023 we were shocked by how crowded it got starting about midway through our stay. That was new for us. We stay on site as well and we ended up going back to the hotel (GCH) quite a bit more than usual.

I would recommend getting dining reservations and anything like Fantasmic or character meals that you might want to do in case it is crowded because they're fun and give you a seat for a while plus you can always cancel them if you decide later that you don't want them. A lot of people like getting a cabana at the pool so that's another option to consider, though I've never done it because I don't want to sit at the pool that long lol.

 

[ClaraOswald]

Honestly, I feel like it's pretty much always some level of crowded now. And it's harder to predict which days/months may be better.

If you're really wanting your husband to like it, definitely try to stay at one of the three on-site hotels.

We went in late June this year and in 2022 and yes, it was more crowded than our February 2023 trip. But the parks stayed open later and there were less refurbishments. It was hot but definitely nothing like Florida heat and humidity.

 

[StarlitNight05]

WDW vets but first time planning a trip to Disneyland!

We are from the East coast, so looking at making a week of it. 5 Park days. On-site.

Traveling Party: DH and I, DD 16 & DS 12. My husband isn't crazy about going, so I want to make this trip the best it can be, so he'll want to go back!

Main factor would be too crowded to enjoy. I will plan on Genie+ (several days at least).

We are DVC, so we could use some of our direct points if available. I think I can make airline points work for any of the dates.

With school breaks we could go...

December 13-19, 2024 (Fri - Thurs):

• Pros: It *seems* like crowds wouldn't be too bad, lots of blockouts on local APs. Weather seems like it would be good. Get to see DL at Christmas
• Cons: We have a week long trip at WDW (last on our APs this year) in October, so would be awfully close. Too much to do for first time, when adding in Christmas things? No DVC availability. Disney Hotels are $$.

February 22-28, 2025 (Sat-Fri)

• Pro: I think we might could book DLV with our DVC points, that saves a ton of $$. Well spaced from our other travel.
• Cons: Weather looks like it go either way, possibly cold and rainy We love WDW in February as a break from cold.
• Confused on? All the crowd calenders say Feb is great time to go. However when I check, the last week of February, it shows high crowds historically and predicted. We would not be going the week of President's day. It would be a week after. Could it be the beg of Spring break?

July 2025

• Pros: Kids are out of school, can be flexible on dates.
• Cons: Most likely high crowds. Could be hot, we're from SC. Don't go to WDW in the Summer bc of the heat/humidity. Could we do it, of course. But do we want to?
• Confused on? Crowd calendars actually show dates around the 4th of July aren't too bad. Is that true?

When would you go? Any other pros and cons, I'm not thinking of? DL newbies here so completely open to any and all suggestions and advice. Thanks!!

Other posters have provided great advice, but I'll give my 2 cents as well. I would be choosing between Feb or July of next year. December in the parks is magical, but crowded. I know you said you want your DH to have a great time for a repeat visit, so I'd probably avoid December.

February will have shorter hours, but since you are going so many days, I don't think that would matter too much. I am more of a rope drop person rather than a close down the park person though (I find the morning hours to be less crowded). Since you would start out with weekends for the Feb trip, you could knock out the nighttime entertainment at the beginning when you are fresh. The caveat is that if you miss F! or fireworks your weekend nights, you likely wouldn't get a chance to repeat as the weekdays will likely just be WoC (that one typically runs nightly).

I think it comes down to if you prefer cooler temps or warmer temps with longer hours. February may have more closures/refurbs and shorter hours, but the weather should be mild.

 

[mdmost]

We're heading back to DLR next summer and I'm trying to figure out when the best time to go for us will be. We usually go right after Memorial Day or the first full week of June. The Grad nights don't bother me as we plan around them or do enough days (minimum 4) that we have enough flexibility. My thought is maybe try after the passholder block out starts to late June (after Father's Day). I'd love to be there on my birthday in late June. We also could see about July 4th week since that's also my wife and my anniversary.

