June vs. August: Which is Best?

[Sereina]

My family and I have always done our Disneyland trips (6 days in the parks) the first week of June. We've been pretty happy with that time of year, the crowds aren't too bad, all the rides are usually open, the parks are open late, etc. Our last couple trips, 2009 especially, the weather hasn't been the best, though, and the evenings/nights have been a bit chilly for shorts. Because of that, my dad is thinking of going in mid to late August, since that should be warmer. The weather shouldn't be a problem, but what are the crowds like? Will all the rides be likely to be open? And at looking at the past schedules, the Haunted Mansion is closed the last few days of August for the Halloween decor, so we'd want to avoid that.

Basically, what are the pros and cons for the first week of June vs. mid to late August in 2013? The more you can come up with, the better!

 

[HydroGuy]

You can check the past few years on HM in the link below, but it is typically during the last week of August.

"Historical DLR Park Hours, Entertainment and Refurbs" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2291124

Crowds are there in August and IMO not too bad. They can be worse after the AP blockout lifts but not always. This year it is more likely they will be worse especially at DCA because of CarsLand. See:

"Understanding AP Blockouts and Impact on Crowds" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2365983

Rides and entertainment are typically at the maximum until Aug 20 or so and then hours might start being reduced. Check the link above for historical hours.

Weather is at its warmest in August. I think it is pretty ideal but not everyone agrees on that. Here are some averages:

"Detailed Weather Data for DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=23004158

 

[mrswh]

I guess the weather is pretty variable, but we have had much nicer weather in August than we did the one time we went in June - it was in the mid 90s, which feels like about a zillion inside the parks. I'm not really sure you can count on weather being better in one month or the other, but there are other factors. Do you care about Carsland? It won't be open until mid June. So you will miss Carsland the first week of June and you will still have to deal with construction walls at DCA. Of course, the opening of Carsland and BVS means that the crowds will likely be even heavier later in the summer than they will be in June. If you do go in August, check the AP blockout schedule. We went one year (having not checked it) the very week the blockouts were lifted, and it was painfully crowded. In subsequent years we bumped up to one week earlier and it was much more tolerable.

Have fun, whatever you decide!

 

[Sereina]

Oops, should have said that our trip will be next year. My dad was disappointed that there was no water in Paradise Pier in 2009, so 2013 should be good timing since all the big renovations will be complete.

HydroGuy:
Thanks for the links, I'll go check those out!

mrswh:
Thanks for the info. I never thought about the AP blockouts, so I'll be checking those out for sure.