Which fall week will be best for less crowds?

[usedmedia]

Hello,

I am planning my first ever trip to Disneyland and wanted to get opinions on which week would be best to go. It will be just my wife and myself, and we don't particularly care one way or another about the holiday decorations. We're planning to get either a 3 or 4 day park hopper pass and stay at the Grand Californian. The main thing I'm concerned with is crowds. I'm looking at the following weeks:

Last week of September
First week of October
Week after Thanksgiving

My plan was to drive down from the Bay Area on a Monday and come back on Friday. We're pretty flexible with the timing however so I'm open to any ideas.

Some background info: When I first started researching this trip I got overwhelmed with the amount of information. Blackout days, fast passes, magic mornings, etc, are all new concepts that I had to learn. It's so much that we almost decided to cancel the whole thing altogether because it sounds so stressful. My wife has a hard time being in large crowds, and of course no one wants to stand in long lines.

A secondary consideration would be rates at the Grand Californian. Are one of those weeks cheaper then the others? Any "deals" to be had on the web or just book through the Disney website? I'm a total novice when it comes to this.

Knowing our situation, which week would be recommended?

 

[Sherry E]

Even though you don't care about the holiday decorations, I actually think the week after Thanksgiving will have the lowest crowds out of those choices you gave.

That late November/early December week is said to be delightfully uncrowded because it's in between major holidays and everyone is back at work and school until the Christmas break. People on this board and Disney CM's seem to agree that this week is a good week in terms of lower crowds. You will get the full holiday experience, though, so if you don't want that then I'd say skip that week!

In fact, I'm going that same week - after Thanksgiving - for that very reason...lower crowds.

The second choice would be the last week of September.

The last choice would be the first week of October - that will be a madhouse.



If the Grand Californian has any cheaper rates during those weeks you're considering, those would either be in that week after Thanksgiving (because that's a slower time) or in late September, but probably not the early October week.

 

[stubby]

Hello,

I am planning my first ever trip to Disneyland and wanted to get opinions on which week would be best to go. It will be just my wife and myself, and we don't particularly care one way or another about the holiday decorations. We're planning to get either a 3 or 4 day park hopper pass and stay at the Grand Californian. The main thing I'm concerned with is crowds. I'm looking at the following weeks:

Last week of September
First week of October
Week after Thanksgiving

My plan was to drive down from the Bay Area on a Monday and come back on Friday. We're pretty flexible with the timing however so I'm open to any ideas.

Some background info: When I first started researching this trip I got overwhelmed with the amount of information. Blackout days, fast passes, magic mornings, etc, are all new concepts that I had to learn. It's so much that we almost decided to cancel the whole thing altogether because it sounds so stressful. My wife has a hard time being in large crowds, and of course no one wants to stand in long lines.

A secondary consideration would be rates at the Grand Californian. Are one of those weeks cheaper then the others? Any "deals" to be had on the web or just book through the Disney website? I'm a total novice when it comes to this.

Knowing our situation, which week would be recommended?

We went the first week in October last year...kids are on fall break here that week. It was busy but not horrible. Keep in mind that is probably going to be Gay Days also.

 

[usedmedia]

Thank you so much for the observations. It sounds like the week after Thanksgiving will be best for us. Any other tips or suggestions for booking rooms at the Grand Californian are welcomed!

 

[6Smiles]

Even though you don't care about the holiday decorations, I actually think the week after Thanksgiving will have the lowest crowds out of those choices you gave.

That late November/early December week is said to be delightfully uncrowded because it's in between major holidays and everyone is back at work and school until the Christmas break. People on this board and Disney CM's seem to agree that this week is a good week in terms of lower crowds. You will get the full holiday experience, though, so if you don't want that then I'd say skip that week!

In fact, I'm going that same week - after Thanksgiving - for that very reason...lower crowds.

The second choice would be the last week of September.

The last choice would be the first week of October - that will be a madhouse.



If the Grand Californian has any cheaper rates during those weeks you're considering, those would either be in that week after Thanksgiving (because that's a slower time) or in late September, but probably not the early October week.

You are scaring me with this first week of October will be a mad house. We went June 19 -26 last year and am wondering how this crazy this first week in October is going to be?

 

[HydroGuy]

Hello,

I am planning my first ever trip to Disneyland and wanted to get opinions on which week would be best to go. It will be just my wife and myself, and we don't particularly care one way or another about the holiday decorations. We're planning to get either a 3 or 4 day park hopper pass and stay at the Grand Californian. The main thing I'm concerned with is crowds. I'm looking at the following weeks:

Last week of September
First week of October
Week after Thanksgiving

My plan was to drive down from the Bay Area on a Monday and come back on Friday. We're pretty flexible with the timing however so I'm open to any ideas.