 

[ClaraOswald]

I forgot to mention, as far as weather, you are more likely to encounter rain during the winter months than during the summer months. At least, that's been my experience.

 

[limace]

We have gone in June and July multiple times and love that time of year. The heat there is very different than Florida heat-I’m a PNW wimp about heat and I do much better in California than in Florida. I love that normally everything is open and there’s a lot of entertainment.

 

[Jperiod]

If you want to maximize the differences between the two, December is it. There's nothing in WDW that compares to the nightmare before christmas overlay of the haunted mansion or christmas overlay of it's a small world. There's also christmas parades and fireworks you don't have to pay for a holiday party to see. We went dec 18-20 last year (our latest into dec we've ever gone) and it really wasn't bad. I've been in earlier december when it's been nuts and this seemed fine, if not better. We did a DLR trip in dec 2019 and then WDW in jan/feb 2020 and had a blast at both even though they're back to back. The parks are different enough to us.

But since you have DVC points, it's super cool to stay at VGC since it has a park entrance to DCA. And if you can get a room facing paradise pier, it's cool to watch the bustle from the balcony. I would opt to wait until Dec 2025.

Otherwise, I like Feb for the weather better than July. We're from phoenix, but even 85 in the sun is not comfortable to us. Dec is hit or miss being super cold and rainy or nice coastal weather.

 

[LKing]

As others have said, I would avoid December. California parks aren't as crowded over the summer as WDW parks seem to be.

Locals tend to avoid the parks when the weather is extreme. Last year, we had several very rainy days in February. Similarly, we are in a heat wave right now and people are reporting lower than average wait times.

Are there other things your husband would enjoy doing? Angels game? Beach?

 

[Jperiod]

I also wanted to add, you'll have plenty of time to do everything, christmas included, with 5 park days. And it looks like you're an AKL owner? We own VGC and loved AKL. I think it's the same designer. We like the 2 bathrooms in the 1 bedrooms at both resorts and watching the animals from the balcony of AKL and DCA from the balcony of VGC.

 

[mdmost]

We have gone in June and July multiple times and love that time of year. The heat there is very different than Florida heat-I’m a PNW wimp about heat and I do much better in California than in Florida. I love that normally everything is open and there’s a lot of entertainment.

I'm in Texas and I love to go to California to escape the heat. CA heat is nothing. Even if it is, you have beautifully cool mornings and evenings to bookend your day. I have zero desire to return to Florida unless there's a beach in front of me.

 

[Aspencreek]

We went this past December for 1 day (Tuesday 12/12/23) and 1 day in February (Thursday 2/29/24) and found that the December day was lighter crowds than the February visit. That was opposite of what we would have expected, but seems par for the course now where it is nearly impossible to predict crowds. As for when to go, I'd take either July or December. We really loved the Christmas decorations and overlays (Small World is soooo much better) , but July will be longer days and more going on. Hard to go wrong really.

 

[Jperiod]

are the parks actually open longer than 8-12 in the summer? the last couple times we've gone in december and it was 8-12, which was plenty for us.

 

[Pluto468]

You've gotten lots of good advice already and I think you'll have fun no matter when you go. I would avoid February just because there could be more refurbs.

Last year we went July 5-9 and the crowds were fine. We lucked out with decent weather, too. I look at weather more than crowds because I loathe being outside when it's so sunny and hot. Crowds you can easily deal with if using rope drop, Genie+ etc, but the heat can be so draining and makes people cranky. We went in June a few years ago and it was 98 degrees a few of the days- ugh.

December at Disneyland is so magical. I love the decorations and overall holiday feel of the parks. You'd have nice weather, too. If you could go earlier in December or even November the crowds would be better.

 

[disneychrista]

are the parks actually open longer than 8-12 in the summer? the last couple times we've gone in december and it was 8-12, which was plenty for us.

I have not seen the park open longer than 8am - midnight, expect for after hours events. I can remember going in early December and parks hours being to be 10am to 8pm.