September at DL Questions

[belle1627]

Hello,

I feel like a fish out of water when it comes to DL, I know so much about WDW but my dh and I are thinking of going to DL for our 10th anniversary with our kids as we went there for our honeymoon. So what week historically, crowds, weather and closures would be better Sept 9-15th or Sept 23-29th? We love the shows, parades and fireworks, these are important to us and from what I have read it sounds like most are closed. Is that true for all of September? We are planning on staying at the DLH using our DVC points.
Any help would be so appriciated,
cheers

 

[iceskatejen]

Closures-wise, the earlier in September you go the better. Crowds will be fairly low either way on weekdays (weekends are always crowded). Earlier September will mean hotter weather. Sometimes we get some of our worst heat in early September.

 

[oscarkitty1]

If you would like to see the Haunted Mansion Holiday, which is something you can't see at WDW, I would recommend going later. It will definitely be up and running by the 29th.

As far as parades/shows, we often go in late fall, and the only thing that I remember being completely unavailable was the EP in CA.

Everything else was still available on the weekend, and the parade was every day.

 

[HydroGuy]

Hello,

I feel like a fish out of water when it comes to DL, I know so much about WDW but my dh and I are thinking of going to DL for our 10th anniversary with our kids as we went there for our honeymoon. So what week historically, crowds, weather and closures would be better Sept 9-15th or Sept 23-29th? We love the shows, parades and fireworks, these are important to us and from what I have read it sounds like most are closed. Is that true for all of September? We are planning on staying at the DLH using our DVC points.
Any help would be so appriciated,
cheers

Check out this lengthy topic: "A DLR Guide for WDW Vets" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599

HM usually goes down the day after Labor Day. Matterhorn too. HM Holiday will re-open in late Sept as noted by another post.

Shows and fireworks will be on weekends, so you should dedicate weekends to seeing these. And you have more days scheduled than needed. Four days at DLR will be plenty, especially if you can overlap them on a weekend to see the shows. But then on the weekend it will be more crowded and you will lose the benefit of the off-season lower corwds.

If it were me I would schedule four days Wed-Sat, and you would get lower crowds on Friday during the day and shows on two nights Fri/Sat. If you really want to stay more days than four, then just make sure you overlap at least two weekend evenings. A few of the shows at DLR are better than anything at WDW, IMO. Specifically you do not want to miss the Remember Dreams Come True fireworks/laser show, or Aladdin at DCA.

 

[belle1627]

Check out this lengthy topic: "A DLR Guide for WDW Vets" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1162599

HM usually goes down the day after Labor Day. Matterhorn too. HM Holiday will re-open in late Sept as noted by another post.

Shows and fireworks will be on weekends, so you should dedicate weekends to seeing these. And you have more days scheduled than needed. Four days at DLR will be plenty, especially if you can overlap them on a weekend to see the shows. But then on the weekend it will be more crowded and you will lose the benefit of the off-season lower corwds.

If it were me I would schedule four days Wed-Sat, and you would get lower crowds on Friday during the day and shows on two nights Fri/Sat. If you really want to stay more days than four, then just make sure you overlap at least two weekend evenings. A few of the shows at DLR are better than anything at WDW, IMO. Specifically you do not want to miss the Remember Dreams Come True fireworks/laser show, or Aladdin at DCA.

WOW, thanks so much Hydroguy, that information was excellent and thorough. Crowds aren't really a big deal to us, we are more interested in the shows etc. Of course it wouldn't be an anniversary trip if we didn't go in September and the value season for our points starts September 1st so going in August is not an option either. We were planning on using our points Sun-Thurs and then moving on to other things in the area. Fri and Sat are very expensive for points, we are going to have to do some figuring out to get there on a weekend. Do the shows, fireworks etc go on Sundays as well? When can I expect DLR to post there September closures/hours?

Thanks again,
cheers

 

[HydroGuy]

WOW, thanks so much Hydroguy, that information was excellent and thorough. Crowds aren't really a big deal to us, we are more interested in the shows etc. Of course it wouldn't be an anniversary trip if we didn't go in September and the value season for our points starts September 1st so going in August is not an option either. We were planning on using our points Sun-Thurs and then moving on to other things in the area. Fri and Sat are very expensive for points, we are going to have to do some figuring out to get there on a weekend. Do the shows, fireworks etc go on Sundays as well? When can I expect DLR to post there September closures/hours?

Thanks again,
cheers

Here are the show you should be able to see on weekdays:

Aladdin (at DCA - for sure see this)
Parade of Dreams (at DL - IMO as good a parade as any at WDW)

Here are the shows you should be able to see on Fri/Sat/Sun:

Remember Dreams Come True (at DL - not to be missed)
Fantasmic (at DL - most think it is better than the one at MGM, but skip it if you do not have time)
Block Party Bash (at DCA - fun to see if you have time, but not essential)

I guess in retrospect, the only show you would need to squeeze in on weekends is Remember Dreams Come True, which you could do on a Sunday night. Also, they may have two Fantasmic shows which means you could catch the second Fantasmic after Remember Dreams Come True.

You will probably not see the show schedules for Sept until June or July.

Note that during busier times the shows are performed every day, except for Aladdin which is usually off on Mon/Tue.

Finally, they usually try to get the Haunted Mansion back up with its Holiday theme by the final weekend in Sept. I would guess it will be back up on Friday, Sept. 28 this year. So if you go the latter week you should be able to catch it on Sept. 28.

ETA:

For comparison I found the Sept 2006 entertainment schedule on Laughing Place here: www.laughingplace.com/Guide-Cal-DLR2-200609.asp

 

[shamrockshake]

I would say try and go when Masion is still running. They close it for nightmare in Sept. One year we were able to plan our trip early in Sept so it was the day before closure, so we could at least go on that, one of our favorites.

Also if you are thinking of staying at a DL resort hotel, you might want to consider getting one Annual pass. I realize you would only be there for a week, but you can save a fortune on hotels. In Sept, usually you can get the grand california for 200, DL hotel for 150, and Paradise Peir for 100 or less. OF course there is no guarentee they will do this and prices may vary. You do not need the pass until you check in. And you can even buy it at the hotel (at least we did a few weeks ago at the GCH) So book your trip, and make sure you can cancel, just in case the AP rates come out when you are planning your visit. mousesavers is an excellent site, that tells you when specials come up.

Yes, this is a bit more work, but to have a balcony at the GCH overlooking the park or downtown disney is really special!

Have a wonderful trip, and happy anniversary. ( we just did the opposite, we went to WDW in DEC for our 15th anniversary)