Best time to go during Christmas season?

[mamaofthree]

I'm determined to see DLR this Christmas season. Dh is a teacher and we usually only visit DLR during school vacations. Considering Sun-Tues before Thanksgiving, Nov 21-23. Or maybe as soon as school gets out in Dec, which would be Sat Dec 18- Mon the 21st. Or should I convince him to take a Friday off so we can visit over a weekend sometime in Nov or Dec? Looking for the least crowded time to go, but perhaps the whole holiday season is equally busy. Last winter we did a trip the first week of January. I was hoping for lighter crowds, but it was crazy. So many people, yet it seemed understaffed.

 

[figment_jii]

My family did a weekend trip down to DL the weekend before Christmas two years ago and it was busy, but not crazy. We enjoyed seeing all the decorations. I don't think you'll be able to walk on to any of the big rides, but it's not wall-to-wall guests.

On a semi-related note, there was a pretty interesting thread about the effects of the AP holders on crowd levels earlier this year. You might want to take a quick look through it to see if it helps you decide when to go.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2365983&highlight=disneyland+ap

(Edit - Addition) Wow! Based on reading the subsequent posts, it sounds like things got really bad last year (2009) just before Christmas. It's amazing how much difference one year can make. I looked back through my trip photos (just to make sure it was Christmas 2008 that I was thinking about) and there were crowds, but not crazy scary.

 

[Sherry E]

I'm determined to see DLR this Christmas season. Dh is a teacher and we usually only visit DLR during school vacations. Considering Sun-Tues before Thanksgiving, Nov 21-23. Or maybe as soon as school gets out in Dec, which would be Sat Dec 18- Mon the 21st. Or should I convince him to take a Friday off so we can visit over a weekend sometime in Nov or Dec? Looking for the least crowded time to go, but perhaps the whole holiday season is equally busy. Last winter we did a trip the first week of January. I was hoping for lighter crowds, but it was crazy. So many people, yet it seemed understaffed.

Hmmm...that's tricky. Based on all the reports I have read and info I have been storing in my brain from the wonderful participants on our Disney at Christmas thread and elsewhere, as well as from my own personal DLR holiday experience over the years, I have basically concluded this much - the DLR holiday season will be busy in some way, shape or form for the duration, yet it may reach different levels of crowded at different times. Some days may seem very, very, oppressively crowded and DL closes to capacity, while other days may just seem busier than a normal day at DLR.

Here are some general rules of thumb of the holiday season:

- Weekdays are always less crowded than weekends
- Old rule of thumb was that pre-Thanksgiving was uncrowded while post-Thanksgiving was crazy busy.
- New rule of thumb seems to be that the days leading up to Thanksgiving are more crowded than the days immediately post-Thanksgiving
- Anything past mid-December is taking a risk in terms of crowds
- The weekend before Christmas is very crowded (at times reaching capacity stage last year), but not as bad as the week after Christmas
- Early December is supposedly blissfully uncrowded, especially on weekdays (more crowded than a 'regular' non-holiday or non-weekend day at DLR, but not at all oppressive and scary), but crowds steadily increase the further into December you get
- If you want to avoid serious scary crowds, it's a good idea to avoid the week between Christmas and New Years!!


So...based on all of that I would say that if you cannot go on weekdays, try for late November (after Thanksgiving) or early, early December. Otherwise, if you cannot go at those times, you'll be okay! You'll still have a great time, but you'll have to mentally prepare yourself for crowds of some level or other. Going right before Thanksgiving or right before Christmas is going to be tricky if you want to avoid crowds, because lots of other people will be off work and also heading to DLR.

By the way, I think January was so packed because a ton of people got new APs and they all flocked to the parks after the holidays to use them!!

 

[Sherry E]

I should add that I went to DLR on the weekend before Christmas for the last 3 years in a row - and 2009's pre-Christmas weekend was, by far, the worst. It was wall-to-wall people in many areas. DL reached capacity early on, and things like Haunted Mansion Holiday had a 45-minute line before 11:00 a.m. I was very daunted because I was not expecting the crowds to be that bad, based on my 2008 and 2007 experiences on that same weekend.

 

[goldies 5]

I agree with Sherry 100% the closer to Christmas the busier it gets. We made the mistake of going the week before Chrsitmas in 2004. It was the worst crowds I have ever been in. People holding strollers over their heads to move through a cattle like atmosphere. Granted it was a long time ago, but the memory is a STRONG one.
We love early December, Fridays and Saturdays seem to be worse than Sundays to me. The week before TG week was a great trip for us too.
If you are going to go on a weekend for sure, with your time frame, I would stay away from Candleight Processional weekend. And most definetely the weekend that the achools get out for vacation.
But, I would totally say go. With all of the tricks and tips on these boards, you can really make it work.
I would look at the AP blockout dates to help make your decision. From what folks around here have said, the days before TG were not bad last year. But the 18th of December will almost certainly be insane.
Also look at the Chrsitmas thread, Sherry will make you want to go no matter what.
Look at Hydroguys info to help with crowds and just about anything else you can think of.
Good Luck!

