Finally planning another trip! Labor Day questions

[Xenorye]

Hello all, it's been a while since I've posted.

My family has finally started planning another trip. The timing works out to where we are going to fly out on August 31, and return on September 8. This will cover my and my daughter's birthdays (hers is the first and mine is the sixth), with 5 park days somewhere in between. We haven't booked anything yet, but are planning to stay on property (PPH).

Anyways, our last trip was at the end of February, and we enjoyed low crowds and such. With the shorter hours, we didn't really have to follow the advice I've read on here time and time again about taking a midday nap and returning in the afternoon. Any tips for getting a 5-6 year old who normally doesn't nap to do so in the middle of a Disneyland day?

I'm just looking for more advice on the time frame we're looking at. I've seen Hydroguy's tips and the stickies, but thought I might get more insight from those who have been there specifically the week before and including Labor Day. Any insight as to things that might be going on (I saw that there's a half marathon -- how are those weekends)? Thanks!

 

[SMD]

August 31st of this year? Search the DL forum for posts about marathon weekends to get an idea what you're getting into. This being the 10th anniversary of the DL Half they're having their regular pre-race pasta party and an additional party. Half of DL will close early one night for the party and pan area will close for the pasta party. It will be hard to get any hotel at this point, much less an on site one.

 

[Geemo]

Looks like the only room type open at PPH is a Standard View. Everything else is booked.
If you're really planning to go, you might want to book a room soon.

 

[Xenorye]

Looks like the only room type open at PPH is a Standard View. Everything else is booked.
If you're really planning to go, you might want to book a room soon.

Indeed, we noticed most of the good neighbor hotels were booked and no premium views were available at PPH.

 

[Epek]

We've gone 2 yrs in a row during the week leading up to Labor Day. Ds's birthday is also the 6th! Up until the Fri before you should expect nice crowds. Not very low, but extremely manageable. Our first trip we decided to get AP's and have either been every month or every other month since. Out of all our trips, these have been the least busy. We've skipped Feb, so I cannot compare to when you've usually gone.
It will probably be pretty hot. August-Oct tend to be our hottest months. Haunted Mansion will be down for the Holiday overlay.
We never go back for a nap or rest. Even now that we have an almost one yr old as well as a 4.5yr old. They nap in strollers or carriers. Or we just take rests watching shows or people. 5 days will give you a good amount of time to rest and see everything, I would think. Or most everything.
Hope you have a wonderful trip!

 

[Xenorye]

We've gone 2 yrs in a row during the week leading up to Labor Day. Ds's birthday is also the 6th! Up until the Fri before you should expect nice crowds. Not very low, but extremely manageable. Our first trip we decided to get AP's and have either been every month or every other month since. Out of all our trips, these have been the least busy. We've skipped Feb, so I cannot compare to when you've usually gone.
It will probably be pretty hot. August-Oct tend to be our hottest months. Haunted Mansion will be down for the Holiday overlay.
We never go back for a nap or rest. Even now that we have an almost one yr old as well as a 4.5yr old. They nap in strollers or carriers. Or we just take rests watching shows or people. 5 days will give you a good amount of time to rest and see everything, I would think. Or most everything.
Hope you have a wonderful trip!

Man, I was under the impression that Summer lasted through Labor Day. So, it might be more like our February trip than we thought...

I'm really bummed about HM being down already at that time. I thought they waited til after Labor Day to do the overlay. Should I expect more ride closures during this time?

 

[figment_jii]

The overlay won't open until after Labor Day, but HM has gone down in late August (usually around second to last or last Monday or the month, depending on how the calendar falls) for the last several years. It takes a little less than 3 weeks to install the overlay. Labor Day is late this year, so that may affect how things go, but usually Space will still be open (it goes down for about 5 days before the start of HalloweenTime). It is likely that Big Thunder Carnival area will also be closed (the BBQ, petting area will probably still be open).

Summer, in some respects, does last through Labor Day. Hours are likely to be modestly longer than the week after Labor Day. In the past, fireworks have been offered nightly through Labor Day. F! has usually already transitioned to the weekend only schedule (Fri-Sun) by that period (that usually starts mid-August). Essentially, some things will still be on a summer schedule, while other things have transitioned to a non-peak season schedule.

As others have said, there is the Disneyland Half Marathon occurring on Labor Day weekend (Thu-Sun). So, that will increase crowds in the parks and DTD. There is a thread for folks participating in the marathon, but it might also help give you a sense of crowds and impacts.
http://www.disboards.com/threads/di...-september-4-6-2015-10th-anniversary.3371673/

 

[ADLFAN]

We are also planning a trip for that timeframe, from the 29th of August to the 9th of September. Can anyone confirm or deny the existence of fireworks up till Labor Day Monday? Nightly? Can't wait to see the new show!

 

[ADLFAN]

And if anyone could give an example of past opening / closing hours in the week leading up to Labor Day, that would be awesome.

 

[Xenorye]

ADLFAN, you can see here for historical park hours and fireworks info.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/disneyland/park-hours.cfm?month=9&year=2013