Going to DL for the first time in August

[Princess Aurora45]

As my family are doing one of the disney cruises that leaves from LA we thought that we would combine it with a tour of CA and DL.

Does anyone have any tips about DL? We will be there in august we also happens to coincide with my birthday.

Whats the weather and crowds like at that time of yr?
Is it worth doing a VIP tour?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[HydroGuy]

As my family are doing one of the disney cruises that leaves from LA we thought that we would combine it with a tour of CA and DL.

Does anyone have any tips about DL? We will be there in august we also happens to coincide with my birthday.

To be more precise, DL is part of DLR - Disneyland Resort. DL means just the Disneyland park.

Here are some tips:

"Getting The Most Out of a Summer Visit To DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1345319

If you are WDW vets (and even if you aren't) there is lots of good stuff here:

"A DLR Guide for WDW Vets" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599

Whats the weather and crowds like at that time of yr?

Warm but tolerable IMO. See:

"Detailed Weather History for DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=23004158

As far as crowds, stick to Mon-Thurs if at all possible and it will be less crowded. Get a nearby hotel and you can more easily dodge the heat and crowds.

See "HydroGuy's Hotel Rule" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1199862

Is it worth doing a VIP tour?

Never done a tour. Can't help you there.

 

[DLR29]

I went in August last year. We only were there for 2 1/2 days, but got tons of stuff done:
-61 rides (including 5 on Indiana Jones, 4 on Space and Tower of Terror)
-fireworks, Fantasmic, electric parade, Aladdin, Block Party Bash
-had 4 sit down meals
-explored Downtown Disney and shopped for a while

The parks were crowded, but obviously we were able to do a lot! The main reasons for our "success" were:
-Arriving early (very important especially during busy seasons)
-Using FastPass (cuts down your wait times. I think we used 13 or 14 sets)

The weather is warm, but not muggy. Most rides have indoor (if not partially indoor) lines. And shops and restaurants and indoor rides/lines are all AC'ed. Plus there's Splash Mountain at DL and Grizzly River Run at DCA to cool off.

The one big advantage of going in August (In my opinion) is the extended hours. Park opening is 8AM and closing is midnight (DCA: 10AM-9PM). That's potentially 16 hours at the park! And especially from 8-10 in the morning and 10-midnight in the evening the ride lines are quite short.

 

[Mrs. Bee]

As my family are doing one of the disney cruises that leaves from LA we thought that we would combine it with a tour of CA and DL.

Does anyone have any tips about DL? We will be there in august we also happens to coincide with my birthday.

Whats the weather and crowds like at that time of yr?
Is it worth doing a VIP tour?

Thanks for any advice.

What kinds of tips are you looking for exactly? I might be able to give a little tip here and there about certain things.

I think the crowds in August are typical summer crowds. Somewhat crowded because most kids aren't back in school yet.

Weather.com says the average high is 86 and the average low is 63. record high is 102. record low is 53. Not sure how accurate that is. We were there at the end of August/early September last year and it hit 108 one day. Ugh.

For weather, one of the best things to do, is look at historical temps for the dates you are planning to go. You can go to http://www.wunderground.com/tripplanner/index.asp and then type in location and dates and it will give you the weather info from past years on those dates. It's interesting. It also gives you the percentage of chance of a hot day, rainy day, windy day, etc. That website gives you Fullerton, CA's weather when you type Anaheim, but it's close enough to give you an idea.

Definitely stay at a hotel close to the park that has a nice pool.

Oh yeah...and if it's your birthday and/or first trip...go to City Hall on Main Street and tell them. You'll get some spiffy buttons to wear and people will tell you Happy Birthday. It's pretty cool.

They'll put your name on it...

(I didn't take those photos. I just googled them.)