Some background info: When I first started researching this trip I got overwhelmed with the amount of information. Blackout days, fast passes, magic mornings, etc, are all new concepts that I had to learn. It's so much that we almost decided to cancel the whole thing altogether because it sounds so stressful. My wife has a hard time being in large crowds, and of course no one wants to stand in long lines.

A secondary consideration would be rates at the Grand Californian. Are one of those weeks cheaper then the others? Any "deals" to be had on the web or just book through the Disney website? I'm a total novice when it comes to this.

Knowing our situation, which week would be recommended?

Just so you are aware, there are regular posts around here like yours where someone states that low crowds are their highest priority. Then when their trip approaches and they see that the entertainment is reduced and rides are down for refurb, they come back here and start complaining about how their trip is "ruined". These posts happen at least once a month.

So in the spirit of making sure your trip is as magical for you as possible you may want to make sure you understand what low crowds means at DLR.

"What You Should Know About Off-Season at DLR" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=18462889

"Choosing When To Visit DLR: Summary of High and Low Season and When Each Happens" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=36509602

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

You are scaring me with this first week of October will be a mad house. We went June 19 -26 last year and am wondering how this crazy this first week in October is going to be?

Pretty similar to the June dates but with shorter park hours.

 

[Sherry E]

You are scaring me with this first week of October will be a mad house. We went June 19 -26 last year and am wondering how this crazy this first week in October is going to be?

I wouldn't get scared about it! You'll still have fun. It won't be like New Year's Eve crazy. It's just a matter of October now being much busier than it used to be. It used to be a slower time, an off-peak time, with low crowds. In the last 3 years, October has gotten much more popular and crowded - but like any month of the year at DLR, some folks will come back and say that "it's not that bad" and others will say "it was horrible; I will never return." Add in the fact that we have Star Tours and the Little Mermaid and there will be more people.

Because of various school breaks and things, the first part of October is pretty busy nowadays, tapering off after Columbus Day-ish, then picking up again right before Halloween.

 

[6Smiles]

Pretty similar to the June dates but with shorter park hours.

Thank you! I honestly didn't think it was that bad, though the shorter hours may make a difference. We used all the advice from the boards and our longest wait was for TSMM at 45 minutes. It will definately be interesting to see how Ariel, Star Tours and the holiday overlays for Space Mountain and Haunted mansion will play into the lines.

 

[Sherry E]

Thank you! I honestly didn't think it was that bad, though the shorter hours may make a difference. We used all the advice from the boards and our longest wait was for TSMM at 45 minutes. It will definately be interesting to see how Ariel, Star Tours and the holiday overlays for Space Mountain and Haunted mansion will play into the lines.

Haunted Mansion Holiday's lines can get ugly after certain times of the day. But you just go in prepared, expecting crowds, and anything less than what you expect will be a breeze!

I have read some DIS'ers posts on this board which said, "I'm not going in October again" because the crowds were what they felt was too uncomfortable. Others think it's not that bad.

I've gone to DLR right at the very beginning of October before - in the first few days of the month. I felt it was much more crowded than I expected, but there was a Miley Cyrus birthday thing happening that weekend so I tink that drew more people in. Then I went again in mid-late October (week before Halloween) the following year, and I felt that was crazy busy. Cast Members supposedly say that last year was the busiest Halloween season so far.

But everyone is going to perceive the crowds differently based on their own tolerance levels.

 

[usedmedia]

Just so you are aware, there are regular posts around here like yours where someone states that low crowds are their highest priority. Then when their trip approaches and they see that the entertainment is reduced and rides are down for refurb, they come back here and start complaining about how their trip is "ruined". These posts happen at least once a month.

So in the spirit of making sure your trip is as magical for you as possible you may want to make sure you understand what low crowds means at DLR.

"What You Should Know About Off-Season at DLR"

"Choosing When To Visit DLR: Summary of High and Low Season and When Each Happens"

Thanks for the advice. I actually have already read those posts (btw I love your guides, great job! ) so I have an idea of what to expect. In preparation for our trip I have been reading up quite a bit. Coming from a total Disney Park newbie there's a lot of information to sort through.

I do have one question regarding the Vacation Package pricing on the Disney website. I plugged in dates for 4 nights for the Grand Californian with a 5-day park hopper pass for two people and received a price of $2237. I then redid it again for the same dates but requested a price for hotel only and was quoted $1520. This means the difference between hotel + 2 passes and hotel only was $717.

According to the Disney website purchasing a 5-day pass online only costs $211, so $422 for two people. What accounts for the +$295 difference buying the passes as part of a vacation package? The only thing I could think of was that buying the passes separately only allows you to enter the parks early one day, while perhaps the vacation package allows to enter early every day? It's not made clear on the Disney website so any clarification would be appreciated.

