June vs October

[bmorr1963]

I know there are many factors to take into consideration and based on whats important to you (weather, lines, late hours, open rides, etc) the answers might be personal........but, that being said:

Our family is considring going Saturday to Saturday either June 8-15, 2013 OR October 19-26, 2013. We have children 6-8-10. Will need to pull out of school but we would.

So - - what's your thought? Which time frame would you choose? And why!

Thanks in advance of your reply.

 

[Carolwoodpr]

Our family has gone in June, and gone in October.

I would choose October for the following reasons:

Better weather - cooler temps (hopefully)
Halloween decorations, October is Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort
Mickey's Halloween Party - the kids and the adults would love this
crowds might be lower, but not much

In early June you will have:

High temperatures
No holiday decorations
Heavy crowds
No special events


I hope that helps give you some ideas.

 

[Mr Snappy]

Our family has gone in June, and gone in October.

I would choose October for the following reasons:

Better weather - cooler temps (hopefully)
Halloween decorations, October is Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort
Mickey's Halloween Party - the kids and the adults would love this
crowds might be lower, but not much

In early June you will have:

High temperatures
No holiday decorations
Heavy crowds
No special events


I hope that helps give you some ideas.

We were just there the same week in October that you are talking about. i would agree with the above statements and we really enjoyed going in October.

Let me tell you the biggies of going in October:

+ No to little crowds during the weekdays
+ Great weather (most of the time)
+ Can be cheaper depending on your needs (hotels, rental cars, etc)
- Much shorter park hours
- Very limited parades, Fantasmic, WOC, and Fireworks
- Might be a problem if you have to pull kids out of school

 

[madigraham]

Weather wise it will be hot both months. Early june might possibly be cooler. You can expect 80 to 90 degrees. Crowd wise, weekends will be the same in both months, however October weekdays will be less crowded.
If you are going weekdays I would chose October. If you're going for a weekend it really doesn't matter unless you have a preference in decor ( Halloween)

 

[furb & dez]

The weather in June is always a toss-up... People back east think it's "sunny California," but Southern Californians are all-too-aware of "June Gloom". It's extremely common for all of June and a good part of May and July to be overcast every day. As far a pitting June against October, there's no guarantee that June will be hotter than October, given that August and September are the hottest months of the year in SoCal. It's not uncommon for days in October to be hot (and nights cool).

The big thing for me, though, would be Grad Nights... if you go in early/mid June you are going to run up against Grad Nights, where the park will close early to host hordes of ill-behaved teens.

Oh, in June you won't have to endure all the Halloween decorations. You can enjoy the park the way it used to be, when Disneyland wasn't tarted up to make a quick seasonal buck.

 

[scrapshappen]

We've been at both times of year and had good and bad weather in both months. Early June is famous for "June Gloom" as the PP said, where it can be cool and over cast for days (cool enough we were wearing jackets) or it can be very nice. October is when the Santa Ana winds blow so it can be very hot and windy or cool enough for sweatshirts.

Crowds are hard to compare because we went three years in June (2004, 2005 and 2007) the week before Father's Day and found it to be less crowded than expected. We were expecting lower crowds when we went in October (2008, 2011) and were surprised that it felt just as crowded as June (even more crowded on the weekends).

In June you have grad nights and in October the park closes early for the Halloween Parties, so you will have that issue either way unless you plan to pay more for the party.

Halloween is a fun time to go though. My kids loved it. However, we haven't seen the regular Haunted Mansion now in 5 years because we've been going in October or November and I kind of miss the original.

 

[xXtowerOFterrorXx]

Def October, One because it would be my birthday and two because they have all the Halloween decorations up. Its a much cooler time to go. June would be the time of year it would be getting too hot.

 

[Girimama33]

Also in June you will have longer hours and more entrainment options each day (F!,fireworks). There is also less chance of rides going through refurbs.
October is limited hours, and if you do not plan on spending the extra $ for the Halloween party, the park will close earlier on those days.
You needed to weigh out what is important for you to see and do while you are visiting. That may make your decision to go easier.


Posted from Disney Forums Reader for Android

 

[Carolwoodpr]

Also in June you will have longer hours and more entrainment options each day (F!,fireworks). There is also less chance of rides going through refurbs.
October is limited hours, and if you do not plan on spending the extra $ for the Halloween party, the park will close earlier on those days.
You needed to weigh out what is important for you to see and do while you are visiting. That may make your decision to go easier.


Posted from Disney Forums Reader for Android

Early June is also limited hours and entertainment. Summer hours don't start until after June 20th.

 

[yupikgal]

We've been in early June, and thought it was fine! I'm thinking of going later in June this (next) year, on the 19th because that's our daughters 21st birthday, & it would also be a celebration for our sons h.s. graduation!! Park hours would be extended, which would be great! Mornings are cooler, which I like!! I'm an early riser anyway, and for me, if it gets too hot or crowded in the afternoon, I would just head back to the hotel for a nap!!

