When to visit in 2016

[Seeker615]

Hi

We are planning a trip to California next year. It will probably be sometime between late April to mid June. We don't have dates as of yet.

We want to spend two days visiting Disneyland and California Adventure.

What days and what months are the best to visit? We don't want big crowds and huge wait times.

Thanks!

 

[Canuck16]

Weekdays (Monday-Thursday) are usually lower crowd days than on weekends.

Depending when Easter fall next year late April or early May are usually good times to go if you are looking at less crowds as Spring Break and Easter are over.

Just keep in mind though that during less crowded times fireworks will only run on weekends if that is something that is important to you.

Have fun!

 

[maltdizzy]

Much of DL's business is local day trippers and school in So. Ca. usually runs through the first week in June. But so much of the country let's out on school on or before Memorial Day, so that when the weekday crowds start to build up.

If you want to see the fireworks, you can plan a Thursday and Friday, crowds will grow Friday evening (lots of locals come sometimes just for fireworks or to squeeze in a few hours) but won't completely explode (out of season).

Just know, Spring is high season for ride refurbs, though they can happen any time. Keep an eye on the calenders here and at the DL site.

 

[Disney Kidd]

I would say after Spring Break in April or early May. If you go later in May there are a lot of high schoolers coming for grad night and it gets crowded. Sometimes the parks will close early for them. Fireworks and other night shows will still be running during the week at that time.

 

[figment_jii]

HydroGuy has several threads that might also be useful to look at. In his Compilation thread, check out the threads in the Seasonal at DLR section.
http://www.disboards.com/threads/hydroguy-tips-compilation.1520483/

Easter is in late March in 2016, so you're going to be missing Spring Break (and the associated crowds). Memorial Day has (historically) been the kick-off to the summer season, which generally means longer hours, more entertainment, and higher crowds. We do know that April 30/May 1 will be the Spring Dapper Day. The Tinkerbell Half Marathon is likely to be in May in 2016. Also, in May and June, there may be grad nites (schedule is not yet known).

You can look at the 2015 Calendar of Events to get a sense of what kinds of things happened this year. Note that all events can change, so just because it happened this year, doesn't mean it'll happen again in 2016.
http://www.disboards.com/threads/2015-calendar-of-events-school-breaks-and-dlr.3358090/

If you want to see the fireworks, you can plan a Thursday and Friday, crowds will grow Friday evening (lots of locals come sometimes just for fireworks or to squeeze in a few hours) but won't completely explode (out of season).

Just to clarify, but during the non-peak season, fireworks are typically only presented on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. F! also runs on a reduced schedule during the non-peak season. We do not yet know what the schedule for PtN will be, but WoC has (historically) run nightly. HydroGuy has a thread that allows users to easily link to the wdwinfo DLR calendars to see what the hours, entertainment, refurbs, etc. were for a given month/year.
http://www.disboards.com/threads/historical-dlr-park-hours-entertainment-and-refurbs.2291124/

Just know, Spring is high season for ride refurbs, though they can happen any time. Keep an eye on the calenders here and at the DL site.

I don't think Spring is necessarily any worse than any other season for refurbishments. There are some that happen on a fairly regular basis, but this year (2015) was kind of an anomaly as the parks got ready for the 60th anniversary. If any season would generally be considered a "high season" for ride refurbishments, it would be winter because of the typical water ride closures, the overlay removal, etc.

 

[Seeker615]

Thank you for your feedback. I will check out the sites that were recommended and go from there. We have not yet pinned down exact dates as of yet but this is a good starting point!

 

[TechGuy]

If you can pick days after Easter but before the LAUSD kids get out of school, this can be a nice window, especially if you avoid grad nights. if you can also sync up the days the local SoCal AP's are blocked, you will have even fewer.

 

[maltdizzy]

Typically, SoCal AP blackout days are the biggest crowd days...that's why they are blacked out.

In this case...Saturdays, Spring Break ad Memorial Day weekend are the only Blackout days until mid-June.