Crowds in November 2019? Park Hours?

[cruisnfamily]

WDW vets heading to Disneyland for a 2 day visit. I have googled the crowd calendars but just can't get a sense as to whether the parks will be packed or quiet since I haven't visited before.

Specifically we will be there Weds and Thurs 11/20 and 11/21 which is the week before Thanksgiving.

Any idea what we should expect?

 

[BadPinkTink]

well as Star Wars Galaxys Edge is due to open in June, I would expect crowd calendars and predictions based on previous years to be invalid. Just expect it to be busy

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Holiday Time should be up and running by that time. If there are special holiday food or merchandise offers, that will bring locals in, at least in the evenings. Agree with the pp that crowd calendars, which are not really reliable for DLR anyway (especially since DL's 60th anniversary), will not have any data to compare to crowds once SWGE opens in June. Weekdays should be less crowded than weekends, but Holiday Time is busy in general anyway, increasingly so as the dates get closer to Christmas. I think with good planning and organization, you should be okay. Would it be possible to add one more day to your trip?
For historical park hours: www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2291124.
For good planning info: A DLR Guide for WDW Vets.

 

[cruisnfamily]

well as Star Wars Galaxys Edge is due to open in June, I would expect crowd calendars and predictions based on previous years to be invalid. Just expect it to be busy

Holiday Time should be up and running by that time. If there are special holiday food or merchandise offers, that will bring locals in, at least in the evenings. Agree with the pp that crowd calendars, which are not really reliable for DLR anyway (especially since DL's 60th anniversary), will not have any data to compare to crowds once SWGE opens in June. Weekdays should be less crowded than weekends, but Holiday Time is busy in general anyway, increasingly so as the dates get closer to Christmas. I think with good planning and organization, you should be okay. Would it be possible to add one more day to your trip?
For historical park hours: www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2291124.
For good planning info: A DLR Guide for WDW Vets.

The problem is, never having been there, I don't know what "expect it to be busy" means. Will it be wall to wall people? Will we be able to ride most of the rides, see the shows? We will purchase MaxPass. We don't go to the Disney World at Christmas, Easter or Summertime specifically because we are trying to avoid the worst crowds. We have been many times where most rides at Disney world as 10 mins wait or less.....haven't seen that as much the past few years no matter what time of year we go. Used to be if you went to DisneyWorld between labor day and Thanksgiving it wasn't too bad. Just trying to gget a handle of how bad it will be since we have not point of reference.

We could possibly add a 3rd day as our flight will leave in the evening that day but we didn't want to spend the money for a ticket we couldn't get a full day out of...figured instead we'd check out the Disney Springs(Downtown Disney/whatever it is called in California) Area that day.

All your feedback is so helpful! Thanks!

 

[22Tink]

The problem is, never having been there, I don't know what "expect it to be busy" means. Will it be wall to wall people? Will we be able to ride most of the rides, see the shows? We will purchase MaxPass. We don't go to the Disney World at Christmas, Easter or Summertime specifically because we are trying to avoid the worst crowds. We have been many times where most rides at Disney world as 10 mins wait or less.....haven't seen that as much the past few years no matter what time of year we go. Used to be if you went to DisneyWorld between labor day and Thanksgiving it wasn't too bad. Just trying to gget a handle of how bad it will be since we have not point of reference.

We could possibly add a 3rd day as our flight will leave in the evening that day but we didn't want to spend the money for a ticket we couldn't get a full day out of...figured instead we'd check out the Disney Springs(Downtown Disney/whatever it is called in California) Area that day.

All your feedback is so helpful! Thanks!

We were just there in late November (the week after thanksgiving) and it was busy. Wall to wall people busy. Mornings were definitely more manageable but the afternoons and evenings were insane even on the rainy day we had! The Festival of Holidays brought lots of locals in it seemed like. With SWGE added in next year I’d expect it to be at least as busy but probably more so. We had MaxPass so we did just fine ride wise for the FP rides at least. The wait times were long, at least 20-30 minutes minimum for everything but most waits got to be much longer. My advice, get there early and definitely utilize MaxPass!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

... We could possibly add a 3rd day as our flight will leave in the evening that day but we didn't want to spend the money for a ticket we couldn't get a full day out of...figured instead we'd check out the Disney Springs(Downtown Disney/whatever it is called in California) Area that day.

