How crowded July 4th?

[rramstad]

Hey guys. I'm dealing with plane reservations (grrr, preferred flight jumped $40 overnight) and am considering flying my family down there July 4th instead of July 5th, and spending one day in the park and/or just going for the fireworks in the evening.

Last year the 4th was also on a Wednesday, can anyone tell me how crowded it was last year and/or share opinions about how crowded it's likely to be this year?

Barring that, is there somewhere in Orange County, or points south (even San Diego) that has a really great fireworks show?

We're probably going to spend a few days elsewhere beforehand and be at the park from Sunday to Thursday (8th to 13th) and are debating our next move given that the flights on the 5th and 6th have suddenly gotten more expensive...

 

[blackjackdelta]

Hey guys. I'm dealing with plane reservations (grrr, preferred flight jumped $40 overnight) and am considering flying my family down there July 4th instead of July 5th, and spending one day in the park and/or just going for the fireworks in the evening.

Last year the 4th was also on a Wednesday, can anyone tell me how crowded it was last year and/or share opinions about how crowded it's likely to be this year?

Barring that, is there somewhere in Orange County, or points south (even San Diego) that has a really great fireworks show?

We're probably going to spend a few days elsewhere beforehand and be at the park from Sunday to Thursday (8th to 13th) and are debating our next move given that the flights on the 5th and 6th have suddenly gotten more expensive...

Mission Bay used to have an incredible show, so does DLR. A number of posters from last year posted that they thought it was really not that busy but you will have to wait for them to post. Have a great trip.

Jack..cheaper for us to drive the 1200+ miles one way.

 

[rramstad]

Mission Bay used to have an incredible show, so does DLR. A number of posters from last year posted that they thought it was really not that busy but you will have to wait for them to post. Have a great trip.

Jack..cheaper for us to drive the 1200+ miles one way.

Jack, thanks for the quick post, and yeah, it'll be great to get some thoughts from people who were there on the 4th last year, but your comments are very interesting, especially as we had been strongly considering the Mission Beach area for the "pre game" festivities.

I'd absolutely consider driving but we've got three kids (12, 9, 6) and our vehicle isn't really set up for long trips... we haven't broken the kids into it, either.

 

[blackjackdelta]

Jack, thanks for the quick post, and yeah, it'll be great to get some thoughts from people who were there on the 4th last year, but your comments are very interesting, especially as we had been strongly considering the Mission Beach area for the "pre game" festivities.

I'd absolutely consider driving but we've got three kids (12, 9, 6) and our vehicle isn't really set up for long trips... we haven't broken the kids into it, either.

I would never drive unless I knew the car would do the trip. We have road tripped with the 4 of them since they were 1 month to 4 years old. They are now 19-25 and going again with us this summer, its their vacation also.
Have a great trip,

Jack

 

[rtfelt]

I've never actually gone on the 4th (I'm an AP and don't usually get the premium pass--at 20 minutes away I stay away from days with potential large crowds), but I have been the day after often and talked to people who were there on the actual 4th. They have all said the 4th was less crowded than the 5th. I think that's because DL has such a large AP crowd, and few of them get the premium passes that allow entrance on the 4th, that it ends up being slower than the surrounding days.

As far as where to see fireworks, almost every beach town has a show. We live in South Orange County and always go to San Clemente to "T Street" beach for the 4th and stay for a bonfire (our friends stay overnight on the beach the night before to reserve a fire pit) and the fireworks that are shot off from the Pier just North. From our vantage point, we can also see the Dana Point fireworks. The parking is miserable though.

If you're going to be at DL that night though, their fireworks are by far one of the best. You can see then from places outside the park. You could just go to the quad area between DL and DCA and sit on the ground and watch them or go into the Mickey Parking structure to the top and watch them from there. It's a great vantage point.