Anybody know why 9/29 is now supposed to be crowded?

[Disneyfriend]

Touring Plans just significantly increased their crowd prediction level for this day. I'm curious . . . it's a Thursday in September! Why would the crowd levels be very low all that week, and then dramatically increase on Thursday? Anybody know?

 

[skiingfast]

I'd guess TP made an error. The best crowd indicator is the official calendar and it is showing normally short offseason hours. Did they up the weekend Fri-Sun all of sudden? That will be Gay Days and it will be busier than the weekend before or after but nothing close to super busy. Maybe the accidently figured Thursday into that.

 

[Sherry E]

September is not quite the same ol' slow season it used to be. Attendance at DLR has climbed in general over the last few years, and Halloween Time has become extremely popular, so there are more crowds, more often.

While it will not be New Year's Eve-level crowded, Gay Days (as skiingfast noted) and the debut night of the Halloween Party (which is on 9/30) will draw in quite a few folks for several days. There are probably a lot of Gay Days attendees and a lot of people coming in for the weekend to hit the first Halloween party.

ETA: I was once at DLR on the Thursday right before the first Halloween party and Gay Days (3 years ago), and I noticed that Thursday was exceptionally crowded in Downtown Disney, of all places. It looked like it was a Saturday night, it was so busy. Main Street in DL was pretty lively too.

 

[Disneyfriend]

What you both are saying makes sense . . . but you know what's strange? The predicted crowd level for that Friday (9/30) decreases dramatically from Thursday's level.

Hmmm . . . that makes no sense to me whatsoever.

 

[aristocat65]

I asked this same question a few days ago on an earlier thread and was told that it is a Jewish Holiday and lots of schools are closed. I'm deciding to just hope for the best. I didn't know about Gay Days though, and now I'm wondering about the impact of that on crowds.

 

[Eeee-va]

I'm not sure Touring Plans has Disneyland quite figured out yet. They made some pretty substantial mistakes in predictions earlier this summer. They may or may not be right in this case, but I don't think I'd worry about crowds based primarily on Touring Plans' predictions.

 

[skiingfast]

I asked this same question a few days ago on an earlier thread and was told that it is a Jewish Holiday and lots of schools are closed. I'm deciding to just hope for the best. I didn't know about Gay Days though, and now I'm wondering about the impact of that on crowds.

If the school were closed and DLR expected a lot of extra people the hours would be longer. Look at Labor Day, Veteran's Day or President's day.

As far as Gay Days don't worry. It's only going to make a small difference. It's going to add several thousand people on top of the many tens of thousands already in the parks. Unless you are at one of thier group meeting spots, you will see lots of people in red but not as many as in black or blue. Usually when people say it was more crowded on that weekend it's because they are comparing it to the Thursday before or Monday after. Weekends in the offseason are always much busier than the weekdays.

 

[LisaT91403]

If the school were closed and DLR expected a lot of extra people the hours would be longer. Look at Labor Day, Veteran's Day or President's day.

The schools are most definitely closed...that part is not an "if". But it could be true that DLR doesn't expect big crowds just because all of the schools are closed. I would say the difference between the holidays you listed and this one is that those other holidays are always observed on a Monday. Maybe Disney decided not to change the schedule for a random Thursday because it would be odd and confusing to have long hours for just one day in the middle of a week.

 

[HydroGuy]

I'm not sure Touring Plans has Disneyland quite figured out yet. They made some pretty substantial mistakes in predictions earlier this summer. They may or may not be right in this case, but I don't think I'd worry about crowds based primarily on Touring Plans' predictions.

Ditto.

 

[MyYearWithTheMouse]

The schools are most definitely closed...that part is not an "if". But it could be true that DLR doesn't expect big crowds just because all of the schools are closed. I would say the difference between the holidays you listed and this one is that those other holidays are always observed on a Monday. Maybe Disney decided not to change the schedule for a random Thursday because it would be odd and confusing to have long hours for just one day in the middle of a week.

Which schools would those be? I don't know of any public school in Orange County that will be closed on Thursday, Sept. 29th.

 

[PirateFish989]

I would say the difference between the holidays you listed and this one is that those other holidays are always observed on a Monday.

Veteran's Day is often observed in the middle of the week. I believe last year it was on a Thursday and all the public schools I know of were closed. I know of several other years it has been in the middle of the week as well.

 

[LisaT91403]

Which schools would those be? I don't know of any public school in Orange County that will be closed on Thursday, Sept. 29th.

Here are some of the districts that will be closed:

Los Angeles Unified (huge district)
Las Virgenes
Ventura County
Santa Monica/Malibu
Simi Valley
Redondo Beach
Manhattan Beach

If I could think of more school districts to Google, I'm sure I'd find more closures Orange County and San Diego aren't closed, but LA County is mostly closed.

 

[LisaT91403]

Veteran's Day is often observed in the middle of the week. I believe last year it was on a Thursday and all the public schools I know of were closed. I know of several other years it has been in the middle of the week as well.

You are correct! And looking back at the DLR calendar for last year, they *did* increase the park hours on that particular Thursday, so they were expecting crowds. I guess they must not be expecting the bigger crowds on 9/29, despite the school closures. But I think it's safe to say that 9/29 will be busier than just a typical Thursday in September.