Fall 2009

[letthembelittle]

When would say would be the best time to see the park in the fall of 2009? We have decided to take a multi family trip to the park sometime during the fall. There will a lot of little kids, so missing a few days of school isnt an issue. Thanks for the help, and I am sure it is only the first of a lot of questions!

 

[mikayla73]

Well I'd say it depends on what you would like to see.

There's Mickey's Halloween Treat which starts end of Sept/beginning of Oct. The parks are all decked out in fall decorations and the weather is great!

If you wait until mid-Nov, you could see the parks all decked out for Christmas.

Here's a link on the DIS with some info about things that are going on at all times during the year. http://www.wdwinfo.com/Disneyland/events.html

There's not a whole lot going on in Sept. The park hours start getting a little shorter and some of the shows may only be going on the weekends. Some of the rides may be being refurb'd so they'll be closed. Most notebly will be the HM, it will be down to put up the HM Holiday overlay. However on the upside, it can mean less people at the parks!

If you have some specific questions feel free to post them! We all love talking DL! Happy Planning

 

[S. S. Columbia]

If you're interested in seeing DL with Christmas decorations in '09:

Thanksgiving will be Nov. 26, 2009, so the Christmas parades and Christmas fireworks should start on Friday, Nov. 20. The week of Nov. 16 to 20 should have relatively low crowds Monday to Thursday, and then on Friday (11/20) you can see the Christmas parades and fireworks.

HTH

 

[letthembelittle]

Thanks for the replies! I dont think it matters to me seeing the park decorated for Christmas, seems like it would make the wait for the holiday even longer for our then 4 and 2 year olds. And having HM closed wont matter since it isnt a must see ride for me with the little ones. Would it be better to go in Sept and hope for good weather or go later in the fall when it will be slower?

 

[S. S. Columbia]

Here is HydroGuy's link about visiting DLR during the off-season:
"What You Should Know About Off-Season at DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=18462889

FYI, here are last year's Entertainment and Hours Calendars:
Sept 2007: www.laughingplace.com/Guide-Cal-dlr2-200709.asp
Oct 2007: www.laughingplace.com/Guide-Cal-dlr2-200710.asp

HTH

 

[letthembelittle]

Thanks for those!

 

[S. S. Columbia]

... Would it be better to go in Sept [2009] and hope for good weather or go later in the fall when it will be slower?

Here is a link to check for any large conventions: www.anaheimconventioncenter.com/events.cfm

I would avoid the week of Sept 28 to Oct 2, 2009, as Utah Schools will have their UEA convention (Oct 1 – 2, 2009) (Thurs and Fri), and the very busy Gay Days weekend will probably be Oct 3 – 4, 2009.

There is additional information at this current thread, "Help with Sept/Oct 2008 dates": www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1818149

From my experience, the weekdays right before Halloween are relatively less crowded. Last year we were there on a Tuesday (the day before Halloween); the weather was nice (not too hot) and the waits for rides were nice and low. And DL and DCA will have all of the Halloween decorations!

HTH

 

[letthembelittle]

Thanks again, yes we definately do not want to go during UEA even though our nieces and nephews will have it off from school. Should be interesting mix of people if the Gay Days crowd mixes with the UEA crowd! Our oldest will be in preschool so missing a week wont be a big deal. The week of Halloween is when SIL is leaning towards going so we will have to see. Its great to be able to gather people's advice for this year in making up our minds of when to go the next!

 

[dizneekrazee]

We went for the first time in October last year and it was great!! We loved it so much that time of year we decided to start making DL our annual Halloween place. This year Halloween actually falls on a weekend (Fri.), so I am expecting it to be a bit busier than last year.

HTH!
Brandy

 

[Brady's Mom]

We love, love, love the week after Labor Day. It is still warm so the water rides are fun and you can dry out during the day. Everybody has gone back to school and so DLR is not crowded. The hours are shorter and the parades don't run all of the time - but the lines are also shorter so it is easier to get on the rides.

I guess it just depends what is most important to your group. And we agree with the PP about UEA weekend - soooo crowded.

Good luck with your planning - we had a trip in March with 12 people. 3 families, 6 grown-ups, 3 almost adults, and 3 small to medium kids. I was the undisputed leader, because I knew more about DL than anyone and I had the time to coordinate the trip. Still we missed some things that we really wanted to do - so in the wisdom of my 3 year old - "We just have to go back!!"

 

[bonita_babe232]

We went the first week of october last year and we had fun, we were there the weekend before columbus day and the weekend of...if i went again the same time, i would go a few days before so that i would be able to leave the holiday weekend because it did get alittle busy! Were are also doing a big family trip in '09 but i actually think we might go for the start of september instead of october as my grandma wants to see the light parade and it ends after labour day. From what i hear it isn't to busy after that because most of the schools are just getting back in... and we will be going for 2 weeks so we can alternate days we go.... Any input on the park around the 1st-15th of september????

 

[Alex2kMommy]

Thanks for the replies! I dont think it matters to me seeing the park decorated for Christmas, seems like it would make the wait for the holiday even longer for our then 4 and 2 year olds. And having HM closed wont matter since it isnt a must see ride for me with the little ones. Would it be better to go in Sept and hope for good weather or go later in the fall when it will be slower?

We went on our first trip in late Sept. 2006, and our 2nd in early Oct. 2007. The crowds were MUCH SMALLER in September.

The funny thing on the Oct. trip was that we met up with friends who go more often, and while we kept complaining about the crowds, they were remarking on how few people there were! It's all in what you're used to, I guess.

Weekends are pretty much packed all the time.