Well, that makes at least three of us going the week after Thanksgiving. When I went that same week in 2005, it was fairly quiet in the mornings and then CRAZY as soon as it got dark! One thing I was told though was that it was twice as busy that year because it was the only Christmas season at Disneyland that would take place during the 50th celebration, so everyone wanted to be there. We are really hoping to see the parade and fireworks this year (we never did last time because it was wall-to-wall, and we didn't plan for it), so I'm just crossing my fingers it won't be as bad as '05. Maybe that's just wishful thinking?? :p

Well I am expecting it to be busy the week after Thanksgiving at the parks this year. I was just told by the CM at Disney Reservations that all three resort hotels are sold out November 23-Dec. 1. Funny he seemed really shocked by that.

I booked our reservation for three nights (November 26-28) for the Disneyland Hotel on October 9th, and we were still able to get a room at that time, but they only had the higher-priced Downtown Disney view rooms available....which is exactly the type of room we always request, so it worked out great! The best part of the deal is that I normally get a decent percentage off using AAA, but this time I also happened to mention that my mom is 81, and they took another $200-$300 off! I LOVE booking directly through the hotel!!!

Well, that makes at least three of us going the week after Thanksgiving. When I went that same week in 2005, it was fairly quiet in the mornings and then CRAZY as soon as it got dark! One thing I was told though was that it was twice as busy that year because it was the only Christmas season at Disneyland that would take place during the 50th celebration, so everyone wanted to be there. We are really hoping to see the parade and fireworks this year (we never did last time because it was wall-to-wall, and we didn't plan for it), so I'm just crossing my fingers it won't be as bad as '05. Maybe that's just wishful thinking?? :p

Yeah we were there in 05 too. I was hoping that this year would be better. But in 05 we were not told all three hotels were sold out. So I am guessing it will be pretty busy.

I really am too. I'm sure the AP rates had a lot to do with it. Glad to hear you got to add your room.


Tell me it isn't so!!!

We need an uncrowded trip to offset our last one

Anyone know what the crowds are like this week? If I remember correctly there are a lot of Utah schools out right now due to UEA. I am just curious if it has impacted the crowds. We will be coming up Oct. 31st for 5 days.


Just got home last night - we were there Fri 10/26 through Monday, 10/29. THe weekend days were heavy, but Monday was not too bad. We DID talk to a lot of people from Utah, though! And saw lots of NV apparel on Friday - it was NV Day. :D

Miss it all ready!

Jennie

I just booked a trip for my Dh and two daughters ages 7 & 8. We arrive late Nov 28th and fly back Dec 4th. Does anyone have experience for this time period? Also, what character breakfast would you recommend?
Weather perdictions?

I just booked a trip for my Dh and two daughters ages 7 & 8. We arrive late Nov 28th and fly back Dec 4th. Does anyone have experience for this time period? Also, what character breakfast would you recommend?
Weather perdictions?

That is usually a fairly slow period, especially on the weekdays. I would reccommend Ariel's for breakfast as that is where the princesses all are and I would imagine your girls would enjoy that. I have not eaten there yet as it is brand new, but I also really like Minnie and Friends, their food is great and if you book on a weekday you should have lots of character time.

Weather predictions? Only that it is totally unpredictable this far out. We have no seasons in California. :-) It has been back and forth for the past month, 4 days cool, 2 days hot. Usually cool is in the upper 60's to low 70's and hot is in the mid to upper 80's. It has been said by the national weather service that we should not expect much rain again this year, so I doubt you'll have to worry about that. Generally, you can probably expect fairly nice weather, in the low 70's and cool at night, cool enough to need a jacket and pants. But that is subject to change without notice.

I just booked a trip for my Dh and two daughters ages 7 & 8. We arrive late Nov 28th and fly back Dec 4th. Does anyone have experience for this time period? Also, what character breakfast would you recommend?
Weather perdictions?

From the looks of thing it may be a busy time. Usually it is not too bad. I am begining to wonder if the Thanksgiving week is going to be light.

We like Goofy's Kitchen, it is a bit of a hike from there to the park but if you hit it early you can make it to the park before it opens.

Would it be possible to create a calendar with shows historically the really crowded days at that park. For example the Christmas holidays, and all other holidays. But I am sure they are lots of other non-holidays that are crowded due to annual special events, local schools being off, etc. That may cut down on the questions, if people can look up a calendar that is posted to MousePlanet website.

There was a link to an attendance chart on here, but then we all found out that it is sadly out of date. Supposedly the creator is working on updating it though.

I am going to go the 19th of November. Is it really busy then? I thought it was after Thanksgiving that was busy.

Okay so some friends of mine are planning their first trip to disneyland in like 15 years. They can either go the first week of January or the last two weeks of June. What time woud be less crowded? Thanks in advance!

