Disneyland end August/ first wk of Sept.?

[soccermom]

Help please! We're going to DL 8/27-9/9 (staying with family). What days are best to go to DL with 5 yo and 3 yo DS? Definitely 9/7-8 because it's post-Labor Day, but then we miss fireworks, etc. I definitely want to avoid Labor Day weekend, but how is the Monday/Tuesday before Labor Day weekend?

Also, on the busier August days, what itinerary should I follow since we'll be coming back the next week? I assume lines will be long(er).

TIA!! Our boys' first trip to Disney, coming at a time of lots of family troubles. So they deserve it =)

[cmo]

Check out the Crowd Calendar from the Touring Plans website:
http://www.touringplans.com/tp2/UG2_index.php?PageID=14

It gives the estimated crowd level on a scale of 1-10 (10 is most crowded) for each day. Even if you are not a member, you can see the next 3 weeks of the calendar for free. (If you join, you can see a year's worth, plus get access to lots of other goodies.!)

[bluestarfish18]

I believe PP's link is only to WDW, not Disneyland.

The time frame you're looking at is still pretty crowded, but quickly starting to wane down. There's a dropoff right after labor day.

[sariana]

I can't answer your questions specifically, but in general Tu-Th will be better crowd-wise. People will tend to tack on a Monday or Friday to make a three-day weekend.

Mornings might be a bit better. Many season pass holders will take their kids for the afternoon, so Fantasyland and Toontown can get really crowded after lunch.

Where does your family live? If they are close to the park, you may be able to see the fireworks from their house. If not, you could consider going to Downtown Disney on a night that has fireworks, and watching them from there. I think parking is free for the first two hours there (or you can get it validated if you have dinner there, or something).

We're going to DL/CA/DL for three days Aug 24-26. I plan to stick to a few lands each day in DL. (CA is less crowded in general, and we're going there only one day.) So on Tue we'll hit Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, and Toontown. On Thursday we'll go to TS Island, Adventureland, NO Square, and Frontierland. Those are just general guidelines, but by keeping to a small geographical area, and avoiding criss-crossing the park, I'm hoping to maximize our time there.

We live only about 30 minutes away but hardly ever go to DL. So I'm not as familiar as others with crowd patterns and such.

Your boys will love it, though, even if it's crowded.

[chrissyhowie]

We're going around that same time, the week before what you posted.

Any tips on what the weather is like this time of year? Seems like shorts and tshirt with jacket weather. Or would long pants be better?

Thanks in advance!

[TwinFoxes]

Fireworks will be offered every day you're there it seems, even the after Labor Day days.

http://disneyland.disney.go.com/calendar/?name=CalendarMonthlyPage#monthly

If you're really worried about crowds, go that week after Labor Day, it should have the smallest crowds, and it looks like the fireworks that week will be Summer Nightastic, which is supposed to be great.

ETA: T-shirt, shorts, light jacket should be fine. You may not even need the jacket.

[bubbaray]

Will you be getting 3-day or longer PH passes? If so, you will get a Magic Morning pass. Use that for one day. Then, for a day AFTER you have already used the MM pass, book a character breakfast, first sitting, at Breakfast with Minnie at the Plaza Inn -- you will get early entry with that too and you do not need a MM pass (though if you haven't already used it, the pass is used for that entry -- so make sure you use the MM pass FIRST). You enter the gates for the early entry meals on the far left of the DL gate. Don't stand in the MM line (which is pretty long). The CM will have your name on a reservation list.

Breakfast with Minnie is pretty good IMO. Lots of characters. Its around $100 for 2 adults and 2 children, but its worth it. The food is OK (breakfast buffet). Considering that the crappy IHOP across the street is $75 for breakfast for 4, $100 for the character one is a deal, especially if you do early entry with it.

The key to DL is to do as much early entry stuff as you can.

Save CA for afternoons when the lines are longer at DL.

[egoldber]

Considering that the crappy IHOP across the street is $75 for breakfast for 4

Really? Does it have different pricing than other IHOPs?

[bubbaray]

Really? Does it have different pricing than other IHOPs?


We thought it did. We were quite stunned to get the bill -- 2 adult breakfasts, 2 kids (and DD#2 was 2 at the time, IIRC she got a cheaper meal). It was insane. And the food was pretty crappy (but it was IHOP, so we were kinda expecting that).

We found dining out "outside" DL to be very expensive relative to the "inside park" costs -- which were more expensive, but not by much and you got the character (and early entry) bonus.