 

[BlueBayou]

Are you planning on doing anything else while in California? If you want to go to the beach I would say do June. My DD12 is a H2O baby and actually swam in October in the San Diego and Santa Monica area on two separate trips. The rest of us are sane enough not to get near it.

We have gone to DL a handful of times in Oct and this past year had significantly heavier crowds than years past. (I think the first day in the parks was Oct. 8th and we were there for three days). We rode GRR with a nice Australian family that was disappointed to see how many kids were there. They assumed there would be school this time in America and did not realized a lot of Utah and Arizona have fall breaks.

The crowds were heavy enough this on the days we were there this past October - that we would have been significantly disappointed if we were not frequent visitors. We talked to several families that were regulars and they all agreed that this October was heavier (I am sure it had to do with Cars Land).

I really like the fall and halloween decorations. But the kids are tired of them. They are asking to go at Christmas time next year - even if the crowds are heavier - because they think it is prettier.

 

[MinnieMom13]

Lots of good responses in this thread. I'm a big fan of off-season trips to Disneyland, so October is when we usually go. Less crowds! Lower cost! My kids (DD9, DS 10) know that they still have to keep up on their homework, so we leave the parks by 8:00 pm (sometimes this is the official closing time anyway). It wouldn't matter if the parks were open until midnight, we're still out of there at 8:00 pm.

Since there is no bad time to be in Disneyland, either choice will be magical.

 

[Girimama33]

Early June is also limited hours and entertainment. Summer hours don't start until after June 20th.

This is incorrect.
If you check the historicals for last year, hours were extended and F! and fireworks were both shown nightly as of the 1st of June.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2291124

 

[junmatno]

We've been at both times of year and had good and bad weather in both months. Early June is famous for "June Gloom" as the PP said, where it can be cool and over cast for days (cool enough we were wearing jackets) or it can be very nice. October is when the Santa Ana winds blow so it can be very hot and windy or cool enough for sweatshirts.

Crowds are hard to compare because we went three years in June (2004, 2005 and 2007) the week before Father's Day and found it to be less crowded than expected. We were expecting lower crowds when we went in October (2008, 2011) and were surprised that it felt just as crowded as June (even more crowded on the weekends).

In June you have grad nights and in October the park closes early for the Halloween Parties, so you will have that issue either way unless you plan to pay more for the party.

Halloween is a fun time to go though. My kids loved it. However, we haven't seen the regular Haunted Mansion now in 5 years because we've been going in October or November and I kind of miss the original.

Actually Grad Nites aren't affecting DL hours as its going to be held at DCA, which already closes an hour earlier that DL anyway. That June weeks is the week we are booked and they have Grad Nite in the 13,14,15. We plan to have a relaxing day on one of those days, Legoland on another. And the kids don't arrive till about noon anyway so you won't see an increase until that time, then they have to move over to DCA before 10.

 

[lifeguardette]

I don't know about June, but just watch that the dates in October don't fall on when all of Utah is off on fall break.

 

[Cal-Pie]

I don't know about June, but just watch that the dates in October don't fall on when all of Utah is off on fall break.

...and they do! 2013 Uea break starts Oct. 17.

 

[HydroGuy]

This is incorrect.
If you check the historicals for last year, hours were extended and F! and fireworks were both shown nightly as of the 1st of June.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2291124

True, but this was the first year in a long time (if ever) DLR did this. And it might have been because of the upcoming DCA grand re-opening.

Next year in 2013 we will find out whether 2012 was the exception of the new normal for late May to early June hours.

 

[Girimama33]

True, but this was the first year in a long time (if ever) DLR did this. And it might have been because of the upcoming DCA grand re-opening.

Next year in 2013 we will find out whether 2012 was the exception of the new normal for late May to early June hours.

In the years prior, the weekdays (with the exception of one or two days per week) in June had F! and FW. That wasn't the case in October during the week.

 

[HydroGuy]

In the years prior, the weekdays (with the exception of one or two days per week) in June had F! and FW. That wasn't the case in October during the week.

I was not commenting about October but was about early June.

You are right kinda sorta. It is hard to evaluate previous years because of the grad nights which usually meant early closing and limited evening entertainment. With the 2012 change in grad nights it was more consistent that daily hours and entertainment expanded. In 2010-2011 there were more early June max hours. In 2009 there was not.

In 2011 there was the opening of the ST2 and LMAUA rides that influenced expanded hours in early June. In 2012 there was the WOC debut but I do not think that happened til around June 10.

In the end you are right that for the last three year the hours expanded in early June for the most part. I am not sure that Disney has made this the norm. Next year might be a good indicator.