Which dates would you choose between these two?

[mattlauriem]

Hi. My family and I are going to DL for the first time. We can either go mid-March or mid-July. We would go for four days probably spending Thursday-Saturday in the park. I know in the Spring that the shows are only on the weekends or else we would just spend all weekdays there. If we went in the summer, we could spend all weekdays and get the shows, I think. My dilemma is: are summer weekdays still better than Spring weekend days? I've heard that the weekend days are bad all year round (crowd-wise) I don't want awful crowds but still want all the rides/shows. Plus we planned on going to the Knott's Berry Water park so not sure if it would be too cold in the Spring. Any opinions? Also, would 4 full days in the parks be too much time? Thank you for any input!!!!

[nmbullrdr]

We like to go Sunday through Thursday. That way, we can see the shows (especially Fantasmic!) on Sunday. Then we have Monday through Thursday to have a quiet time at the Parks. We get a 5 day park hopper ticket and this works out well. Mid-March might find you in the beginning of Spring Break and can be busy. Mid-July is summer vacation and will be busy. The best time to go is off season, after Labor until about a week before Christmas (minus Halloween, Thanksgiving, and any 3 day holiday weekend). And January till the middle of March is also off season (minus any holiday or 3 day holiday weekend). The last week or ten days of August can be a lot less crowded during the week. My family is not very good on crowds, so we rather go in the off season than fight crowds during spring break or summer. During the off season during the week, the longest wait was about 15 minutes. Most rides were simply walk ons. Now about the weather in California, who knows? We went in December of 2003 and had perfect weather. Even went swimming everyday at the Disneyland Hotel pool! You can swim in the spring, just depends on where you are coming from and how cold is cold to you. March average high is 70 degrees. July average high is 82 degrees. August and September average high is 84 degrees. If you are going to DL and can only do it when the kids are out of school, I would try for the last couple of weeks in August, crowds should be less and the weather should be better. If you can only come in Mid-March or Mid-July, you have to decide on the weather and how cold is cold to you. Think about coming Saturday through Wednesday or Thursday. On Saturday and Sunday, just try and catch the shows and during the weekdays get up early and try to ride all the attractions first thing in the morning. And I do recommend 4 or 5 days to see both parks. That way you don't feel like to have to hurry all the time.

[mattlauriem]

Thank you so much for the reply, nmbullrdr! I've been checking and checking the site to see if anyone had any advice, and your's was great! VERY useful info for me to help decide. Since we live in Montana and usually still snowmobile and ski during Spring Break, I think weather in the 70's will feel great to us and no doubt, my kids will find it warm enough to swim! I didn't know there were shows on Sundays so thanks for that tidbit too. I thought they were just on Fridays and Saturdays. I'll have to think about the Knotts Water Park or just play it by ear. I was going to get the CityPass but since there are only 3 days of DL/DCA on it, I may just buy a 4 or 5 day pass. Thanks again!!

[little disney lovers]

Hi there, Keep in Mind that Easter is in late March next year and some spring breaks are the week before and the week after Easter. That being said, July would be in the summer break period also. I would personally choose March. If you do get some of the spring break traffic, You will also get extra shows and parades. DL increases the entertainment with the increased traffic flow. Last April it was quite busy, But there was heaps of extra things to do. My DD5 did a free baking class with Mary Poppins and 7 other kids. The interaction with Mary Poppins was great, Only 8 kids and they took about 30 minutes and made chef hats and then baked choc chip cookies. They were all given a little bag of cookies to give to their families and got to keep their hats.
I think July would be getting quite hot and also you will get a USA wide break period, Not just the staggered Easter breaks. We went in May 2005 and it was warmer than April 2006, not hot, but warm. April was beautiful during the day, but cooler at night, Pack a lightweight sweater, Or buy one at the park!
Hope thos helps, Have fun planning, We are going to WDW in April/May 2008 and I'm already planning!!!

[mattlauriem]

Thank you for your reply, little disney lover! Good point about the USA wide break! I think we will go in March. Our Spring Break is the third week of March, but we could take the kids out of school two or three days the week beforehand so we'd be in DL the end of the second week for 3 or 4 or 5 days (haven't decided the length yet!!). Then we'll head to somewhere near San Diego for 5 days to do SeaWorld, the Zoo and the beach keeping in mind that it might be chilly. We'll just skip the water park scene unless it happens to be 80 degrees that week. I really wouldn't have thought to take warmer clothes so thanks for the tip. I'm getting so excited now that we've decided on when. NOW all we have to do is wait for good airfare and possibly a promotion from DL for that time.