When to go in 2023?

[hsmamainva]

We’ve been to Disney World many times & we are now planning our first trip to Disneyland!

We want to go in the summer when the park hours are long, the fireworks are plentiful, the swimming is good & very few rides are down for refurbishment

Which week would be the best crowd-wise?

May 18-27 (we would be leaving the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend)

June 8-17

July 20-29

August 10-19 (this week worries me because we love Haunted Mansion & I know it goes down for refurb every August)

Thanks in advance!

 

[SFMommy]

I would go when it is most convenient for you…not based on what you think crowd levels will be like. I think any of those dates have the potential to have crowds.

Grad Nights run from mid-May to mid-June. Weather can be too hot or just right for any of those dates too.

 

[pharmama]

Your first set of dates is (mostly) before Disneyland's "summer" season with nightly fireworks, minimal refurbs etc. as that officially begins Memorial Day weekend. Disney also typically offers a special SoCal ticket deal in the spring that expires right before Memorial Day weekend which makes the weekend and week prior to Memorial day quite busy as locals try to get in their last visit(s) on the discounted tickets. Who knows for sure if they will do a SoCal ticket deal next year but there is one this year and there was one for the last few years (well, not 2021 but I think they allowed people who had unused tickets from 2020 to use those). Here this year's if you're curious (you may have to confirm that you want to see offers that don't apply to your zipcode to view this): https://disneyland.disney.go.com/offers-discounts/southern-california-tickets/

Early June in Southern California can be cloudy and overcast- not necessarily what you would expect if you are imagining the typical California sunny summer. But crowds aren't too bad (though be aware of grad nights, as previously mentioned) and weather is still fairly comfortable though it may not be what you're picturing for a day by the pool.

Your July and August dates will be much more typical sunny summer days, potentially quite hot. Crowds will be pretty decent too, though as a PP said, I agree that overall trying to go based on what you hope crowds will be like is mostly going to be a lost cause. The parks are pretty crowded most of the time now.

As for Haunted Mansion- to clarify, it doesn't go down for refub in August, it goes down to apply the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay. This typically takes around 2.5 weeks before official start of Halloweentime (usually early September). So it depends on when they decide to do that for 2023 but at least the beginning of your August dates are likely prior to when this downtime would start, though of course it's hard to know for sure.

 

[smartlabelprint]

When is the new toontown opening? I’d aim for after that.

 

[pharmama]

When is the new toontown opening? I’d aim for after that.

"Early 2023" So who knows but in theory all of their dates would be after Toontown reopens.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

I'm partial to June dates, but your July dates look good too. Your May dates might not have full entertainment offerings, and while I think your August dates are still early enough that HM will still be up, they keep starting Halloween season earlier and earlier. I'd flip a coin between June and July personally, but Grad Nites haven't bothered me in the past.

 

[hsmamainva]

Thank you everyone! I think we are going with our June dates!

 

[gottalovepluto]

Thank you everyone! I think we are going with our June dates!

Great call! Full summer is usually launched but weather isn’t as brutal as Jul-Aug can be (monorail doesn’t run when it gets too hot due to no AC and if you’re used to the WDW monorial you gotta try the next gen we have out here at Disneyland).

FWIW full summer tends to launch out here at Memorial so good call skipping May.