 

[mamaofthree]

Thanks so much for the input, I appreciate it! Sounds tricky to plan, and i just need to make a choice. I know we will enjoy ourselves even if it is super crowded, but I would like to avoid the scary crowds at least. So I think now the choice is between either right before thanksgiving, so Nov 21-23, or doing a long weekend in early December.

 

[Todd Lee]

So it sounds like the first week of December may be the lightest on crowds for the month. Will the candlelight processional have an impact on crowds? I'm hearing that it's the first week of december, or is it the first weekend?

 

[Sherry E]

So it sounds like the first week of December may be the lightest on crowds for the month. Will the candlelight processional have an impact on crowds? I'm hearing that it's the first week of december, or is it the first weekend?

It's the first weekend in Dec., and reports of crowds on the actual CP weekend are that it is very, very busy. But after the CP passes, then you get into the delightfully uncrowded stage, I guess! Yes, that first week of December sounds like the golden time to go - that, and also immediately after Thanksgiving weekend, when everyone who took off work/school for the holiday goes back to work and school until it's time to take off for Christmas!

 

[Christina-B-Na]

This thread is so helpful! But now I am torn on which days to go to the park.
We slightly changed our dates to driving in on Tuesday 11/30 and leaving on Saturday 12/4.
Would it be safer in terms of lower crowds to go on Wednesday and Thursday?? I wanted to try and go Wed & then on Friday to have extended hours, shows and WOC (we have not seen WOC) but that Friday is the first weekend of December which I'm guessing means HUGE crowds since that is CP weekend??? Ugh! Decisions, decisions....

 

[DisneyMomma81]

OP ~ why not Thanksgiving weekend? I'm guessing that the days leading up to T Day will be busy, but hoping T Day itself and the Fri. & Sat. will be mild crowd wise ~ that's when we'll be there! All APs but the highest AP *no block out dates* are blocked for the weekend, they are not blocked leading up to it.

 

[Sherry E]

This thread is so helpful! But now I am torn on which days to go to the park.
We slightly changed our dates to driving in on Tuesday 11/30 and leaving on Saturday 12/4.
Would it be safer in terms of lower crowds to go on Wednesday and Thursday?? I wanted to try and go Wed & then on Friday to have extended hours, shows and WOC (we have not seen WOC) but that Friday is the first weekend of December which I'm guessing means HUGE crowds since that is CP weekend??? Ugh! Decisions, decisions....

Just a guess - yes, Wednesday and Thursday would be better than a plan involving a Friday. It is sounding more and more like World of Color will be showing nightly (not sure if it will be once per night or more than that) for a long time, so you probably won't miss that.

 

[jennilouwho]

The Mon and Tuesday before Thanksgiving were VERY crowded last year. Once the AP's got blocked out the rest of the week, things got a lot better. Just FYI FWIW. A lot of California schools were out the whole week.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

The Mon and Tuesday before Thanksgiving were VERY crowded last year. Once the AP's got blocked out the rest of the week, things got a lot better. Just FYI FWIW. A lot of California schools were out the whole week.

My kids are out the whole week this year thanks to teacher furloughs...unfortunately I'm NOT. I'll still be in class at the junior college.

 

[Sherry E]

The Mon and Tuesday before Thanksgiving were VERY crowded last year. Once the AP's got blocked out the rest of the week, things got a lot better. Just FYI FWIW. A lot of California schools were out the whole week.

Yep. That's the report I heard about last year. The old rule (years ago) used to be that pre-Thanskgiving was uncrowded and post-Thanksgiving was a zoo. Apparently the tides shifted somewhere (maybe with the influx of AP holders, but not sure) and pre-Thanksgiving becamse a zoo while post-Thanksgiving was delightful.

 

[mamaofthree]

OP ~ why not Thanksgiving weekend? I'm guessing that the days leading up to T Day will be busy, but hoping T Day itself and the Fri. & Sat. will be mild crowd wise ~ that's when we'll be there! All APs but the highest AP *no block out dates* are blocked for the weekend, they are not blocked leading up to it.

