To Holiday Weekend or not to Holiday Weekend?

[Gillbob316]

I'm a Disney World/Universal Orlando veteren. Could plan a trip to Orlando in my sleep. But I've never been to Disneyland or California, and I think I've decided this is the year I want to go.

I'll very likely be traveling solo, unless I can twist the arms of a friend or two, but for now I'm assuming I only have to worry about me.

Limitation is, I only have 2 vacation days to play with, so this is going to be a long weekend trip any way I slice it. But beyond that, the sky is more or less the limit as to "when" I can go. I'll be going to Orlando in Mid-September for fall events/holidays (that's where all my other vacation days went)... but other than that I'm pretty open.

I'd ideally like to go to Disneyland sometime in the Spring, just for the sake of pacing trips out. I want to do 1 day at Universal Hollywood, but the rest of my time would be spent at the 2 Disney parks.

ALL that said... I had been eyeballing Memorial Day weekend, because obviously... the holiday Monday enticingly extends my trip by 1 additional day. I'd either fly out the evening of Wed. 24th, and fly back the evening of Mon 29th (using my 2 vacation days Thur/Fri) OR fly out the evening of Fri 27th & fly back the evening of Wed 31st (using my 2 vacation days Tues/Wed). Either way would result in 4 full days, plus whatever time at the park I could get on my return flight date (I'd book a late flight and hopefully spend the morning and early afternoon in a park. Done it in Orlando a few times now. Not too hard as a solo traveler.)

BUT... as I said, as a veteran of Orlando trip planning, I know the holiday weekend will draw a crowd, so... that idea also scares me. Which brings me to the question of the topic:

Do you think I'm better off going on Memorial weekend for a 4 1/2 day trip, or on any other standard weekend for a 3 1/2 day trip? Again, I'd want to do 1 day at universal, leaving only 2 1/2 for the Disney parks on a standard weekend. I honestly really like the idea of having that third cushion day for anything I might miss on my first two days at the Disney parks.

I find myself questioning if I could get more done at 2 non-crowded days in Disneyland or 3 crowded days in Disneyland, is the bottom line.

Exacerbating my dilemma is the recent announcement that the Guardians of the Galaxy ride is opening memorial day weekend. I can't decide if that's good or bad news, haha... because I'd LOVE to ride it, and want to go AFTER it opens... but... I'm sure it will make crowds even worse. "Could I even get on it?" is a very pertinent question. Any Orlando grand openings I've seen in the past were horror shows. I think back to the 5+ hour lines for Frozen Ever After last year and quake. (Does Disneyland typically do soft openings? If so, could arriving a few days early potentially get me on the ride before the grand opening rush?)

SO... people who know what you're doing when it comes to Disneyland. Put yourself in my shoes. You've got 2 vacation days. When would YOU go?

 

[Geemo]

I'm a Disney World/Universal Orlando veteren. Could plan a trip to Orlando in my sleep. But I've never been to Disneyland or California, and I think I've decided this is the year I want to go.

I'll very likely be traveling solo, unless I can twist the arms of a friend or two, but for now I'm assuming I only have to worry about me.

Limitation is, I only have 2 vacation days to play with, so this is going to be a long weekend trip any way I slice it. But beyond that, the sky is more or less the limit as to "when" I can go. I'll be going to Orlando in Mid-September for fall events/holidays (that's where all my other vacation days went)... but other than that I'm pretty open.

I'd ideally like to go to Disneyland sometime in the Spring, just for the sake of pacing trips out. I want to do 1 day at Universal Hollywood, but the rest of my time would be spent at the 2 Disney parks.

ALL that said... I had been eyeballing Memorial Day weekend, because obviously... the holiday Monday enticingly extends my trip by 1 additional day. I'd either fly out the evening of Wed. 24th, and fly back the evening of Mon 29th (using my 2 vacation days Thur/Fri) OR fly out the evening of Fri 27th & fly back the evening of Wed 31st (using my 2 vacation days Tues/Wed). Either way would result in 4 full days, plus whatever time at the park I could get on my return flight date (I'd book a late flight and hopefully spend the morning and early afternoon in a park. Done it in Orlando a few times now. Not too hard as a solo traveler.)

