Which Plan is Better?

[dnamertz]

What would be better, crowd-wise? Going to DL/DCA Tue June 16 when the So Cal AP holders are not blocked out, or going Wed June 17 when they are blocked out but it is a grad-night?

 

[tarheelalum]

Tuesday in my experience would be the better day to go. I like to avoid the grad nights whenever I can.

 

[chickapin parterre]

Very early Wednesday mornings are the best block of hours in the park for the entire week of any week in the year. No early entry, so park is fair game till about 11-12.

 

[figment_jii]

What would be better, crowd-wise? Going to DL/DCA Tue June 16 when the So Cal AP holders are not blocked out, or going Wed June 17 when they are blocked out but it is a grad-night?

I don't know that either day is particularly better than the other.

For my family, I would probably lean towards Tuesday so that we could start in DCA without having to worry about EMH crowds. Wednesday mornings are traditionally DCA's EMH morning, whereas Tuesday is traditionally EMH/MM in DL.

In terms of the AP holders, the SoCal Select are blocked both days and the SoCal AP is blocked on the Wednesday. Deluxe and Premium/Premier AP holders can get in on both days. Some local area school districts have already started summer break. It is not the last day before the summer blockout goes into effect for the SoCal AP, but it's getting towards the end. Overall, I don't know that the blockout of SoCal AP holders is going to make a huge difference (if the blockout covered everything except Premium/Premier I think it makes a bigger difference).

In terms of the grad nights, I don't know that they really impact overall park hours. From what I can tel of last year (2014's schedule), DL was typically open until midnight and DCA was open until 10:00 pm. Grad night happens over in DCA starting at 10:00 pm. Grad night days are impacted by the attendees, but how "bad" it is depends on the groups that are there. I did think we saw more teenager groups than normal, but I didn't really think they were any better or worse behaved than any other group of teenagers. I would go out of my way to avoid a Grad Night if that day worked better for me, but I wouldn't make a point of going on that day either.

 

[Fireflyblue]

I would go on the tuesday rather than the wednesday. There may not be a blackout date, but you wouldn't have to deal with the craziness of a grad night. Wednesday morning might not be too bad, but the evening will be crowded, so I would recommend going on the Tuesday.

 

[dnamertz]

I would go on the tuesday rather than the wednesday. There may not be a blackout date, but you wouldn't have to deal with the craziness of a grad night. Wednesday morning might not be too bad, but the evening will be crowded, so I would recommend going on the Tuesday.

Another thing that might make me steer away from grad-night is now that Disney has announced both new nightime shows (the parade and the fireworks) I definitely want to see those (and Fantasmic). We will only be there 2 maybe 3 nights. I would guess the busier of the two nights would be the grad-nights, correct? Or will the fact that the grad night pary starting in DCA at 10pm not have much of an impact on the nightime crowds in DL?

Is DCA still normally closing at 10pm on normal summer nights? Or will the grad night cause DCA to close earlier than the other nights?

 

[Butterfly123]

In the past DCA closed at 10 p.m., and the grads had to be over there by 10 p.m.. I would think the earlier nighttime entertainment (earlier than 10 p.m.) would have some impact from the grads. I do think most seem to want to run around and go on the rides with their friends!

 

[dnamertz]

My alternative would be to go Mon to Wed, June 29 to July 1. All grad nights are over and the So Cal AP block outs are in full effect. My only concern there might be it's the beginning of the week leading into the 4th of July (which is that Saturday).

However, to go during that time I'd need to get some other family members to rearrange their schedules.

 

[dnamertz]

In the past DCA closed at 10 p.m., and the grads had to be over there by 10 p.m.. I would think the earlier nighttime entertainment (earlier than 10 p.m.) would have some impact from the grads. I do think most seem to want to run around and go on the rides with their friends!

I wonder if DCA will be open later this summer with the 60th anniversary celebrations.