April vs August Crowds?

[Kirbie]

Hello!

I am planning a trip to Disneyland for 2018, for my 30th Birthday in late February. I don't want to go on my actual birthday since there are usually a lot of attraction refurbishments during that time, plus the Boysenberry Festival in April sounds fun.

I'm looking at the Historical Crowds on the Touring Plans website. It shows April 2017 at 6 for most days. The last time I visited Disneyland was August 2016, and the crowds were light and the Touring Plans website has the days I visited around 4/5.

Is it normal for April crowds to be worse than August? It also seemed like the April crowds were worse than March (though I suspect that may have been due to the Boysenberry Festival and the California Food & Wine occurring in April). Would March be better than April for crowds?

Thank You!

 

[Howry]

I believe a lot of schools are on spring break in April which will make the park more crowded.

 

[figment_jii]

Easter was pretty late in 2016 (April 16), so I think that had impacts on crowds. There was also the F&W Festival in DCA, which was pretty popular, along with a Southern California ticket offer (spanned most of the spring). I went just after Easter and thought that the parks were pretty quiet (relatively speaking), but I gather the crowds really picked-up after the AP blockouts ended. My guess is that April isn't necessarily going to be more or less busy than August, it just depends on when Easter is, when spring breaks occur, any AP promotions, any ticket offers, or other events that might occur to bring in the crowds.

 

[Kirbie]

Easter was pretty late in 2016 (April 16), so I think that had impacts on crowds. There was also the F&W Festival in DCA, which was pretty popular, along with a Southern California ticket offer (spanned most of the spring). I went just after Easter and thought that the parks were pretty quiet (relatively speaking), but I gather the crowds really picked-up after the AP blockouts ended. My guess is that April isn't necessarily going to be more or less busy than August, it just depends on when Easter is, when spring breaks occur, any AP promotions, any ticket offers, or other events that might occur to bring in the crowds.

Good point about Easter! I checked, next year is it on Sunday, April 1st. I wonder if later April will be less crowded than earlier as a result? How is the weather in April usually?

 

[Princess Jes]

The Boysenberry festival is at Knott's though right? and only for one weekend? Would that really have any impact on DLR crowds?

 

[Kirbie]

The Boysenberry festival is at Knott's though right? and only for one weekend? Would that really have any impact on DLR crowds?

Yes the Boysenberry Festival is at Knotts. Last year it was April 1-23, I believe all days during that timeframe not just weekends.

 

[tarheelalum]

Do not trust anything touring plans has to say about crowds. My bulldog knows more than touring plans. Go in April. Better crowds and FAR better weather.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

This thread has helpful information:www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=36509602.

 

[Winnowill]

We were there the week after Easter this year (4/17-4/21). The weather was terrific. Crowds, not so much, but we expected that. However, when we were there near the end of April in 2013 (4/19-4/24), when Easter had been considerably earlier, crowds were really quite light. However, it was considered off-peak time, so the parks closed quite early, and there were a few refurbs going on.

 

[Kirbie]

This thread has helpful information:www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=36509602.

This is super helpful! Thank you!!

Kind of unrelated question - I've seen photos of the park with the cherry blossoms in bloom and I absolutely love it. Are these photos taken in March/April? I'm assuming so since that's when they're in bloom up in Oregon.

 

[tarheelalum]

We have been during the last 4 days of April at least 4 times in the past 5 years and every time was great except one freak year the Santa Ana winds were blowing and it ruined everything. But normally the end of April has wonderful weather and reasonable crowds for Disneyland.