What's the crowds like on Grad Nights?

[JenDisneylandlver]

I just realized that our first day in the park is a grad night (6/14).

So I have some questions. Is it more crowded during the day? I'm thinking of summer crowds, the week that Nemo opens, and a park full of teenagers on a grad night. Someone tell me it won't be as bad as I'm thinking!

Will it effect early entry for that day (Thursday)? Since the night before is also a grad night.

Also the calendar says DL closes at 9pm and 7pm for DCA. Is that correct? I for some reason thought they usually close earlier on grad nights?

I really hope it's not as bad as I'm thinking! Closing at 9pm stinks, but I can deal with that since it's just the one day we'll be there. But since Thursday was our only "mid-week" day we'll be there with Friday and Saturday I know will be more crowded, I was hoping it would be our one day for a chance at more rides! Thanks in advance!

 

[KelsiesMommy]

The grads don't enter the park until after closing, so they wouldn't affect normal park flow. They have to arrive by school transportation and are admitted separately.

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

Whew! Good to know, thanks!

 

[mmmears]

We were there last year on a grad night. The only downside was that the park closed a bit earlier. The grad kids go in after the park closes, and we didn't see them in the park at all during our stay. Crowds were low (but it was the 1st week in June, so school was still in session).

We stayed at DGC, but we were told at check-in that we were really lucky we were staying there, since the other 2 Disney hotels were hosting the Grad Nite kids. I can only imagine how unpleasant that could have been!

Hopefully, you wont even notice that they are there!

 

[aashaddy]

We were there last week, and Thursday night was a Grad Night. This was our perception of it: It seemed as though during the day, there were alot more teenagers in the park, especially before closing. We stayed at the PP hotel and had a CA park view. The noise, I have to say, was kind of a pain, especially if you're a light sleeper, like I am. You could hear the screaming from the rides, and they play music, too. It ended abruptly at midnight. The next day, Friday, there were tons of school aged kids and teenagers in the park. There were dozens of school field trips going on that day. They were very organized, though, with their own guides and they had their own lines to wait in for rides.