 

[Sherry E]

Thanks for the advice. I actually have already read those posts (btw I love your guides, great job! ) so I have an idea of what to expect. In preparation for our trip I have been reading up quite a bit. Coming from a total Disney Park newbie there's a lot of information to sort through.

I do have one question regarding the Vacation Package pricing on the Disney website. I plugged in dates for 4 nights for the Grand Californian with a 5-day park hopper pass for two people and received a price of $2237. I then redid it again for the same dates but requested a price for hotel only and was quoted $1520. This means the difference between hotel + 2 passes and hotel only was $717.

According to the Disney website purchasing a 5-day pass online only costs $211, so $422 for two people. What accounts for the +$295 difference buying the passes as part of a vacation package? The only thing I could think of was that buying the passes separately only allows you to enter the parks early one day, while perhaps the vacation package allows to enter early every day? It's not made clear on the Disney website so any clarification would be appreciated.

Well, you know, the interesting thing is that in the old days - and I mean the late '90s or early 2000's - the packages offered by Disney were actually money-savers. It was beneficial to get a package as opposed to getting tickets and hotel rooms separately.

Over the years, the packages have changed to the point where they are now more expensive than simply getting your room and tickets separately, as you've discovered!

I have not gotten a package in a few years, but as far as I know there are still little 'extras' thrown in (such as Preferred Seating vouchers for Aladdin in California Adventure and vouchers for Mickey's ToonTown Morning Madness, along with maybe some luggage tags, maybe a collectible pin or a coin, etc.). There also used to be a little discount booklet for Downtown Disney shops and restaurants - I'm not sure if that is still part of the packages or not.

If those extras are not important for you to to have, I would avoid the package and instead get your tickets and Grand Californian room separately. Part of the reason is because the packages have a cancellation policy that is a little more limiting, i.e., you'll incur a charge if you cancel or change something within X number of days, or you will only get a partial refund inside of this amount of time, etc.

However, if you get a 'room only' reservation (no tickets, no extras) by calling the reservations number, you have all the way up until 5 days prior to arrival to cancel or change your reservation and not incur a penalty. That would be beneficial if you, for example, were to book the Grand Californian at a particular rate right now, and then you see a better rate down the road. With a room-only reservation, you can switch to the better rate at no cost (unless something has changed since last year).

Guests who stay onsite - through a package or through a room-only reservation - generally have access to Magic Mornings (getting into the park one hour before opening) on any day they are available during their stay, which is typically Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I think Disney may be planning to change this perk at some point by limiting the Magic Mornings in way (possibly only allowing 1 Magic Morning per visit to room-only guests), but I don't think that has gone into effect yet - and it may not go into effect. (I received a survey a while back after I stayed onsite, and the questions in it led me to believe Disney is going to be revamping their package perks and their perks associated with room-only reservations, but I don't think they have implemented any of this yet.)

 

[usedmedia]

Well, you know, the interesting thing is that in the old days - and I mean the late '90s or early 2000's - the packages offered by Disney were actually money-savers. It was beneficial to get a package as opposed to getting tickets and hotel rooms separately.

Over the years, the packages have changed to the point where they are now more expensive than simply getting your room and tickets separately, as you've discovered!

I have not gotten a package in a few years, but as far as I know there are still little 'extras' thrown in (such as Preferred Seating vouchers for Aladdin in California Adventure and vouchers for Mickey's ToonTown Morning Madness, along with maybe some luggage tags, maybe a collectible pin or a coin, etc.). There also used to be a little discount booklet for Downtown Disney shops and restaurants - I'm not sure if that is still part of the packages or not.

If those extras are not important for you to to have, I would avoid the package and instead get your tickets and Grand Californian room separately. Part of the reason is because the packages have a cancellation policy that is a little more limiting, i.e., you'll incur a charge if you cancel or change something within X number of days, or you will only get a partial refund inside of this amount of time, etc.

However, if you get a 'room only' reservation (no tickets, no extras) by calling the reservations number, you have all the way up until 5 days prior to arrival to cancel or change your reservation and not incur a penalty. That would be beneficial if you, for example, were to book the Grand Californian at a particular rate right now, and then you see a better rate down the road. With a room-only reservation, you can switch to the better rate at no cost (unless something has changed since last year).

Guests who stay onsite - through a package or through a room-only reservation - generally have access to Magic Mornings (getting into the park one hour before opening) on any day they are available during their stay, which is typically Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I think Disney may be planning to change this perk at some point by limiting the Magic Mornings in way (possibly only allowing 1 Magic Morning per visit to room-only guests), but I don't think that has gone into effect yet - and it may not go into effect. (I received a survey a while back after I stayed onsite, and the questions in it led me to believe Disney is going to be revamping their package perks and their perks associated with room-only reservations, but I don't think they have implemented any of this yet.)

