which month is best

dlawallace

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Which month is best to go to Disneyland?

As far as weather?: Oct, Nov, Dec


As far as crowds? : early oct, early nov, early dec



As far as not to many ride closures (very important to me): oct, nov, dec


Thanks for any help!!!
 
Which month is best to go to Disneyland?

As far as weather?: Nov or Dec

As far as crowds? : Early Nov.

As far as not to many ride closures (very important to me): This is all off-season, so you need to expect ride closures, and until DLR releases the refurb list, you just never know.
 
It is totally up to individual preference. I wouldn't like going in the fall because I am not really into the Halloween decorations (nothing against Jack or Sally!)---and the weather can be randomly so hot and dry.

I love going the first week of December, because most of the rides are up and running, the Xmas decorations are in full swing, but the crowds (especially mid week) are still very low. The weather is perfect for me, too. The first year we went during this time it rained a little, which was wonderful because it kept the crowds down to the lowest level I had ever seen them. Anaheim rain is often very light and sparse. We went for 3 days, and it only lightly sprinkled two of the days, and besides that it was a perfect mild/cool temp for hanging in the park with some hot coaco. Loved it. Last Dec. we didn't get any rain, and the weather was sunny and high 70's.

Summers are often very hot, but the park stays open till midnight. I hate the heat, but love watching the fireworks in the summer at night. It is so nice to walk around in just a light jacket and breath in the summer air. The days can be brutal with the heat, but some people like that. All rides are typically up and running--but there is often one shut down for maintenance. Crowds can be big in summer, but go mid week to keep it managable.

Spring is nice--not as hot as summer. Just avoid spring break like the plague! We made that mistake one year, and NEVER will again. It was wall to wall people and we couldn't even find a place to stand for fireworks--even getting there 40 minutes early. Well, we found a place, but people were pushing and crowding us out by showtime and it was miserable. You couldn't even walk, and getting on rides was impossible.

We have gone almost everytime time of year because we go about 2 times a year (sometimes 3) for about 3 days each trip.
 
Which month is best to go to Disneyland?

As far as weather?: Oct, Nov, Dec


As far as crowds? : early oct, early nov, early dec



As far as not to many ride closures (very important to me): oct, nov, dec


Thanks for any help!!!

Since ride closures (& i assume the ability to see stuff) is important, I'd include a weekend (or at least a Sunday) in your plans. That way you can ensure seeing the fireworks, Aladdin (will Aladdin still be running in the fall?), parades & other things that run on the weekend. No matter what month you decide.

Regarding crowds, i defer to the above comments & would add that in mid Oct. on a Thursday it got crowded in the afternoon & evening at DL. Also in mid Dec. on a Sunday both parks were jam packed in the afternoon & evening with locals (seeing the holiday sights).....Monday (the following day) was light though.

Regarding temps.....you're from Texas. SoCal is great (even in the summer) compared to Texas (or Orlando) weatherwise. (are you concerned about heat or cold?) & when we visited in mid Dec. the high was 70 & the low was 50....glorious.

Finally remember to plan on using the time zone difference to your advantage. A Sunday morning MM at 7am isn't a problem on your first day (because it seems like 9am) for example.

Have a great time planning a visit to Walt's Park. :thumbsup2
 

I was wondering when you went for spring break? We are going March 7-12 and I'm alittle nervous that I maybe picked a bad week? When I booked I didn't realise spring break starts in March:confused: I thought it started early April. oops!!
Thanks




It is totally up to individual preference. I wouldn't like going in the fall because I am not really into the Halloween decorations (nothing against Jack or Sally!)---and the weather can be randomly so hot and dry.

I love going the first week of December, because most of the rides are up and running, the Xmas decorations are in full swing, but the crowds (especially mid week) are still very low. The weather is perfect for me, too. The first year we went during this time it rained a little, which was wonderful because it kept the crowds down to the lowest level I had ever seen them. Anaheim rain is often very light and sparse. We went for 3 days, and it only lightly sprinkled two of the days, and besides that it was a perfect mild/cool temp for hanging in the park with some hot coaco. Loved it. Last Dec. we didn't get any rain, and the weather was sunny and high 70's.