Okay so some friends of mine are planning their first trip to disneyland in like 15 years. They can either go the first week of January or the last two weeks of June. What time woud be less crowded? Thanks in advance!

I know the schools here in AZ are out that first week in Jan. If they can stay out on Jan 1st and 2nd I think the park would not be as crowded as June. 2nd week in Jan is really calm if they can swing it

I know the schools here in AZ are out that first week in Jan. If they can stay out on Jan 1st and 2nd I think the park would not be as crowded as June. 2nd week in Jan is really calm if they can swing it

Yeah, my kids are out through the 4th, and most of my friends' and relatives' kids are also out through then.

I've heard that the first week of January (especially Jan. 1st) is often so packed that the park has been closed at times. We were going to go that week last year until I started hearing horror stories about how crowded it was, so we went the first week in Feb. instead.

Katran - How were the crowds the first week in February?

The crowds were great! Saturday was a bit crowded (as is normal, of course), but still even on that day I don't think we waited more than 20 minutes for any ride (except maybe for Grizzly River Run, and I'd put that at 30 minutes max). The weekdays were absolutely sweet, and of course the mornings were much lighter than the afternoons. And the weather was great too. Even though we are from Phoenix and are used to 110 degree summers (and I hate the cold) we were in jackets in the morning and at night, and short sleeves in the afternoons most days. I would go during that time of year again in a heartbeat! :D

Okay so some friends of mine are planning their first trip to disneyland in like 15 years. They can either go the first week of January or the last two weeks of June. What time woud be less crowded? Thanks in advance!

Definitely go in June. Almost every school in the country will be out the first wk of Jan because of the way the calendar falls this year and it will be BAD. A lot of schools don't even get out until later in June now, so you should have better luck then.

Thanks so much for the help! I thought June would be the way to go but I thought I would check with the experts first!

Hello,

My wife and I plan to go to Disneyland either on Sunday Dec. 2 or on Thursday Dec. 6? We only have one day available to go, sadly...

Of course, Thursday will surely be less crowded, but will the Sunday be really crowded at that time of the year? Because we'd like to also go to LA (we have 4 days in California) and my guess is that it would be better to be in LA on a Sunday than on a week day, to avoid some of the traffic. So that would leave DL for the Thursday.

Thanks.

Would it be possible to create a calendar with shows historically the really crowded days at that park. For example the Christmas holidays, and all other holidays. But I am sure they are lots of other non-holidays that are crowded due to annual special events, local schools being off, etc. That may cut down on the questions, if people can look up a calendar that is posted to MousePlanet website.


I have tracked the busy times at DL for about a year now. It's not on a spreadsheet or anything it's by hand. IF some brave soul wants a copy of it, and is willing to plunk it into something official PM me and I will mail you a copy. Please dont' bombard me with requests for it unless you want to play with it and put it on a spreadsheet or something official. What I did was take data from personal experiences, trip reports, my own research on times. I think it's a pretty accurate description of the busy/quiet times.

thanks

Would it be possible to create a calendar with shows historically the really crowded days at that park. For example the Christmas holidays, and all other holidays. But I am sure they are lots of other non-holidays that are crowded due to annual special events, local schools being off, etc. That may cut down on the questions, if people can look up a calendar that is posted to MousePlanet website.

The problem with that is that it constantly changes. School schedules across the country and locally seem to change every year, sometimes major changes and sometimes just little ones that depend on when a holiday falls. For instance, when Xmas & NYE fall on Fridays or weekends, most local schools will have the last 2 weeks of Dec off. This year they fall on a Tuesday and schools have the last week of Dec and the first week of Jan off. Easter is the same problem. And a lot of times people on here want to know about a specific day or how the park was last week, and a calendar just can't get that specific.

No one knows official attendance numbers from DL because they don't release them, and one person's perception of "busy" might be a perfectly nice day to another person. Even measuring by ride times could be deceiving because of ride breakdowns or maintenance at the time or because hotel could be totally booked for a conference but none of those people hit the parks, which would be a concern for a traveler who wants a room.

What I found were trends. Fri-Sun always busy: Mid week Mid Month first 2 weeks of Dec pretty nice. Some of the days I noted as "totally dead" from friends that were there and told me. (again 1st week of Dec, on a weds) I did NOT note OMG it's packed today and it's middle of July. I just assumed that from Memorial day -Labor day was busy summer season and plan for crowds. For example when people told me the place was dead during the recient fires, I did not note it becasue that's a special situation that (hopefully) wont happen again.

Labor day, oddly enough, is usually nice and empty by the way. Maybe because so many schools are back in and just started, people aren't in vacation mode.

How about Jan 25-28 (Fri-Mon)? I'm thinking that might be a good time to go!

As long as that isn't MLK weekend it will be really slow