Which busy time to go? August, October, or January

[az4boys]

I would love to go to Disneyland during a time with lower crowds, but those times are getting harder to find. Now that my kids are getting older we are being forced to choose between busy times due to school. In the past, we have gone in October during school break and January (took kids out of school mid-month). We have not experienced a lot of days with long park hours.

Can anyone help with pros/cons for the following times? Crowds and weather are my two biggest concerns. A little background: Me, DH and our sons: 14, 14, 11, 8. We are rope drop people, although late nights combined with early rope drops may be a problem. In the past we have done 4 days commando style, but hope to do 5 days with more breaks this time and use the hotel pool to relax.

Option 1: Week starting July 31st (first full week of August) - this is our last full week before school starts and a lot of other people might be doing the same thing. I know there will be longer hours, rides should be at full capacity, and Southern CA AP's are blocked. I'm worried about the heat. We are from Arizona and stay inside as much as possible during August.

Option 2: October 10-15. This is our fall break and half of Arizona might be there. There will be Halloween decorations but DL will close early for some parties. AP's are only blocked on Saturday. I think it will be warm enough to swim still.

Option 3: First week in January. We would probably arrive December 31st but not go into the parks. Our school calendar is unusual this year because we don't go back until January 8th. Will crowds be insane this week? Taking my kids to see the Christmas decorations is appealing, but it will be cold so we would probably only use the hot tub at the hotel.

Thank you for any input. We don't go often so I'm trying to make the most of this trip.

 

[FireflyTrance]

We go in Sept or Oct each year and I think it’s a nice combination of relatively lighter crowds and temperatures starting to cool off. If I were you I would pick the October week. It will probably have the lowest crowds of those three options, plus you could go to one of the Halloween parties that run from late Sept through Halloween. We go to a Halloween Party each year and it’s a good time to go on some of the more popular DL rides with less wait time. Plus the trick-or-treating is fun too!

 

[chickapin parterre]

heat in August, in Anahiem, will be the same as Arizonia?

Yep, half of Arizona will be there.....all of Utah will be there that week also.

The nice appeal about being cold in january is that it is very fixable.......renting a locker is the perfect fix. And those days after the 2nd should be great. And if you have never seen christmas, then I would choose thisoption

But in the new Disneyland reality, summer is the new off-season.

and what's up with all the swimming?

 

[figment_jii]

Regarding the January dates, I would expect to see an uptick in crowds as the week progresses. The first day when AP holders get back into the parks range from Jan 2 (Signature AP), Jan 3 (Deluxe AP), Jan 7 (SoCal) and Jan 8 (SoCal Select). So I would expect to see more and more AP holders returning to the parks as the week progresses so they can see the holiday offerings one last time. I don't know how that will necessarily compare with the July and October dates, but I would expect to see pretty good sized crowds in early-January.

I'm also tempted to say that the lowest crowd (but by no means empty) will be the October period. You will probably miss the worse of the UEA crowds (UEA is 10/19 & 20), but there are always some schools on break during October. This time period probably has the shortest overall hours and least entertainment, but on the flip side, you'll get to see the HalloweenTime offerings. Weather can be very variable in October.

 

[luulu1999]

We went toward the end of July I cant remember if it was last yr or 3 years ago and it wasnt that bad

 

[ellamama]

I don't think the first week of January will be quiet - our school district (Bay Area) has that week off too, and did this past year as well. I think a lot of schools are closed the last week of December and first week of January. Agree it would likely be warm enough to swim the 2nd week of October (and possibly in January too - you never know when you'll hit a warm winter week, but there seems to be at least one every year).

 

[az4boys]

Thank you for all your replies! We had planned the October dates awhile ago, but I was getting nervous with all the school breaks combined with shorter hours. I am really glad that our October Break will not overlap with UEA this year so maybe it won't be too bad. I think in the end there will be good and bad about all the dates. We haven't been for a few years and I am getting really excited.

 

[Mrs. W]

I am also from Arizona. I do not have children, but I teach in a local elementary school.

We go nearly every year in October. I actually don't think the crowds are that bad! However, I've also been to DL when the park has closed due to reaching capacity, so take my post with a grain of salt. My DH is a native Montanan and I'm actually from CA, and DL in October is a great middle ground for us temperature wise. It's still warm enough for me that I don't have to be completely covered at night (it's perfect during the day), and just cool enough to not have my poor husband in a complete sweat by the end of the night.

I think July is an okay time to go. I'm not sure where in AZ you live, but where I live, it's going to be 118 degrees later this week. It'll be hot in CA next month, but not nearly as hot as it is here. There are still summer crowds too.

I would not recommend going in January. We were in DL the 1st week of January this year, and DL park reached capacity each day of our visit, though it wasn't until later in the afternoons. We were fine because we were a party of 4 adults, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone but the bravest of souls.

 

[jonahsmommy]

My vote would be for the 1st week in August. Weather wise it will be hot and it will be crowded but the park is open longer hours. Get there when they open at 8 and plan to take a break in the afternoon and then enjoy the cooler temps in the evening.

October can get really hot and shorter hours unless you are planning on buying for the Halloween party. And I know my school district gets a week off in October as well so it will be crowded too.

 

[az4boys]

I think my question about January is: Do crows drop off much after January 1st, or is it crazy busy until Christmas season officially ends sometime after the first week? I've heard Christmas time is insane, but I wasn't sure when that ended in terms of Disneyland. School breaks change ever year so maybe it is hard to determine.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

I think my question about January is: Do crows drop off much after January 1st, or is it crazy busy until Christmas season officially ends sometime after the first week?..

The crowds don't drop off after Jan. 1st, but (as pp stated above) actually increase throughout the week as the passholders are allowed back. All passes below Premier and Signature+ are blocked for some/most of the holidays, so passholders will be visiting the parks to see the decorations before Holiday Time ends. Gate closures are possible that first week, but will only last a few hours.

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

I would opt for August as well-we have found most of the times we have gone in October the last few years busier than summer.

 

[joseph821]

I agree. August would be better. I was there in October and the crowds were more than I expected but it was very manageable. Went to the Halloween Party twice. The crowds on those days were a lot.
October from the 15th through Halloween is moderate crowds during the week and weekends Saturday the busiest.
Plus, in October subject to refurbs on attractions.

 

[DLgal]

August for sure. The crowds these days really seem to line up with whether or not So Cal AP holders are blocked.

So far it has been a quite cool summer here. We are barely getting into the 80s for the first time this week. I expect that trend to continue as this whole year has proven cooler/rainier than usual. It will be warm enough to swim definitely (Oct and Jan are iffy for that) and park hours will be long.

I'd NOT recommend that January week. Last year it was MORE crowded that week than Xmas-New Years week. There were capacity closures. Our kids also have that week off (several local districts have it off as well).

October is usually also VERY crowded.