Which May dates?

[GatorChris]

If you were me.... Here's my options. I have a singing gig in SoCal on Saturday May 16. I earlier booked a hotel for Wed-Fri before the concert so that my family and I could do DL before. But now I'm seeing that Soarin' is still down as well as Matterhorn and probably Peter Pan, there's a GradNite on Friday, and the 60th doesn't commence until that weekend.

My other option is to stay 3 or 4 nights after that instead of the 3 nights before. The downside is being there on a Sunday which we did on our last trip for just a few hours and it was terrible. Also, with the 60th kickoff, I'm wondering if that week (even Monday and Tuesday) will be so crazy that I wouldn't want to do it. I'm guessing most AP holders will come out in droves that weekend at the very least. And I'm not big on doing Disney when jam-packed.

Help me talk this out. Maybe it's just a better idea to not turn this concert weekend into a vacation at all.

 

[figment_jii]

I would personally brave the crowds and hope that things are up and running for the week after May 16. However, there is no guarantee that things will open as scheduled. In terms of the crowds, I don't think it's going to be super crowded on the weekdays during the day because folks are still working and in school, but there might be an uptick in evenings as folks come to see the 60th stuff (assuming it's started). It's not the last week before the AP blockouts start, so that probably helps.

I'm not quite sure how to say this without seeming rude, so please don't take it that way. In all honesty, in response to your question about going or postponing the trip, my feeling is that you're expressing significant reservations about the crowds and about the ride closures in this and other threads at this point, you're already pre-disposed to being unhappy on the trip. Given that, I'd say forgo this trip and wait until you know if the 60th things look interesting, until crowds quiet down, and until after you've heard that the rides that matter the most are back up and running.

 

[D1sneyfam1ly]

I am one that always prefers a slightly less crowded park even if it means that I will miss a ride or two. With all the refurbs that are going on this spring, having only 3 closed doesn't seem too bad and you may luck out and have Peter Pan open. I thought I saw that it was going to open on May 7th.

 

[disneymom0104]

I thought I saw May 7 for Peter Pan, too.

 

[GatorChris]

I'm not quite sure how to say this without seeming rude, so please don't take it that way. In all honesty, in response to your question about going or postponing the trip, my feeling is that you're expressing significant reservations about the crowds and about the ride closures in this and other threads at this point, you're already pre-disposed to being unhappy on the trip. Given that, I'd say forgo this trip and wait until you know if the 60th things look interesting, until crowds quiet down, and until after you've heard that the rides that matter the most are back up and running.

Pre-disposed because I'm already doing a trip next month with a crud-load of attractions down. I'd hate to go back and still have a lot of it down, but it would be nice to turn a usual down-and-back trip into something fun. But you're right - there's no guarantee that Soarin' and all that stuff will be operational, or that the new fireworks show will be going. Problem is, work goes crazy for the summer, so I won't be getting back until at least September. And by then, we'll be so close to our (now) usual November trip that we may just save the money. This is exactly why I've been down on getting an AP this year. Feel like I'm not getting maximum value here.

 

[figment_jii]

I suppose it's all a matter of perspective. For me, I like Matterhorn, Soarin', Peter Pan, and many other attractions that will be down at some point this spring, but I don't really think that will cause me to have less fun at the parks. I look at it as some rides will be down, but there is still plenty to do instead. As I've said before, I know what it's like to go on a trip and have your favorite rides closed (I've been to WDW when Figment was down and being taken out, which was very sad, but I still had a great trip), so it's not that I don't understand what some people are feeling, it's just that I tend to look at it on the positive side: I'm at Disneyland!

As others have said, the projected re-opening date for Peter Pan is May 8th, so there is a good chance it will be open. Soarin' and Matterhorn are May 14/15, so that might be more iffy. Unless those are the only three rides you would consider doing, there are still plenty of other attractions and shows to ride and see. I thinks folks are so focused on what is closed, that they lose sight of all that is still open.

Depending on which AP you got (I'm guessing either Deluxe or Premium), you should approach the break-even point if you go two or three times in a year. You went for a long trip during the holidays, so one more long trip or two shorter trips should get you to the break-even point. Keep reminding yourself that you had a lot of fun on your holiday trip despite having reservations about going to DLR before you went. Maybe the trip in March and/or May will be the same; it'll surprise you how much fun you had even with the closures.

 

[ClosetDisneyJunkie]

Depending on which AP you got (I'm guessing either Deluxe or Premium), you should approach the break-even point if you go two or three times in a year. You went for a long trip during the holidays, so one more long trip or two shorter trips should get you to the break-even point.

I did the math on this once. I think it was 9 days in the parks to come out ahead on a price per day basis on a deluxe, 12 days on a premium, as compared to a 5 day parkhopper (the most heavily discounted regular ticket). This does NOT take into account any AP discounts on hotels, food, merch, etc., or the renewal discount, and it would be fewer days if you were comparing to a single day ticket, for example.

The break even point comes pretty fast, actually. I've more than paid for my AP, coming from Seattle...