Planning a DL Trip!

[lumpydj]

I've been to DLR once about 4 years ago - very unplanned trip. We're planning on going back in 2008 in the summer. :sohappy: I have a few questions that I'd like to get some insight on:

1 - What's better - June (end), July, or August?

2 - What's the weather like each of the summer months?

3 - What are the crowd levels like this time of year?

4 - Are there usually a lot of rehabs going on over the summer?

5 - Are fireworks, Fantasmic, and parades run on the weekdays?

6 - We may stay at Paradise Pier - is there a height requirement on the slide?

I'm getting a little frustrated because there's not a lot of info out there on DLR... Any other advice would be appreciated (other than going in the summer - not much choice in that). Thanks! :wave:

 

[svickersart]

Let me try to help you, I have a premium AP for Disneyland and go quite a bit, I have been there during the summer months including the end of June last two years (one weekend was the POTC premier at the park) and I was there the first park of August this year.

1 - What's better - June (end), July, or August? Really doent matter, you just might want to avoid the July 4th week due to holiday crowds.

2 - What's the weather like each of the summer months? Hot, sunny, dry, might get a little humid but not like Florida.

3 - What are the crowd levels like this time of year? It will be busyer due to school being out but I would call it moderate crowds, both times I was down this last summer it seemed like the weekdays were busyer than the weekends. Start early at park opeing, usually 08:00am and you can get a lot done.

4 - Are there usually a lot of rehabs going on over the summer? Not usually, but with what they did at WDW this summer who knows what they might plan for next year. I would expect MK to have verything possible up and running, they are getting ready to start a lot of work at CA so you might see some things closed at CA with construction going on.

5 - Are fireworks, Fantasmic, and parades run on the weekdays? Parades every day, Fireworks usually every day during the summer but wind can cause them to cancel but if the weather ids good you can expect fireworks nightly. Fantasmic every nigth also unless they are doing construction that may cause a closure, it was off during the refurb of Tom Sawyers Island but back once the island re-opened, I kknow they have more work to do on TSI but I have not heard anything about re-closing it and I would expect them to close it over the winter anyway, so expect Fantasmic nightly, twice a nigth on weekends, I have not seen it at WDW but have heard ours is better.

6 - We may stay at Paradise Pier - is there a height requirement on the slide? This one I cannot answer, I havent stayed there in a few years but will in November, I assume you mean the pool slide and I dont use the pools but if I think about it ill ask or you can email guest services and they will answer.

Have a great trip when you get here.

 

[lilclerk]

Well I'm not a great source as I've only been once for three days, but I'll give you my experiences:

I went the first week of June this year. The weather was beautiful, cool in the mornings, warm afternoons and cool again in the evenings.
I was there Tuesday - Thursday and there were no nighttime shows, but during the peak summer months, I believe they do show nightly, or at least more often.
And it was CROWDED! At least more crowded than I'm used to, since I always go to WDW in the off season. But it was definitely manageable. I was there 3 days and did everything I wanted to, taking lots of breaks. I can't think of anything major that was down for refurb during my trip... all I can remember is Mr. Toad. Which was sad, I was looking forward to it, but not a huge deal.

 

[lumpydj]

6 - We may stay at Paradise Pier - is there a height requirement on the slide? This one I cannot answer, I havent stayed there in a few years but will in November, I assume you mean the pool slide and I dont use the pools but if I think about it ill ask or you can email guest services and they will answer.

Have a great trip when you get here.

Thanks for all your answers. Yes, I mean the big pool slide. I will speak with guest services about this before I book. That's the only draw to that hotel for us over DLH. When you say "hot" - how hot? mid 80's, high 80's, somewhere in the 90's?

Well I'm not a great source as I've only been once for three days, but I'll give you my experiences:

I went the first week of June this year. The weather was beautiful, cool in the mornings, warm afternoons and cool again in the evenings.
I was there Tuesday - Thursday and there were no nighttime shows, but during the peak summer months, I believe they do show nightly, or at least more often.
And it was CROWDED! At least more crowded than I'm used to, since I always go to WDW in the off season. But it was definitely manageable. I was there 3 days and did everything I wanted to, taking lots of breaks. I can't think of anything major that was down for refurb during my trip... all I can remember is Mr. Toad. Which was sad, I was looking forward to it, but not a huge deal.

My DD has never been on Mr. Toad but I have fond memories of that ride at WDW when I was a kid. Since DLR is the only place that has it, I'm hoping it will be open when I go.

 

[lilclerk]

My DD has never been on Mr. Toad but I have fond memories of that ride at WDW when I was a kid. Since DLR is the only place that has it, I'm hoping it will be open when I go.

Well since it was just closed this summer, you're probably good for next =)
And for your heat question, the height of afternoon heat was probably low to mid 80s. But it's a dry, comfortable heat; not the muggy, unbearable Florida heat.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

We love Disneyland! Just so you know there is a slide at the DLH pool too. It's a much better themed pool too, so if you're deciding on pools alone, I'd take DLH.

There are lots of very nice days in the summer at Anaheim but there are also stinking hot ones too. Anaheim can reach high 90's and rarely - the dreaded three digits. But it is a dry heat!

Definitely avoid July 4th.

