Disneyland - Glendale,AZ

I went the last week of August midway to September. Most parent's are preparing for school to begin so they are shopping for school supplies, clothes, etc. Other's were planning for Labor Day so it was the best time for us to go. I have to say we pulled up and there were no lines it was great. I rented a house and it was a great deal five bedroom house with pool and pool house that had a slide we paid 1100.00 for six days. We invited my best-friend and her family to come with us and we split the cost. All and all the house, car rental, food and gas, airline tickets for my family of four came to 1400.00 this is w/o disney and all the other great things we did. Check out the houses for yourself www.floridasunvacationhomes.com

The website MouseSavers.com is a super resource. I used it to help plan our Disneyland trip in June (we're stuck with the school calendar, so have to go peak time). Also take a look at the reviews on TripAdvisor.com. I think most hotels near Disneyland are on the shuttle route, so that shouldn't be too big a concern. We went with the Doubletree because if offered two-room suites (our kids are noisy sleepers, so essential for us), terrific reviews and free breakfast for the kids.

I think if you go there anytime not tied to the school calendar (for instance, Spring Break, Winter Break, Summer Break), you'll find it manageable there. I'd probably aim for mid-September, weekdays, when everyone is back in school but the weather is still great.

Anytime before schools get out in June. Sunday mornings are great when everyone is in church and weekdays will always be better than weekends. Our schools here get out around June 15th, and go back in early September. There are several hotels within walking distance to Disneyland and some even have shuttles that will take you back and forth. You just need to look online and most of the hotels in Anaheim, CA will say if they are walking distance or have free shuttles.

The Tuesday - Friday after school gets out (if your children are school aged) Most of the county will still be in school and the weekends are always busy. There are several hotels with-in walking distance that have great rates. Go to getawaytoday.com and look for Disney vacations.

Weekdays are far less crowded than weekends. May and early June will be much less crowded than summer, and mid-September through October are also good times, since most people don't take time off at the beginning of the school year. It is always crowded through the summer, spring break, and holidays.

If you have an iphone, there is an app called MouseWait (I think that's the name) that tells you how long the lines are at all the different rides. It's nice to use when you're in the park and trying to decide where to go next.

Hit the big rides early in the day, since lines do get longer as the day goes on. All roller coasters, Splash Mountain, Indiana Jones, Autopia, Dumbo, Peter Pan

The line for the submarines is always long, and in my opinion, not really worth it.

If you're going to CA Adventure, the Toy Story ride is great but always crowded, so get there before the park opens and do that ride first.

Plan for lunch a little before noon and you'll beat some crowds that way. Plus, then you can do some rides during peak lunch hour when a lot of people are eating and not waiting in lines.

I live locally so I've never stayed at a hotel, so no recs there. Have fun!

K.
http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/karenchao - need entertainment for the plane/car ride? We have great toys for travel!

The absolute best thing I did was check out a few travel books on Disneyland from the library. I was able to chart the best course for my family, based on our ages, interests, etc. I knew which rides to hit first and which ones to use the Fast Passes for. As for WHEN to go, it'll be least crowded when most people can't go: middle of the week in October or March! Typical high season holds for Disneyland, too!

Weekdays while schools are in session. Weekends are a nightmare these days, year round. Sundays are the worst because the lower tier passholders can go that day, unlike Saturdays. Do you have American Airline miles by chance? We do and we just purchased a night at the Hilton that is right there for 8,500 points (the rooms there normally cost $250/night) -- what a deal!!

We just got back from a great 3 day stay at the Carousel Inn, which is right across the street from Disney. If your kids are still in strollers, I would recommend staying close enough to walk to your hotel as getting on and off of shuttles with all the stroller folding/unfolding is not much fun.....especially when kids are sleeping. They have a decent continental breakfast and we were upgraded to a suite (yeah)! Great folks. Also, we only had to pay $9.00 to park the day that we checked out which meant that we could stay in the park a bit. Have a great time!