Never been to DL; Advice Needed

[ZehnJahren]

Hi,

WDW veteran here. I'm starting the arduous task of beginning to plan a DL vacation for next summer and I know I just don't know where to begin!

I read the "DL for WDW veterans" thread over here and still have some questions (and will be rereading it again!).

A little background: my mom has asked to go to DL for her 60th b-day. Though we've been to WDW many, many times, neither of us have been to DL. We started talking to some of our family members, and it turns out that many of them would like to go too! So the trip is growing and I'm expected to plan.

Here are some of my questions:

1) My mom would like to celebrate her 60th as close to her birthday as possible, but we don't want to be swamped with crowds if at all able to avoid it. The problem is, her birthday is the 5th of July. SO - is that holiday as crowded at DL as WDW?

2) Also, if so, what if we come down the next week instead? Still super crowded?

3) If there's a better week later in the summer, she's willing to move a little further from her birthday BUT there are kids' school schedules to consider. We probably wouldn't want to go too far past the first week of August. Any suggestions as to the best time between 7/1/13 and 8/10/13, or is it pretty much all the same?

4) Is it true in your estimation that the park is much much less crowded during the week, or is that a crap shoot in the summer months?

5) Is there anything at DL like WDW's former "Grand Gatherings"? Right now, we're definitely a group of six, but it could grow to as big as 16-20.

I'm starting research on hotels with the help of so many informative threads here! Doesn't seem like there's the timeshare aspect like there is at WDW, which is too bad because it would be awesome if we could rent a house or something for a large group of us, simply because some of us don't see each other too often.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Escape2Disney]

I haven't been to DL during the summer for quite a while. From what I remember, weekends are busier than weekdays.

Depending on the number of people who eventually go, you can try http://www.dvcrequest.com/. You can basically rent points to stay at the GCH in one of the DVC condos. I've also seen people post information about rental homes, but can't find the links right now.

 

[dizneekrazee]

We have gone over the summer the past few years, and I honestly feel that weekdays are becoming busier than weekends. Why? Because of AP block outs. Many APs are blocked out on the weekends, especially Saturdays. During the week, many locals come to the park after work.

Some people may disagree with me, but our last 2 summer trips combined weekend & weekday visits. Although, the weekday visits were after the weekend, and it could just be that I was more tired & it felt that way.

Regardless, July & August, are BUSY. Especially with the addition of CarsLand.

 

[ZehnJahren]

I haven't been to DL during the summer for quite a while. From what I remember, weekends are busier than weekdays.

Depending on the number of people who eventually go, you can try http://www.dvcrequest.com/. You can basically rent points to stay at the GCH in one of the DVC condos. I've also seen people post information about rental homes, but can't find the links right now.

I looked into the DVC points, but not only are they hard to rent due to how few rooms there are, but it's also at least twice as expensive as any of the other hotels I've looked at!

We have gone over the summer the past few years, and I honestly feel that weekdays are becoming busier than weekends. Why? Because of AP block outs. Many APs are blocked out on the weekends, especially Saturdays. During the week, many locals come to the park after work.

Some people may disagree with me, but our last 2 summer trips combined weekend & weekday visits. Although, the weekday visits were after the weekend, and it could just be that I was more tired & it felt that way.

Regardless, July & August, are BUSY. Especially with the addition of CarsLand.

Egh, I was afraid you'd say that BUT was expecting it. What time of the summer do you go? Would you agree that June is just as busy as July and August? I'm wondering if she'd like to go the week before her birthday instead of the week of; that would be in late June...

I figured we'd get out there on a Sunday and leave on a Saturday, which means we'd be at the parks during the week only.

Even if it's busy, that's when her birthday is and that's when we'll have to go. Is it the same as WDW where the earlier you get there, the better? We're definitely rope drop people at WDW.

 

[coaches24]

Summer is busy regardless of when you go, but yes 4th of July from what I have read is busy for summer.

I havent been in the summer since 05 when DW (Girlfriend then) and I unknowingly went for the 50th anniversary. We didnt plan much of anything aside from booking a motel room to stay in. We were there for Fri, Sat, and Sunday as I won 3 day park hoppers on the radio. Friday was very busy from what I remember but we were able to do quite a bit even without any kind of strategy or knowledge of how to work things. We didnt get to do SM the first day though so we decided to get in DL right at park opening on Saturday. Apparently they opened early (propbably MM because the schedule I had didnt say it opened earlier than 8). Well the park was absolutely packed that Saturday because it was the actual day of the 50th anniversary of DL opening (July 17th I believe it was). SM had a 3 hour line at 8:15 am (after we squeezed through the crowd on Main street and in front of the castle where the Govenator was speaking) and FP return time of 6:15 or 6:30 or something insane like that. The last day (Sunday) wasnt nearly as crowded and we got a lot done that day as well.

