I really couldn't imagine going to DLR when it's "busy"

[HydroGuy]

We've gone so many times in the last 10 years I can't even count. We always go during off season because we're really spoiled. I hate to wait more than 10 minutes, especially now that we have small children. We went during Easter weekend about 3 years ago for my daughter's birthday and HATED it. OMG, the lines were insane. I remember waiting for 45 minutes to ride Flik's Flyer's in CA. 45 minute wait for a 30 second ride is not my idea of a good time.

As I wrote previously, it depends on how you tour the parks. During mid-summer we rarely wait in a line more than 10 minutes. If my kids have to wait for 20 minutes they get bent of shape. The key is to understand how everybody else tours the parks, and then do the opposite.

Yes, in mid-summer the lines for Splash Mtn or Space Mtn may reach 90 minutes mid-day. But both of these rides have FastPass. Why would anyone in their right mind wait for 90 minutes for a ride that has FastPass? I honestly do not know. But people do it. The 90 minute waits for such rides does reflect how crowded the parks are, but does not reflect the type of experience it is possible to have if you do the opposite of everyone else. For those of you who use TGM at WDW, his advice works at DLR too. When "they" zig, you zag.

 

[MATTERHORN]

We've gone so many times in the last 10 years I can't even count. We always go during off season because we're really spoiled. I hate to wait more than 10 minutes, especially now that we have small children. We went during Easter weekend about 3 years ago for my daughter's birthday and HATED it. OMG, the lines were insane. I remember waiting for 45 minutes to ride Flik's Flyer's in CA. 45 minute wait for a 30 second ride is not my idea of a good time.

Completely agree. If I was alone and didn't have kids who want to ride "this one" while we're staring at it, it would be easier in summer. Yes I could just keep telling them NO because it's a 45 minute wait, but then how fun is it for three little kids to keep walking around skipping rides because the lines are too long and you know they'll be short later? I would rather go when we can hop on rides and stay on them 2 or 3 times in a row (because there's NO ONE in line!) without unloading all 6 kids (we have actually gotten to stay on a lot lately) than making waiting even 30 minutes in line~

Andrea

 

[HydroGuy]

Hi! I know you said it wasn't to me but wanted to respond! We have always done exactly what you are mentioning here. This has been my touring plan since 1995! It doesn't matter to me though, since I have the choice to go at non-busy times, I would never choose to go when it's busy. It wouldn't make sense for us. We are there before opening, collect tons of fastpasses, and we stay till close no matter what the hours are!! I still like to get on more rides than 17 in all that time!!!

We also never get EE (AP's) so that's out unless we stay onsite. But I won't wait 30-40 minutes for Buzz when I know that if I had traveled just a week later, I would have walked-on! I just can't do it!!!

Now this also doesn't work for everyone as I am very flexible with my travel since it's just me and the kids and DH doesn't go, I dont' have to worry about work schedules. And although it is do-able, I recommend whole heartedly to anyone that will listen to go during off season or weekdays!!!


Andrea

When a person has the chance to visit DLR regularly as you do, then that changes things and off season becomes a better option. You do not mind shorter park hours or having rides and shows be down, because you can visit them in a few months.

When a person only visits once every year or two (as I do), then it is such a downer to visit when things are closed down - and I know we may not be back for a long time.

In addition, I LOVE visiting DLR when it is warm out. Head out at 7-8AM in shorts, tee-shirts and sneakers - never even thinking about a sweater - and close the parks at midnight - still in shorts, tee-shirts and sneakers. It just adds to the experience having all of that warmth. With an afternoon break, we refresh ourselves and avoid the worst of the heat - which is often not that hot in the first place.

My point is not that everyone should visit DLR in the summer or during high season. Rather it is that some people say it cannot be done without waiting in extremely long lines. And that it is no fun ("horrible" is a word tossed around frequently). If you do it wrong, I suppose even DLR can be horrible. If you do it right, you can have a blast during high season and right in the middle of summer. And never wait in long lines.

