When would you go? Feb or May/June

[lsulindy]

Considering our first trip to Disneyland. I've never been to California before so we'd probably do 3 days in the parks with a few days seeing sights elsewhere. Haven't yet narrowed down what that would be.

Also considered other vacation spots, but if Disneyland wins out, these are the dates we're considering.

Mardi Gras week. Feb 9-16
This is what Touring Plans looks like for that week although I have read that TP isn't very accurate for DL. (which is one of the reasons I'm asking here) The next week is President's Day.
Sat, February 9, 2013 6 out of 10 7.8 2.9 SC SL
Sun, February 10, 2013 7 out of 10 7.6 5.6 SL
Mon, February 11, 2013 4 out of 10 5.0 2.0
Tue, February 12, 2013 3 out of 10 3.5 4.4 Mardi Gras
Wed, February 13, 2013 1 out of 10 1.5 2.5
Thu, February 14, 2013 6 out of 10 7.2 4.5 Valentine's Day
Fri, February 15, 2013 6 out of 10 7.1 3.0
Sat, February 16, 2013 9 out of 10 9.6 6.9 DX SC SL

Based on this, I'd say the best park days are Mon, Tue, Wed. But, I've read about the shorter hours in Feb and lack of shows. So, a Weekend might be necessary for shows etc which would up the crowd level. We'd be limited to one week due to school starting again on Monday, the 18th, which would limit what other attractions/sights we could visit. But if we really wanted we could stay and extra day or two and miss just a couple days of school.

The kids get out of school May 23 and my daughter has a dance recital June 11, so we could go any dates between then. We could also do a slighter longer trip to see more sights around the area. I don't think we'd go too much longer than the one week due to budget, but we could be more flexible. Monday, May 27 is Memorial Day, so I was thinking it would be best to go after that.
TP:
Tue, May 28, 2013 4 out of 10 3.7 6.0
Wed, May 29, 2013 2 out of 10 2.8 1.4
Thu, May 30, 2013 1 out of 10 1.8 1.4
Fri, May 31, 2013 4 out of 10 4.8 2.2 SL
Sat, June 1, 2013 5 out of 10 6.6 2.5 DX SC SL
Sun, June 2, 2013 6 out of 10 5.4 4.5 SL
Mon, June 3, 2013 5 out of 10 6.4 2.1
Tue, June 4, 2013 5 out of 10 5.9 2.6
Wed, June 5, 2013 6 out of 10 6.3 3.8
Thu, June 6, 2013 6 out of 10 5.8 4.3

Based on this I'd say Wed, Thur, Fri would be good park days. By going then, we would get the longer hours and more shows. At WDW, we usually stay at the parks late, but with a 3 hour time difference, I'm not sure if we'd be staying out as late at DL. So, I'm not sure if the extended hours matter, but I do like the idea of having more shows available in case we were up to it.

Weather wise, seems both are moderate with Feb having the potential to be cold and May/June having the potential to be hot. If I had to pick one, I'd go with cold.

Based on TP, the crowds seem about the same with May/June being better for seeing shows, but my gut just says that Feb would be less crowded. However I have nothing to base that on, so I don't know why I think it!!

Any help/tips/guidance? Thanks!

 

[Mel522]

February will probably be less crowded, but it will also be colder with the possibility of rain.

 

[sonnyjane]

February will probably be less crowded, but it will also be colder with the possibility of rain.

Yeah... I'd go with May/June most likely simply because there is less of a chance of your favorite rides being closed for refurb the closer you get to summer.

 

[chrissiecutie]

I've been during both Feb & May. I like them both but May was way busier, still manageable though.

There are still refurbs in May & I didn't notice a huge difference in weather. But I'm from Seattle & like the cold. Plus, mid week during both Feb & May are almost identical as far as schedule/hours. You may get lucky & have a few extras like more fireworks/fantasmic in May...So really- the only differences were less crowds in Feb & a little warmer weather in May.

For me- I would do Feb because we avoid crowds whenever possible & we like it colder. We still had F! & fireworks & saw everything....

 

[Monica D]

Of all your choices below, I'd go the first week in June. After Memorial Day but before most kids are out of school.

ETA: Be careful if you go around any of the president's birthdays; it gets super crowded and the hours are limited.

 

[madigraham]

i live in the area and i visit the parks about 2x a month since 2009. I would recommend going in February. The majority of the crowd will be AP's and locals except for President's weekend. Even Valentines day isnt that bad. Try the beginning of the month or the end. rain will be a hit or miss as well as the temp. Sometimes we'll either hit a random heat wave (80's), or it could be the usual temp for feb which is around high 60's, however it's very chilly at night. Just check the weather about 1 week before. I would plan to go on the weekend so you can catch all the shows. Even the weekend should be crowded. Maybe 60 min wait on Space mt. at the max. Just FP the mountains and hit Toy Story Mania as well as get your World of Color ticket in the am and you should be fine. Only problem about feb is some rides might be closed for refirbishment because its off season so just check disneyland.com for closures.

hope this helps

 

[lsulindy]

Based on the historical data for 2012.

In February, the week before President's day, hours were 10-8 or 9-9. There were no fireworks or Fantasmic!. The Matterhorn was down for refurb.

For the Wed, Thur, Fri after Memorial Day, park hours were 8-11 or 10-10. There are 2 parades a day instead of one. 2 showings a night of Worlds of Color. 2 a night Fastasmic!, and fireworks. Matterhorn still down for refurb.

Like I said, we close down the parks in WDW, even with little ones, but not sure if that will change with the time change and dd doesn't like fireworks. The show offerings are very appealing to me and the longer hours, but I'm not sure if that actually matters much if we won't be up to staying out late with a 3 hour change. Would it be better to do lighter crowds in Feb instead if we won't take advantage of those things? Or do I prefer knowing they're there if we do feel up to it? dunno

 

[bzkds]

Feb. is my favorite time to go! I went 4 years in a row, the same weekend in Feb (at the end of the month) and only got rain once. We we've gone in June, it's been a lot more crowded and hotter.

 

[lurpee]

As soon as possible ;-)

 

[Eddygirl]

As soon as possible ;-)

⬆⬆⬆this!!!!!!

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

February is one of our wettest months. I wouldn't want to chance that for my first visit to Disneyland. I say May/June.

 

[lsulindy]

Well, since everyone is in agreement, that makes the decision easier...

 

[Plumeria9]

Mardi Gras is not a big deal in So. Cal. I am from there and never saw it celebrated until I moved to Texas. Also, it used to be that almost all schools (k-12) didn't get out there until almost mid-June, but LA Unified School District (one of the largest) changed it for this school year and those kids will be getting out before Memorial Day like the rest of the country does, usually. There is a huge local factor w/ Disneyland visiting. President's Day weekend will be crowded. I would go in May if I had my choice, given the info you provided. In any case, good luck!

 

[lsulindy]

Didn't think Mardi Gras would affect the parks much, but it does affect us, since the kids have a week off of school. Another down-side, we miss Mardi Gras!

 

[nblake05]

I'm curious...for those suggesting May/June....how do you all think Grad Nights will effect OP's trip...if at all? We may have the same dilemma as OP...so I'm especially curious!