Anyway what I have found out since then is that crowds arent nearly as big a deal if you have a good plan going in. We last went in May and thanks to tips and advice we found on here we had very few lines of more than 10 minutes our entire trip. My advice is memorize how to use FP and collect as many as possible. Make sure you have an EMH or MM (atleast one if you dont stay onsite) and use it with the advice posted in these forums (I think its a sticky at the top of the forum).

Make dining reservations (if possible) for busy ride times and not prime eating times so you can take advantage of shorter lines while the majority are trying to eat lunch/ Dinner.

You have plenty of time (even if you dont feel like it right now) so work up a list of "MUST DOs" (Rides, shows, resteraunts etc.) for your mom and your family and encourage others in your party to do the same for themselves. After the "must dos" make a list of other things you "might like to do" if you have a chance so if you find yourself not sure what to do while in the park you can look at your list and start make sure your not forgetting something.

If you know you will need or want to take breaks in the afternoon then finding a hotel close to the parks is a must as (for me at least) riding the PT is less than convenient.

Last thing is relax and make the planning fun. Try not to get stressed. remember you are going on vacation and it should be fun, not stressful. You dont have to plan out every second of everyday so dont try. We like to plan out our mornings when the parks are less crowded and then play the rest of the day by ear. Works well for us.

 

[DizDays]

I was in the same position you are. I found this thread written for veterans of WDW to be very helpful. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599

EDIT: OOPS! I missed that you already read this thread. Sorry.

 

[sheetz]

Weekends this past summer have been reported to be somewhat less crowded than weekdays. OTOH during other times of the year crowds skew much more local and therefore weekends are more crowded.

 

[Cinderpamela]

Sounds like a super fun trip... I will do my best to answer what I can for you in green.

Hi,



Here are some of my questions:

1) My mom would like to celebrate her 60th as close to her birthday as possible, but we don't want to be swamped with crowds if at all able to avoid it. The problem is, her birthday is the 5th of July. SO - is that holiday as crowded at DL as WDW? Yes I would say its gonna be busy but if you go in with a plan you will be ahead of 95% of the people there... zig when they zag so to speak.

2) Also, if so, what if we come down the next week instead? Still super crowded?Probably not as crowded as the 4th but it will still be crowded.

3) If there's a better week later in the summer, she's willing to move a little further from her birthday BUT there are kids' school schedules to consider. We probably wouldn't want to go too far past the first week of August. Any suggestions as to the best time between 7/1/13 and 8/10/13, or is it pretty much all the same?

4) Is it true in your estimation that the park is much much less crowded during the week, or is that a crap shoot in the summer months?Yes but as a PP said annual pass blackouts seem to be changing that trend, plus you will be going diring summer break.

5) Is there anything at DL like WDW's former "Grand Gatherings"? Right now, we're definitely a group of six, but it could grow to as big as 16-20. Nothing like that, that I know of.

I'm starting research on hotels with the help of so many informative threads here! Doesn't seem like there's the timeshare aspect like there is at WDW, which is too bad because it would be awesome if we could rent a house or something for a large group of us, simply because some of us don't see each other too often. You might want to check out VRBO as they have houses for rent close in to DL... just a thought if your group gets bigger, might make sense to get a whole house, some even have pools in the backyard.

Thanks for your help!

Happy Planning!!

 

[Brisal73]

If you have to go during the summer go during the first week the Annual Passholders (minus Premium) are blocked out

Or if you can wait till Labor Day weekend and the week after Labor Day go for it

 

[HydroGuy]

Hi,

WDW veteran here. I'm starting the arduous task of beginning to plan a DL vacation for next summer and I know I just don't know where to begin!

I read the "DL for WDW veterans" thread over here and still have some questions (and will be rereading it again!).

I love that thread. Could have written it myself!

1) My mom would like to celebrate her 60th as close to her birthday as possible, but we don't want to be swamped with crowds if at all able to avoid it. The problem is, her birthday is the 5th of July. SO - is that holiday as crowded at DL as WDW?

Your question is harder to answer than you know. Last summer DCA had a "grand re-opening" and the attendance numbers at DCA and DL turned past experience on its head.

Complicating things further, the only game in town for crowd prediction at DLR are the TouringPlans folks (respected at WDW) who have not gotten their arms around DLR yet. It looks to many of us around here on the forum like they are playing fast and loose with their numbers. Such as predicting one thing and then when they turn out to be completely wrong claiming after the fact they had predicted something different. So although I do look at what they say about the future and the past, I place very little stock in it. I think most forum members would say the same thing.