 

[funnygarcia]

I have visited at different times of the year.. spring break, Early June, mid October, Veteran's day and most recently during Christmas break.
I likely will not do Christmas break again. Or I would do it as a solo trip... no waiting around for others to get their rear in gear! I'm not sure why we had a less than magical trip.. too many crowds, cold weather, too tired from our flight in to LAX?? Or if it was because we had an extra person with us, slowing down my style of touring? In any case, it put a real downer on the trip and I wasn't happy.

DH was a crab the whole trip, he told me later that he would prefer to go when it's warm.

I'm going by myself next week.. a very last minute trip. DH realized that I was disappointed in our Christmas trip.. so he badgered me for a month to go by myself... so I'm going. I'm sad that the RR, Screamin, and Splash are down, going mid week so no fireworks or Fantasmic.. but the idea of very short wait times and able to go at my pace (busy in morning, take a mid day break and slower pace in evening, collecting fast passes all day) is very appealing. Gotta get my Disneyland spark back!

 

[rosiep]

My 2 pennies:

I hate the crowds and will only go in an off season. My last trip was fabulous Monday thru Thursday...but when things got really busy on Friday I liked the whole experience a lot less. And as for the warmth of Summer...I'm a vampire and I hate the sun and I like the heat even less.

 

[XTinabell]

When my DH and I went my hubby kept telling me that he was expecting about hour long line-ups and he was okay with that. I knew from experience that because I go during off season and the crowds are low the lineups are usually about ten minutes but I didn't say anything so he'd be pleasantly surprised.

When we got to Disneyland sure enough during the week the line-ups were so low some of the rides didn't even have their signs turned on telling us how long they were. I think the longest we waited was about ten minutes and boy did we get spoiled.

That weekend rolled around and the park was packed, line-ups were about 40-90 minutes long and all the fast passes were gone. My DH(who had previously been expecting lines this long) got so mad he started to fight with me and I was trying to tell him Hydroguys rules that made sense but he didn't want to hear it. And now we're going back next year and he's made it perfectly clear we're going for a 9 day trip and we're avoiding the park altogether on the weekend. So I don't think I'll ever be going to the park during onseason, definately not with my man anyway.

 

[MATTERHORN]

In addition, I LOVE visiting DLR when it is warm out. Head out at 7-8AM in shorts, tee-shirts and sneakers - never even thinking about a sweater - and close the parks at midnight - still in shorts, tee-shirts and sneakers. It just adds to the experience having all of that warmth. With an afternoon break, we refresh ourselves and avoid the worst of the heat - which is often not that hot in the first place.

My point is not that everyone should visit DLR in the summer or during high season. Rather it is that some people say it cannot be done without waiting in extremely long lines. And that it is no fun ("horrible" is a word tossed around frequently). If you do it wrong, I suppose even DLR can be horrible. If you do it right, you can have a blast during high season and right in the middle of summer. And never wait in long lines.

Totally agree, that's why I said it works for me because I have no schedule I HAVE to abide by. But for some, I do agree that a day at DL is better than no DL at all!! Anytime of year!!

I will say though that two of my warmest trips have been in December and January!! I love the heat also and love to be able to take a break and swim while there!! I also hate skipping water rides because it's too cold!! I am from Las Vegas after all, I must like the heat! But January of 2005, we left PP at 6am in tanks and shorts and came back to PP at 9pm in tanks and shorts. It was fabulous!! So you can be surprised in the off season too!


Andrea

 

[Dis Ohana]

The past two years we've gone in what's considered off season. The crowds were pretty heavy especially as it got closer to the weekend. Fortunately, I was ready with HydroGuy's touring strategy and we were able to do everything we wanted with time to spare. It's a common sense approach even in the off season if you want to avoid dealing with the crowds.

I would never try to go during peak season, I have a hard enough time in the off season!

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

25 minutes for Peter Pan and Space Mountain is pretty darn good! LOL We experienced the 55-60 minute waits this past July. Between that and the heat it was just too much. We normally try to go off season just for that reason! I can't stand the long lines and crowds of people either! I'd rather have a few rides be down and shorter hours!

