October vs. Spring Break

[June Mommy]

We are East Coasters looking at planning a trip to Disneyland for our Fall Break, which is early October. After reading some threads and looking at some crowd calendars, I'm a little discouraged. The trip would consist of myself, husband and 12yo daughter. We would do 3 day tickets (Tues, Wed, Thurs is what I'm thinking) with 2 of those days at DL and one at DCA, whichever day does not have an OBB. Not planning on doing the OBB, but definitely doing Genie+, rope dropping, and booking any dining package that would get us reserved seating for the nighttime shows.

As a teacher and with a student, fall break or spring break (late March 2025) would be our only opportunities to do this trip. Historically I thought Spring Break was considered a very crowded time to go as well. Obviously I would love to avoid the most crowded times of the year. But if those are our only options, which would be the best of the 2? Should I proceed with October or pivot to March? Edited to add that heat doesn't necessarily bother us, we are used to it at home and have done WDW in July

Also to note, we aren't necessarily into characters, and would prefer to ride as many rides as possible (although my daughter is not a huge fan of thrill rides...we would probably have to do some rider swaps for those.) I definitely want to see the parades, fireworks and nighttime shows. That being said, I already see that Indiana Jones may be closed for refurbishment, and the nighttime shows may or may not be happening during the weekdays? Can anyone weigh in on that?

Is there an October 2024 thread? I searched and didn't see one. Thanks for any honest opinions!

 

[sophy1996]

I’d take March over October. October is traditionally a hugely busy time at DLR. There also is a lot of work going on at DL right now that may not be finished by October (especially the new Tiana ride).

Be aware there may not be any fireworks or Fantasmic during a Tues-Thurs trip that is not during the holidays or summer. WOC does run every day of the week.

If you’re limited to school holidays, maybe think about a weekend in July. We just had a great trip with lower crowds on the Sat/Sun than on the Monday.

 

[Pluto468]

If I was choosing between those I'd go with March. The weather will be nicer and you won't have the deal with the Halloween crowds.

Of course, if you go in October you'll be there much sooner

 

[LKing]

Have you done ride swap with your 12 year old at WDW? I'm wondering if she might have aged out of that option. She would have to qualify for "Meets boarding requirement and does not want to ride but cannot wait outside queue on their own"

 

[June Mommy]

I’d take March over October. October is traditionally a hugely busy time at DLR. There also is a lot of work going on at DL right now that may not be finished by October (especially the new Tiana ride).

Be aware there may not be any fireworks or Fantasmic during a Tues-Thurs trip that is not during the holidays or summer. WOC does run every day of the week.

If you’re limited to school holidays, maybe think about a weekend in July. We just had a great trip with lower crowds on the Sat/Sun than on the Monday.

Thank you for weighing in! We would still be in Anaheim on the Friday of that week, but I wasn't planning it as a park day b/c we have an early flight home on Saturday. But if that's our only option to see fireworks or Fantasmic I could switch another park day. I definitely wouldn't feel great about fighting crowds AND having no nighttime entertainment options.

 

[June Mommy]

Have you done ride swap with your 12 year old at WDW? I'm wondering if she might have aged out of that option. She would have to qualify for "Meets boarding requirement and does not want to ride but cannot wait outside queue on their own"

I have not, she was a toddler the last time we were at WDW so definitely qualified! I was just assuming she would still meet that criteria as a minor, but would not that be the case? I know I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving her alone!

 

[foolish_mortals]

only option to see fireworks or Fantasmic

You're correct. Fireworks and Fantasmic are only Fri-Sun during October.

What others haven't mentioned is that there is a chance of fireworks being cancelled because of high winds. Fantasmic and WoC will still go on, barring any "unforeseen circumstances"

 

[LKing]

You're correct. Fireworks and Fantasmic are only Fri-Sun during October.

What others haven't mentioned is that there is a chance of fireworks being cancelled because of high winds. Fantasmic and WoC will still go on, barring any "unforeseen circumstances"

Also, the fireworks projection shows will still happen, even if the fireworks are cancelled.

 

[LKing]

I have not, she was a toddler the last time we were at WDW so definitely qualified! I was just assuming she would still meet that criteria as a minor, but would not that be the case? I know I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving her alone!

I am not sure. Can she wait in the queue with the two of you and exit with the one parent right before boarding?

