When is the best time of year to take a trip to Disneyland?

I thought this would be a good topic that the Cast Members could help out with. 

It would be interesting to hear your opinions on when you think is the best time to go.  Factors that should weigh into a decision include the obvious, such as how short the lines are and how many rides are actually open.  But other factors can be weather related or season related.  For example, my family really wants to go during Christmas time and so Christmas decorations and ride overlays are important to us.  With this in mind, from the research I've done it looks like the first week of December is the most ideal time to go as attendance drops drastically immediately following Thanksgiving and right before the Christmas crunch.  To me this is one of the most ideal times to go as there are few rides (if any) down for rehab and the park is beautifully decorated. 

Of course the information I have is from research as I don't have the privilege of attending the parks often.  So have at it and give me some of your "insider" expertise. Thanks!

I agree with the first two weeks of December. I go to Disneyland a few times a month and historically those are the best times. They are also the best times for Walt Disney World as well. There are also sporadic times in January, February and May. You have to be sure to take into account any holidays and spring breaks. Also closely follow school breaks in Utah. When Utah schools are out the parks are busy.

If you want to see all the Christmas hoopla the best time to come is the Monday after Thanksgiving weekend until about the middle of December. You'll have short lines and not much under rehab but you will also have much shorter park hours (10:00 to 20:00).