Hmmm, I have never been to California before. Are you saying I can actually expect decent weather in the summer?
Ah, the weather. I've never lived in South Florida, but I spent many years in Charleston, South Carolina, as well as some years in Tidewater Virginia, so I'm fairly adept at Southeast summer weather. The summer weather in SoCal is almost the complete opposite.
July/August in SoCal offers completely cloudless skies, warm temperatures, and almost a statistical impossibility of rain. It has rained here three times in the last two weeks, brief passing showers or sprinkles, and that was the first rain we've gotten since March, 2006. Summertime temps are generally in the mid to upper 80's, with lows in the mid to upper 60's. Obviously you can get a heat wave occasionally that will send temps into the 90's, but that's unpredictable. September is actually hotter than July on average. But the biggest difference is the very low humidity and complete lack of rain. SoCal is, after all, a coastal desert climate zone. That's why they built the Hoover Dam; to supply all the drinking fountains in Los Angeles. :lol:
There's a reason Disneyland has so many outdoor rides, uncovered patios and dancefloors, and open and non-airconditoned queues. And that reason is that rain is very rare in SoCal and mostly confined to mid December through mid March on the calendar. Rides like
It's A Small World or
Winnie The Pooh or
Alice In Wonderland or
Matterhorn Bobsleds have outdoor boarding areas without any covering. And some rides like
Teacups or
StorybookLand Canal Boats are completely outdoors, with the only roof being the short time the Canal Boats go inside Monstro The Whale's gaping mouth. The favorable weather also allows Disneyland to continue to operate unique attractions like the
Davy Crockett Canoes or the
Sailing Ship Columbia that leave riders exposed to the elements or doing some physical labor, things that would not be popular in Disney World when its so often hot and muggy and rainy.
A summer night at Disneyland is the most magical place I've ever experienced at night in a Disney park. Disneyland has outdoor dancefloors in Tomorrowland and near the Castle where they have live swing bands, pop groups, and big band orchestras and everyone dances under the stars. When you add in the fireworks and Fantasmic! and the glorious summer weather, a night at Disneyland is unmatched when it comes to atmosphere and romance. Even if you don't want to dance, it's fun to just watch from the sidelines for a bit. I recommend the swing dancing to Big Band sounds at the Plaza Gardens dancefloor, some of the dancers there are regulars and they are very talented swing dancers. At Tomorrowland Terrace they have pop groups and the bandstand comes up out of the ground to start every set.
Southern California is very different than Florida, and thus Disneyland is very different from Walt Disney World. The climate is one of the biggest differences, and it manifests itself in much different architecture and park operations at Disneyland, particularly in summer.
What part of summer are you planning on visiting SoCal?