Wow, this is all great insider information, thanks so much for the tips! It appears then that the almost $300 extra to get my park tickets as part of the vacation package is definitely not worth it. That's a lot of money...

 

[HydroGuy]

Wow, this is all great insider information, thanks so much for the tips! It appears then that the almost $300 extra to get my park tickets as part of the vacation package is definitely not worth it. That's a lot of money...

I agree with Sherry. We never book the package for those reasons...

 

[naomippb12]

We went the week after Thanksgiving and it was great. Low crowds, hardly any wait time in lines, and all the rides were open because it was the holiday season. They tend to do all the referbishments before the holiday season. The only day it was a little busy was Saturday because the do the Candle light persessional the first Saturday in December. But since most of those people are local it did not start to get busy until the afternoon. I have went at all different times of the year and this was by far the best trip ever. All the Christmas decorations are awesome.

 

[usedmedia]

I just wanted to update this thread with some new information. I received a targeted Disney flier in the mail this week with a 35% hotel discount PIN! I followed the advice given in other threads about signing up for the vacation planning DVD and saving a package offer on the website. Sure enough, I got a PIN in the mail, nothing yet in email though.

Here are the specials available in the flier (prices are for standard rooms):

8/1/11-8/31/11
Paradise Pier $290

10/16/11-11/19/11 and 11/27/11-12/17/11
Paradise Pier $163
Disneyland Hotel $186
Grand Californian $247

I was able to book the GC for the week after Thanksgiving (11/28-12/2) for $247 a night which is probably as good as it's going to get. So this is a heads-up to everyone else looking for a discount, make sure to watch your mailbox. I wanted to thank everyone again for all the very helpful advice!

 

[taaren]

I just wanted to update this thread with some new information. I received a targeted Disney flier in the mail this week with a 35% hotel discount PIN! I followed the advice given in other threads about signing up for the vacation planning DVD and saving a package offer on the website. Sure enough, I got a PIN in the mail, nothing yet in email though.

Here are the specials available in the flier (prices are for standard rooms):

8/1/11-8/31/11
Paradise Pier $290

10/16/11-11/19/11 and 11/27/11-12/17/11
Paradise Pier $163
Disneyland Hotel $186
Grand Californian $247

I was able to book the GC for the week after Thanksgiving (11/28-12/2) for $247 a night which is probably as good as it's going to get. So this is a heads-up to everyone else looking for a discount, make sure to watch your mailbox. I wanted to thank everyone again for all the very helpful advice!

Wow that's a great rate for Oct-Dec! Really wish I could get my hands on a PIN, but we have yet to stay on-site on a cash reservation, only on DVC points, so I suspect that's part of why we haven't gotten one ... have the vacation planning DVD, have put in inquiries, room only and package both on the website and get reminder e-mails. I'm jealous of your timeframe ... My DBF and I keep trying to convince our gang to go the first week of December since its both of our birthdays but nobody seems to be able to get that time frame off in the last 6 years ... oh well, maybe 2013.
Have fun planning your trip!

 

[Sherry E]

I just wanted to update this thread with some new information. I received a targeted Disney flier in the mail this week with a 35% hotel discount PIN! I followed the advice given in other threads about signing up for the vacation planning DVD and saving a package offer on the website. Sure enough, I got a PIN in the mail, nothing yet in email though.

Here are the specials available in the flier (prices are for standard rooms):

8/1/11-8/31/11
Paradise Pier $290

10/16/11-11/19/11 and 11/27/11-12/17/11
Paradise Pier $163
Disneyland Hotel $186
Grand Californian $247

I was able to book the GC for the week after Thanksgiving (11/28-12/2) for $247 a night which is probably as good as it's going to get. So this is a heads-up to everyone else looking for a discount, make sure to watch your mailbox. I wanted to thank everyone again for all the very helpful advice!

Yay! I'm so glad to hear that! It sounds like the Saved Offer trick worked again (that one's usually a little faster in yielding results and PIN codes than the method of ordering the DVD)!! I'm glad to hear the Saved Offer trick was not a 2010 thing only and that it seems to be continuing on into this year. That $163 rate is exactly what I had for the PPH last year in December - which is awesome for peak holiday season! And you're right - the rate you are using for the GCH is probably as good as it is going to get (for the holidays, even though the holidays were not your primary focus) so it's good you jumped on it.

I'm glad you chose that post-Thanksgiving week. The more I hear about it, the more I think it sounds like a great time to go. I'll be there at that time too! This is my first time trying that particular week.