In my old eyes, a vacation is supposed to be relaxing and not an anxiety inducing mad house. The point of going somewhere is to relax, recharge, and to see/do stuff you don’t normally do. In the end you should be able to say. ‘Hey I’m Glad I did that’. Instead, I see folks come back wondering why did I do that and why did I spend that much money and now need therapy on top of it!

Well I hope I can help with that. This post will cover how Grandma and I get started on our journey to the parks. I know a good portion of you may not be the best at finding all the resources available on the big wide internet. That in itself is a daunting task.

Searching the internet for information is frustrating. Is the result an Ad? Is it paid to the be there? Is this for real? These are all questions you need to ask. All links in any of my posts have been vetted and are real sites with great information. By no means is it an exhaustive list. I would love to see some additions in the comments.

Let’s Go to Disney!

When

A big hurdle for most people is when. When should I go? When is it Crowded? What will the weather be doing? etc. Pre-covid it was pretty easy to predict crowds. No School meant Big Crowds. So any time school was in session, the parks were less crowded. Unfortunately this is not the case any more. Disney has done a great (or not so great) job of normalizing the attendance so there really isn’t an off season. Also people are not as resistant to pulling their kids out of school for a trip. School is still a factor, just not as big as it used to be.

What

Besides crowds, there are other factors to consider. As in What is going on at the Parks? Do you want to experience special occasions such as Halloween and Christmas? For instance, one of our favorite time at the parks is the first 2 weeks in December. All the Christmas decorations are out, the parks are a little less crowded and there are special ticketed events such as Mickey’s Christmas Party going on. Halloween is also a special time with ride overlays, park decorations, and special activities. The Haunted Mansion is a must do for Halloween!

But don’t forget other events such as the special festivals at Epcot and Disneyland Resort. These are great fun and make for memorable trips as well. Our next trip will be for the Epcot Flower and Garden festival this coming spring. Really excited about it! A good source of information about what is happening in the parks is the Disney web sites themselves. Here for WDW and here for DLR. Both of these sites have a What To Do section that has info on scheduled events such as Pixar Fest and Epcot Food and Wine festival.

Rules of Thumb.

Here are a few things to consider. Holidays are more crowded than not. In WDW there is Hurricane Season from June till November. DLR does have a rainy season as well, usually in winter till early spring. And remember, summers in Florida and SoCal can be Hot, Very Hot.

Another thing to keep in mind is that DLR attracts loads of Locals, WDW is more of a destination. This means weekends can be heavy in DLR. Special events can also affect park attendance. Parks close early in the wintertime. It all can get very complicated. But it does not have to be.

Next

Grandma and I first start with WHAT. We ask ourselves, just what is it we want to see and do? Then we look at crowds and see how to balance the what with the when. It is ok if you want/need to go during a crowded time, Crushing IT is all about being flexible. A good time can be had in a very crowded park. It is just not the same good time as when the parks are empty. In order to have a good time you have to think a bit differently. This is where you need to Go with the Flow and above all be flexible.

In my next post I will outline how we planned our latest excursion. Until then I would really love to hear about your experiences with planning, crowds, etc.

Until Next time