Looking at what happened this past summer around July 4 is not likely to tell you much because that was only a few weeks after DCA's June 15 grand re-opening. So it was especially crowded to begin with.

I have not personally gone around July 4 and would choose to avoid it just out of habit. On the other hand, if you listen to folks who have gone in years 2011 and before that, in recent years the July 4 time period has not been nearly as crowded as many people expected.

You will lots of advice and mine would be just to not tempt fate and skip the period around July 4.

2) Also, if so, what if we come down the next week instead? Still super crowded?

The idea that summer time at DLR is "super crowded" is held by many. Lots of us around here visit in the summer and even this summer the general conclusion was the only super crowded spot was Cars Land at DCA. Everything else seemed very reasonable.

My October trip a couple weeks ago seemed more crowded than my abbreviated July trip this summer.

Bottom line, summer crowds will not be that bad. Especially if you understand some of the differences between DLR and WDW and get yourself to the parks early each day and take afternoon breaks. All better facilitated with a walking distance hotel.

3) If there's a better week later in the summer, she's willing to move a little further from her birthday BUT there are kids' school schedules to consider. We probably wouldn't want to go too far past the first week of August. Any suggestions as to the best time between 7/1/13 and 8/10/13, or is it pretty much all the same?

There will be no differences in any of those weeks vs. any others that are predictable except that as summer goes on statistically the heat will increase. If I were you and had your circumstances (July 5 birthday) I would go the week before or week after the July 4th week.

4) Is it true in your estimation that the park is much much less crowded during the week, or is that a crap shoot in the summer months?

It is not as true as it used to be but for me personally I would stick with weekdays. Things were lumpy last summer by all reports. If there are any differences (such as the claim by some that Saturdays were the least crowded last summer) I am not sure it is enough to sway a trip plan that may span over 4+ days anyways.

5) Is there anything at DL like WDW's former "Grand Gatherings"? Right now, we're definitely a group of six, but it could grow to as big as 16-20.

I have not attended a grand gathering plan at WDW but did do some research on it a few years ago for a possible family reunion spot. So I know what it is. And I have not seen anything like it at DLR. I think it is an area that DLR can improve on and learn from WDW. But to my knowledge you will not find it at DLR.

Best wishes!

 

[Barbday62]

I went to Disnelyland July 4th 2010 and my expierience was not so crwded as Disneyworld (1998). DW has all those tour groups traveling in groups of 30 or so. In 2010 my grand kids and I rode big Thunder -no fastpass 5 times in a row in the morning when the park opened. We had no wait except maybe 1 car each time. Also on July 3rd we was at DCA most of the day (Pre Carsland mind you) and my grand daughter rode Screeming 7 times in a row. We will never forget that because I wore out after 3. (we did not use any handicap lines and I think she used fast pass 2 times of the 7)

The actual 4th at Disneyland didnt start to get bad until evening time. By fireworks time it was insane crowded. Just to use the bathroom a 30 minute wait. We just found our spot early, my husband parked his wheel chair while I took the kids on a couple more rides.

 

[ZehnJahren]

Anyway what I have found out since then is that crowds arent nearly as big a deal if you have a good plan going in. We last went in May and thanks to tips and advice we found on here we had very few lines of more than 10 minutes our entire trip. My advice is memorize how to use FP and collect as many as possible. Make sure you have an EMH or MM (atleast one if you dont stay onsite) and use it with the advice posted in these forums (I think its a sticky at the top of the forum).

If you know you will need or want to take breaks in the afternoon then finding a hotel close to the parks is a must as (for me at least) riding the PT is less than convenient.

Last thing is relax and make the planning fun. Try not to get stressed. remember you are going on vacation and it should be fun, not stressful. You dont have to plan out every second of everyday so dont try. We like to plan out our mornings when the parks are less crowded and then play the rest of the day by ear. Works well for us.

Well then I'll definitely be doing my research. If fastpass works like it does in WDW (can only pull one at a time, one hour window to ride, next fastpass can be pulled once the first one comes due), then I'm definitely prepared to do that.

My mom and I are definitely rope drop people and like to be at the park at opening. Sounds like this will bode well at DL too.

Weekends this past summer have been reported to be somewhat less crowded than weekdays. OTOH during other times of the year crowds skew much more local and therefore weekends are more crowded.

That's what I was wondering - about the locals. I know there's not a ton of that at WDW; or I've read that there's not as MUCH at WDW.

Sounds like a super fun trip... I will do my best to answer what I can for you in green.

Happy Planning!!

Thanks for your answers! I was just informed this weekend that "more people would be calling me" so I can start to figure out who can go when and how many will be coming. I LOVE to plan, especially Disney trips, so I am hoping we end up with a LOT of family because it would be fun!

