October? and other questions

[NYCANC]

Hi everyone,

We used to live in Southern CA but moved in 2000. The last time we went to DL was 1998.
We live in NC and have been to WDW twice.
We love to go in October because my kids are in year round school and we have a break then.

How is DL in October? How late do the parks usually stay open till? My kids go all day from RD to close.

We are planning on staying onsite- looking at 3-4 days. 2 days with just us and then 1 day or so with all our local family and friends that want to join us there for a big reunion.

I do want to go during the week- would rather avoid the weekend there. We will be in California for over a week visiting other areas.

Does the beginning of October work for DL? My kids have never been and my DH and I love it there.

Thanks!

 

[Geemo]

DLR in October is getting busier every year. The Halloween Events / MHP's are popular.
You can look at the Halloween Super Thread to get an idea.
The hours of DL will vary drastically due to the schedule of the MHP's, that is if the parties stay in DL. If the parties are moved to DCA then things will change.

Here are a few links to help you see what I'm referring to.
Historical hours by HydroGuy
http://www.disboards.com/threads/historical-dlr-park-hours-entertainment-and-refurbs.2291124/
2016 Calendar of events & school breaks at DLR by figment_jii
http://www.disboards.com/threads/2016-calendar-of-events-school-breaks-and-dlr.3434866/
Halloween Super Thread 2015 by Sherry E
http://www.disboards.com/threads/ha...erthread-4-the-2015-season-has-ended.3270919/

FYI.... Beginning of October is usually Gay Days, the CHOC walk and Columbus Day is the 10th.
About 5yrs ago I was there over Columbus Day. This year I was there over Gay Days.
I found the parks BUSY both times.

Good luck

Geemo

 

[NYCANC]

Thanks! We were at WDW October 2nd-8th this year. It was busy and the MK had the MNSSHP like every other night (went to one party) but it wasn't too busy. Not like summer busy.
So just wondering if during the 1st week (not weekend) of October- if that would work.
Thanks!

 

[figment_jii]

It's hard to say what next October is going to be like because so many things are in flux at this point. That being said, as Geemo pointed out, October has become an increasingly popular time to visit the parks. They presented fireworks nightly this year in October, but normally, they're only presented on weekends (Fri to Sun) and on MHP nights (during MHP). Mad T Party is also normally only on weekends (Fri to Sun). WoC is normally presented nightly and the guess is PtN will also be presented nightly. So if you skip the weekend, there is a chance you might not see fireworks or Mad T Party.

In terms of hours, they're all over the map. DL opens anywhere from 8:00 am to 10:00 am and closes anywhere from 6:00 pm (MHP nights) to midnight. In general hours are shorter on weekdays and longer on weekends.

If you take this year out of the mix, early October weekdays are normally pretty nice. Weekends are more like the summer, in that long lines and big crowds are pretty normal. If you look at this year, then pretty much the entire month of October was summer-like in terms of crowds.

 

[Niltiac]

I went Mon-Thur at the end of September/beginning of October 2014 and it was my first real trip. I found the crowds to be great Mon-Wed with a noticeable increase on Thursday, which I suspect is because people were arriving early for Gay Days (first weekend of October). The hours were all over the place because of the Halloween parties. I would suggest you either plan ahead for that and get park hoppers so you can go to DCA on party nights, or buy a ticket to the party and sleep in that day - you can enter the park at 3 or 4pm with just a party ticket.

A lot of people will tell you that October is crazy-busy, but I think most of that happens on the weekends and/or later October. From what I've heard 2015 was exceptionally busy in September/October, but I'm really hoping that was just for the 60th and things will settle back down soon. Only time will tell.

 

[figment_jii]

A lot of people will tell you that October is crazy-busy, but I think most of that happens on the weekends and/or later October. From what I've heard 2015 was exceptionally busy in September/October, but I'm really hoping that was just for the 60th and things will settle back down soon. Only time will tell.

Yes and no...not counting this year, the weekdays in October tended to be okay (Mon to Thu - as you noted) and the weekends (Fri to Sun) tended to be very busy. I do think some of the crowds this year were due to the 60th Celebrations, so things might calm back down next year. However, in general, crowds have been increasing each year and a fair number of school districts have Fall break sometime in October. So, while I do think the weekdays are likely to be less crowded than weekends, I'm not sure we'll ever really go back to the case where the parks are "empty" on any day during HalloweenTime.

 

[NYCANC]

Thanks everyone! We do plan on Park Hoppers. And if we go to the Halloween Party (not sure how different it is to MNSSHP)- we can go all day. My kids are great- when we were at WDW- they would go RD to midnight, 1am.
Not worried about missing fireworks- did that plenty of times.

We can also go in January- we have 3 weeks off then to. So we could go after the craziness of the holidays and 1st week of January are over. Just worried about the weather and if the park would close especially early and if there would be lots of ride closures.
Some stuff to think about.
And I agree, there are no quiet times left at WDW so I thought DL would be the same as well- especially with all the locals.

Thanks!

 

[figment_jii]

In terms of MHP versus MNSSHP, there is some uncertainty about what MHP will be like in 2016 (mostly because of the Rivers of America closure). I would check back in early summer to see if there has been any information about what is happening with MHP in 2016.

You mentioned not going to DL since 1998, so it's worth pointing out that there is a new fireworks show in DL that debuted this year for the 60th Anniversary. It is quite different than the previous shows and very different from anything at WDW (i.e., Wishes). So, I wouldn't discount seeing Disneyland Forever, unless you don't like fireworks.

January is a mixed bag - as you noted, the crowds are likely to be lighter (after the holiday season official ends and avoiding holiday and marathon weekends), but there are likely to be more closures/refurbs and shorter park hours, with reduced entertainment. I would have to agree that there are really no quiet times left in DLR, but there are quieter times than others. I think you can still say things like Jan/Feb and after-Spring Break season (so, late-April to mid-May) are less crowded in the parks (in general, individual days may be different) than during the peak season. It just should be noted that they aren't as quiet as they used to be. So there are still high and low seasons, it's just that the "high" season and "low" seasons have both gotten busier.

 

[Niltiac]

We can also go in January- we have 3 weeks off then to. So we could go after the craziness of the holidays and 1st week of January are over. Just worried about the weather and if the park would close especially early and if there would be lots of ride closures.

We had to make that same decision. I haven't been in January but the general opinion out there seems to be that it's a good time crowd-wise. I chose October instead because of ride closures. I thought it would be our only trip for a while (didn't realize we'd enjoy it enough to go back this year), so I decided it was more important not to miss any big rides than to have the lowest possible crowds. If I knew I would be back again soon I might have chosen January. Another consideration about weather - a lot of people were complaining about the heat when we went but it wasn't a big deal to us because we're from Vegas. But it still made the people around us grumpy. Rain/cold in January might have the same effect though.