 

[HydroGuy]

25 minutes for Peter Pan and Space Mountain is pretty darn good! LOL We experienced the 55-60 minute waits this past July. Between that and the heat it was just too much. We normally try to go off season just for that reason! I can't stand the long lines and crowds of people either! I'd rather have a few rides be down and shorter hours!

We always do PP first thing and it is a walk-on. If the line gets up to 60 minutes mid-day, who cares? We are swimming and napping by then with a pocketful of FastPasses ready for use when we come back.

 

[MATTERHORN]

We always do PP first thing and it is a walk-on. If the line gets up to 60 minutes mid-day, who cares? We are swimming and napping by then with a pocketful of FastPasses ready for use when we come back.

Even when we are waiting at rope drop, all the people with no kids or no strollers run us down and get ahead of us to PP, so we've never had it be a walk on even going straight to it first thing!! And a pocketful of fastpasses for later is great if your kids are all big/tall enough to go on all the fastpass rides!! Mine aren't so that doesn't matter much for us!!

I'm not disagreeing with you as I have toured the way you suggest to people for years before I found the DIS. (Maybe I should have written a guide way back then, with all my money I could be living at DL now!!!) I'm jsut saying that while I wouldn't describe DL in the summer as horrible, it's no contest to off season weekdays!

But to each his own. Plus the air in the Peter Pan line gets soooooo stale. It's hard to stand in line for it in the summer, it's to the point of sweltering!

Andrea

 

[tracer]

I've been going since I was a baby and don't ever recall it being too busy to enjoy myself immensely. I'd rather be at DL any day. LOL

Yup me too! We have gone peak and non-peak. With kids in tow, non peak is obviously easier. We have gone in late August a few times and the crowds have been really low, the weather great, almost all rides open and tons of entertainment going on. I think it just depends these days how the crowds will be. Sometimes you can't really judge it to be "slow" during an off peak time. Again, I will go anytime I can get there, crowds or no crowds!

 

[HydroGuy]

Even when we are waiting at rope drop, all the people with no kids or no strollers run us down and get ahead of us to PP, so we've never had it be a walk on even going straight to it first thing!! And a pocketful of fastpasses for later is great if your kids are all big/tall enough to go on all the fastpass rides!! Mine aren't so that doesn't matter much for us!!

You are right about FastPasses. Kids probably need to be about 7 years old to ride all or most of the FP rides. With smaller kids, then FPs do not help. On the other hand, if your kids are so small they cannot do FP rides, then that narrows considerably the number of possible rides you can experience and makes it easier to do everything available to you. And PP will only be a walk-on if you are pretty close to the park gate. I think the last three times we have ridden Peter Pan, we were at worst the 10th group in our line at the entry gate and were through the gate within two minutes of park opening.

In any case, you have a strategy that works for you, so that is what is most important.

I just see so many threads that start off "I want to go when DLR is least crowded" and then a few days later another thread by the same person saying "Huge bummer! Look at all of the rides that will be down! And no fireworks or Fantasmic either!".

As I said earlier, a lot depends on how often a person goes and how much flexibility they have. When people have kids that are too young for the FP rides, that also means they are young enough that off-season is more easy to do (i.e., who cares if they miss a few days of kindergarten?) When your kids are old enough to ride the FP rides, they are also getting to the point where it is harder for them to miss school (or at least their older siblings cannot easily miss school). So a high season trip is almost the only option.

People who have accessibility issues (e.g., a wheelchair) are better off in low season. I would guess strollers are easier to do in low season - although we never took stroller-age kids to DLR and thus have never pushed a stroller around.

As I said, you have a strategy that works for you. And we have one that works for us. As long as folks understand the advantages and disadvantages, then they can choose what is best for them. I am not saying our strategy is best. What I am saying is that folks (not you) who make a blanket statement "Summer at DLR is HORRIBLE" are not being fair and will mislead someone at some point.

