Best holiday weekend to go to DL?

[nemofans]

I am trying to figure out which weekend is better for our trip to DL. We prefer low crowds & not too hot weather. Also , I would like to know if there's anything going on during those times that may increase crowds.
Columbus day weekend (mid Oct) or MLK weekend (mid Jan)?

Thanks for the help!

 

[DisneyMomma81]

What about Thanksgiving?? Thanksgiving 2009 & 2010 *we were there this past Thanksgiving* have been great. The days leading up to Thanksgiving are busy but Turkey Day and the following days are nice ~ our days were Thanksgiving, Fri & Sat 11/2010.

 

[Disney Dreams]

Well.... weekend, holiday, and low crowds are not words that really go together when discussing Disneyland. However, if you are looking at those two weekends and wondering which is going to be less crowded of the two I would have to say MLKJ weekend.

Columbus Weekend hits during Halloweentime at DLR. This has been a big promotion for Disney the last several years. There are special parties, extra decor, dressed-up characters, special fireworks, seasonal treats, etc.... All of these things bring additional people to the resort.

MLKJ weekend, however, is after the holidays and New Years. It is during the slower time of the year. The downside to visiting during MLKJ weekend is that because it is the slower time, the Park hours are shorter, the entertainment offerings are less, and there are more closures. This does NOT mean you will not have fun and have lots to enjoy. It DOES mean that some things may not be open or running, but that's the trade-off for going during a slower (note, not slow) holiday weekend.

Hope this helps,
Dreams

 

[nemofans]

Really, Thanksgiving weekend is not crowded???? I can't believe it. What if we went Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) thru Tues?

It makes sense that Oct would be more crowded. Just thought I'd check.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

Really, Thanksgiving weekend is not crowded???? I can't believe it. What if we went Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) thru Tues?

It makes sense that Oct would be more crowded. Just thought I'd check.

Truely ~ it has a lot to do with AP blockouts ~ DD and I also visited 4th of July weekend last year *her B-day is 7/3 ~ our park days were 7/3-7/6 2010 ~ we had a fantastic time - 4th of July evening was a little crazy but the rest of our time was great!

You should read *this* and *this*

This is taken from the 2nd *this* ~
This would be Thanksgiving 2009
The Thanksgiving week illustrated perfectly how the huge numbers of Annual Passholders have turned half a century of theme park operations on its ear. From Sunday through Wednesday before Thanksgiving, none of the cheaper Annual Passes which make up the bulk of the 925,000 figure were blocked out. Those days were pegged for huge daily Disneyland attendance numbers of 60,000 and above, with AP's making up 35,000 or more of those daily visitors.
For instance, the day before Thanksgiving had an attendance estimate of 61,000 and by the end of the day around 64,000 had shown up. Of that huge number, nearly 40,000 were Annual Passholders, all arriving in their own personal cars and stretching the Resort infrastructure to the breaking point. The park itself was slammed with crowds in the days leading up to Thanksgiving; walkways ground to a standstill, trashcans overflowed, lines were long for everything from E Tickets to bathroom stalls, and the tempers of both the customers and the Cast Members flared at the slightest provocation.
But then Thanksgiving arrived, with all but the Premium Annual Passes were blocked out, and the daily attendance figures plummeted. Even the day after Thanksgiving, which has traditionally been one of the busiest days of the year for decades at Disneyland, barely saw 47,000 people through the gates. By Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, the attendance at Disneyland had slumped to 38,000, ranking as one of the slowest Saturdays of the entire year.

 

[GrandBob]

Really, Thanksgiving weekend is not crowded???? I can't believe it. What if we went Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) thru Tues?

Really! We went the Sun-Thurs after Thanksgiving in 2009. It was a dream! Walk-on to the medium-tier rides - even POTC for most of the time. 20 minutes for rides like Indy and Space most of the day. HMH had a line, but that's because the holiday overlay is popular.

Enjoy!
Bob

 

[JadeDarkstar]

ive been the last week in nov-1 or 2ed of dec alot an its never crowded id do christmas time if i were you if not go in oct so you see the halloween stuff its nice one time but ive seen it an now will always chose my bday for disney

 

[DahliaRW]

We just did MLK weekend.

We were in the parks Thursday through Wednesday, with the exception of Sunday which we took as our down day.

Thursday and Friday were awesome. Most things were walk on or short wait. We had lots of FPs we didn't use because we didn't need them. It did get more crowded Friday night, as weekend travelers came in, but it wasn't bad.

Saturday and Monday were crowded, but not horrible. FP rides had good waits, but with the use of FPs it wasn't a problem. Rides like Pirates and HM had short waits and were good options. We used a lot of these days to see shows and such too.

Tuesday and Wednesday were back to uncrowded, with a lot of the FP machines closed and most rides walk on or under 10 minute wait. I think the exceptions were Autopia and Indy.

The weather was beautiful for us, 70-80 and sunny. No rain. But it is January, and not every year is the same.