Actually this might work! I could never give up Thanksgiving at home with my extended fam, but my sis is moving soon to Tustin. If we all meet at her house and celebrate Thanksgiving there, we could spend Fri and Sat in Disneyland, and drive home on Sunday.

 

[mamaofthree]

Ok, it's a plan! Texted my whole family- Thanksgiving at my sister's in so cal and Disneyland on Fri and Sat! Wahoo! Have to make hotel ressies!

 

[DisneyMomma81]

Ok, it's a plan! Texted my whole family- Thanksgiving at my sister's in so cal and Disneyland on Fri and Sat! Wahoo! Have to make hotel ressies!

Have fun ~ perhaps we'll see you there.

 

[Sherry E]

Ok, it's a plan! Texted my whole family- Thanksgiving at my sister's in so cal and Disneyland on Fri and Sat! Wahoo! Have to make hotel ressies!

Yay!! You'll have a wonderful time. I do think you will run into some holiday weekend crowds, but if that's the best time to go then go for it! Just go in expecting the worst in terms of crowds, and then anything less than that will seem like a breeze! I think when people go in mentally unprepared, that's when things seem very bleak and frustrating (at least, that's what happened to me last year when I naively expected pre-Christmas weekend 2009 to be as manageable as pre-Christmas weekend 2007 and 2008 were).

The latest Al Lutz (of Miceage/MiceChat) article from today indicates that crowds in both parks have increased since World of Color debuted in June, and it's looking like that may be what we can expect for the rest of the year as it seems that WoC will probably be sticking around for the rest of 2009 and not going out on seasonal hiatus - probably showing at least once per night.

 

[mamaofthree]

Yay!! You'll have a wonderful time. I do think you will run into some holiday weekend crowds, but if that's the best time to go then go for it! Just go in expecting the worst in terms of crowds, and then anything less than that will seem like a breeze! I think when people go in mentally unprepared, that's when things seem very bleak and frustrating (at least, that's what happened to me last year when I naively expected pre-Christmas weekend 2009 to be as manageable as pre-Christmas weekend 2007 and 2008 were).

The latest Al Lutz (of Miceage/MiceChat) article from today indicates that crowds in both parks have increased since World of Color debuted in June, and it's looking like that may be what we can expect for the rest of the year as it seems that WoC will probably be sticking around for the rest of 2009 and not going out on seasonal hiatus - probably showing at least once per night.

Yes, I am expecting huge crowds, just hoping they aren't so scary that I have a panic attack. We will get there at opening and utilize FP. Honestly, when it is crowed and DLR is prepared for it, the lines seem to move smoothly. Our early Jan trip was crowded, but not as crowded as our previous July trip, but we waited just as long or longer in lines because they were understaffed. And with shorter park hours, it kinda sucked. So at least when DLR is expecting to be busy, they move the rides along quickly and have all cars running.

 

[Sherry E]

Yes, I am expecting huge crowds, just hoping they aren't so scary that I have a panic attack. We will get there at opening and utilize FP. Honestly, when it is crowed and DLR is prepared for it, the lines seem to move smoothly. Our early Jan trip was crowded, but not as crowded as our previous July trip, but we waited just as long or longer in lines because they were understaffed. And with shorter park hours, it kinda sucked. So at least when DLR is expecting to be busy, they move the rides along quickly and have all cars running.

One ride that DLR seems to always be particularly efficient at loading is POTC. The line for POTC was stretched out almost to the Rivers of America in December when I was there, and it twisted around and all over. It was hard to even tell where the end of the line was. It was longer than I had seen it since the '80s and early '90s. But it moved quickly. In the old days, that length of a line for POTC would have meant a 1-1/2 hour wait, minimum. But they have things streamlined in such a way now that the POTC line can look horrendous and scary, and yet you get on the ride in 20 minutes or so - and that's on a super crowded day.

I will say this about It's a Small World Holiday, too - the best time to ride it without a wait is in the early, early morning, especially if you have a Magic Morning option. The thing is, IASWH is so beautiful at night - the lights are stunning to look at - that you don't want to miss seeing it in all its glory. But, because the lights are so beautiful, people flock to IASWH like moths to a flame, from every corner of both parks, to gaze at IASWH and the area in front of the line is so congested that sometimes it is impossible to push through the wall of people to get in line. Was IASWH still open when you went in January? I know they kept it open later in January.

I guess that is where the Holiday Tour comes in handy - you get priority seating on IASWH (and you can even go at dusk, when the lights come on) and Haunted Mansion Holiday, as well as reserved seats for the parade. I have not done the tour yet, but based on my experience last year I think the holiday tour is looking like a better deal all the time! (And who doesn't love getting the gingerbread cookie with mouse ears and cocoa?)