A DLR Guide for WDW Vets

[rymahoney]

Hydroguy, Thanks for your threads and pointers. We do rope drop in wdw and usually break between 12-2 and then head back out. Planning on doing same here for sure. My kids are young a good break mid day saves us on lunch and gets them a nap! Actually in usually first to fall asleep!!
I am open to suggestions based on your experience for some suggested weeks. No data needed as I know weather is unpredictable and crowds are hard to judge here.
Based on what iv read anytime after spring break is pretty good. I'll need to go back and look at weather trends for the area. But anything will be better than maryland. Again we usually do wdw in January but that is only to avoid crowds and allows us to us Disney gift cards from Christmas. Disneyland is a rare treat so I don't want to limit us to just January if it's not a great time to go.

 

[HydroGuy]

I am open to suggestions based on your experience for some suggested weeks. No data needed as I know weather is unpredictable and crowds are hard to judge here.
Based on what iv read anytime after spring break is pretty good. I'll need to go back and look at weather trends for the area. But anything will be better than maryland. Again we usually do wdw in January but that is only to avoid crowds and allows us to us Disney gift cards from Christmas. Disneyland is a rare treat so I don't want to limit us to just January if it's not a great time to go.

My suggestions are summarized here:

"Choosing When To Visit DLR: Summary of High and Low Season and When Each Happens" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=36509602

This link was in the OP in section 16 "When to Visit DLR".

 

[sleepydog25]

Hydroguy, Thanks for your threads and pointers. We do rope drop in wdw and usually break between 12-2 and then head back out. Planning on doing same here for sure. My kids are young a good break mid day saves us on lunch and gets them a nap! Actually in usually first to fall asleep!!
I am open to suggestions based on your experience for some suggested weeks. No data needed as I know weather is unpredictable and crowds are hard to judge here.
Based on what iv read anytime after spring break is pretty good. I'll need to go back and look at weather trends for the area. But anything will be better than maryland. Again we usually do wdw in January but that is only to avoid crowds and allows us to us Disney gift cards from Christmas. Disneyland is a rare treat so I don't want to limit us to just January if it's not a great time to go.

Check out the discussion HydroGuy gave you, but I will say that we just got back from a week at DL which happened to be the first week after the end of the official spring break season. It was crowded but not unmanageable save for the very first day post-spring break (Monday, 23 April): even the CMs said it was crazier than normal, and that oddly, the day before was very slow. I'm guessing folks left on that last day (Sunday), then those who thought Monday would be slow all gathered in the parks. After that, it seemed to be typical Disney crowds and lines. We made excellent use of the EMH and were able to hit most of the rides we wanted within that first hour, then FPed and got in lines that weren't yet out of control. For example, one day we hopped on RSR out the gate during EMH, then headed over to CA Screamin' and rode it three times straight with virtually no wait, hit TSMM, then went for Soarin' FPs, and headed over to ToT before the lines got too long. The weather was typical for this time of year in SoCal as I recalled (lived there for four years): mild, warm days and cool nights. Perfect.

 

[rymahoney]

Thanks! Easter is the April 5 2015. I think it would be safe for last week in April or 1st week in may. Opinions?

 

[sleepydog25]

Thanks! Easter is the April 5 2015. I think it would be safe for last week in April or 1st week in may. Opinions?

From my admittedly limited viewpoint, I'd say that would be good timing.

 

[HydroGuy]

Thanks! Easter is the April 5 2015. I think it would be safe for last week in April or 1st week in may. Opinions?

That period is usually lower crowds so is a good choice if that is your primary goal.

A couple things to consider...

1. This year people who booked trips in this time frame encountered an extremely large number of refurbs that left many people quite upset. Be prepared for that.

2. Next year 2015 will be DL's 60th anniversary. While I doubt it will be anything as big as the 50th, it will happen. When DL had its 50th anniversary it was kicked off on May 4 or 5, 2005. Which actually brought tons of crowds at that time.

