January or April? Better time to go?

[becpee]

If you had to make a decision on a better time to go to Disneyland, would you choose January or April and why?
Financially how different would the costs be on a 3 day stay between the two months?

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Depends on what type of experience you are wanting and what trade-offs you are willing to make.

I have not personally been in January except for Jan. 1 & 2 one year and that is not representative of the rest of the month. January is reported to be a fairly low crowd time, so if that's what you're looking for, that's the time to go. There is the Martin Luther King holiday on the Monday around the middle of the month though, so you might want to avoid that time. At the beginning of the month, Haunted Mansion will be closed to have the holiday overlay removed. I think it stays down for a couple weeks. When HM reopens, then Small World closes down to have its overlay removed. There are likely to be other ride refurbs at this time of year. Park hours will be shorter with closings likely around 8 PM on the weekdays. Weather can be more variable, but the weather this year has been kind of unusual anyway, so it's probably not worth worrying right now what the weather will be like almost a year from now. There is a cool thread on these boards about historic weather; don't have the link at the moment. Since January is a slower time of year, you will probably find better hotel prices overall. That is, in fact, why some friends of mine usually choose that time of year to go.

As for April, fewer things are likely to be in refurb than in January. (This year, however, has been really heavy on the refurbs.) The weather has the potential to be warmer and more consistent. The crowds will definitely be much more substantial since April (and March) is spring break time. Take a look at some of the recent threads about current park crowds. Deals are probably harder to come by but certainly possible still with diligence. I tend to find that I have better luck booking as far out as possible and then keeping my eye on rates just in case.

 

[JH87]

I was at DLR this past January 10 & 11. Park hours were shorter (DCA 10-8, DL 10-8) but crowds were perfect!! We barely even used FP because lines were that short. We got almost all the main big rides done before our first day was even over. The weather was amazing too. Only things that I didn't like were no fireworks or parades, WOC was showing though. Haunted Mansion was closed to remove the holiday overlay but It's a Small World was still open with the holiday overlay so it was cool to experience that. Overall, my trip in January was my favorite so far. Weather can be hit or miss though. A few days before, it was raining and the grapevine was closed due to snow. We just got lucky.

Now, I have never been in April, but I did just get back from DLR so I have experienced Spring Break crowds. Depending on when in April you wanna go and if that coincides with Spring break would be a major factor. It was super busy this past week! A CM told me this was the beginning of spring break for lots of people. Lines were 45-85 minutes for the most part. FP was running out by 3 for rides like Tower of Terror and Space Mountain. There were longer park hours (DCA 10-10, DLR 8-midnight) and fireworks. Only rides that were closed that aren't going through major updates (so, excluding goofy's sky school and star tours) was Splash Mountain. Rides were breaking down all day though That probably has nothing to do with the time of year, but it wasn't fun waiting almost 60mins for Space Mountain just to reach the part of the line where you are almost inside the building and be told the ride was down. Also down at times were Indiana Jones and Big Thunder Mountain. Weather was great though!

Financially I don't think there is a difference with DLR tickets. Even with shorter park hours the ticket price is the same as when the park hours are longer. But lots of hotels have cheaper rates in January than during Spring Break season. For my January stay, we were at the Ramada Maingate which is right across the street from DLR. We used my friends corporate discount plus my AAA discount and for 3 nights we paid less than $200. For my recent Spring Break season visit, we stayed at Castle Inn, which is still across the street from DLR but a bit of a further walk than the Ramada. We paid about $258 for 3 nights, and that was after spending lots of time online searching for good deals.
Hopefully my experiences have helped a little bit in your planning. For me, I would pick January. I loved how uncrowded it was! I had never experienced such short lines and uncrowded walkways were sooo nice! But the weather is tricky in January.

 

[HydroGuy]

If you had to make a decision on a better time to go to Disneyland, would you choose January or April and why?
Financially how different would the costs be on a 3 day stay between the two months?

I would choose April because it is likely to have more rides in operation and more shows on the schedule. That is what I would do. Others have different priorities and would choose differently.

See "Choosing When To Visit DLR: Summary of High and Low Season and When Each Happens " www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=36509602

 

[DahliaRW]

We went in January and it was great! We timed it so we were there when HM opened back up, and before IASW was closed. We also timed it so we would be there before Splash closed and over a weekend to see F!. Most of our trip the rides were mostly walk on with a few having a 10 minute wait or so. Over the weekend some got longer (and some like TSMM were longer on the off days), but we were able to do a lot in a little time. But, I would keep an eye on the refurbs, lock in as late as possible, and change to April if you need.

 

[JasonShannon76]

January is way less crowded than April. January 1 through 5 are usually busy (still New Year's crowds), but the rest of January is the slowest time of the year. I love going during then, simply because of low crowds.

Mid March through late April gets crowded due to Spring Break (every district has a different spring break).

 

[miss.potatohead]

I was there mid-January, 18th-25th. Whilst we couldn't ride its a small world, Splash Mountain and Grizly River, the longest wait we had was for TSMM on a Friday night (40mins) - and we had walk ons for many, many rides. The longest we were in line besides TS was no more than 15minutes and we only needed fast passes for Screamin' on the Friday night (which was a walk on with the pass, 30mins standard wait)

Wouldn't be able to say about cost, as I'm from overseas and didn't pay for everything...that was for the parents to work out, but if you are only there for three days, January would be good. We managed all rides available at Disneyland in ONE DAY! And then everything at DCA in one day (but you could do that anyway usually I've been told) and then we spent our third day across both parks.

That's just my opinion though...but the crowds were non-existant compared to the horror stories of 180minute lines that I'd heard of before leaving.

 

[disneydadreg]

i think Jan is better. Ive had the annual pass several yrs now. the crowd seems to be less after new years day. less waiting...usually we can get to all the big rides including some from California Disney side. in April the crowds are bigger with spring break. at least in my experience

 

[ykmom]

I base my decision on crowd levels and would go in January. We have been twice at the end of January and once at the end of April. Crowds were not bad at the end of April either but in Jan/Feb almost everything was walk on. The shorter days don't bother me, and we got a great deal on the hotel and were able to stay at GCH.

 

[tholczer]

I'd never go in April because the Spring Break crowds can be worse than summer time. But January does have slim pickins, so it really is a matter of what's important to you. Although the hours are fewer, you get a heck of a lot more done in those hours than when the park is slammed. But there are refurbs going on and not as much entertainment. Definite trade offs.

Tracy