Columbus Day

[Paulie628]

I'm planning a trip to Disneyland in October - does anyone know if Columbus Day is celebrated in Anaheim, CA? If so, I would avoid that week since it could mean the parks would be busier on that holiday weekend. Also, I've been on the Disneyland website trying to find out about parades and it says "none scheduled at this time". Do they not have parades in October? Any advise or information would be greatly appreciated!

 

[northshoremama]

from what i've read, there will probably be fireworks and parades (weather permitting), but they aren't updated on DL's entertainment schedule for october yet. just keep checking...oh, and fireworks i believe are only shown when the park closes late...like fridays and saturdays (sundays, too maybe?).

not too sure what you mean by columbus day being celebrated in anaheim, ca...but you can be sure that the park will be crowded during that 3 day weekend (during ANY long weekend for that matter). if your dates are flexible for october, don't do the 1st weekend (gay days), don't do the 2nd weekend (columbus day)...you should be safe going during the week...but the again, remember...it's october, so a lot of people may be going for the mickey halloween party (but i think those are only on the weekends).
hth!

 

[avalon451]

Octobers are getting busier and busier, they say. There are school districts in AZ and UT that take fall breaks... weekends have the Halloween party in DCA... This year, it looks like most AZ school districts are out the week of the 5th-10th. Utah is out for conference Thurs 16th-Mon 20th, but some Utah schools take the entire Columbus day week off.

A good way to check if Disney thinks it's going to be busy is to look at the hours for that day. We're going to be there Oct 12th-16th. Sunday the 12th they obviously expect it to be busy; it's at maximum hours of 8 a.m. to midnight. Monday, almost as busy; 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Tues, Wed not so much: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, back up to 9 a.m. till 11 p.m.; but there's a Halloween party that night, too.

They don't put the entertainment schedule out sometimes till a few weeks before; don't worry, there will be at least one parade each day, and the shows like Billy Hill and Jedi Training will be there. However the fireworks will usually only run on the weekends. I'm guessing they'll have them on Columbus day, judging from the 11 p.m. closing time. Fantasmic is scheduled to be down for refurbishment from Sept. 2-November 9th or something like that.

All that said, the attendance numbers for DLR are down this year, due to the economy and increased gas prices. So it might not be as busy as it's been in the last couple of years.

Well, that was clear as mud, huh? Oh, well, hope it helped.

 

[Paulie628]

Thanks for your help. Since our schedule is flexible, I'm wondering if we should consider going in late September and possibly avoid the October crowds. Anyone know about crowd levels in late September?

 

[avalon451]

Here's a thread you might want to look at to help you decide. When you go in September, there are usually several big rides down for annual refurbishment, so it's a tradeoff with going during a busy time.

During a busy time you can still have a great time and not wait in long lines; you just have to be willing to get there early and have something of a plan.

Go to Hydroguy's tips compilation and read the 3 links under "Seasonal at DLR" : http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1520483