Pregnant & debating March or May for Disneyland

[mjhom]

I'm pregnant with my 2nd one- my first is almost 2 years old. We wanted to get to Disneyland before the 2nd one arrives. We are debating March 20-21 at Disneyland (Anaheim) or May 1-2. I'll be 20 weeks in March 20-21 & 26 weeks in May 1-2.

Also- question about the Toy Story parking lot... do you have to collapse your stroller to get on? We'll be 3/4 of a mile from Disneyland & have walked it most of the time. Not sure if it's better to conserve that energy or unload the stroller, collapse it & wait for the parking shuttle... any thoughts?

Pros & Cons:

March:
I'm already out of breath walking 30 minutes during my lunch break, so not sure how I'll be in May...
At least, I know I'll have to take it a little slower at the park.
This could be prime time for Spring Break. My husband hates waiting in lines (doesn't everyone?). I'm afraid he'll say Let's just go back to the hotel & skip the park instead of waiting in line. To me, that would be such a waste!

May:
Fewer crowds- Hopefully, lower cost for hotel
Who knows what 6 weeks will do to my pregnancy... I'm due Aug 9th so it would be nearing the 3rd trimester.

Having such a hard time deciding... any thoughts or experiences to offer?

Thanks!!

[SnuggleBuggles]

I went at 26w but I was in really good shape. The day was fun and easy. When they went on rides I couldn't go on (ds1 was 5yo so could go on big rides), I watched shows and wandered the air conditioned gift shops. There are lots of good ways to take a break at DL. I'd go in May so it's less crowded. I think that the difference btw 20 and 26w won't be big. Sounds like May would be more pleasant.

Beth

[Twoboos]

Honestly, I think March will be a complete mess. We're going in April and it's going to be a mob scene, 9 or 10 out of 10 all days we're there.

You can check Touring plans for crowd predictions
http://touringplans.com/disneyland-resort/crowd-calendar (um, OK... except I don't know how to make it show March, and May isn't available yet!)

or Is It Packed (which I had never heard of!)
http://www.isitpacked.com/disneyland-crowd-forecast-predictor-calendar/

I had also gotten an email about on-site hotel discounts starting May 1. I'll check to see if I still have it, but it may be on the Disney website now.

Have fun whenever you decide to go!:)

[AnnieW625]

Spring Break for our area (at least LB Unified) isn't until late April this year to coincide with Easter, but in general I think a lot of March esp. the weekends can be crowded. We went twice last year when I was 20+ weeks pregnant. The first time was in February and the second time it was super super crowded and it really surprised me,a Sunday in March a couple of weeks before Easter so I was 32 weeks pregnant with DD2. I did fine, but I was able to walk and stay active during my pregnancy.

We went the first Sunday in May in 2008 and it was great, not so bad crowds and the weather was nice. There are plenty of places to sit.

We had (and are going to get again) the Southern California pass (only available to So Cal residents) so the dates that we are blocked out are usually the busiest. Just look at the dates in the AP part of Disneyland.com .

[sariana]

March also is questionable weather-wise. It can be cold and rainy, or hot and sunny. Early May is more likely to be temperate, which makes planning easier.

Spring Break for many K-12 schools is later this year (April), but colleges aren't affected by the timing of Easter. So any time from now until mid-April will be busier.

I think all the parking shuttles require you to fold your stroller, though I'm not sure about that. However, I would take the shuttle at any stage of pregnancy. Why waste energy on walking from the parking lot, of all things?

[elektra]

I would do May too.

[twinstar]

I have a SoCal pass, and we are blocked out the last couple of weeks of April so I'm thinking that will be when they are expecting bigger crowds. The schools in my area are on spring break early (last 1 or 2 weeks of March). But in the last couple of weeks, Disneyland hasn't been too crowded at all. In my opinion, if you can go in early May, right after the blockout dates, that would be the better option.

Also, you will have to fold your stroller to get on the Toy Story buses. I go with my 2 year old son often and always have the stroller and a backpack. I hate doing the tram with the stroller, but the bus is much easier.

[mjhom]

Thank you for all the wonderful responses. Based on your help, we decided on May & booked Hojo Anaheim in May. We didn't want to fight the crowds- less patience when I'm preggie- my poor husband!

Good thing we decided in May because the days we were going to go in March have a 40% chance of rain!

Again, thank you!