Regardless, even if it ended up being only my mom and I (which it won't, because my brother and his family live in CA and have already confirmed), we'd have a blast. She and I are WDW buddies, and were just there together in September. And last October.

 

[ZehnJahren]

I love that thread. Could have written it myself!


Your question is harder to answer than you know. Last summer DCA had a "grand re-opening" and the attendance numbers at DCA and DL turned past experience on its head.

Complicating things further, the only game in town for crowd prediction at DLR are the TouringPlans folks (respected at WDW) who have not gotten their arms around DLR yet. It looks to many of us around here on the forum like they are playing fast and loose with their numbers. Such as predicting one thing and then when they turn out to be completely wrong claiming after the fact they had predicted something different. So although I do look at what they say about the future and the past, I place very little stock in it. I think most forum members would say the same thing.

Looking at what happened this past summer around July 4 is not likely to tell you much because that was only a few weeks after DCA's June 15 grand re-opening. So it was especially crowded to begin with.

I have not personally gone around July 4 and would choose to avoid it just out of habit. On the other hand, if you listen to folks who have gone in years 2011 and before that, in recent years the July 4 time period has not been nearly as crowded as many people expected.

You will lots of advice and mine would be just to not tempt fate and skip the period around July 4.


The idea that summer time at DLR is "super crowded" is held by many. Lots of us around here visit in the summer and even this summer the general conclusion was the only super crowded spot was Cars Land at DCA. Everything else seemed very reasonable.

My October trip a couple weeks ago seemed more crowded than my abbreviated July trip this summer.

Bottom line, summer crowds will not be that bad. Especially if you understand some of the differences between DLR and WDW and get yourself to the parks early each day and take afternoon breaks. All better facilitated with a walking distance hotel.

There will be no differences in any of those weeks vs. any others that are predictable except that as summer goes on statistically the heat will increase. If I were you and had your circumstances (July 5 birthday) I would go the week before or week after the July 4th week.

It is not as true as it used to be but for me personally I would stick with weekdays. Things were lumpy last summer by all reports. If there are any differences (such as the claim by some that Saturdays were the least crowded last summer) I am not sure it is enough to sway a trip plan that may span over 4+ days anyways.

I have not attended a grand gathering plan at WDW but did do some research on it a few years ago for a possible family reunion spot. So I know what it is. And I have not seen anything like it at DLR. I think it is an area that DLR can improve on and learn from WDW. But to my knowledge you will not find it at DLR.

Best wishes!

Hi HydroGuy! WOW what a thread you wrote on DL for WDW veterans! I've read it once and skimmed it a dozen times, since we have been thinking about this trip for awhile and are finally down to the nitty-gritty!

Thanks so much for taking the time to write (both that thread and on this one)!

I know what you mean about many saying it's "super crowded" but then it's ... not. I've definitely been at WDW on days where I went home and saw people complaining about that date being so crowded - and I thought it wasn't bad at all. I would hope to avoid the crowds of my youth where every ride was an hour or more wait, but if we can't we simply can't.

I HAVE used touring plans before for WDW, and was already wondering if I should look at the site for DL. Sounds like it wouldn't matter much. I much preferred easyWDW to touring plans, but I don't think there's a site like that for DL, is there?

I do believe a Sunday to Saturday stay would probably be what we'd do. All of our park days would be during the week, AND since it's the busier season we could still hope to see everything working. Except BTMRR - that is already a big bummer for us, as I've ALWAYS wanted to ride it since I knew about DL, and wanted to compare it to the WDW one, and now it will be closed for a refurb. But it happens!

 

[ZehnJahren]

I went to Disnelyland July 4th 2010 and my expierience was not so crwded as Disneyworld (1998). DW has all those tour groups traveling in groups of 30 or so. In 2010 my grand kids and I rode big Thunder -no fastpass 5 times in a row in the morning when the park opened. We had no wait except maybe 1 car each time. Also on July 3rd we was at DCA most of the day (Pre Carsland mind you) and my grand daughter rode Screeming 7 times in a row. We will never forget that because I wore out after 3. (we did not use any handicap lines and I think she used fast pass 2 times of the 7)

The actual 4th at Disneyland didnt start to get bad until evening time. By fireworks time it was insane crowded. Just to use the bathroom a 30 minute wait. We just found our spot early, my husband parked his wheel chair while I took the kids on a couple more rides.

Oh wow. That's a lot of riding! Well, with Carsland, I know it was super busy in the summer last year but this year it will be "old hat". Well, not old, but the "COME SEE OUR BRAND NEW LAND RIGHT WHEN IT OPENS" will be over, at least. Unless of course, you have Suzy Homemaker who told her kids in June "I'm sorry sweeties, but we can't afford to go this year; we'll go NEXT summer" and they'll show up in June of 2013.