Disneyland June 2019/Grad Nights

[TandLMommy28]

How late into June with grad nights go? This year they end pretty early but last year they went longer. When will they announce dates for next year? We have to settle on dates by October the latest.

Originally our trip (we are driving Route 66 and then spending a few days at DL) was going to be in mid-May but now we we've pushed it back thanks to grad nights and will do it in June. We can't do early May because my daughter has a class that doesn't end until the first week of May.

On another note, when are people guessing Star Wars Land will open out there? Do you think the June 30 of Toy Story Land is a hint that it will also happen 4th of July week? We want to AVOID STAR WARS OPENING AT ALL COSTS.

And finally, which is worse? Grad nights or Star Wars opening?!? (By "worse" I mean "I hate crowds.")

 

[HydroGuy]

How late into June with grad nights go? This year they end pretty early but last year they went longer. When will they announce dates for next year? We have to settle on dates by October the latest.

Originally our trip (we are driving Route 66 and then spending a few days at DL) was going to be in mid-May but now we we've pushed it back thanks to grad nights and will do it in June. We can't do early May because my daughter has a class that doesn't end until the first week of May.

This gives you an idea of the history of grad nights:

"The Scoop on Grad Nights at DLR in May and June" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2298400

This year they seem to be ending earlier in June than usual. But it is also typical for Disney to add more grad nights as time goes on.

Dates for grad night start making their way out in January usually. No way you will know anything by October.

On another note, when are people guessing Star Wars Land will open out there? Do you think the June 30 of Toy Story Land is a hint that it will also happen 4th of July week? We want to AVOID STAR WARS OPENING AT ALL COSTS.

There is just no info on that. Disney always wants to get things open for summer if it all possible. If there is any way for them to get it open for Memorial Day weekend they will.

TSL at WDW opening at June 30 has no correlation to SWL at DLR except that sometimes Disney opens things in June or July when they cannot get them open by May.

If I had to bet - which is what you are doing - I would bet SWL at DLR will open by Memorial Day. And once it does, DLR will be swamped for months and months.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news based on what your trip goals are. If you really want to avoid SWL and grad nights I would try and visit in April.

And finally, which is worse? Grad nights or Star Wars opening?!? (By "worse" I mean "I hate crowds.")

SWL and the galaxy far, far away will have crowds that are far, far away more than anything we have seen in a long time.

FWIW these types of things can be much worse at DLR than WDW because DLR has so many local AP holders. AP day trippers are not on vacation and can thus dedicate entire days to waiting for a single ride. They might come with friends and family and make a party out of waiting in line. It is really hard for an out-of-town visitor on short vacation to compete with that kind of patience.

The AP effect will last through the summer and into the Fall and then, IMHO, start to die out a little.

Finally, folks around here may or may not know that DLR SWL construction is running significantly ahead of the WDW construction. There is similar speculation when WDW SWL will open. I would not be surprised if a lot of SW fans from around the country and world who can't wait for WDW SWL to open make a special trip to DLR. Which will make things even worse if that is even possible.

 

[TandLMommy28]

It's so hard to decide. We want nothing more than to AVOID STAR WARS LAND. I have no interest in it or the crowds it will bring. I actually make the schedule for my daughter's school (what a job perk, right?!?) so I have some wiggle room on that. My husband's job is the tricky part, he has to lock in on dates for his vacations by the end of October and since he's taking two weeks off in a row, changing it would be next to impossible. I'll have to play with the school schedule and see what can be done. Disneyland is not the focus of this trip but I still want to get to enjoy it. I feel so out of my comfort zone. I can plan a WDW trip in my sleep at this point but I've spent a half day at Disneyland once when I was 19. I know nothing.

 

[Cal-Pie]

Grad nite dates are usually posted on the Grad nite website by July or August for the following year. I pay close attention because I usually plan my trips for May, I think you'll absolutely have a general idea by October (although more dates are sometimes added later).

 

[TandLMommy28]

Playing with the calendar it looks like the absolute best I can do is to head out on Route 66 on april 27 and we'd end up spending May 7-9 at Disneyland. Those are all weekdays and looking at the schedule from previous years it SEEMS like early on they only do grad nights on the weekends. So fingers crossed that we can work it all out if we go with that. I'm going to stick with that plan for now and change it by October if we have to. The really good thing about pushing it earlier is better weather at the Grand Canyon. late june, I've been told, is getting too hot. Late April should be more comfortable. I hope. Hahaha.

 

[TandLMommy28]

Grad nite dates are usually posted on the Grad nite website by July or August for the following year. I pay close attention because I usually plan my trips for May, I think you'll absolutely have a general idea by October (although more dates are sometimes added later).

Thanks! I'll be looking!

 

[BrerMama]

Grad nights are at California Adventure now, so you could just plan to be at Disneyland any nights that are also grad nights. That's what we're planning to do this year (and I had no wiggle room on our dates... we leave 48 hours after I get done with school and I go back to work for summer school within a week of getting back... I was going to run into grad nights now matter what).

 

[HydroGuy]

Grad nite dates are usually posted on the Grad nite website by July or August for the following year. I pay close attention because I usually plan my trips for May, I think you'll absolutely have a general idea by October (although more dates are sometimes added later).

