Would You Rather? A Visit Question for February 2017

[idle]

After a very successful trip at the end of August with my fiancée, my gears have been turning for a reprise in 2017, but this time with my family (mom, dad, sister, and myself). My parents are DL vets (albeit from the 80s and 90s), but they haven't been in nearly 20 years; so this trip will be pretty special for them. It will also likely be the last time we'll visit as a family unit.

The ideal time for us to visit is February 2017 around Mardi Gras (so anywhere from 23rd February to 04 March). Because my sister is a teacher, she has some time off in there, my parents are retired, and I can take off whenever pretty easily. We were planning on a 5 day trip to CA with 3 day hoppers.

Originally, I planned for us to visit DL/DCA on Fri (24th), Sat (25th), and Sun (26th) Feb. because the park hours will likely be longer than during the week. However, does everyone think that the crowd levels will be too high considering it's a weekend and all levels of APs are free to visit? At least the 60th will be over by then.

Still, should I consider a Tues., Wed., Thur visit? But sacrifice the extended hours? I'm expecting something like 10-8 operating hours during the week versus maybe 9-11 or 9-12 for the weekend.

Second question: After having not been in about 20 years myself until August of this year, I now have some expectations of crowd levels (we were there the 16th, 17th, and 18th). Anyone know about how crowds will compare from that timeframe in Aug. to the last week in Feb? I think when I was there in Aug, all but the top two tiers of APs were blacked out...

Thoughts??

 

[gottalovepluto]

Personally I like extra hours and all the extra shows running so I would go for the weekend dates. But I am an early riser and have no problem getting to the park first thing in the morning, taking a long afternoon break, and then hitting the park up at night. If your group is full of late risers maybe the shorter hours would work better.

 

[idle]

Personally I like extra hours and all the extra shows running so I would go for the weekend dates. But I am an early riser and have no problem getting to the park first thing in the morning, taking a long afternoon break, and then hitting the park up at night. If your group is full of late risers maybe the shorter hours would work better.

My sister aside, we're early risers and would have no problem doing rope drop. I am also leaning toward the weekend dates for the extra hours in the park.

 

[tarheelalum]

It's always crowded every day of the week at Disneyland. The weekday hours are very limited that time of the year. Go on the weekend when you get A LOT more time and all the shows/fireworks. Have a great time.

 

[vratiana]

I vote for the weekdays. I much prefer lower crowds even if it means shorter hours. Tuesdays are my favorite days for DL.

 

[kristabelle13]

I've been here since Sunday. The park closes at 9pm basically. I think the hours have been 10-9 (I'm doing the runs so my brain is foggy and I'm not hitting the parks that hard lol). While it's been good, I miss it being open til 12! It's been open 8-12 everyday on 4 previous visits this year. Everyone can get up for 10am - not everyone will get up for 8am. And many families leave after the fireworks at 9ish. On Sunday, I did everything in Tomorrowland as a walk-on between 9 and midnight.

 

[paintingoncelluloid]

I personally will always choose fewer crowds (so Tu-Thur) over longer hours -- not only can I get just as much "done", I also think it is just so much more pleasant to be in the parks when the walkways/restaurants are a little less packed. Then again, Fantasmic was the only nighttime entertainment that I really loved; fireworks and parades (and shows like Mickey and the Magical Map) are good reasons to go on the weekend.

Another thing to consider about midnight in February, depending on where you are from and how much you want to pack/carry, is the weather. Even if it's warm during the day, 11 PM in winter can be pretty cold. I usually find the cool nights really refreshing for a couple of hours, but around 8/9 is when I start to get uncomfortable unless I have outerwear. If you want to take advantage of those extra three hours at night, make sure you come prepared!

 

[SMD]

The 60th will be over, but there will be a new annual theme by next year. Maybe they'll do AP Days again in February. Maybe the So Cal ticket offer will be really popular this year. Pick the best dates travel wise and budget wise and deal with the park hours and crowds as they are.

 

[idle]

I personally will always choose fewer crowds (so Tu-Thur) over longer hours -- not only can I get just as much "done", I also think it is just so much more pleasant to be in the parks when the walkways/restaurants are a little less packed. Then again, Fantasmic was the only nighttime entertainment that I really loved; fireworks and parades (and shows like Mickey and the Magical Map) are good reasons to go on the weekend.

Another thing to consider about midnight in February, depending on where you are from and how much you want to pack/carry, is the weather. Even if it's warm during the day, 11 PM in winter can be pretty cold. I usually find the cool nights really refreshing for a couple of hours, but around 8/9 is when I start to get uncomfortable unless I have outerwear. If you want to take advantage of those extra three hours at night, make sure you come prepared!

Great points, and it's really got me thinking now. I don't have experience of doing a weekend visit of relevance. I just recently did a Tues-Thur right before APs were back in full swing in August. My last visit before that was in the early 2000s, so the crowd levels aren't comparable. The Tues-Thur was decently busy, I think - still summer for a lot of families, but not as many APs.

