Help me pick dates please!

[clairabell29]

We were going to go the end of Aug, but my husband deployed unexpectedly and now I am torn on which dates to go. I will be by myself with a 3 year old and almost 6 year old. Would it be better crowd wise to go between Aug 19-23 or Oct 19-23? I know it's UEA that week in Oct. Just wondering which would be best, since my oldest won't miss much school due to teacher in service on the 20 and 21 here in WA. I've never gone with both kids on my own and am a bit nervous! Thanks so much!

 

[skiingfast]

No doubt less crowded in October. Socal has 10 times more people than Utah. Go when they are in school.

But you will be making a tradeoff. Less entertainment in October. Short hours. Extra crowds on the Halloween Party nights. More ride rehabs.

 

[marcemc]

No doubt less crowded in October. Socal has 10 times more people than Utah. Go when they are in school.

But you will be making a tradeoff. Less entertainment in October. Short hours. Extra crowds on the Halloween Party nights. More ride rehabs.

And yet my experience has been the opposite Last year mid august crowds were great & the past 2 Halloween years (2009 & 2010) seemed super crowded IMHO.

I'm guessing that this years crowds will be slight higher no matter the month because of all the renovations & new attractions.

I will base the choice on what you think your kiddos might enjoy more, nicer weather or Halloween decorations (for example).

 

[skiingfast]

And yet my experience has been the opposite Last year mid august crowds were great & the past 2 Halloween years (2009 & 2010) seemed super crowded IMHO.

The 19-23 is not mid august. It's when several hundred thousand AP holders will be unblocked.

 

[Carmatts]

Agree with skiing

So Cal AP's come unblocked August 21st and So Cal select on the 22nd. Combine this with the D23 Expo from the 19th thru the 21st across the street, bringing in hoards of Disney fanatics from all over the world, and the parks will be jammed.

Your October dates will be much better crowd wise.

 

[Momoftwo21]

We have been passholders for 10 years and the last couple of years have been incredibly busy in October...not sure why. Not that August is not crowded, but I say go with whichever works best for your family and then just make sure you enter the park as early as you can each day.

 

[taaren]

Skiing sums up the major points perfectly, as always.

However, we are biased towards October for another reason: the weather tends to be perfect for us. We love it when it rains and we can walk onto rides, and don't like the heat of summer. While Cali tends to be balmy overall, October is definitely cooler than August.

 

[marcemc]

The 19-23 is not mid august. It's when several hundred thousand AP holders will be unblocked.

Last year we went during the same week, and the very feared AP holders were no problem crowd wise.