I have never seen that when I have looked. When you say "on the grad night website", which one are you referring to? Sounds like I am not looking in the right place...

 

[Cal-Pie]

I have never seen that when I have looked. When you say "on the grad night website", which one are you referring to? Sounds like I am not looking in the right place...

https://www.disneyyouth.com/programs/field-trips/dlr/grad-nite-disneyland/apply/ I've seen dates for the following year posted here as soon as a month after grad nites for the current year end.

 

[Cal-Pie]

Grad nights are at California Adventure now, so you could just plan to be at Disneyland any nights that are also grad nights. That's what we're planning to do this year (and I had no wiggle room on our dates... we leave 48 hours after I get done with school and I go back to work for summer school within a week of getting back... I was going to run into grad nights now matter what).

While it is true that the actual after hours party is at CA, students are given the option to purchase an all day hopper, which typically increases crowds in both parks. We won't know until next year's dates are posted if students will be given the option of a park hopper for 2019, but it has been an option for many years now.

 

[rowan1813]

As far as next year's dates for Grad Nite coming out, that is usually the end of August. This year, I received my email on Aug. 28 (I am the Grad Nite coordinator for my high school). Up until this email comes to me, I take any dates or info on the official Grad Nite website with a grain of salt because it has changed all the way up until we have received the official email in years past.

This year's Grad Nite has changed quite a bit actually. In the August 28 email that I received, it gave info on the changes to the pricing. In recent years, students have had a park hopper with an exclusive party in DCA from 10pm to 2am. This year, we had the option of 3 different experiences.
Option 1 - park hopper w/exclusive party (same as before); price jumped up like crazy!
Option 2 - 1 park, 1 day ticket w/exclusive party (the park is only DCA; you don't get an option so I have to imagine that DCA is actually going to be very busy on Grad Nite dates).
Option 3 - Exclusive Party only.

From my experience signing up my school for this year's Grad Nite, it was pretty competitive so I don't know if DLR is selling less park hopper tickets or not. All I know is that I was at my computer, refreshing constantly, right when the site came online and I was in an online queue for a good 20 minutes, worrying that I wouldn't be able to get my date and Option 1 experience (think ComicCon-esque online ticket queues). I finally did, but I know many schools did not. 2 of the high schools in my district, only got Option 2 on their chosen date (their coordinators weren't at their computers signing up when the site went live) and 1 school didn't even get their date. Things sold out very quickly this year but I don't know if that means that the parks will feel as crowded - I'm wondering if they cut down on the number of Option 1 experiences and just had more Option 2 or 3 experiences available since DCA is a larger park. Again, this is all just speculation based on my experiences signing up and what has happened with the other schools in my district.

Next year will be the tell-tale in all of this. SPECULATION BUS AHEAD - With SW coming online sometime in 2019, I have been wondering if next year will be the last year for DLR Grad Nites. With raising the prices up quite a bit, this new tier system option - it makes me wonder if this is TDA's way of phasing out Grad Nites. I just can't imagine them doing Grad Nites with a brand new land that is going to be drawing in record crowds. Grad Nites are a lot of work with CMs and extra security - I can just seem them not doing them anymore. Again, this is all complete speculation on my part - I have NO inside knowledge. This is all just based on my own observations of what has been happening in the recent years.

 

[TandLMommy28]

From my experience signing up my school for this year's Grad Nite, it was pretty competitive so I don't know if DLR is selling less park hopper tickets or not. All I know is that I was at my computer, refreshing constantly, right when the site came online and I was in an online queue for a good 20 minutes, worrying that I wouldn't be able to get my date and Option 1 experience (think ComicCon-esque online ticket queues). I finally did, but I know many schools did not. 2 of the high schools in my district, only got Option 2 on their chosen date (their coordinators weren't at their computers signing up when the site went live) and 1 school didn't even get their date. Things sold out very quickly this year but I don't know if that means that the parks will feel as crowded - I'm wondering if they cut down on the number of Option 1 experiences and just had more Option 2 or 3 experiences available since DCA is a larger park. Again, this is all just speculation based on my experiences signing up and what has happened with the other schools in my district.

Next year will be the tell-tale in all of this. SPECULATION BUS AHEAD - With SW coming online sometime in 2019, I have been wondering if next year will be the last year for DLR Grad Nites. With raising the prices up quite a bit, this new tier system option - it makes me wonder if this is TDA's way of phasing out Grad Nites. I just can't imagine them doing Grad Nites with a brand new land that is going to be drawing in record crowds. Grad Nites are a lot of work with CMs and extra security - I can just seem them not doing them anymore. Again, this is all complete speculation on my part - I have NO inside knowledge. This is all just based on my own observations of what has been happening in the recent years.

All very, very helpful information. And speculation. I appreciate your thoughts very much!

 

[TandLMommy28]

So the more I look into moving our trip to April/early May, the happier I am. First of all, the temperature swing at the grand canyon appears to be about 30 degrees between the two date options. I'll take 70 degrees over 100 every time. Also, EVERYTHING is so much cheaper along our route. Even the rental car is cheaper (we are driving a rental car one way and flying home). Score!

