First Week of May or last week of August

[wamommy2four]

We are planning a trip for sometime in May but because of the kids school may have to wait for summer. How busy will all the events the first week of May effect the crowd levels. Looks like there is Bats Day and Dapper Days going on that week. Our other thought was to go the last week of Aug. so the kids won't miss any school. Would that be even busier? We've never been to the parks in the summer before.

 

[texasgingerbread]

I'm a first timer but a lurker on this board. idk your answer but I did see on the last dapper day in the fall the park was closed to capacity at one point. fyi.

 

[Metalliman98]

We actually did both last year, May 3-10 and August 26-31. I thought crowds were comparable between the two, but the weather was definitely better in May than August. August was sweltering and humid. The end of our May stay ticked up due to tinkerbell marathon, but otherwise the crowds were great.

 

[chickapin parterre]

comes down to weather choices and age of children.

 

[Epek]

We actually did both last year, May 3-10 and August 26-31. I thought crowds were comparable between the two, but the weather was definitely better in May than August. August was sweltering and humid. The end of our May stay ticked up due to tinkerbell marathon, but otherwise the crowds were great.

On top of this^^, there are usually ride closures the last week of August, getting ready for Halloween. The hours are likely to be longer in August, though.

 

[sherilaine]

We went the 1st week of May in 2013 and it wasn't bad crowd wise. This year though there is the Tinker Bell Half Marathon May 5-8 and Dapper Days the weekend of April 30th/May 1st. So I think crowds are likely going to be a bit more than usual for that time of year in 2016. It was plenty hot when we were there in 2013 but it was abnormal from what all the locals said.

 

[wamommy2four]

Good point on the heat. We're from Washington so we're not quite used to really high temps.

We actually did both last year, May 3-10 and August 26-31. I thought crowds were comparable between the two, but the weather was definitely better in May than August. August was sweltering and humid. The end of our May stay ticked up due to tinkerbell marathon, but otherwise the crowds were great.

 

[wamommy2four]

comes down to weather choices and age of children.

We have a wide range with our kids. Oldest is 16 and the youngest is 5. The 16 year old is the biggest complainer. LOL

 

[wamommy2four]

Ugh! I don't know what to do. There's never going to be a perfect time with low crowds. We were there for "Dapper Days" a couple years ago and it didn't seem awful but busy. Has it gotten more popular. What is "Bat Days" like?

 

[chickapin parterre]

the upside of dapper day is that the folks are there for photo op, meeting other folks on chat boards with the same theme and are frequent visitors to Disneyland beyond the dapper day. so for this crowd to influence E attractions is minimal ....but they also tend to arrive a day early or stay a day late, so that does have an impact. If you are juggling the low crowd factor, that isn't going to happen, Disneyland is crowded. Weather should be the consideration over crowds.

 

[sherilaine]

Dapper days affect crowds because people visit during that exact time (over about a 2 week period) to utilize cheap onsite rates.

 

[Indiana Scott]

This is an easy one for me. I would go (and often do) the first week of May. Crowds will be lighter and the park is gorgeous that time of year.

 

[Minniekins]

We went the 1st week of May in 2013 and it wasn't bad crowd wise. This year though there is the Tinker Bell Half Marathon May 5-8 and Dapper Days the weekend of April 30th/May 1st. So I think crowds are likely going to be a bit more than usual for that time of year in 2016. It was plenty hot when we were there in 2013 but it was abnormal from what all the locals said.

So we(myself and DD25), will be arriving May 7th, staying till May 14(which won't be a park day). Wondering how the Tinker Bell Half Marathon will affect the parks that Saturday and Sunday.

Also, we'll be taking one day off the parks, but even though it will probably be crowded at DL on Sunday the 8th, having just got there, we'll probably want to stay in the park, but wondering what might be the best day to skip a park that week? Hopefully won't be awful in the park on Sunday the 8th! Also don't wanna skip a park on a day that'd probably be a better(lesser) crowd day. Any thoughts on that?

Not really sure how crowded May is but glad to hear that the weather is usually pretty nice! Hopefully not too many things will be down for rehab(other than the things already announced because of SW"s closures). Surprised to hear August has more closures, and glad we'll miss that heat and humidity!

Thanks for any answers!

 

[OneThree]

We are going the last week of August since it lines up the best with our calendars. I'm sure it will be hot but then again it will be just as hot where we live. From researching our own trip I can say that for every person who says one time is better to visit than another you'll find another who disagrees . I hope you have a great time whenever you decide to visit!

 

[sherilaine]

I am assuming you have 5 day PHs for your week - and that the Saturdays are travel days, leaving Sun/Mon/Tues/Wed/Thurs/Fri to pick from - so only one day off?

I would then suggest taking either Tuesday or Wednesday as your day off - so you can do 2 or 3 days and then take a break and then finish the other days. That allows you to be there your 1st and last day you can be in the parks and it does give you a chance to have a down day in the middle to refuel. Of course knowing exact park hours helps, but that is not available until 6 weeks out. There is a grad night on the 13th but Fridays are busy regardless so that should not be too big of a factor.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Bats day is unofficial, doesn't really affect crowd levels. Dapper days offers great hotel rates onsite if your time crosses over I'd look into finding their website. Maybe rank what your priorities are: crowds? Rides? Weather? School? To help you decide between the 2. Neither of your weeks are perfect, but don't let that get you down because there is no such thing as The Perfect Week!

 

[Minniekins]

I am assuming you have 5 day PHs for your week - and that the Saturdays are travel days, leaving Sun/Mon/Tues/Wed/Thurs/Fri to pick from - so only one day off?

I would then suggest taking either Tuesday or Wednesday as your day off - so you can do 2 or 3 days and then take a break and then finish the other days. That allows you to be there your 1st and last day you can be in the parks and it does give you a chance to have a down day in the middle to refuel. Of course knowing exact park hours helps, but that is not available until 6 weeks out. There is a grad night on the 13th but Fridays are busy regardless so that should not be too big of a factor.

Well, we'll have 5 ph and 1 more extra ticket, we wanna do 6 park days and one free day. (We can get a 5 day for $279, and will probably buy the other in the park while there) Actually, we land at SNA at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 7th so it will be a park day for us. So, seven days there, hopefully 6 park days, still just one day off, and you're right, I think we'll probably take a park break on the Tues, unless something changes. Yeah, I figured Friday night would be crowded no matter what. Thanks for chiming in, sherilaine!

 

[Jerryp49]

Also consider Grad Nights start May 13 , also with dates of May 14 , 18, 20 , 21 etc. There will be alot of teens.