DLR/S. CAl trip

[ryca1dreams]

Hi all,
After 7 years of WDW trips we are thinking about a DLR and S. California trip. I have been to California in the past, but not to DL. DW has been to DL, but about 20 years ago.

As a general starter, what would be the best time frame to go for weather, crowds, cost, specials, activities, etc. We want to avoid the summer. And we'll might travel from San Diego as far as San Francisco.

Thanks for everything. Any other advice would be appreciated too!

[Alice2marie]

My family and I usually travel to DLR either in Feb-March or Oct-November. The crowds are almost always better and the weather is not bad. We usually hit more chances of rain in February and March, but the parks are very quiet if you don't mind getting wet. San Diego was very nice in March, we even went to the beach. October and November are my favorite because the parks are all done up for the holidays. We are leaving in two days and can't wait to see DLR for Halloween. We went several years ago the day after Thanksgiving, for five days and it was great! The crowds weren't too bad and it really felt like Christmas! I live near San Francisco and I love going into the city year round. Hope you enjoy everything CA has to offer!

[tdhiatt]

Well Its beautiful in December. However I would only go the first 2 weeks or you hit the crowds. Also September is pretty dead, missing the Labor day holiday. Early May is also a nice time to go. For the most part, as long as you have a weekend in your trip you will see most of the shows. Its fun, but missing the crowds is the key especially if you have young kids. Next year you can go for free on your birthday. Usually Jan thru I am not exactly when has deals on hoppers, like adults for the price of kids, and of course kids fly free through Alaska airlines. It is quit a drive to San Fransisco.

[NotaGeek]

Here's a link to a cool Crowd Estimator tool tinkwest and I built ... there's lots of cool info about crowds by month ... t's a Sticky at the top of this forum.

[tikiman]

Well Its beautiful in December. However I would only go the first 2 weeks or you hit the crowds. Also September is pretty dead, missing the Labor day holiday. Early May is also a nice time to go. For the most part, as long as you have a weekend in your trip you will see most of the shows. Its fun, but missing the crowds is the key especially if you have young kids. Next year you can go for free on your birthday. Usually Jan thru I am not exactly when has deals on hoppers, like adults for the price of kids, and of course kids fly free through Alaska airlines. It is quit a drive to San Fransisco.

The kids fly free through Alaska Airlines ended in June.

[ryca1dreams]

Thanks for all the advice so far - this is really helpful.

I hear a lot of people say that going certain times I will see all the shows... I looked on the official site and everywhere else I could and found a few shows (maybe 3-5 in each park plus the nighttime events). Plus, the hours for when we would probably go - May or September - seem to be pretty good. So, my questions is Do they just stop doing shows in the off season? We seem to see enough at WDW. Just wondering.

[tinkwest]

...my questions is Do they just stop doing shows in the off season? ...

The main "shows" that are less frequent or dark during the off season are the parades, fireworks, and Fantasmic!.

[tdhiatt]

The kids fly free through Alaska Airlines ended in June.

Actually it went thru the end of Sept. And every year for at least the past 10 years in January you will see it pop up again. We have done it every year. Normally it does end in June, but this year it lasted a little longer.