I really appreciate all the input to my question. I was able to make the changes to the school calendar for next year and we will save ourselves some money and hopefully some heart ache... Now, fingers crossed we make it into and out of Disneyland before Star Wars kicks off. ugh...

 

[theluckyrabbit]

This thread will give you lots of helpful info for your DLR planning: A DLR Guide for WDW Vets. Also, Easter Sunday is later in 2019 (April 21st), and the two weeks before and after Easter are usually peak crowds for Spring Break at DLR. But when Easter is later, not all school districts schedule their breaks around the holiday. So you might get lucky and not hit heavy crowds. But keep in mind, that when Spring Break is over, DLR goes back to non-peak scheduling until summer kick off (traditionally Memorial Day Weekend). This means shorter hours, less staffing, and nightly entertainment on weekends only (Fri., Sat., Sun.). If nighttime entertainment is important to you, the only way to guarantee it at this point (since DLR doesn't publish their schedule until about 6 weeks out) is to make sure that you'll be there for at least one weekend night.

 

[TandLMommy28]

This thread will give you lots of helpful info for your DLR planning: A DLR Guide for WDW Vets. Also, Easter Sunday is later in 2019 (April 21st), and the two weeks before and after Easter are usually peak crowds for Spring Break at DLR. But when Easter is later, not all school districts schedule their breaks around the holiday. So you might get lucky and not hit heavy crowds. But keep in mind, that when Spring Break is over, DLR goes back to non-peak scheduling until summer kick off (traditionally Memorial Day Weekend). This means shorter hours, less staffing, and nightly entertainment on weekends only (Fri., Sat., Sun.). If nighttime entertainment is important to you, the only way to guarantee it at this point (since DLR doesn't publish their schedule until about 6 weeks out) is to make sure that you'll be there for at least one weekend night.

Nighttime entertainment isn't important to me. Wishes was, but well... yeah, I don't care anymore. We would for sure only be at Disneyland on Tuesday through Thursday... Friday at Legoland, and fly home from San Diego on Saturday.


The tradeoff on nighttime entertainment is that even by the second week of May, every single weekend night appears to be a Grad Night. So there is literally no winning. Either you suffer through that or you don't get night time entertainment--and don't the parks close early to the general public on Grad Nights anyway? Or at least one does? Go a week earlier to avoid Grad Nights, and you are smack dab in the middle of Spring Break crowds. There is literally no winning. The conclusion I am rapidly coming to is that there is no good time to go to Disneyland and we shouldn't bother. I just hate to drive ALL THE WAY to California and not go... I'm so torn. It just sounds like it is going to be miserably crowded no matter what.

 

[agamble]

Nighttime entertainment isn't important to me. Wishes was, but well... yeah, I don't care anymore. We would for sure only be at Disneyland on Tuesday through Thursday... Friday at Legoland, and fly home from San Diego on Saturday.


The tradeoff on nighttime entertainment is that even by the second week of May, every single weekend night appears to be a Grad Night. So there is literally no winning. Either you suffer through that or you don't get night time entertainment--and don't the parks close early to the general public on Grad Nights anyway? Or at least one does? Go a week earlier to avoid Grad Nights, and you are smack dab in the middle of Spring Break crowds. There is literally no winning. The conclusion I am rapidly coming to is that there is no good time to go to Disneyland and we shouldn't bother. I just hate to drive ALL THE WAY to California and not go... I'm so torn. It just sounds like it is going to be miserably crowded no matter what.

I think your plan to go in late April/May is good. And Tues to Thurs is good too as those are least busy days. Do expect evenings to see an uptick in guests. Also, the parks do not currently close early for grad nights. The party is at DCA at 10. DCA rarely stays open past 10.

 

[HydroGuy]

Nighttime entertainment isn't important to me. Wishes was, but well... yeah, I don't care anymore.

If you saw World of Color and/or Paint the Night you might change your mind...

IMO Wishes is nowhere near those shows.

 

[TandLMommy28]

If you saw World of Color and/or Paint the Night you might change your mind...

IMO Wishes is nowhere near those shows.

I won't. Back in 2013 I had a health scare and barely survived. Wishes is what got me through the emotional healing in the aftermath of that. I had such an ugly year of recovering and struggled with severe anxiety and panic attacks... and then a year later, I was healthy enough to be in Magic Kingdom with my three kids watching Wishes. And that night, that moment, was when I finally realized that I LIVED and I needed to start LIVING and stop being anxious and you know what? I have not had another panic attack since that night. I used to say my five favorite things in the world were my three kids, my husband, and Wishes. I mean, I know that Paint the Night is great and all, but it will never matter to me like Wishes did, so if I do or don't see it doesn't really change my life... (Sorry, that's really dramatic. I'm a little over-passionate about Wishes...)

 

[rowan1813]

Either you suffer through that or you don't get night time entertainment--and don't the parks close early to the general public on Grad Nights anyway? Or at least one does?

DCA will close to the general public at 10pm for the Grad Nite party. DL will still be open with it's usual hours.