WWYD: Labor Day Weekend 4 Days or Weekend After 3 Days?

[Novatrix]

As it says in the title, in your opinion which would you do if you were a solo first time visitor?

Thursday through Sunday right before Labor Day or Thursday through Saturday right after Labor Day?

As a first time visitor to Disneyland, the extra day would be nice and give me time to do a park tour, but at the same time I could really use the extra vacation day for other purposes.

The other wrinkle is I'm DVC, so I currently have 4 nights booked in a studio at GCV for the Thurs-Sun, but about the same number of points would get me 3 nights in a 1 bedroom the next weekend.

Thanks in advance.

 

[gabbyenovak]

As a person who went to DL on Labor Day last year, I push for the weekend after. I am also DVC and I am trying to reserve Labor Day through Thursday and it is going to be hard lol.

 

[Novatrix]

As a person who went to DL on Labor Day last year, I push for the weekend after. I am also DVC and I am trying to reserve Labor Day through Thursday and it is going to be hard lol.

Yeah, I have to admit, it might be all theoretical if there is no availability to switch the dates! Good hunting to you.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Well, does Halloween Time matter to you at all? The days before Labor Day (9/3-6) won't have Halloween Time for certain. HM will probably still be down for the NBC overlay installation. F! and fireworks probably won't run on the Thursday, but should run on the weekend. The dates after Labor Day (9/10-13) may well start Halloween Time on the Friday, which means HM will be back up as HMH and Space Mt. may be running as SMGG. DCA will have BVS and Cars Land decorated for Halloween. And Halloween Time means big crowds as the locals, especially the local APs, swoop in after school and work on the Friday and all day on the weekend to see one of the favorite times of year in the parks.

 

[Novatrix]

Well, does Halloween Time matter to you at all?

Having never been to Disneyland, it might be nice to experience Halloween time but if I don't that isn't the main aim of the trip.

Would the first weekend of Halloween crowds be any worse than the Labor Day weekend?

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Having never been to Disneyland, it might be nice to experience Halloween time but if I don't that isn't the main aim of the trip.

Would the first weekend of Halloween crowds be any worse than the Labor Day weekend?

Sort of. We can't guarantee that Halloween Time would start that weekend because Disney hasn't announced any official dates, but based on past calendars, that weekend seems fairly likely. And based on past opening weekends for Halloween Time (which is probably the second most popular time of year at DLR after Holiday Time), the local AP crowd will be very excited to visit the park on the Friday (so expect big crowds once school and work get out) and on the Saturday and Sunday (if the lower APs are good those days). Here is last year's Halloween Time Superthread, so you can see what was offered and what it looked like: Halloween Time Superthread 2019: "Oogie Boogie Bash" Party to Be Held in DCA ONLY! and Other Halloween Time Information. Note that the thread started in January for something that was scheduled to start in September. This year's superthread began before the end of last year -- that's how excited fans are for Halloween Time!
For Labor Day Weekend, the crowd patterns will be more evenly weighted and spread out.

 

[mentos]

I’ve been during both time periods and the weekend after Labor Day has been consistently dead for me.

I typically push the trips to October now because it’s quite hot still (even mid October was hot, though) and Halloween decorations are huge for us.

But from a crowd basis, I vote post Labor Day. There’s a potential for reduced hours, though...check past calendars.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

I’ve been during both time periods and the weekend after Labor Day has been consistently dead for me...

That's the thing this year, though -- Labor Day is late (9/07) and the weekend after is the second Friday (9/11), which has been the first day of Halloween Time in the past. Soooo... if it is again this year, then that weekend will NOT be dead. Unless Disney pushes the start of Halloween Time to the following weekend (9/18) -- and we won't know until Disney makes the official announcement, which could take a while.

 

[Novatrix]

I guess the other question here is what does one define as "a lot of crowds." Too packed to move down main street? 3 hour ride waits? Or just more competition for Halloween themed rides and events?
Also, I'd have access to EMH and was planning to get Maxpass, so would that make crowds more manageable?

I know at Disney World, having memories of what it was like post-9/11 and during the 2007 recession, even so called low times are busy to me. That said, I've still been in the parks for Thanksgiving the past couple of years and they weren't a problem as long as you had a plan. Forgive the Disney world comparison, it's just the one that I have decades of experience with so I can easily reference. I also remember during my one visit to Disneyland Paris, as long as rides had <1 hr wait it wasn't too much of a chore. Most of the time I just went back to the room in the middle of the day and would close the parks down at night for the shorter lines.

I did find it funny that you referenced the Halloween time thread starting in January for a Sept event as an evidence of popularity. I frequent the rundisney board. You're running late if you haven't already started next year's Marathon board before day 2 of this year's Marathon!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

... I did find it funny that you referenced the Halloween time thread starting in January for a Sept event as an evidence of popularity. I frequent the rundisney board. You're running late if you haven't already started next year's Marathon board before day 2 of this year's Marathon!

We're pretty relaxed here and pride ourselves on not being as hyperstressed as some of the other boards. So having a thread start MONTHS in advance for something like that is pretty unusual for us!

 

[mentos]

I know at Disney World, having memories of what it was like post-9/11 and during the 2007 recession, even so called low times are busy to me.

Oh my, that recession is such a distant memory for me, but still very vivid. Disneyland would close by 8pm and it would be a ghost town during the week. Mickey’s Halloweentime was like 3 weeks long, $25, and the SoCal select pass was $99 (literally almost free if you upgraded a day ticket).

I remember it being so quiet/dead, I would sit at the hub with my organic chemistry notes and study for class on the bench in front of the castle. then I’d grab a churro and go home.

 

[Novatrix]

Well, ended up going with option 3.
Still labor day weekend, but also booked the Monday and Tuesday night so I can hopefully have a lower crowd finish for the parks, then fly to Yosemite on the Wednesday.

Ideally, it would have been nice to finish in Disneyland with Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain being open, but at the same time I'm hoping that my chances for a Half Dome hiking permit will be better after Labor Day weekend. Plus, I've been eyeballing the Mammoth Lakes Gran Fondo that takes place that Saturday if I can figure out where to rent a road bike...