 

[twodogs]

For the past many years, we have been restricted to school breaks also due to our DDs not wanting to miss school. We have gone in March, and we have gone over Indigenous People’s day in October every year for the last 4-6 years (less COVID year). While we love October and OBB, I think it is decidedly more crowed in October (particularly if it is over that long weekend) than it is in March. In the spring, schools’ spring breaks are spread across all of March and April, but in October, almost all schools seem to have a break for Indigenous People’s day, and then you have the additional crowds of locals who want to enjoy Halloween time. I believe October is the busiest time of year, period, at DLR.

That said, we always have a great time in October, and we keep coming back at that time of year! So you can have a great trip in either of these times of year, but if avoiding massive crowds is the priority, I would do March.

Crowd calendars are not terribly reliable at DLR, but you can get a sense of crowds by looking at the MK block out calendars. The more MKs blocked during your exact dates, the lower the local crowds will be (locals make up more of the park crowds at DLR than at WDW). This is why surprisingly weekends can be LESS crowded than weekdays, as many MKs have weekend day block outs. And weekends bring more entertainment in the “off” season than weeknights.

One other consideration: Park Hoppers! The two parks at DLR are a quick 2-3 minute walk across an esplanade from each other, so hopping is very easy and quick! It is great to have the option to move to the other park if one is crowded (esp on an OBB day), or to eat a meal at one park, or repeat a ride you love or watch the nighttime entertainment. It is a flat price to add it to all 3 days of your ticket, so if you plan to hop, it is easiest to add it on at the time you purchase your tickets. I hate park hopping at WDW because it wastes so much time, but I would never go to DLR without a PH!

 

[LKing]

Also, Easter is on April 20, 2025 which is relatively late.

 

[Chickinvic]

If I was choosing between those I'd go with March. The weather will be nicer and you won't have the deal with the Halloween crowds.

Of course, if you go in October you'll be there much sooner

I've found the weather in October to be great (and better than when I went in March). However, that was also back when October was a really good time to go with lighter crowds. Ah, the good old days!

 

[nyy]

Fellow teacher here. We have never been to DLR (planning 2025!) but I just wanted to mention that if your spring break is not the week before or after Easter I would take advantage of that travel time.
Ours are always connected to Easter and everywhere is expensive and crowded, flights included. If your spring break is longer than your fall break (our fall break is a four-day weekend) you could be more flexible with flights, plans, etc.
Either way, have a wonderful trip!

 

[joseph821]

Also, Easter is on April 20, 2025 which is relatively late.

Yes that is a wrinkle in planning. Here in NYC and Long Island area, Spring Break is April 14 through April 18. Los Angeles Schools are off the same week. Philadelphia 4/14 through 18th. San Fran March 28 to April 4. Orange CA unified: March 28 to April 4.

 

[LKing]

To make it even more fun, there are over 5.8 million students in California. Here is a list from largest to smallest school districts. While LAUSD is the largest in CA, if you are checking school breaks, you might want to look at San Diego, Long Beach, Corona-Norco, Santa Ana, Irvine and Garden Grove as well.

https://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/ad/ceflargesmalldist.asp

 

[theresemiller2000]

Fellow teacher here. We have never been to DLR (planning 2025!) but I just wanted to mention that if your spring break is not the week before or after Easter I would take advantage of that travel time.
Ours are always connected to Easter and everywhere is expensive and crowded, flights included. If your spring break is longer than your fall break (our fall break is a four-day weekend) you could be more flexible with flights, plans, etc.
Either way, have a wonderful trip!

I’m hoping this is true. Our spring break is April 7-11th.

 

[Mardigras2025]

Do they bring back fantasmic during the week during Spring Break? I think if it’s considered “peak season”, they might have fantasmic. Not sure if they are allowed to do fireworks during the week though.

I am heading to DLR in March. With Easter late this year, I am hopeful that spring breaks are a little more spread out from early March to late April. But also have settled with the fact that there are not many true downtimes with the different holidays and events, so I am trying not to overthink or worry about it since this is the time that we are able to go. I will just be there early, use lightning lanes, and try to soak it all in!

 

[Mardigras2025]

Also, maybe there is a small chance for 70th events to be happening in March? And maybe less closures if their goal is to have all renovations done before the 70th? Tiana’s bayou adventure, hopefully small world and the railroad will be open in March, but not October.

 

[Kit Jackson]

Also to note, we aren't necessarily into characters, and would prefer to ride as many rides as possible (although my daughter is not a huge fan of thrill rides...we would probably have to do some rider swaps for those.)

As someone who is also not into intense thrill rides, there are very few of them at Disneyland. Outside of the mountains (Space, Big Thunder, Tiana's/formerly Splash, Matterhorn) Indiana Jones, and Rise of the Resistance, there are not that many intense thrill rides.