Would you go Jan 1-8 or 8-15?

[Julie Amber]

I'm having this dilemma with planning our upcoming trip. We've always wanted to see Disneyland during the holidays with all of the decorations up. But I absolutely cannot stand crowds and those are the two weeks we have to work with. We can't afford to stay for longer than a week. The plan is to do 3 days of Disney and then a few other things like Universal and probably Knotts and maybe the beach depending on weather. Our background is that we haven't been to Disneyland in 11 years. My youngest daughter is 12 and obviously doesn't ever remember going. We used to take the older kids a lot when they were younger and then we started going to WDW more (haven't been there in about 6 years).

Going on the trip will be me and my hubby,
dd 22- has been living abroad for 18 months- just got back. Christmas is her favorite time of year ever), ds 20- has autism and does not like crowds. However school starts for him on Jan 8 and he would have to miss some school to go that week.
dd 12- Doesn't remember anything about DL and this would basically be her first experience. We did take her to Universal earlier this year because she's a huge Harry Potter fan and she loved that!
Older two kids are giant Disney fanatics!

So would you risk the crowds right after New Years to be able to see all the Christmas joy, or wait until the crowds have left the next week and enjoy no crowds?

 

[figment_jii]

If you really want to see the holiday decorations, entertainment, and overlays, you'll have to go from Jan 1 to 8 because the holiday season ends on January 7th. After that, there might still be some things (like IaSWH), but the vast majority of the offerings will be gone. While not holiday-related, the Paradise Pier area (Screamin', Fun Wheel, Ariel's Grotto, Cove Bar, the Boardwalk Games, and a few shops in the area) will close down for the overlay installation on Jan 8 as well. Personally, I'd risk the crowds and go when all of the holiday offerings are still around.

That being said, if you really can't stand crowds and that would ruin your trip, then I'd go with the second dates which are less likely to be busy. I wouldn't count on there being no crowds, especially on the weekend, 1/12-1/15, because that's MLK weekend and a lot of folks have Monday off (making it a three day weekend).

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

I agree with figment. I would lean toward Jan 1-8 for the holiday stuff. Also, what if you chose 8-15 hoping for low crowds, but crowds were NOT low? Low level APs can go back to the parks on Jan 8 after a three-week block. Then it would be a bummer to miss the holidays and also have crowds. And of course all of the Paradise Pier stuff will be closed starting Jan 8.

That said, I do think there is a decent chance for lower crowds 8-15 especially with all the closures, people might try for 1-8 to catch CA Screamin and Cove Bar, etc. But of course there is always that phenomenon of people thinking crowds will be low so everyone comes and now it's crowded. That happened this week for sure!

 

[Cabius]

Could you split the difference, and do 1/5-1/12 or something like that? See the Christmas lights one busy day, then go back after it dies down a bit?

 

[Geemo]

I'm having this dilemma with planning our upcoming trip. We've always wanted to see Disneyland during the holidays with all of the decorations up. But I absolutely cannot stand crowds and those are the two weeks we have to work with. We can't afford to stay for longer than a week. The plan is to do 3 days of Disney and then a few other things like Universal and probably Knotts and maybe the beach depending on weather. Our background is that we haven't been to Disneyland in 11 years. My youngest daughter is 12 and obviously doesn't ever remember going. We used to take the older kids a lot when they were younger and then we started going to WDW more (haven't been there in about 6 years).

Going on the trip will be me and my hubby,
dd 22- has been living abroad for 18 months- just got back. Christmas is her favorite time of year ever), ds 20- has autism and does not like crowds. However school starts for him on Jan 8 and he would have to miss some school to go that week.
dd 12- Doesn't remember anything about DL and this would basically be her first experience. We did take her to Universal earlier this year because she's a huge Harry Potter fan and she loved that!
Older two kids are giant Disney fanatics!

So would you risk the crowds right after New Years to be able to see all the Christmas joy, or wait until the crowds have left the next week and enjoy no crowds?

Instead of January 1 - 8 or January 8 - 15

I'd choose January 6th a Saturday to start the time at Disneyland.
This way you get to see Holiday Decor and hit a few of the rides and areas that will be closing on the 8th.

While the Holidays do = crowds......
To experience your thought of "enjoy no crowds", you'd have to go to Disneyland on a very rainy day.

With January 15th(MLK day) a Federal/State Holiday the parks will have crowds in excess.

Mid-week early in the day is the main thing to consider for lower crowd levels.

Disney has marketed their product so well, now there are virtually NO slow times like there use to be.

Enjoy your trip. I love the winter months in the parks.

Geemo