Jan 6&7. Which park which day?

[dshimel]

Going to DLR Jan 6th and 7th 3 vets (me, wife, 18 y/o daughter) and daughter's boyfriend that has never been. Signature APs for me and wife, "2-day, 1 park per day" for the 18 y/os. Drive out from Phoenix Thur evening. Parks Fri/Sat. Drive home Sunday afternoon. School starts back up Monday.

Assertions: With all the improvements to DCA, it still has far less to do than Disneyland park, especially for someone that has never been to DLR before.



DCA on Friday/DL Sat:
Pros:
* Sleep: DCA closes earlier, so we still get 7-8 hours of sleep Fri night (10:30-6:30?). Up past midnight Saturday, but can sleep in Sunday before driving home.
* Blockouts: locals are likely still out of school, and SoCal passes can go to DLR on Friday, but not Sat. So, do DCA the day DL is likely packed with local kids, out of school, with SoCal passes.
* Longer day at DL: Parks open at 9am Fri and 8am Sat, so short day at DCA and longer day at DL.
Cons:
* Early Entry: We're going to parks on their early entry days, which usually means more crowded.
* Sat at DL: Is DL going to be more crowded on Sat, even with SoCal APs blocked, than on Fri? (Biggest concern)


Flipping the days, flip the Pros and Cons.
DL Friday we get less sleep, are in DL with SoCal APers, late start, but STILL may be less crowded simply because it is Friday instead of Saturday.

Thoughts?

 

[cruisehopeful]

I've gone on Saturdays a few times this past year and it is always crazy inside Disneyland. I end up leaving before I do everything I want I to do and head to DCA for a little peace. My experience has been that the blocked out Saturdays are busier and crazier than the non blocked out Saturdays.

I think the biggest problem with Disneyland crowds is the parades and fireworks. It becomes nearly impossible to go anywhere at times. Add that with frequent ride shut downs and other things closed because of construction, there's just nowhere for people to go. So, I'd look at the calendars for parades and fireworks and choose my Disneyland day based on which day has less of that stuff. If they both have the same, I'd do Disneyland on Friday. This past Friday was manageable for me in Disneyland. Saturday became too difficult and I had to run off to DCA before I was done doing what I wanted to do inDL.

 

[dshimel]

I'd look at the calendars for parades and fireworks and choose my Disneyland day based on which day has less of that stuff.

Exactly the same both days:

Parades
A Christmas Fantasy Parade
1:30 PM, 4:15 PM

Paint the Night
9:00 PM, 11:00 PM

Fireworks & Nighttime Spectacular
"Believe...In Holiday Magic" Fireworks Spectacular
7:00 PM

 

[figment_jii]

I agree with cruisehopeful that DL seems much busier on Saturdays than on Fridays regardless of the AP blockouts. My generally feeling is that they set the blackout dates based on when they think non-AP guest crowds will be sufficiently high to make for any AP-holders that are blocked out.

The only other thing to consider is that DCA is doing a Three Kings Day event Jan 3 to 6, so if you were interested in that, you would have to go to DCA on Friday. I don't know much about it (never been), but it's something to keep in mind.

In terms of MM/EMH, I personally don't think they really have all that much of an impact on crowds as the day progresses. The park with EMH/MM tends to be busier right at opening, but the crowds seem to quickly distribute. It's only really a factor (at least to me), if you wanted to ride Peter Pan, TSMM, or RSR right at opening.

* Sleep: DCA closes earlier, so we still get 7-8 hours of sleep Fri night (10:30-6:30?). Up past midnight Saturday, but can sleep in Sunday before driving home.

I think this really depends on where you are staying, if you plan to stay in DCA until closing, if you're going to do any shopping/eating at closing, etc. The park closes at 10:00 pm, but WoC: Seasons of Light is at 9:00 pm and 10:15 pm. I would consider going to the second WoC because it's usually less busy (a little at any rate) and then you can maximize your attraction time in the park. The show is about 25 minutes long. The shops on BVS remain open an hour past closing. Plus you have to factor in time to walk/drive back to the hotel, clean-up, etc. For my family, we probably wouldn't be getting to bed until closer to midnight.

 

[dshimel]

Staying at Portifino on Harbor just south of Katella (AP discount rate). Takes us about 10-15 mins to walk the 3/4 mile.

Hispanic Christian events at DCA would be a reason for me to avoid DCA on Friday, not a reason to go that day. Not Christian (nor Hispanic) and prefer my Disney entertainment to be Disney based.

We can do our shopping Sunday morning at DTD as we are leaving the resort to head home.

If it does take 2 hours after closing to get to sleep, then DL until midnight Friday puts us to sleep at 2am, and getting up at 6-6:30am for 8am opening Saturday.

So, what I'm hearing is exactly what I feared (DL park crowded on Saturday), but DCA is also crowded on Saturday... and I'm not sure that overcomes the 2 hours extra sleep time. We can do closing DCA Friday and still make opening at DL Saturday. I don't see how we can stay until closing of DL Friday (midnight) and still do opening of DCA Saturday (at security by 7am).

 

[dshimel]

This past Friday was manageable for me in Disneyland. Saturday became too difficult and I had to run off to DCA before I was done doing what I wanted to do inDL.

This actually lets me highlight one of my major concerns. "this last Friday" that was manageable, but the local kids were in school. The Friday Jan 6th is a day local kids are out of school, and SoCal passes are not blocked.

Years ago, those were the 2nd worst days of the year, 2nd only to major holiday weekends.
I'm wondering if those days are still that horrid.