Help !! I have picked the worst time to go !

[CanadaJulie]

Well, it wasn't intentional - I am going to a convention in Long Beach in January 2009 (13-14-15). This is a wed-thur-fri. After the convention, we are moving to Anaheim (already booked the Holiday Inn) from Friday night to the following Wednesday. It appears that this is the worst time to go !!! There is a huge convention (Music something or other) at the Anaheim Convention Center and it is Martin Luther King day on the monday so it's a long weekend !!



So !! How do I make the best of this ? My convention finishes on Friday afternoon (2ish) so I was thinking to try and hightail it to Anaheim and try and get into DLR that evening. Is this realistic with traffic and hotel check in and all ? Then I was going to go on one of the weekend days - what is my "least worst" choice: Sat or Sun ? Will holiday Monday be swamped as well ? I can go on Tuesday too which is when I figured it might be quieter but we had sort of tagged that day as our Hollywood day - we might want to try the WB tours or get tickets to a show taping and this only happens mon-fri or tues-fri in this case due to Monday being a holiday.

Help me make the most of my vacation ! Any suggestions are welcome !!

Julie

 

[CalvaryMike]

Traffic will be bad on Friday. It's a get away day, however leaving at 2:00 is good. You'll still hit some traffic, but leaving just an hour later and it'll really start to get bad. From Long Beach to Anaheim really isn't that bad of a drive either. So, get on the road as quickly as possible. DLR shouldn't be too busy on Friday.

Don't worry too much about convention crowds, because convention people are usually at the convention for most of the day. The come out more at night. MLK will be a busy weekend.

Tuesday will definitely be quieter everywhere, so you need to choose which you really want.

You're already ahead of the game by being here on the DIS. Make a plan and as long as you're expecting heavy crowds, you'll be okay.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Check out HydroGuy's sticky. He talks about how to get the most out of crowded days.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1520483

 

[avalon451]

Julie, take a deep breath, and repeat after me:

"It is NEVER a bad time to go to Disneyland!"

It will be "weekend busy," but I'm going to venture to guess that the crowds will not actually be that bad. The reason being, January is one of the slowest months of the year, because people are too crushed by their credit card bills from Christmas! Not that it will be dead, with the 3-day weekend and all, but with a little planning ahead, you will be fine. It's too soon after Christmas for people to be thinking that their kids need a midwinter break.

How many days do you want to spend in DL? Is Wednesday just a travel back home day, or do you want to hit the parks that day, too, in the morning before you leave? If not, why don't you buy a 4-day hopper. If you will be in the parks Wed morning, buy a 5-day. The difference is pretty small, like 10-15 bucks per ticket.

Tuesday would be ok to go do your other thing, because it's a Magic Morning day anyway, so it will start off busy.

I would use your one Magic Morning on Saturday morning. That will be the busiest day, and you can get a jump on the crowds with the rest of the MM people.

Sundays are frequently dead in the mornings, so even though it's an MM, you can still go to rope drop for Adventureland and hit that side of the park on an even playing field with everybody at 8 a.m.

As PP said, be sure and read Hydroguy's tips about getting the most out of the parks on a busy day. Be sure and get there before opening and collect FPs to use later. You will have a great time!

 

[mommaU4]

Will holiday Monday be swamped as well ? Julie

One of the most crowded days I ever went on was a MLK Monday. It was bad. BUT the difference is this was a long time ago before FP, and I naively thought it wouldn't be that crowded and was caught off guard.

So as long as you are planning for high crowds and are able to use FP and other tips here on the DIS to your advantage you'll still have a good time.

 

[Mugglemama]

do you utilize ridemax? we went to DLR for 5 days last august, it was the busiest i've ever seen it in my entire life. we still made it onto everything we wanted, with minimal wait times, using our ridemax itinerary.

 

[Crazy4Goofy]

We went to Disneyland the week of MLK in January 2007. That was our first time going in January and honestly we didn't know what to expect as far as crowds. Let me just say, it was Awesome!! Yes Sunday was a little busy but not outrageous. And Monday wasn't terrible either. I would go again in January in heartbeat. Don't worry to much about the crowds. I think you will be fine!!

 

[DangerMouse]

MLK Holiday weekend = not the worst time to go.

Week between Christmas and New Years = DEFINITELY the worst time to go.

You'll be fine. Honestly, may be a bit busier than the normal weekend in January, but nuthin an experienced Disboard member can't handle.

 

[bearette]

MLK is not that bad. Don't worry. December is that bad!

 

[CanadaJulie]

Thanks guys ! You've calmed me down some...

How bad is "not that bad" ? As in, what are the wait times for the big tickets rides at their worst times of the day ?

Obviously, I will study HydroGuy's tips for FP use (I've already ready through them once) and use that to my advantage. My BF is an early riser so I'll get him to drag me out of bed so we can get to the parks ASAP in the morning and start off with the best ones.

 

[bulldoggrl]

That is the NAMM festival you're talking about...my fiance goes every year to that. Two years ago DL was empty that weekend, last year it was crowded, but nowhere near july/christmas levels.

Be prepared to wait in some lines, but you will be able to ride stuff, for sure.

 

[olivejuice]

Hi, last time i went was those exact days! I was the best trip ive had. Yes we forgot that it was Martin Luther King day until we got there and saw it crowded. Still though I wasn't hardly as crowded as July Or the summer months. And the next day it was bare. It was the funnest. I think it wasn't so bad because it was sprinkling though. we didn't miss any rides though. except haunted mansion but thats because refurb. I think you'll be surprised how nice it will be. Have fun and dont worry.

 

[bearette]

The lines that get the longest are just the fast pass ones (and Peter Pan which is always long). I think the worse wait times were 45 minutes for rides like Space Mountain. Most were 20-30 minutes for big ticket rides and early or late you pratically walk on Fantasyland rides, POTC and HM.

 

[avalon451]

But, of course, you won't be waiting any of those long wait times, because you'll have grabbed FPs for the big ticket rides early in the morning, and saved them to use later!

It's good you're getting familiar with Hydroguy's tips! Follow those and you'll never wait more than 15 minutes for even the biggest rides on the busiest days.