I agree with @qwerty6, you shouldn’t need a travel agent. In my experiences, I have usually found the discounts waaaaaay before my travel agents.
As for the parties, this the first time in a long time that they have moved back to DCA, so it is unknown how that will affect the crowds. I would wait until after the parties have started this year to decide for next year.
Booked! So excited. I’m going for 4 days + half day on arrival w/ Max Pass and one EMH. Prices seem fine and I did it myself. I’ll keep and eye open and update if a deal comes up.
Ahhhh!!! What an optimist I was in 2019!!!
So… a lot of you know I spent all this money on an AP for Universal Orlando for 2022 - 2023 that is now complete!
I have a Disney Visa with nearly $2,000 in points that I need to put on a Rewards card by late 2024.
I have decided I am going to DLR with this. I haven’t decided the date. With my year of traveling to Orlando I found February to be the best time in regards to crowds, pricing and weather.
Is February as good in California? It seems to be. The downside is I don’t get any of the Disney festivals, like Halloween or Christmas. My wife would be going. I need it to be cooler and with as few people as possible.
If February is a good time for DLR, do I have to start planning for Feb. 2024 now? (I can’t believe I have to ask that! I really have not thought about Disney in at least a year. I don’t miss all the prep work!)
Let’s start there… How far in advance should I start planning a Disneyland vacation as the parks operate today.
More than likely this would be a Feb. 2025 trip, but I’m bored today. Let’s talk about it!
I’ve only been to Disneyland once, but I found it much easier to plan than World. I think I booked my January '22 trip five months in advance. Now I’m planning for Jan '24 (runDisney) but I don’t think all the hotel stock is even available yet (Disney property for sure, but also some good neighbor hotels are missing from booking sites for dates that far away). If you are choosing non-holiday weekend dates, then I think you’ll be fine waiting a good while.
Thanks! That’s about what I figured. Realistically, I know it’s around 8 months out that you can start looking. I am already feeling the frustrations of why I left Disney! 
My wife needs a short break from theme park talks for a while! I’ll leave her alone until May! There are benefits for us to go in either 2024 or 2025. One of my concerns is that it could be too chilly for her in the mornings!
Au contraire, mon ami! You get Lunar New Year!!!
@darkmite2 Weather in SoCal is tricky. I was at DLR for a week in February 2021, and the temps hit 90. It was in the 80’s everyday. I spent last week at DLR and the weather was chilly (by my standards in the early part of the week, but warmed up to high 70’s by the end of the week. You just never know. In general, I think Jan/Feb is a good time to go.
If you are going in Feb., you really don’t have to start planning (except possibly booking your room) until a few months before you go. I’m going over spring break in a month, and all I have at this point is room and 1 ADR.
We routinely plan for trips anywhere from less than a week to 45 days before. That’s everything including hotel & park reservations, dining & touring plans (with park reservations though we can’t really do as much of the super short term planning like we used to i.e. deciding day of to leave & be in the park tomorrow after our usual overnight drive).
Pricing for hotels does seem to increase under 6 months so as long as you look at that early on, you’ll be absolutely fine. Even ADRs at 60 days aren’t at all essential in DL to enjoy a great food experience. There’s good options for both quick service & walk-up (and a very strong culture of walk-ups with the local/regular crowd). And if there’s a food booth festival it’s even easier to find food choices to enjoy.
As for weather, we’ve gone for Lunar New Year a few times and it can be sunny but the most recent Feb’s for us it’s been more chilly. The only time were weren’t wanting to be bundled was midday. So both mornings & evenings once the sun has set might be too cold. That can also be true in late May/June too with June gloom. My favorite months for weather in DL are April/early May. November can also be really great (maybe even late Oct/early Dec). I do also actually kind of like the June gloom though too as even though it starts out cooler by about 10-11am it’s warmly comfortable. Midday can still get hot in June, but by evening it’s comfortable again & the sun sets later so you’ll have less PM hours where it’s chilly again.