 

[PrincessofP!NK]

every day in california during the summer months, any month, is usually leaning toward high 80's-100's
I dont know are the pier, and there are usually not many rehabs going on.
it is usually crowded in the summer, so get up early =]​

 

[Disneysue]

You mentioned that you were staying at Paradise Pier for the slide? The Pirate Ship pool is at DLH, Paradise Pier has a roof top pool. I believe that you can use the DLH Pirate Pool though even if you are staying at Paradise Pier. Personally, I LOVED Paradise Pier. We stayed on the 11th floor Park View room, it was AMAZING!

Go in late July or August, in California schools start earlier and the crowd levels are lower.

Disneyland usually rehabs during winter months. Because the tourism there is high during summer months, and drops significantly in September, October (with the exception of the new Halloween celebrations) In the 6 years that I was living in Anaheim, I never saw a rehab in the summer.

The BEST time to be at the parks is opening and then leave between noon & 4 or 5 or schedule a tour during that time (I HIGHLY recommend the Walk in Walt's Footsteps Tour even the greatest Disney Freak will learn something) or go back to the hotel for a swim. AVOID BEING THERE ON THE WEEKENDS!!! IF you will be there on a Friday or Saturday save the things that aren't as popular for those days (Mr. Toad is WILDLY popular hehe!). Go on the major attractions mid-week, and maybe use the weekends to find beauty in the details of both parks & explore DTD.

 

[lumpydj]

You mentioned that you were staying at Paradise Pier for the slide? The Pirate Ship pool is at DLH, Paradise Pier has a roof top pool. I believe that you can use the DLH Pirate Pool though even if you are staying at Paradise Pier. Personally, I LOVED Paradise Pier. We stayed on the 11th floor Park View room, it was AMAZING!

Go in late July or August, in California schools start earlier and the crowd levels are lower.

Disneyland usually rehabs during winter months. Because the tourism there is high during summer months, and drops significantly in September, October (with the exception of the new Halloween celebrations) In the 6 years that I was living in Anaheim, I never saw a rehab in the summer.

The BEST time to be at the parks is opening and then leave between noon & 4 or 5 or schedule a tour during that time (I HIGHLY recommend the Walk in Walt's Footsteps Tour even the greatest Disney Freak will learn something) or go back to the hotel for a swim. AVOID BEING THERE ON THE WEEKENDS!!! IF you will be there on a Friday or Saturday save the things that aren't as popular for those days (Mr. Toad is WILDLY popular hehe!). Go on the major attractions mid-week, and maybe use the weekends to find beauty in the details of both parks & explore DTD.

Thanks so much for the advice. :wave: We were looking to go the last week of July or the first week of August, but didn't know if it would be too hot. We stayed at DLH last time and loved the pool. I did see that PP had a huge slide (the yellow one) and the views looked amazing. We would definitely upgrade to get a park view if we stayed there. We're looking to fly in on a Sat or Sun and fly out the following Sat. We would avoid most of the weekend crowds that way, luckily. We will follow your advice and try to avoid the Sunday and Friday crowds - which are the days we'll be there all day. When we went a few years ago DD was too small to go on most of the rides at DCA, but now she's big enough to go on all except 1. I'm sure we'll spend at least a couple days in each park. I have heard from other posters that the weather can range from 80's - 100's during the summer but a "dry" heat. Are the temps something to be concerned about? We won't go to WDW between May and the end of September because of the heat. Even though it's a dry heat, do you still have to seek shade and A/C?

 

[CSUFSteve]

1 - What's better - June (end), July, or August?

2 - What's the weather like each of the summer months?

3 - What are the crowd levels like this time of year?

4 - Are there usually a lot of rehabs going on over the summer?

5 - Are fireworks, Fantasmic, and parades run on the weekdays?

6 - We may stay at Paradise Pier - is there a height requirement on the slide?

Looks like you got most of your questions answered so I'll avoid verbosity

1) You say potato, I say potato... There is slight dip in attendance after July 4 week and throughout the rest of July. June is generally very busy b/c school has officially let out everywhere, and August is generally very busy b/c it's everyone's last chance to go before school starts. We're talking instead of est attendance being 65k, it might be 57/60/62k. Sunday is the least crowded weekend day unless a holiday falls on a Monday, otherwise Sat is the most crowded day during a regular week.
2) As someone said, SoCal is dry heat so you generally don't get humidity. Anaheim is usually cooler b/c of the ocean breeze coming from the nearby coast. But this summer was particularly hot with temps in the 90's and higher. You won't have suddent thunder storms or rain like Florida, though, so shorts, t-shirts, and lighter clothing are definitely in order!
3) See #1
4) No, not unless there is a big, TLC rehab, but that's not typical. Usually everything is open in the summer.
5) During the core summer period, yes, but if you arrive early June, might not be. You'll just need to check disneyland.com if you are arriving before mid-June. There is generally some parade everyday. Fantasmic! is always on Fri / Sat night unless it's down for rehab.
6) Like someone said, Paradise Pier is cool if you have a view of DCA. Otherwise, I'd stay at DLH or GCH. GCH has the best pool, followed by DLH. As someone said, the DLH has the 'Neverland Pool' (themed to Peter Pan), GCH's is themed sorta like the Grizzly Peak area with a Sequoia-themed water slide. We don't have anything like Stormalong Bay so don't get overly excited about the slides

 

[Disneysue]

PS

Electrical Parade (unless it changed recently) is nightly in DCA from Memorial Day to Labor Day as well as FANTASMIC! & Fireworks. Need for A/C? not normally its very tolerable heat.