BUT... as I said, as a veteran of Orlando trip planning, I know the holiday weekend will draw a crowd, so... that idea also scares me. Which brings me to the question of the topic:

Do you think I'm better off going on Memorial weekend for a 4 1/2 day trip, or on any other standard weekend for a 3 1/2 day trip? Again, I'd want to do 1 day at universal, leaving only 2 1/2 for the Disney parks on a standard weekend. I honestly really like the idea of having that third cushion day for anything I might miss on my first two days at the Disney parks.

I find myself questioning if I could get more done at 2 non-crowded days in Disneyland or 3 crowded days in Disneyland, is the bottom line.

Exacerbating my dilemma is the recent announcement that the Guardians of the Galaxy ride is opening memorial day weekend. I can't decide if that's good or bad news, haha... because I'd LOVE to ride it, and want to go AFTER it opens... but... I'm sure it will make crowds even worse. "Could I even get on it?" is a very pertinent question. Any Orlando grand openings I've seen in the past were horror shows. I think back to the 5+ hour lines for Frozen Ever After last year and quake. (Does Disneyland typically do soft openings? If so, could arriving a few days early potentially get me on the ride before the grand opening rush?)

SO... people who know what you're doing when it comes to Disneyland. Put yourself in my shoes. You've got 2 vacation days. When would YOU go?

Look at this thread to see what's going on during various times of the year.
http://www.disboards.com/threads/2017-calendar-of-events-school-breaks-and-dlr.3528760/

The Memorial weekend there is a dance competition, with the participants at DLH.

Plan for it to be BUSY. If you start at opening (rope drop) it will help.

I haven't heard of anything for this year, but past years with a 24 hour event have been on Memorial weekend.

I'd book it and go with the flow for the trip. As many say "There are really NO slow times these days"
Being Solo will help you get more done. Know which rides have the single rider (SR) option.
Follow the Disneyland App to see if you can identify trends for your areas of interest during the weekends.
If you aren't an app person, there is a phone line you can call "Ask Otto! 714-520-7090"
This is a link to an article on Otto http://disneydose.com/disneylands-new-ask-otto/#axzz4Yt0IOVeo

Enjoy your trip.
Geemo

 

[Skyegirl1999]

Memorial Day is tough - it really can get packed. You certainly have a good thought process laid out, but the crowd conditions have been so wonky lately that it's really impossible to know what would be better. It is possible that the crowd difference would actually mean you'd get less done even with more time... But maybe not?

I will say that at this point, I think that going to DL on a day like a Saturday in summer is actually often the best option. You get extended hours, a fully-staffed park, usually no scheduled refurbs, blocked APs, etc. We've been there for a handful of mid-week days lately, and it really sucks when the park opens at 10 and they're only running TWO boats at Storybook Land, so that takes over 45 minutes! (Our experience Tuesday - we're local so it doesn't matter, but the poor family behind us was pretty unhappy). If you're willing to rope-drop, any day with an 8am opening is usually going to get you at least an hour or two of decent conditions.

Anyway, good luck with whatever you choose. Expect crowds and maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised.

 

[VandVsmama]

I think that either of your options are fine. You should expect that there will be 4 hour waits to get on Tower of Terror over Memorial Day weekend when it opens. It will run out of FP early. And So Cal locals will go to DL just for the day so they can wait in line 4 hours to go on that one ride on opening weekend.

It's a holiday weekend, so just expect that it's going to be really crowded. Plan accordingly. And that means getting to the turnstiles before park opening. Use single rider lines to your advantage, which will be easy since you're going on a solo trip. When the crowds get really overwhelming, take a break, see a show, sit down in the shade and relax & people watch.

A lot of schools in AZ & UT end their school year in the middle-to-end of the week before Memorial Day (the week of Sun 5/21 - Sat 5/27). However, many CA schools' school year doesn't end until June.

If I was the one deciding and it was for me, I'd go with flying out on Wed 5/24 and returning home on Memorial Day.

** edited to add **
If you fly out on Wed 5/24, then you can focus Thurs & Fri on doing all of the non-Tower of Terror stuff. Then when the ride opens on Saturday, 5/27, be in line at DCA at least 30 min before park opening (so that will mean you'll have to be through security checkpoint by 7:30 am) and then make a bee line for Guardians of the Galaxy/TOT. Go on it once with minimal wait and then grab a FP. Thus you can go on it twice on its opening day.

