Planning a Disney vacation is one of the most fun vacations to plan. You can have a travel agent do the bulk of it for you, or do it yourself. As a former travel agent myself, the Disney vacations were some of the most fun to help others plan. Because of that, I would like to give some tips to others on how to go about planning a vacation to the Happiest Place on Earth.
First, before deciding anything else, you must decide which date you would like to be at the Disneyland Resort. The date is important, depending on what you would like to do while there. The busiest times at a Disney park are Spring Break, summer, and the week between Christmas and New Years
While busy time periods cause longer lines, they also have fewer attractions down for rehabilitation, and more parades and shows will be scheduled. For the less busy times of year, the queues will be shorter, but entertainment may just be held on weekends, and more attractions will be down for rehab in the slow season. All of this must be taken into account when you decide on your travel dates. If you want to see all of the entertainment, and ride every ride, then summer, Spring Break, or Christmas week would probably be your better choice. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas the parks are less busy, but it is a great time to go because most entertainment and attractions will be up and running in preparation of the busiest week of the year.
If your goal for a Disney Vacation is to simply be there, see and do as much as you possibly can in a short period of time, you may want to choose a less busy time of year. Once again, a great time would be between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Disney is a totally different place in the Christmas Season, with all of the wonderful decorations. By the first week of January the decorations come down, and the crowds stay light, but Haunted Mansion and It's A Small World are usually scheduled to be refurbished, to removed the holiday overlay. If rides and shows are not important to you, this is the perfect time to go on a Disney Vacation.
I can say my 2 favorite times of year at the Disneyland Resort are late June, and Christmas. In June, all entertainment is in full swing, the characters are in full abundance, and the weather is warm, sometimes outright hot. The crowds are amazing, but in my opinion it adds to the vacation, as I love to people watch! At Christmas, there is Haunted Mansion Holiday; It's A Small World Holiday, and an incredible large Christmas Tree in Town Square. The characters are all dressed in Christmas garb, and Disneyland becomes a fantasy of lights, music and color. While the temperatures are much cooler, they are not unreasonably cold. Spending a magical time like Christmas at a magical place like Disneyland Resort is an incredible vacation.