Yeah - only DVC gave me a good reason to start planning at 7 months out. Man I was so excited when I snagged the VGC days 
Otherwise I would have waited a few months and then gone ahead and booked the Best Western. Now 40 some days out I am itchy to do more planning, but my past trips have taught me better.
I am anxious for the CL 10 of the week before Easter. But I figure rope dropping, mid day breaks and touring during night time shows, we should be fine.
That’s all good to know. I’ll definitely pack my hoodie! I told my wife I wouldn’t mention it again until at least May! I just need to know the year she would be interested in going with me!
(I now phrase it that way instead of “when she can go”!) 
All of your concerns are exactly why I left Disney for an AP at Universal. Once I use these Disney Visa points I am done going to WDW/DLR until they make major operating changes.
DW actually brought up theme parks and I can’t remember how I did it, but I got a firm answer about a DLR date. She says Feb. 2025. I don’t know why she picked that and I didn’t want to push it. Besides, I’m really hoping that in another 2 years from right now that there will be changes to how Disney Parks operate. Heck… This thread wound up being a funny look back at my 2019 pre-COVID plans. I’m gonna bookmark this and see if any of the following are still in place in 2 years…
Reservation System
No Park Hopping until 11am (DLR)
$20 Genie Plus / $20 - $30 Lighting Lanes (I want the price higher like Universal to decrease demand)
Ability to hold / horde unlimited ADRs making TS reservations so hard to get
I have a couple more operational gripes, but they are WDW specific…
I’ll start thinking about all this again after Memorial Day 2024! I’m going to set a TP bookmark appointment reminder for 5/27/24! It will make me laugh one way or the other!
My reminder went off! 
UPDATE -
For those my Liner friends that have been helping me as I waffle back & forth about this trip over the last 3 months…
DW did change her mind and now says is does want to go! Thanks to all your advice we are now looking at the very last days of April / first days for May 2025. Everyone says that they best time for weather & lower crowds - plus fewer refurbs than in February. This will get us about 10 days past Easter & schools will still be in session before summer breaks.
Can’t really do much until the DLR 2025 calendar opens up. I guess I’ll set another alarm for August!!
That time of year is usually lots of testing from early grade levels all the way up to college exams so even less people skip school. Great choice!
You really helped me decide!
After all the talk about “after Easter” I went to YT to see what the parks were like 3 - 4 weeks ago. I found a vlogger called “SoCal Disney Dad”. He’s a Disneyland native with a lot of good info for first timers. He was showing what the parks looked like at the time. It does seem really nice! Plus, they’re open until MIDNIGHT!!??!! I love that!!
I’m used to UOR closing at 8pm-9pm and WDW no later than 9pm, unless it’s a party night.
lol just turned off my alarm to renew “TiWL” last month
I just kept hoping it was coming back…
It won’t be too hot either.
It was fun to be open til midnight too!
Since this is now a couple’s trip my planning is focused on keeping DW comfortable. She is an avid reader and will be spending A LOT of time in the room. Typically, she’ll RD with me until we leave at lunch. I’ll go back into the arks and go bring her back in the evening for about 3 - 4 hours.
I asked her last night what her criteria were for a stay.
#1 - comfort = Good beds & lighting. A separate bedroom with a door would be ideal, but not vital. She snores so bad that anything helps!
#2 - noise = As little outdoor / road traffic as possible - preferable interior halls instead of “motel” entry.
#3 - location = We do want to be with a short Uber ride at most
#4 -price= Ideally, $300 / night maximum - Could be flexible for on-site. (I found a sale for GCH for $535 recently. That would be something I’d consider. I’d have to go for few days)
We’ve decided that we don’t mind taking an Uber back & forth multiple times for a place to stay that will be restful. I am also open to DLR on-site, but only if the consensus is that the rooms are worth it.
Neither of us loves being away from our our bed. DW is going to spend A LOT of time laying in the bed reading. So it’s important that it’s as nice a place as possible.
Please give me all the recommendations!! I’ve got loads of time to prepare. I’ve been watching hotel review videos nonstop. They’re all starting to blend together