If you're really serious about wanting to go on it that weekend, then get to the DCA gate 45 min before regular park opening (so by 7:15 am). Work backwards from that to determine by what time you'd have to leave your hotel in order to get there by 7:15 am.

Trust me....NONE of the So Cal locals will be getting up at early to leave their homes at 5-6am in order to go on the new ride. But by 10am, it'll be mobbed for that ride's line.

 

[GenGen22]

I went the year before on Memorial day weekend when they had the 24hr. Party and the opening of the Diamond celebration and we did a lot. You being a single person can take advantage of single rider options and Gardians of galaxy has fp so that's an option. May I suggest getting there at rope drop and you will get a lot more done. DL usually is open until Midnight on Fri & Sat as well so, this gives you more time to do stuff. If you stay on property you also have the early entry option as well. We do most of our trips during the busy times and seem to get more done when it's more packed. Just read up on fp strategies etc & you will be fine. Btw, I never stay in property in DL & do just fine.

 

[Niltiac]

I would lean toward the holiday weekend if I were in your shoes, since you're planning on a solo trip. Crowds bring two main problems, one being longer waits for attractions and the other being that they can be overwhelming and try your patience. Both of those problems are more easily handled as a solo traveler. Do your research on FP and single rider lines, and then look for any attraction that's a must-do that doesn't have either of those options (there probably won't be many), and those are the only rides you really have to worry about lines for. Dedicate one early morning to Guardians of the Galaxy, and then you don't have to worry about the potential 4-hour wait later. Many people have stated that crowds feel worse at Disneyland than they do at WDW because the walkways are narrower and there's less space to get away from everyone, so bear that in mind. But since you're planning to go solo, you can take breaks as needed without holding up a group. DCA handles crowds better so you could hop over there in the afternoons when crowds are at their worst, or just go somewhere relatively quiet.

At any rate, if you want to go after Guardians opens, and you don't want to go during the Fall when you have your WDW trip planned, you're pretty much looking at peak season either way. It would be disappointing to forego the extra day trying to avoid crowds and then find yourself there on a very busy weekend anyway. I might consider an early-December weekend though - you would have a couple months' time between your two trips, you'd get to see Christmas, and it might not be too crowded.

 

[Gillbob316]

Thank you everyone, all of this has been very helpful, and has eased some of my concerns about Memorial Day weekend, so while I still haven't completely made up my mind, I think I likely lean toward sticking with that plan for the extra day.

To touch on a few points people mentioned, I won't be staying on Disney property. While I'd love to, it's just not financially sensible as a solo traveler, without anyone to split the bill with. Doing so would double, if not triple the total cost of my trip. I'll likely be going with a nearby good neighbor hotel.

I haven't thoroughly researched my ride priorities yet, but as a general statement, I'm most interested in riding things that either aren't in the Orlando parks at all (like say, California Screamin' or Matterhorn) or rides which differ significantly from their Orlando versions. I may skip some of the "clone" rides, which have no major differences.

All that said, I have no problem whatsoever getting up and being there for rope drop. Nor staying there from open to close. I've done Orlando trips solo and I'm very good about getting myself to the gate bright and early when no one else is slowing me down. Furthermore I've always been good at keeping my park stamina up. Some folks need breaks. Some folks can't stay on their feet all day. Some folks need to rest at the hotel midday. I am not those folks, haha. I've spent more than one 18 hour day at Magic Kingdom with no regrets. So I'm not worried about my ability to optimize my time, and most of you seem confident that being solo will help a lot (So much the better!)

I'd probably try to devote 1 day to California Adventure, 1 day to Disneyland, and... whatever time I have leftover to doing things I missed on those two days. I'll be buying park hopper tickets either way, just to hedge my bets. (Since i'm not experienced with these parks, I'm assuming a moment may come where I won't want to be stuck in just one or the other.)

I'd be happy to get on Guardians of the Galaxy once (I'd love to get on more than once, but I'd be happy w/ once.) Beyond that, I'd hope to give the rest of the parks as thorough a once over as possible.

I'm pretty app-savvy and have used touring plans a great deal to scout out Orlando trips. I'll likely do the same for Disneyland (though my current touring plans subscription doesn't cover Disneyland, so I'd need an upgrade first)

So anyway, yeah. As I said... your comments helped ease some of my concerns.