Just did 3.5 days and bought an AP

[shooting4life]

So my wife and I just got done with our Disney vacation. We went open to close Monday-Wednesday plus magic morning on Tuesday this week and I did a half day today (Thursday). Wednesday was DCA. We originally had a 3 day park hopper tickets but decided to roll them into an AP, a first for me since we were already planning on coming back sometime in the fall for another 2-3 days with some friends of ours. On Wednesday I convinced the wife that we would be near breaking even on the next 3 days and she bought it. Then this morning, since I had AP, I decided to get a few hours in before heading to our next hotel near universal studios. Didn’t buy the MaxPass like the last three days (MaxPass well worth it btw, especially in Disneyland) and did some single rider damage (SMx4, Matterhornx2, btmrrx1 and startoursx1 within 3 hours).

Now I get the pleasure of trying to figure out when to come back! Unfortunately we missed POTC (still trying to learn all the acronyms around here).

Neither of us has been to Disneyland for Halloween or Christmas. We only want to come during the week and have no issues taking a few days off to make that happen. When is the change over to Halloween completed? And when does it change from Halloween to Christmas? And how late after Christmas do the decorations stay up?

I am hoping to schedule at least two trips if not three in the fall, one with our friends (hopefully after Halloween changeover, but still slow) and another with Xmas decorations but not near actual Christmas as those weeks are blocked out and I don’t want to deal with the crowds anyways.

Also, is it slow late August? I was surprised to see that on the tracker.

And any idea when startours changes back to random scenes instead of Being locked into the new series scenes?

Sorry for all the rambling; we had a blast. I’m really proud of my wife for being a trooper as I am a task master on timelines. 20k steps each day at least. Also we stayed at the Anaheim Hotel which was fine. Room was nice though the AC didn’t blow cold enough (was fine for this time of year) and the shower was a little wonky, but the price was right and the bed was soft, which was all the mattered.

Here is a picture from this week.

 

[DizMe]

I don't have specific answers to your questions, but I will say that you will likely find yourself taking more trips than you expected. Once you have an AP, it often happens that way! It did for me. I went from once a year at the most to 5-6 times a year. I don't regret a thing, though!

 

[Geemo]

Now I get the pleasure of trying to figure out when to come back! Unfortunately we missed POTC (still trying to learn all the acronyms around here).

here's something for you
https://www.disboards.com/threads/dlr-abbreviations-list.1520784/

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Welcome to the DLR AP world!

HalloweenTime: keep watching this forum and the Disney Parks Blog. Also keep an eye on the AP Twitter feed. There will be BIG announcements when the official dates are announced! Usually, HalloweenTime runs from the middle/late middle of September through October 31st (decorations come down promptly after closing on the 31st!).

HolidayTime: again, the dates will be announced here, on the Disney Parks Blog, and on the AP Twitter feed. Usually, HolidayTime starts around Veteran's Day and goes through the end of the first week of January.

As for "slow" times: basically, there aren't any solidly predictable slow times now. And if there looks to be a slower period, Disney will offer a promotion of some kind to bring in the crowds pronto! Crowd predictors don't really work for DLR -- in fact, they're notorious around here for being inaccurate (especially since the 60th anniversary). Your example of the end of August isn't really a classically "slow" time because the lower APs are unblocked (so that brings in crowds, especially later in the day, because those passholders want back in the parks after being away all summer), not all schools are back in session -- so many families want to squeeze in one last trip to the parks, hours are shorter and staffing is lower -- so the crowds feel worse because the park isn't really prepared to handle them, rides are going down for refurbs (like HM for the Halloween overlay), and the entertainment schedule is cut back. Your best bet is to schedule your trips according to what works best for your (and your wife's) schedule, then come on back here to ask about anything that might be going on during those dates. With good planning and positive attitudes, any DLR trip can be a blast.

 

[Whistlebee]

We are just back from 3.5 days and we upgraded to AP’s too (although it was planned). We have a summer trip planned with friends so it was very close to just upgrade and we will do a big trip in the spring as well.
You do find yourself going a lot more once you have passes. Last time we had them I think we took 6 trips. Some were short and some were long but that’s the joy of having an AP!
I agree with the other posters about trip planning...go when the timing is good for you and don’t worry so much about the crowd levels. It. Is.Always. Busy. I used to obsess about crowd levels and it’s not worth the effort! I actually prefer to go when they are expecting large crowds because then you have the longest hours which makes the crowds easier to deal with. We were expecting Tuesday this week to be our less crowded day but it wasn’t! Once the FFA peeps showed up in DCA it was PACKED. And, if Disney is expecting low crowds they’ll create a special or discount SoCal ticket to draw the crowds in. You know what they say...if you can’t beat ‘em...join ‘em