Questions regarding first week of November

[Whistlebee]

Hi there! We will be visiting Disneyland the first week of November. We want to include a Sunday night or Friday night for the fireworks. For low crowds does it make a difference if we do Sunday-Wed (Nov 1-4) or Wed-Sat (Nov 4-7). We will be going into the park on our arrival day in the late afternoon but likely won't be going into the park on our checkout day. I'm guessing the difference in crowds in negligible but I thought I'd ask the experts!

Also, if there is any info about what might be closed for refurbishment or holiday décor, I'd appreciate info on that too. I know Space Mountain and It's a small world could be closed around this time but I'm not sure. Also, do you know of any special events or large conventions that could affect these dates?

I am aware of the trade offs with going during a (hopefully) slower week. With young kids the shorter hours don't affect us too much. Thank you everyone for your help!

 

[figment_jii]

BizzCon is happening at the Anaheim Convention Center November 6-7, but it might not really impact that parks that much. There might be a small uptick before or after the convention, but probably not a lot during the convention itself (at least that was the tenor of the Disboard thread about BizCon).

In terms of fireworks (and Paint the Night), that a bit more of an unknown this year than in most years. Normally, fireworks are only presented on weekends from Labor Day through the start of the Holiday Season (mid-November). This year, however, they've announced that they'll be presenting fireworks nightly through HalloweenTime (ending October 31). So what the schedule will be from November 1 through the start of the Holidays (not official announced, but probably around November 13 - the Friday of the Avenger's Marathon Weekend) is not yet known. They may only present them on weekends during that period or they may continue to present them nightly. It's something to keep an eye on and may make planning your trip a little easier if they opt to present them nightly for the rest of the year.

My guess is that Space Mountain will close on November 2 (Monday) to have the overlay removed. It normally only takes a day, so it should be back up very quickly. IaSW will probably be closed to have the holiday decor installed in late October through early November, but it may re-open somewhere around the first Friday in November (based on the last few years). Still we don't know when it closing to have the overlay installed, so it's harder to guess when it'll be re-opening at this point. Jungle Cruise may also be closed to have the holiday overlay installed, but they haven't announced if it'll be back or when the closure will be.

Overall, I would probably aim for later into November (so the 4-7) to stand the best chance of catching some of the holiday decor and early-debuting stuff. If you don't care about the Holiday decor and such, then I don't think it'll really matter which weekend you go for.

 

[Whistlebee]

Thank you for taking the time to reply. That is awesome that Disney is doing nightly fireworks through Halloween! I'll definetley keep my eye on the schedule to see if they extend the nightly offering into my dates. That would be amazing and we would just come during the week if that happens. I'm not concerned with seeing the Christmas holiday décor but if IASM opened back up towards the end of the week that might make a difference to us as it is a must-do for my nieces. I love SM but I don't think I'll pick my dates around it. Hotel rooms are cheaper for the Sunday arrival, of course. Thank you!

 

[Indiana Scott]

That's the same week we're going and it's a great time to enjoy the parks. Crowds will be very low and the convention doesn't start till Friday and it wont impact the parks much if your there 1~4. Sunday is almost always preferable to Fridays in the parks crowd wise anyway.
Get ready for walk-on's and short lines!

 

[Sherry E]

IF -- and "if" is the operative word -- It's a Small World Holiday follows its traditional pattern, it will soft open on the weekend before Veterans Day. In other words, it would open on Friday, 11/6 or Saturday, 11/7 (as would some other holiday things too). Usually, that weekend involves some sort of taping for ABC, and the parks have to look/be as Christmasy as possible when the footage is shot. This year I'm not sure what ABC will be taping, and I don't know if the décor will matter as much since this year is heavily focused on the 60th anniversary. So, therefore, I don't know if IASWH will continue to soft open on the weekend before Veterans Day or not. Chances are good that it will, so your only chance to possibly catch it would be during your later set of November dates.

 

[figment_jii]

Sunday is almost always preferable to Fridays in the parks crowd wise anyway.

Interesting...have things begun to change? In the not so distant past, it used to be that Sundays were pretty busy in the parks because of AP holders. Fridays were kind of a mixed bag; the daytime was pretty good, but the evenings were busy.

 

[Whistlebee]

Ok, well, I'll keep my eye on the schedule for IASWH. We haven't booked our hotel room yet. We went during this week last year starting on Tuesday. We did experience low crowds, but with the 60th anniversary celebration, I am expecting more crowds this year. I haven't spent a ton of time in the parks but when we've been it seems like Sunday's are packed from about 11am until late. I actually thought the end of the week might have slightly better crowd levels. A Wednesday afternoon/evening should be better than a Sunday, Thursdays are probably better than Mondays, and Friday's seem less busy than Sunday's at least till late afternoon/early evening. I know the difference is probably not significant enough for me to worry about! But, a good vacation planner, needs something to obsess over, lol!

 

[figment_jii]

During the peak seasons (e.g., Spring Break, Summer, Holidays) every day of the week is busy. I went to the parks for the 60th Anniversary and all days (weekdays and weekends) were busy. So, during those periods, I'm not as convinced that there is a huge difference between days (it's just crowded!).

During the non-peak periods, like when you're going, to me, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday generally seem similar (assuming no major holidays) in terms of crowds. Things are fairly manageable. Mondays can go either way depending on whether there was holiday weekend or some big event over the weekend, but generally seem okay. Fridays until late afternoon seem okay, but then really pick-up as folks get out of school and work and head to the parks. Saturdays just seem busy all day (the first two hours after rope drop and pretty good, but it gets busy fast and stays busy). Sunday mornings are okay, but then the parks get busy as folks arrive for the day.