July 4th Strategy

[mom2dzb]

My family (me, dh, ds11, ds9 and dd2) be vacationing at DL during the week of the 4th. (July 3rd - July 6th -- Crazy, I know.) So, I'm curious about how to approach scheduling our days.

When we visit the parks, we usually get there early, ride to our heart's content, grab lunch and then head back to the hotel for a nap/swim/rest. We usually head back for dinner and spend a few more hours and catch Fastasmic!/fireworks or enjoy the shorter lines while everyone else enjoys Fantasmic!/fireworks. We usually visit during the off-season so we usually end up leaving at an early closing.

I'm worried that July 4th will be a "filled to capacity" day where they start turning people away. They do that, right? I'm pretty sure we want to be in the park for the holiday fireworks, but maybe it'd just be easier to watch from the top of our hotel (Paradise Pier). That would work too, right? What about the rest of the week? Might the park be full to capacity other days of that week? I'm afraid of having to stay at the park during the middle of the day just to insure we have access to the park for the evening festivities.

I'd sure appreciate some insight into how to schedule our days for this week.

Thanks!

 

[tinkerbelt]

I've heard that for the last few years, the 4th hasn't been that crowded, so you might be ok.

If you're there in the morning and the crowds don't look bad, I wouldn't worry too badly. Also, if you're staying at the one of the DLR hotels, you could probably check the status at the front desk.

 

[stacielee]

I'm in the same boat, my daughter's birthday is July 4 and we'll be there July 4-5. I'm using RideMax to figure out the best for the 4th, then we'll see what we didn't get to do for the 5th, including CA. Hopefully you get some good replies to this post!!

 

[Hambletfamily]

We were wondering the same thing.

 

[abouley]

I don't have any 1st hand experience but we are going to be there on the 2nd and 3rd of July. I normally don't go during peak season but we want to go with my nephew for his 3rd birthday. I was suprised when a month ago I had no problem booking a hotel even in ones that I've usually seen sold out 6 months in advance of an off season trip. I think maybe with the 4th being mid week, it might not be as bad. I know our kennel told us they normally sell out months in advance for the 4th week but aren't that busy this year.

I do think that if you have your heart set on watching fireworks in the park on the 4th, I wouldn't leave. Maybe come a bit later in the day (10 or 11) and just plan on having a fairly low key day. I imagine lines could be fairly long that day. I'm not sure how the view is from Paradise Pier but it just isn't the same not having the music and being able to see the castle in my opinion.

I went once between Christmas and New Year's and it was horrible. They sold out and everyone was a madhouse. I hope it's not anything like that for this trip. We bought season passes this year so I'm not too worried how much we see as we are going at least 3 times this year

Hope you have a great trip.
Alison

 

[AJA55]

Yep… here’s another crazy July 4th person. Our plan is: We have booked a tour for July 4th morning. This will include a lunch. Then we plan to hop to CA. For dinner we are going to Napa Rose.

So if we don’t see the fireworks that evening, it’s OK with us. But if we do we will only see them from outside the park. I/we are in a different boat than most. It is my mother and I. As she is 75 the crowds will not work for her, thus “The Plan”.

Alison, that for the encouraging info! We haven’t been to DLR right before CA opened.

12 DAYS ! ! !

 

[kiwitravel]

We had a 14 day pass last year from 28 June to July 12 and went into the park on July 4, it was the quietest day in DL of our trip!!! I think it's because nearly every AP is blacked out on this day there weren't as many locals in the park. We decided to ride Splash during the fireworks having seen enough fireworks on our trip, we rode it three times without having to get off because there was noone waiting! one of the highlights of our trip. And we got to see the fireworks from the top of the mountain. My recommendation is to go in early on July 4 you may be pleasantly suprised like we were.

 

[Spartangirl]

We had a 14 day pass last year from 28 June to July 12 and went into the park on July 4, it was the quietest day in DL of our trip!!! I think it's because nearly every AP is blacked out on this day there weren't as many locals in the park. We decided to ride Splash during the fireworks having seen enough fireworks on our trip, we rode it three times without having to get off because there was noone waiting! one of the highlights of our trip. And we got to see the fireworks from the top of the mountain. My recommendation is to go in early on July 4 you may be pleasantly suprised like we were.

That would be wonderful! We too, will be there on the 4th! I'm hoping for the best!

 

[kiwitravel]

As we always go that time of year it would be interesting to know how you get on July 4 this year. It would be handy to know for our next trip whether our experience of the day is normal or was out of the ordinary.

 

[eym]

can't wait i will be at DL from july 2 to july 5 only 9 more days

 

[mom2dzb]

Thanks to everyone for their input! What I'm reading is that July 4th shouldn't be as bad as I had worried it might be.

To those of you visiting while we are there . . . Have a great trip!

 

[eym]

Thanks to everyone for their input! What I'm reading is that July 4th shouldn't be as bad as I had worried it might be.

To those of you visiting while we are there . . . Have a great trip!

hope u have fun too only 3 more days