Summers are often very hot, but the park stays open till midnight. I hate the heat, but love watching the fireworks in the summer at night. It is so nice to walk around in just a light jacket and breath in the summer air. The days can be brutal with the heat, but some people like that. All rides are typically up and running--but there is often one shut down for maintenance. Crowds can be big in summer, but go mid week to keep it managable.

Spring is nice--not as hot as summer. Just avoid spring break like the plague! We made that mistake one year, and NEVER will again. It was wall to wall people and we couldn't even find a place to stand for fireworks--even getting there 40 minutes early. Well, we found a place, but people were pushing and crowding us out by showtime and it was miserable. You couldn't even walk, and getting on rides was impossible.

We have gone almost everytime time of year because we go about 2 times a year (sometimes 3) for about 3 days each trip.
 
I loved going in early November last year. The weather was perfect (it rained early one morning but stopped quickly) and there were barely any crowds. The longest I waited for a ride was thirty minutes. That was for Finding Nemo and Autopia. I was able to walk on to pretty much everything else.
 
We went before Thanksgiving in November last year and it was not busy, the weather was reasonable and of course, we had already been to Disney and experienced the Christmas decorations before so it was a perfect time - there were actually decorations up and some rides were prepared for the season already whereas others were still running but not festive. The tree was up etc. It was a great time to go for US because we were after Halloween but before Thanksgiving and we would go again at that time (except we are planning our trip sooner!) Hope this helps :)
 
The first part of November has always been our most fav time to go:)
 
I was wondering when you went for spring break? We are going March 7-12 and I'm alittle nervous that I maybe picked a bad week? When I booked I didn't realise spring break starts in March:confused: I thought it started early April. oops!!
Thanks

When we went it was the first week of April, and it was beyond crowded. They actually shut the front gates for a while. I think schools are doing their spring break all different times--but the most typical time is right around Easter. You will probably be fine in early March.

Have a great time.:wizard:
 
One other thing I thought of--we hate to go there on a weekend day. Typically everything is up and running most days--so you don't have to go on a weekend to make sure you get on everything. The only issue is that if you go off season, they don't do the fireworks and fantasmic every night. Instead they do it on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. You don't want to miss the fireworks, as those are the best experience ever! We often go on a Wednesday, Thurs, Friday--and then get out of there on Saturday when the park is super full. In the summer or high season, they do fireworks every night--weather permitting. They do them many nights around the holidays and in the spring as well--but only on the weekends in early spring. In the fall they often have a limited fireworks schedule too.

They also close down Haunted mansion in Sept. to decorate it for Haunted Mansion Holiday--and It's a Small world is closed for about a month before it reopens for the Xmas holidays.
 
WHen does the Small World Holiday open? I don't want to miss it beacause of the new additions of the Disney characters.
 
WHen does the Small World Holiday open? I don't want to miss it beacause of the new additions of the Disney characters.

The installation of the IASWH overlay has typically been started on the second to last Monday in October, and the overlay has taken 18 days to install.

IF the above is still true in 2009, then IASWH would open on Friday, Nov 6, 2009 (the IASW Holiday overlay could be installed from Oct 19 (Mon) to Nov 5 (Thurs), 2009).

I recommend checking the official DLR calendar to get the official dates. In 2007 the dates for IASWH were officially announced in early August.

In 2008, IASW was down from Jan 22 to late November 2008 for a major refurb.

Based on MousePlanet weekly updates, here are some previous dates that IASW was down (being refurbed) to install the IASW Holiday overlay:

2007: IASW was down from Oct 22 (Mon) to Nov 8 (Thurs), 2007 (18 days)
2006: IASW was down from Oct 23 (Mon) to Nov 9 (Thurs), 2006 (18 days)
2005: IASW was down from Oct 24 (Mon) to Nov 10 (Thurs), 2005 (18 days)
2004: IASW was down from Oct 18 (Mon) to Nov 4 (Thurs), 2004 (18 days)
2003: IASW was down from Oct 20 (Mon) to Nov 7 (Fri), 2003 (19 days)

HTH :earsboy:
 


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