California trip - Disneyland in May or September?

I was there in May this year and thought that the weather was absolutely beautiful. I did need a light shawl after dark, especially because we got "misted" on for both Fantasmic and World of Color. That combined with the wind made it chilly. I don't have any limo experience in LA.

I have been to DL in early may and early October, both were great, low crowd levels, and similar weather. Warm enough for us Canucks to wear shorts during the day. might need a sweater in the evening. The parks were decorated for halloween in the fall. i can't remember about closures as it has been a few years.

I now live on Vancouver Island, where is rains all winter, but spring & fall are great. I have never been to San Fran, Jeff C can probably give you an idea about the the weather there. Its not nearly as humid as floridia, or southern Ontario. (i am a ex Ontarian) i think is "rained" for about and hour on our may trip. and by rain it was like some one left their lawn mister on for a few minutes.

We haven't been to Southern California in over a decade, but I didn't think the traffic was as horrific as people say it is. Things slow down a lot during commuting hours, of course, but even then we got where we were going. Among cities usually rated as having beastly traffic, we've driven in Boston, Montreal, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., and I would say L.A. is no worse than any of them - maybe even better than Montreal and Boston, where nobody seems to understand what stop signs, traffic signals, and crosswalks are for.

Boy, that's a tough question! We've only been here in the East Bay area since September of 2012, so we have not had a chance to experience May yet.

The things we have learned about this area (both the East Bay and SF) is that there are lots of micro-climates, and it's really hard to figure out what to wear on any given day! And it also depends on whether the fog has rolled in around the bay or not. Makes a BIG difference.

Our first weekend here, the weekend of 9/21/12, we met up with a friend of ours over at a place called Crissy Field, right by the Golden Gate Bridge. We walked around for 4 hours - and went from comfortable to chilly to comfortable alot. It's weird because if the sun is out, you can be really comfortable, but if the clouds or fog are around, it can be really cold. It's really different than anywhere else we've lived where the sun is out one minute and then some clouds come by - the difference is more extreme here, I think. Attached are a few pics that I took that day just to give you an idea of how people were dressed. The sun was out when we started, but then we got into the fog and it got a bit chilly.

A few weeks later we went back to the city, and with the sun out and no fog, it was really nice (though a light jacket or sweater is generally a good idea - it gets chilly in the shadows of all the tall buildings).

We saw no rain in September, and just a little in October and November. But December? OOoo, the rainy season they warned us about! But I've been told that ends in March/April.

We drove from SF down the Pacific Coast Highway in mid-October, and when we started out, it was horrid! Cold, rainy and misty in SF and for a good half hour down to a place called Half Moon Bay. But about 15 minutes further south it all cleared up. We continued driving further south down to Santa Cruz (before Monterey), and it I was so glad we decided to plod along. Gor. Geous!

I can ask around with some locals about Sonoma and Napa and see what they say weather-wise. We haven't ventured up that way yet.

So I guess all I can really say is the weather is a bit tricky! In SF proper, everyone says plan to dress in layers. But everyone I work with told me that when we arrived to the area in September, we arrived at THEE best time of the year!

Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any specific questions and I'll try to answer.

And add Atlanta to that list of horrible driving places! It is right up there with LA, seriously. Glad to live out in the burbs. Getting through ATL is a the only major hurdle to jump between my house and the mouse! The rest is pedal to metal.

I went to NorCal a couple of years ago for work in March. While I was in the neighborhood I spend a couple of extra days to visit Napa and Sonama. It was cool. When the sun was shining it was comfortable with a light jacket. When it was overcast and windy it wasn't. I can only imagine that the weather would be warmer in May.

Yep, driving the ATL is not for the faint of heart!

Now see, I didn't think Grad night was that bad. However my 19 year old daughter hated being there that night. She thought it was too crowded. I didn't have any trouble with the kids being rude in the way people speak of the tour groups. The only difference that I noticed with Grad night is that there were more people.

HA! You are a GENIUS!!!!! SCORE!!!

WDW trip AND DL trip all in one year?! Perfect!