Touring Plans, for example, had these predictions:

Tues. 16th Aug, 7 out of 10 - but they say actual was 6/10.
Wed. 17th Aug, 6 out of 10 - but they say actual was 5/10.
Thur. 18th Aug, 7 out of 10 - but they say actual was 5/10.

I'm wondering how that will compare with a weekend in February when APs are not blocked out.

Despite being from South Louisiana, we love cold weather. So I don't think the cold will bother us much. Maybe we won't be riding Splash after dark...

So torn!

 

[idle]

The 60th will be over, but there will be a new annual theme by next year. Maybe they'll do AP Days again in February. Maybe the So Cal ticket offer will be really popular this year. Pick the best dates travel wise and budget wise and deal with the park hours and crowds as they are.

The thing making it difficult to choose is travel and budget wise, it's the same for us...so it's coming down to crowd levels versus extended hours.

 

[azdisneylover]

How about going for 5 days and staying at the Grand Californian? This way, there isn't a rush to try and pack in everything in 3 days since you mentioned your parents haven't been in 20 years. They may want to stroll down Main Street to check out all the changes. Plus, DCA wasn't even there last time they went. The plus staying at the Grand is when you ride Grizzly Rapids, you exit very close to the entrance to the hotel!

 

[DahliaRW]

Do you have to do the parks consecutive days? I'd do W, Th, and then Sa or Su if possible. Do all the rides the first few days, and then catch shows and fireworks on the weekend along with favorite rides.

 

[Boku41]

Do you have to do the parks consecutive days? I'd do W, Th, and then Sa or Su if possible. Do all the rides the first few days, and then catch shows and fireworks on the weekend along with favorite rides.

This is by far the best idea. Do either one day during the week and two weekend days, or two days during the week and one weekend. Break the days up with a rest day in between so you can be there all day when you do go. I would personally choose a Wed, Fri, Sat trip so I can see both Parks' shows. If they had to be consecutive, I would choose Thursday, Friday, Saturday.

 

[tarheelalum]

Great points, and it's really got me thinking now. I don't have experience of doing a weekend visit of relevance. I just recently did a Tues-Thur right before APs were back in full swing in August. My last visit before that was in the early 2000s, so the crowd levels aren't comparable. The Tues-Thur was decently busy, I think - still summer for a lot of families, but not as many APs.

Touring Plans, for example, had these predictions:

Tues. 16th Aug, 7 out of 10 - but they say actual was 6/10.
Wed. 17th Aug, 6 out of 10 - but they say actual was 5/10.
Thur. 18th Aug, 7 out of 10 - but they say actual was 5/10.

I'm wondering how that will compare with a weekend in February when APs are not blocked out.

Despite being from South Louisiana, we love cold weather. So I don't think the cold will bother us much. Maybe we won't be riding Splash after dark...

So torn!

Touring plans is completely wrong 90% of the time so don't base your decsion off of anything from that website. And cold is relative. If you wear a hoodie sweat shirt in the evening you'll probably be fine. It can often be quite warm sometimes in the day in February so pack your clothes for all kinds of weather. And remember during the weekdays disneyland only has one parade and no fireworks.

 

[idle]

Touring plans is completely wrong 90% of the time so don't base your decsion off of anything from that website. And cold is relative. If you wear a hoodie sweat shirt in the evening you'll probably be fine. It can often be quite warm sometimes in the day in February so pack your clothes for all kinds of weather. And remember during the weekdays disneyland only has one parade and no fireworks.

Yeah, I've read the crowd predictor websites can be very very wrong. I do wonder where they get their "what we saw" figure from - maybe based on wait times? Anyway, don't think I'll be making a decision based on them.

Definitely not worried about cold. We can layer no problem.

As for the nighttime entertainment, yes, that's another reason why I would lean toward at least one weekend day.

This is by far the best idea. Do either one day during the week and two weekend days, or two days during the week and one weekend. Break the days up with a rest day in between so you can be there all day when you do go. I would personally choose a Wed, Fri, Sat trip so I can see both Parks' shows. If they had to be consecutive, I would choose Thursday, Friday, Saturday.

Now I'm thinking we might add a day and then do 4 day hoppers. The cost to add a day is negligible (hotel, extra hopper day, food). I'm thinking doing a Friday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday...or Friday, Saturday, Monday, Tuesday. Something like that - so we get the weekends and weekday.

 

[tarheelalum]

Yeah, I've read the crowd predictor websites can be very very wrong. I do wonder where they get their "what we saw" figure from - maybe based on wait times? Anyway, don't think I'll be making a decision based on them.

Definitely not worried about cold. We can layer no problem.

As for the nighttime entertainment, yes, that's another reason why I would lean toward at least one weekend day.



Now I'm thinking we might add a day and then do 4 day hoppers. The cost to add a day is negligible (hotel, extra hopper day, food). I'm thinking doing a Friday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday...or Friday, Saturday, Monday, Tuesday. Something like that - so we get the weekends and weekday.

If you want to split them up I'd suggest Wed, Thurs, Friday, Saturday. Sundays are often the worst day of the week for crowds due to some of the annual passes.