Recommendations Please

[Jax]

Hello Everyone....

I could really use some help. I am trying to find a good time for mine and my fiances' family (partents, siblings, and ourselves) to go to Disneyland for about 4 days.

My fiance has siblings that are in school (plus my fiance is planning to go back to school in the fall) so although I would love to go during a non-peak season that might be a little harder to arrange. We would are hoping to avoid the large crowds as much as possible (would prefer to spend most of the time on rides instead of in lines), and I would like majority of the rides to be up and running while we are there (this will be the first Disney trip for a lot of my fiance's family).

The only other thing that we would probably like to do while in Disneyland is the Fantasmic dinner buffet so we need to be there on at least one day when that is running.

I was wonderfing how busy it is the last week of August and the first week of September? Or if you have any other recommendations on a really good time to go I would love the suggestions.

TIA!!!

 

[AFMom]

Both the last week of August and first week of Sept are still busy - but not the crazy busy of the rest of the summer. Many schools go back so early now! Here the kids go back August 4th! I would also say that Spring Break can work - depending on when they are off. If it is either the week before of after Easter - you don't want to go then! We've gone in April and had a great time with crowds that weren't so bad, but it was about 3 weeks from Easter. Good luck!

 

[Jax]

Thank you so much for your response.

I want this to be a really good family trip which means all the extra stress of picking the right time to go.

Thanks again!

 

[GreenGirl8]

The last week of August is a pretty good time to go. It will be HOT, but the crowds will be less with the park offerings still there for peak season. Be sure to stay at a hotel with a nice pool for afternoon breaks. I always go the last weekend in August before I start teaching again and find it a wonderful time to visit.

 

[Jax]

Thanks for the tip GreenGirl8.

Since you have been there during this time, do you know approx. how busy it is, or what the lineup times are?

The last time we were there was just after Christmas and the park reached full capacity at around 1. It was so busy you could barely walk around.

 

[GreenGirl8]

It won't be nearly as busy as Christmas time! I would get to the park at opening at least one day. You can do a TON before most people make it to the park.

When I take my family who live on the East Coast, I have a pretty good game plan to beat the crowds around the park in the morning. My brother said it was like everyone was one step behind us because we would enter an attraction with no wait..walk out and there would be a huge line forming.

Here are my tips...

Get to the park at opening. Be at the turnstiles before the park opens!

As soon as you get into the park make a beeline towards Space Mountain. Grab a fastpass and go on the ride once. After that, ride the Matterhorn and buzz real fast and then grab the train over to Critter Country. Ride Pooh and then get a Fastpass for Splash Mountain. There will probably be no wait at this time...so ride if you don't mind getting wet early in the morning. Save the fastpass for when it gets HOT!

Next, head over to Mansion and Pirates. There should be little to no wait just yet! After that, head over to Jungle Cruise. After Jungle Cruise you should be able to get a fastpass for Indina Jones...If not, go to The Tiki Room show or Tarzan's Treehouse to pass the time.

Once you get a fastpsas for Indina Jones, head over to Big Thunder Railroad. My guess is that the wait till be 20-30 minutes max. No need for a fastpass here. If you want to get one...just wait until your time is up by having lunch.

After that, head over to Toontown where you can get a fastpass for Roger Rabbit even if you have one already. This machine is not connected to the system...so it is always available. While you are waiting for your return time (it usually isn't more than an hour or so), check out the rest of Toontown. Take your picture with Mickey in his house...etc. If you are not fans of this area, just leave and come back later when the fastpasses are up!

When you are done with all of that...you have hit most of the major attractions in the park (except Fantasyland!)...Now you have a few fastpasses to use throughout the day (Ignore the hour block, you can go back any time after the first time listed..even if it is expired).

At this point, I would take a break from the parks..take a dip in the pool..even shower. It gets VERY hot this time of year and it is so nice to return later refreshed. Have dinner off-property (Mimi's Cafe is great!) or return for dinner and then enjoy the evening in the park. Use the rest of your fastpasses...Indiana, Space, Roger, Splash...etc. The lines will be long (Indiana will probably have a 60-75 minute wait at this point). It will save you a ton of time! It will also be much cooler, so you will feel great after the nice break.

Enjoy the evening in the park. If you can, bring a small blanket back with you and set it in the hub area for the fireworks about and hour and a half before the show. Take turns waiting there while family members go ride buzz, or other quick attractions. This is also a great time to eat popcorn or any other snack. I like to bring cards for this time as well. The time will go by pretty fast. My brother told me it was worth the wait since we were right infront of the castle. (There are a ton of effects on the castle...and seeing tink fly back and forth so close is magical).

After the fireworks, the park pretty much empties out. Now sure how late the park will be open, but take advantage of any extra time you may have. A ride on Matterhorn at night is a must!

If you have a second day at Disneyland, use this to hit Fantasyland first thing in the morning. It is another area that can be done within an hour of so if you get there right away. Otherwise, you will spend hours in there!

 

[Jax]

That is such great advice.

Sounds like you have your trips down to a science. Now I just have to get everyone out of bed and to the parks first thing in the morning (lots of teenagers in our groupt that like to sleep in)

Are the parks usually open fairly late the last week of August? I am hoping to be there on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday so that it is hopefully a bit less busy.

Also do you know if Fantasmic runs only on weekends or will it be weeknights as well in August/September?

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer all of my questions I really appreciate it. This is going to be a half surprise trip for our families (this is what I am hoping to do instead of having a formal wedding reception) so I really want to ensure everyone enjoys and has a good time and gets their money's worth. You are helping take a lot of the stress out and making the planning exciting again

 

[GreenGirl8]

I took a teenager as well. She was so excited about being there though that she was up before everyone else! It is so worth getting there early and beating everyone to the punch.

Fantasmic usually runs everyday until late August. It really changes each year. I am suspecting with it being the 50th celebration this year, it will go right up to Labor Day weekend. There is no way to know for sure though!

 

[Jax]

Hello Again GreenGirl8

Since you seem to be very familar with the parks during this time could you tell me what the approximate wait times are for rides like POC and HM during peak times during the days?

I am really going to try and get everyone to the parks early but just in case I am still trying to prepare ourselves for what the crowds/wait times are going to be like.

DF said his only concern about the trip is how busy the parks are going to be.

Also, with this being the year of the 50th Celebration do you think that will make a huge impact on the crowds?

TIA (again)

 

[GreenGirl8]

Disneyland has been experiencing much larger crowds with the 50th anniversary but, Disneyland has done a fantastics job with crowd control and entertainment to help this.

Rides like Pirates and Haunted mansion probably get to 30-45 minute wait times max during the peak hours. Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Indy however can get lines up to two hours long. Utlize fastpass as much as possible with these attractions.