When to go

[skuttle]

We are finally planning our first trip to DL for 2018. DH is a teacher and oldest DS will be in high school so we have to go during school breaks. We narrowed it down to the week after Easter or the first week of June, then decided on first week of June. But then I learned about grad nights, and based on this year's schedule, we may have 3 grad nights during our trip.

So which would be better....Week after Easter or a week with 3 grad nights.

Our plan is to fly in Sunday night and fly out Saturday, with park days only during the week. Two days DL, two days CA, and one day at the resort. Or is 4 park days too much? This is our first trip and probably our last for several years since it's so expensive for the five of us to fly. If we can swing it, we may tack on some other California stuff while we are out there.

 

[chickapin parterre]

week after easter, no longer a national holiday of week off, so limited number of schools would be out. Grad nights will ruin everything.

five day ticket is not that more expensive than 4 days, always great to have that extra morning, then spend the day along the pool

 

[skuttle]

Thanks! I was thinking I'd rather not be around crowds of teenagers! My one is enough! I did notice the 5 day ticket. Might consider that depending on our flights as well.

 

[danceanddisney2010]

I have heard nothing but crazy stories about grad nights .. soooo I'd stay away for sure!if I had the option. I definitely do think that 4 days in the park is too much especially if you are making your first trip. We usually spend 5 or 6 days in the park and we love it!

 

[Butterfly123]

We like five days, too! I try to avoid grad nights, but I will say on one four day trip we had three grad nights! Our dates were out of necessity...so there was no avoiding them. It turns out they weren't bad at all...no horror stories! The thing is you just never know, so I skip them if I have the option.

 

[VandVsmama]

We've been at DL during grad nights about 3 times now and always during the week of Memorial Day or the first week of June. We haven't had any grad night horror stories to report so far. We've actually had a really wonderful time. However, we do make a point to go on Tomorrowland rides earlier in the day and avoid Tomorrowland after 3pm on Grad Night days. And yes, there will be plenty of groups of teenagers all over the park and sometimes they tend to walk 5-6 people in a row. And that sort of thing is kind of annoying. But it's not really any worse than non-Grad Night park guests who suddenly stop in the middle of the walk way to look at a park map and figure out what attraction they're going on next.

Plus, on Grad Nights, the Grad Night kids have to be in DCA by 10pm or something. So it's beneficial for you to be at DL after 10pm on those evenings because suddenly all of the annoying teenagers are gone. AND on Grad Nights, locals sometimes tend to stay away, so that could mean much shorter lines for attractions.

The way I sort of look at it is this: it's partially about one's attitude. If you go into it EXPECTING to have a horrible time and LOOKING for negative things, then you'll find them. This applies to any DL trip, regardless of the time of year that you go.

Whether you go the week after Easter (which would probably be a really nice time of year to go!) or the first week of June, you'll have a wonderful time!

 

[skuttle]

Thanks!! One grad night wouldn't be bad, but if next year the schedule is similar to this year, we'd have to work around three! I'd rather not deal with the extra planning, I'm already worried enough about being newbies! We go to WDW so often, I think I've taken for granted how much planning is involved when you are new!

 

[MillauFr]

I went once around Easter. Never again. Park was so packed we couldn't move. I would go in June.

 

[VandVsmama]

There are definite trade offs to going during various times of year. HydroGuy has a great thread on here (I think it's linked in 1 of the sticky threads) that talks about it at length. For example, if you want lower crowds, you won't necessarily get fireworks every evening. And park hours might be a little more limited. The trade off to that is if you happen to go to DL at a time of year when DL opens at 10am, then EMH starts at 9am. And a lot more people make it to a 9am EMH than an 8 am or 7 am EMH.

So if you look at park hours for your 2 different weeks that you're considering, compare the comparable park hours from 2016. In 2016, Easter was on March 27. So if you were to have gone to DL from Monday 3/28 - Friday 4/1, then the DL/DCA park hours would have been this (according to this handy thread --> http://www.disboards.com/threads/historical-dlr-park-hours-entertainment-and-refurbs.2291124/):

• Mon 3/28 - Fri 4/1: DL 8am-12am, DCA 8am-10pm. EMH @ DCA 7-8am on MWF. EMH @ DL 7-8am TTh. Based on this schedule, I'd say that Disney expected the parks to be pretty darn busy the week after Easter! But I have no idea what the actual crowds were really like during this week. Since this year, Easter in later in April, you are much more likely to have a quieter week at DL the week after Easter since most of the schools who end the school year by Memorial Day will have Spring Break in March.
• Mon 6/6 - Fri 6/10: DL 8am-11pm, DCA 8am-9pm. EMH @ DCA 7-8am on MWF. EMH @ DL 7-8am TTh.

 

[chickapin parterre]

supporting the above great research, 2016 Easter was the end of Oregon spring break and the begining os Washington spring break. These two states always have bookend on that march weekend.

 

[skuttle]

Thanks! A lot to consider. Unfortunately we are stuck going at busy times regardless. That's how we have to do WDW as well. Crowds don't scare me at WDW since we've been a lot, will be back, and know how to handle them. DL is something brand new to us, and probably our only trip for several years. I'll take a look at the historical stuff for sure.

Looks like Easter 2018, when we would go, will be April 1st.