 

[AmyK]

What I am saying is that folks (not you) who make a blanket statement "Summer at DLR is HORRIBLE" are not being fair and will mislead someone at some point.

Hi, I'm a newbie here and will probably stay mostly a lurker. But as someone who is starting to plan a trip from the midwest, and it will likely be a once or twice in a lifetime event, I wanted to say something.

I do appreciate HydroGuy's input because otherwise these threads would completely depress me about when we are going. I'm thinking of planning our trip to be in the 2nd-3rd week of June 2008. I'll have a girl just finishing K and another just finishing 2nd. Yes, we COULD have them miss school but we choose not to. Also, I want there to be the highest chance of fireworks mid week etc, and that seems to be in the summer.

I am taking away tidbits of valuable information from all of you frequent posters and I appreciate it all. But thank you especially to HydroGuy who has posted so many great advice posts and reassures me that I am not resigning my children to a miserable Disney experience by going in the summer! lol

 

[rosiep]

Obviously everyone should take their own prefrences, gather information and make their own decisions. No matter what kind of advice people offer to "handle" a crowded park, I know that I can't stand crowds. Period. It isn't that I think the park is better one way or the other. I KNOW I miss out on things because of when I go, (and I only go once a year) but I also know I would be miserable managing crowds.

People's opinions vary a great deal...who likes this park, who likes WDW better...who insists on staying on-site and who is loathe to spend the extra money. Use these boards to gather as much details as you can and then DECIDE FOR YOURSELF what is best for you.

Here's to hoping everyone who visits Disney has a GREAT time.

 

[MATTERHORN]

Hi, I'm a newbie here and will probably stay mostly a lurker. But as someone who is starting to plan a trip from the midwest, and it will likely be a once or twice in a lifetime event, I wanted to say something.

I do appreciate HydroGuy's input because otherwise these threads would completely depress me about when we are going. I'm thinking of planning our trip to be in the 2nd-3rd week of June 2008. I'll have a girl just finishing K and another just finishing 2nd. Yes, we COULD have them miss school but we choose not to. Also, I want there to be the highest chance of fireworks mid week etc, and that seems to be in the summer.

I am taking away tidbits of valuable information from all of you frequent posters and I appreciate it all. But thank you especially to HydroGuy who has posted so many great advice posts and reassures me that I am not resigning my children to a miserable Disney experience by going in the summer! lol

Oh I am glad you are not getting depressed. Please dont' get me wrong, if summertime was the only time I could possibly go, I'd still be there in a heartbeat. The trip is what you make of it, and after standing in line for Splash in the summer, getting wet at the end feels all the better!!

I would never say DL is horrible anytime, it's just what each person can personally handle. You know you are going during a busier time and there will be tradeoffs. We were all just chatting back and forth that if you were able to choose, then off season weekedays win for us, no contest. But you couldn't keep me away even if I didn't have this freedom to choose when we go.

And to some on here, summer is a miserable time to go. If you don't like the heat, you'll probably not have the greatest time. But then the kids really get to enjoy the wet rides and splash parks without worrying whether their clothes will dry before it gets cold!!! It's really just a personal preference, just like whether or not to take the kids out of school. Works for some (me) and doesn't work for others. And I'm actually kinda glad about that because then there really would be no off season for me to enjoy!


Have a great trip


Andrea

 

[MATTERHORN]

Obviously everyone should take their own prefrences, gather information and make their own decisions. No matter what kind of advice people offer to "handle" a crowded park, I know that I can't stand crowds. Period. It isn't that I think the park is better one way or the other. I KNOW I miss out on things because of when I go, (and I only go once a year) but I also know I would be miserable managing crowds.

People's opinions vary a great deal...who likes this park, who likes WDW better...who insists on staying on-site and who is loathe to spend the extra money. Use these boards to gather as much details as you can and then DECIDE FOR YOURSELF what is best for you.

Here's to hoping everyone who visits Disney has a GREAT time.

