When is the best time to go??!?!

[Carl Aird]

Looking to go in maybe late Jan or late OCt (for Halloween but before it)
When is the best time?
When is the park the least crowed?!?

 

[HydroGuy]

Looking to go in maybe late Jan or late OCt (for Halloween but before it)
When is the best time?
When is the park the least crowed?!?

Late January will probably be less crowded than late October. Whether that makes it "best" or not depends on your perspective.

 

[DLR29]

I personally (and I'm not sure, but I'm guessing Hydroguy would agree with me) would rather tour the parks when it's more crowded than not. He has a thread about it, but basically I'd rather go during busier seasons than off seasons because:

-Full entertainment every day/night (nightly fireworks, fantasmic, electric parade)
-Longer park hours (I love getting to the park at 8 and staying until 11 or so)
-Pretty much all rides open (unless there is a very lengthy refurb happening, otherwise, the least crowded times of the year are when the rides go down for refurbishment)

Crowds aren't really a big issue if you have a good morning plan, use FP, and be flexible.

 

[ScooterL]

If you're going on weekdays (Monday-Thursday) then I think it'll be uncrowded at either time. On weekends, it'll probably be slightly more crowded in October. There will probably be fewer attractions down for rehab in October than January...and you'll get to experience Disney's HalloweenTime and Haunted Mansion Holiday. The weather should be warmer in October, and less chance of rain, too.

 

[hlbtimes2]

I would choose Oct. Jan will be colder, with shorter park hours and less entertainment. It will be a little more crowded (not crowded like summer peak season, just more so then in Jan), but its still a never nice time to go.

 

[Carl Aird]

It seems you guys like the crowds
I do understand why
but
who wants to wait on line for 2 hrs to get on a roller coaster?
thats a damper!
or maybe thats just a NY thing on my part

 

[DangerMouse]

It seems you guys like the crowds
I do understand why
but
who wants to wait on line for 2 hrs to get on a roller coaster?
thats a damper!
or maybe thats just a NY thing on my part

It's not that they enjoy crowds, it's just that they have learned to navigate the parks while it is a bit more crowded in order to take advantage of the extended hours and extra entertainment provided. October won't be super crowded, but late January is one of the most dead times in the parks. That is why you will find many more rides being refurbed during that time as well as shorter hours and scaled back entertainment options. It's a slight trade off to have a bit more people in the park, but you won't be waiting for 2 hours for a rollercoaster, especially if you read Hydro's FP tips.

 

[HydroGuy]

DangerMouse got it right. We go only in busy season and rarely wait for any ride more than 20 minutes (even though some lines peak at 90 minutes mid-day). And we get on tons of rides. The good thing is that all of the rides are open rather than the 4 that will likely be down in January and the 2-4 in late October (Matterhorn and IASW among them).

For more info see:

"HydroGuy's High Season/Off Season Tradeoff Rule" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1199852

"What You Should Know About Off-Season at DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=18462889

"Getting the Most Out of FastPass During High Season" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=885132

"Getting The Most Out of a Summer Visit To DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1345319

 

[DLR29]

It seems you guys like the crowds
I do understand why
but
who wants to wait on line for 2 hrs to get on a roller coaster?
thats a damper!
or maybe thats just a NY thing on my part

Definitely haven't waited in line for more than 30-45 minutes at all (and that's very rarely, usually it's much less) for any DL ride in all of my trips (including busy summer (June and August), Spring Break, President's Week, and week before Christmas). You need to do some research on how to tour during the busier seasons, but it's totally managable. The three key tips to park touring IMO are:

1) Arriving early. My #1 tip. Just because you can get done so much more in those first 2 hours than the whole afternoon.

2) Using FP effectively. On a bad day we use 2 or 3 FP sets. On a good day 5-7. This cuts down greatly on line waiting. But again you need to know how to use the system very well.

3) Understanding the type of ride. You obviously don't want to spend your precious morning touring on a ride that won't have a line all day. You want to ride the low-capacity rides early and save the "people eaters"/high-capacity rides for the busier afternoon/evening.

 

[Ashlotte]

I personally like the end of January. I love being able to walk right onto rides without a line. But, my priorities are different than a lot of people because we have two little kids who would melt down if we stayed in the park past 8pm or tried to wake up early and get there before 9am (10 am was perfect for us). Also, my kids aren't in regular school yet, so I don't have to worry about them missing anything.

ETA: I am also traveling from somewhere colder and rainier than SoCal in January, so for me it is a nice break from the weather here.

 

[tinknsnow]

If you can go in mid-October (avoiding Columbus Day) you may get lower/moderate crowds but you'll get to experience the Haunted Mansion all decked out for Halloween. It is awesome... not to be missed! WDW does not do it. My whole family loved it! Very nice weather, too.

HTH

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

It really depends on how crowded it is for us. In October when we were there it was pretty crowded, but still managable. Until the last day that is. It was awful, you couldn't move, just wall to wall people. Even rides like Pirates had a line that super long, and for some reason it wasn't moving that fast like it usually does. That I don't find even worth it. Even with using the FP system we didn't get on enough rides. We eventually gave up and went back to the hotel.

We like very early June, before the schools get out. I can handle some crowds, but not to the point where it's unbearable! But out of those two choices I'd go with late January. October has become a super busy month.