We have to come to Disneyland when our kids are out of school. No flexibility because kids are in advanced classes. We have two options:
The crowd calendar shows DLR at around 4-6 for November 26-28, 2015. This confuses me because looking at those dates historically they were closer to a 9 or 10. One MAJOR concern is traffic (driving from and returning to UT that week). But if the crowds really are a 4-6 that would be fantastic.
For June 1-3, 2016, the crowd level is forecasted at a 6. It is immediately after Memorial day too so I don’t know how that will affect traffic. Grad nights may be an issue?
Bottom line: with crowd levels being similar for both weeks, and having to drive from Utah, would you go to DLR over Thanksgiving break or the first week of June? Thanks!
Assuming similar crowd levels, I would go in November. The temperatures are cooler and I love the Holiday décor around the parks. IASW has a holiday overlay, and HM will still be decorated with the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay (spectacular!). Plus it’s sooner . Grad nights didn’t bother us too much when we were there in late June a few years ago, but others tell a different tale of bad language and unruly, unsupervised teens.
Since the 60th stuff started in May, the crowd calendar has consistently been at least 2 numbers too low on a daily basis. And I do think TP is way underestimating Thanksgiving with 4-6’s on the calendar. If last year was an 8 or 9, this year may be worse with the 60th stuff bringing so many new visitors. I think both times will be crowded, so I would pick based on which weather you prefer and also whether you prefer to see DL in it’s normal form, or if the holiday stuff is more of a draw.
We were there the first week of June last year and it was great. The weather was beautiful and the crowds were reasonable (listed as 6 or 7, but with planning we never waited long for anything). Also the park hours were long so it wasn’t an issue getting everything done. That said, if you can do Thanksgiving, I would go for it. The holiday decorations are amazing and the early days in the week are usually very do-able in terms of crowds (many of the locals are still in school). Either way you can’t lose.
. Grad nights didn’t bother us too much when we were there in late June a few years ago, but others tell a different tale of bad language and unruly, unsupervised teens.