I agree with this. Because if people didn't post when it was busy, way more people might go and not adjust their touring or expectations to handle the crowds and end up being bummed about their trip. Atleast people like you can come here and see that from descriptions, ______ is probably not the time you want to be there.

Or like AmyK did above, pick out the info that helps you for when you have to go, and use it to your advantage, but atleast you know what you are in for and won't get blindsided by the crowds. But I am like you, I find less enjoyment and I get cranky waiting in long lines for rides I have walked on before. Each trip will have it's great moments no matter when you go!

Andrea

 

[alnickandme]

I do appreciate HydroGuy's input because otherwise these threads would completely depress me about when we are going. I'm thinking of planning our trip to be in the 2nd-3rd week of June 2008. I'll have a girl just finishing K and another just finishing 2nd. Yes, we COULD have them miss school but we choose not to. Also, I want there to be the highest chance of fireworks mid week etc, and that seems to be in the summer.

I am taking away tidbits of valuable information from all of you frequent posters and I appreciate it all. But thank you especially to HydroGuy who has posted so many great advice posts and reassures me that I am not resigning my children to a miserable Disney experience by going in the summer! lol

I am so glad that I read the entire thread before posting, because I was going to say exactly the same thing. I have a trip planned for the third week in July - I am just not comfortable taking the kids out of school - but wanted to thank HydroGuy for his optimistic posts. We are expecting crowds, but I am fairly confident that we can still have a great time.

And thanks to you too Amy, for putting it so well.....

 

[KamikazeSquirrel]

A lot of people are mentioning the weather as being too cold in the offseason winter months. I was in DLR during that cold spell weak when temperatures got down to 30-50. Let me tell you, that was freaking warm! I come from a very cold place, and the 50 degree weather was so refreshing. I was walking around in a tshirt while everybody else had winter coats

So yeah, I don't think I could handle summer california weather either.

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

Oh I am glad you are not getting depressed. Please dont' get me wrong, if summertime was the only time I could possibly go, I'd still be there in a heartbeat. The trip is what you make of it, and after standing in line for Splash in the summer, getting wet at the end feels all the better!!

I would never say DL is horrible anytime, it's just what each person can personally handle. You know you are going during a busier time and there will be tradeoffs. We were all just chatting back and forth that if you were able to choose, then off season weekedays win for us, no contest. But you couldn't keep me away even if I didn't have this freedom to choose when we go.

And to some on here, summer is a miserable time to go. If you don't like the heat, you'll probably not have the greatest time. But then the kids really get to enjoy the wet rides and splash parks without worrying whether their clothes will dry before it gets cold!!! It's really just a personal preference, just like whether or not to take the kids out of school. Works for some (me) and doesn't work for others. And I'm actually kinda glad about that because then there really would be no off season for me to enjoy!


Have a great trip


Andrea

Have to agree with Matterhorn! Actually early to mid June is a great time to go. That's when we usually go. It isn't as crowded as the July and August crowds, and because of the "June gloom" the weather is warm but not real hot. Plus you can usually do that time of year without pulling the kids out of school. So those are great weeks that you have picked. We are pulling our son out of school for 2 days for this trip in May. He's in 3rd grade, but I don't believe a few days hurt honestly.

But it really is about preference. I could never "plan" my days to that extent at Disneyland like some do here. There's nothing wrong with it. Were just the type that likes to go on what we feel like, at that moment. It may not be a great plan, but it's what is the most fun for us. If my son wants to go on Buzz but we don't have a fastpass, if the line is 20 minutes, we'll do it. I can't see telling him no to a ride because it isn't next on the "schedule". I think if a family can have fun doing it that way, more power to them! It's all about preference.

For me the crowds are more then just long ride lines. It's also long food lines, store lines, long bathroom lines, and lines just to walk around the park! I like going during the off season so that all those things aren't crowded also!

That's not saying we didn't have fun last July! We still had a blast, but it just showed us how much we prefer the more "off" season months (even early/mid June). I agree that there is no "horrible" time to go to Disneyland. It IS Disneyland after all, it's always fun.