Are people avoiding Disneyland?

[iuki]

With all the protesters in the area, has Disneyland seen a drop in attendance and people from out of State not taking trips to Anaheim? I’m just curious. This is not an invitation to discuss politics. I couldn’t help but wonder how these events are affecting tourism at Disneyland and other theme parks in the area.

 

[Moonspinner]

With all the protesters in the area, has Disneyland seen a drop in attendance and people from out of State not taking trips to Anaheim? I’m just curious. This is not an invitation to discuss politics. I couldn’t help but wonder how these events are affecting tourism at Disneyland and other theme parks in the area.

I guess I’m clueless— what protestors?

 

[AnnaKristoff2013]

With all the protesters in the area, has Disneyland seen a drop in attendance and people from out of State not taking trips to Anaheim? I’m just curious. This is not an invitation to discuss politics. I couldn’t help but wonder how these events are affecting tourism at Disneyland and other theme parks in the area.

No. There have not been any protests in the area. We were in Disneyland for 5 nights a few weeks ago. It was normal crowd levels.

 

[hardcorestitch]

With all the protesters in the area, has Disneyland seen a drop in attendance and people from out of State not taking trips to Anaheim? I’m just curious. This is not an invitation to discuss politics. I couldn’t help but wonder how these events are affecting tourism at Disneyland and other theme parks in the area.

Even without the protests, international tourists are down due to the negative news reports regarding the US as a whole, resulting in many international tourists going for DLP, TDR and other Disney parks outside of the US.

 

[Smugpugmug]

I watched Freshbaked's most recent video where he was in Disneyland on August 4th and it was PACKED. It was a sold out day for Magic Keys and single day ticket holders so nope, it looks like people are still going.

 

[AnnaKristoff2013]

Disneyland is also more of a locals park anyway. WDW is currently experiencing one of its slowest summers in recent memory and that is likely, in part, due to the macro economic and political factors discussed above.

 

[reddog21]

WDW is currently experiencing one of its slowest summers in recent memory and that is likely, in part, due to the macro economic and political factors discussed above.

I partially disagree with your second point—while international attendance may be lower than usual, that doesn’t necessarily reflect overall attendance. Summer has increasingly become a low-crowd season and isn’t a reliable barometer for measuring attendance anymore.


Strong Domestic Attendance: While international attendance at the domestic parks is still below pre-COVID levels, it is being more than offset by strong domestic attendance, according to CFO Hugh Johnston

During the Q2 2025 earnings call on May 7, 2025, Disney expressed optimism about the performance of their Experiences segment, which includes the theme parks. They noted that bookings for Walt Disney World in the second half of 2025 were up 4%, with approximately 80% of those bookings already made at the time of the call. This indicated strong demand and contributed to an increase in operating income for Disney's domestic parks and resorts

 

[Tinkaboo]

No...come on over to the DISNEYLAND forum and read the comments there. It's now heading into the busiest time of year...Candy Cane Inn told me last night they are almost completely booked for October.

DL doesn't rely on international travelers like WDW...it' s locals and repeaters, lots of MK holders.

 

[iuki]

I guess I’m clueless— what protestors?

Anti-ICE protesters. I’ve seen so much on the news, including those that have occurred in Anaheim, but I have no idea how close these occur near Disneyland.

 

[iuki]

No. There have not been any protests in the area. We were in Disneyland for 5 nights a few weeks ago. It was normal crowd levels.

Good to know. Thanks for responding.

 

[babyruth]

There are always protestors there. The topic may change or there may be several groups there at once. Just prepare to walk by them confidently and not engage. Even if you agree, it's not worth it. Beeline into the park. When we were there last, Dec 2023, there were religious groups, political groups, anti war groups and a union. Some were shouting lude things and had inappropriate signs we didn't want our then 9 yr old asking us about. It's life. Sometimes those things happen in our own city intersection. I am now prepared to answer at any time "mommy, why are they holding up a uterus?" (and that wasn't the inappropriate one) or other questions that aren't usually discussed on vacation. NYC was worse. at 10 yrs old she was actually scared in Times Square. Honestly, public demonstrations are a freedom we take for granted. I try not to let them bother me because if someday we can't that would be terrible.

 

[iuki]

There are always protestors there. The topic may change or there may be several groups there at once. Just prepare to walk by them confidently and not engage. Even if you agree, it's not worth it. Beeline into the park. When we were there last, Dec 2023, there were religious groups, political groups, anti war groups and a union. Some were shouting lude things and had inappropriate signs we didn't want our then 9 yr old asking us about. It's life. Sometimes those things happen in our own city intersection. I am now prepared to answer at any time "mommy, why are they holding up a uterus?" (and that wasn't the inappropriate one) or other questions that aren't usually discussed on vacation. NYC was worse. at 10 yrs old she was actually scared in Times Square. Honestly, public demonstrations are a freedom we take for granted. I try not to let them bother me because if someday we can't that would be terrible.

Thanks for your response. I avoid protests which have been turning into riots. Take care.

 

[ClaraOswald]

Like mentioned above, there always seem to be some sort of protesters by the Harbor entrance. When we used to stay on that side, we'd just walk by, not engage or make eye contact with anyone (even if we agree with the cause.) If they come up to you, just ignore. Actually, protestors never really came up to us. Just random street vendors selling water or toys or whatever. We just ignored all of them as well. I don't think they have any effect on crowd numbers at all.

 

[meremac]

Totally anecdotal of course, but we're in the Midwest so we book mostly WDW, but my overall percentage of DL trips has actually been higher this year than ever before.

 

[DCJ]

Just got back from a week in Disneyland this weekend. Great time. We flew into LAX, rented a car, drove to the beach, drove to Disneyland. No protests, nothing. Parks were crowded, and when I tried adding time to our trip, resorts were sold out.

 

[LKing]

With all the protesters in the area, has Disneyland seen a drop in attendance and people from out of State not taking trips to Anaheim? I’m just curious. This is not an invitation to discuss politics. I couldn’t help but wonder how these events are affecting tourism at Disneyland and other theme parks in the area.

There was a small protest when JD Vance was at the Grand Californian last month. Depending on where you receive your news, the number of people involved and the impact on the area could have been exaggerated.

Other than that, tomorrow there will be a one day nurses strike, but that's about 5 miles from the Disneyland Resort.