You may want to wait to lock anything down on your dates until that is clarified. I suspect that if DL begins the anniversary celebration in May it would be more fun to go after it starts than before.

 

[saroncar]

Thanks so much from this WDW vet headed to DLR for the first time soon!

 

[andrewilley]

Well I find myself back here again reading through this excellent FAQ for a second DL trip. Five days at the Disneyland Hotel from 13 to 18 August, with the family this time, probably three days for the parks and a day for other LA stuff.

Thanks again to HydroGuy for the FAQ - and for the convivial company during the many endless lines at the 2011 D23 Expo, it was good to meet you.

Andre

 

[HydroGuy]

Well I find myself back here again reading through this excellent FAQ for a second DL trip. Five days at the Disneyland Hotel from 13 to 18 August, with the family this time, probably three days for the parks and a day for other LA stuff.

Thanks again to HydroGuy for the FAQ - and for the convivial company during the many endless lines at the 2011 D23 Expo, it was good to meet you.

Andre

Hi Andre - good to see you back here. I remember the Disney info exchange at the D23 Expo. Have a great trip!

 

[MichaelaF]

This post is amazing, HydroGuy, thanks for taking the time to do it.

 

[HydroGuy]

This post is amazing, HydroGuy, thanks for taking the time to do it.

 

[mrsbicewdw]

Thanks for this awesome guide! Really considering a DLR trip next year even though we are WDW vets.

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

I read through the first part of the guide pages, and I had no idea that so many of our favorites were already at DLR! (Even a mini EP with Innoventions and Turtle Talk, and HS stuff we love like Animation Studio.) The idea that we can get them all into a compact 2 parks (minus World Showcase I know, but we have been there 3 trips in a row and we are pretty worn out...or down, with FP+, probably down) but we are seriously RIDE people and it sounds like this is going to be perfect for us! We have half our group in Washington State anyway, and from where we are, I don't think there is much flight difference to FL or to CA.

Now if only I could start planning it... as 18 months doesn't let us get started with airfare or hotels etc. But it does let us start building air miles and Disney reward dollars!

 

[Sundancer UK]

I'm not planning on going anywhere any time soon (I'm not rich, I'm in the UK and I just got back from 2 weeks at WDW), but DLR is on my list of must dos so tonight I found myself researching.
Well, I didn't need to research far - this thread has it all! I want to applaud you for the amazing work.

Mostly what I was worried about was that with flights costing so much we really want to be away for 10 days minimum, and was there enough to do - you certainly covered that, so thank you very much! I can now go back to Disney dreaming for years to come...

 

[Figamento]

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[momof2n2]

I can't thank you enough for pointing out the water temps are cool at the beaches. I would not have expected that. I wouldn't like that surprise.

 

[tiffjoy]

I can't thank you enough for pointing out the water temps are cool at the beaches. I would not have expected that. I wouldn't like that surprise.

"Cool" meaning cold. The water is Finger Lakes cold out here.

 

[momof2n2]

"Cool" meaning cold. The water is Finger Lakes cold out here.

So no Baywatch?

 

[HydroGuy]

So no Baywatch?

They only pretended to be warm when they were in the water.

 

[tiffjoy]

They only pretended to be warm when they were in the water.

My DH and I are East Coasters who met in Philly. While on our honeymoon in Hawaii, we decided we just couldn't go back to live there permanently, so we decided we'd move to California. Moved back, DH quit his job, and we moved to the Bay Area once he found a new job out there (that's the short version ). One of his interviews was in Orange County. I was so excited to go to the beach because I was picturing the water to be like it was in Hawaii. I went running into it. Boy was that a shock!!

It only got worse when we moved up to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is often (and I mean almost always) chilly in the city. I work in South San Francisco and it's never ending wind all summer long.

But I love it all. Wouldn't move back to the East Coast unless we absolutely had to.