All your feedback is so helpful! Thanks!

I wish we could tell you more detailed information about crowds, but SWGE is such an unknown factor at this time (I mean, it's not even open yet!), that no one can give you anything with certainty. You're asking us to tell you what we don't know about what hasn't happened yet! (Although, I totally understand wanting to know as much as possible so that you can do your best to plan your trip!) I think 22Tink has painted a pretty good picture for you, though.
I would add a third day in the parks. Especially if you start in the morning, you could probably get quite a bit done (maybe re-ride a few favorites? shopping? one last meal at a favorite CS place?). DTD (Disney Springs is only at WDW) is easily seen in an afternoon or less. It is much smaller than its FL counterpart. You would be hard pressed to spend a third day there.

 

[figment_jii]

I second theluckyrabbit's comment about DTD. It's a fun shopping area, but not nearly as extensive at Disney Springs (it's kind of reminds me of how WDW's DTD was about 10-15 years ago, before they totally overhauled it and changed the name). Unless you're really into shopping, I think most folks can see DTD in a few hours (at most).

I would seriously consider adding a third day to the ticket. While we don't know how SW:GE will impact crowds (other than to increase them), I still think the general advice that mid-week days and mornings are the best bet in terms of crowds will still hold. Assuming you'd be adding Friday morning/early afternoon, it might be worth it. There will be lines, but the bulk of the crowds will probably show up in the afternoon/evening (after school gets and out and folks get off from work). Just make sure you'd plan to be there at rope drop.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

I would definitely do three days and park hoppers... Downtown Disney is very small. You will have more fun in the parks, even for a partial day.

 

[chickapin parterre]

The problem is, ...... We don't go to the Disney World at Christmas, Easter or Summertime specifically because we are trying to avoid the worst crowds. We have been many times where most rides at Disney world as 10 mins wait or less..... Just trying to get a handle of how bad it will be since we have not point of reference.


All your feedback is so helpful! Thanks!

I think you have given yourself your own point of reference in the above information you have posted about yourself. Most of us here visit Disneyland Christmas, knowing that it is crowded, but because we know the lay-out and attraction preference, we can manage the crowds. Unless it rains, between 11:00 and an hour before closing, 10 mins does not happen. But with your purchasing maxpass, you will have done the best you can do to prepare for the crowds. The best you can do for preparation is to mentally prepare yourself that it will be crowded, it will be a difficult visit for you...unless the 2018 summer release of Hans Solo is a healthy indicator that SWGE has loss its appeal.

 

[sherilaine]

I recommend as well that you buy a three day park hopper and purchase max pass with the ticket - so you don't have to add it each day. Then I'd research which rides/shows are priorities. It's going to be busy - but if you bring appropriate expectations with you then it will be manageable. Maxpass will be your best friend in a busy park!!

 

[cruisnfamily]

Thank you all for the good info. We are going one way or another on those dates so we will do max pass and hope for the best!

why are folks recommending park hoppers though? Why couldn't we just focus on one park per day?

 

[dina444444]

Thank you all for the good info. We are going one way or another on those dates so we will do max pass and hope for the best!

why are folks recommending park hoppers though? Why couldn't we just focus on one park per day?

The parks are separated by less than a football field. You walk into the esplanade and look to one side there’s DL, the other side DCA.

 

[IdahoDisneyFan]

Not to discourage you by any means, but 2 days is not enough to experience most of the rides and see most of the shows, etc. This is true even in the "off season." So just set your expectations appropriately. We always shoot for 3 days in the "off season" (and have generally timed it well) but even after 3 days I find myself thinking, we missed this or we missed that.

We're visiting again before GE opens for the simple reason that I'm fairly confident in saying there won't be a single week in the 2+ years following its opening that will be considered low/light crowds. I should caveat that this will be our first time using MaxPass, so maybe that will make up the difference in November, but I don't think it will be enough to offset the hoards of Star Wars fans descending on the park. Especially considering there's a good chance that GE won't have opened yet at DHS.

100% agree with others that you should get park hoppers. California Adventure is basically an extension of Disneyland, so hopping is quick and easy. Maybe you could get by with one full day at Disneyland and then park hop the other day. I can say with little hesitation if you do one full day at each you will, at a minimum, feel like you didn't adequately experience Disneyland. We're typically about 60% Disneyland, 40% DCA.

Prepare yourself that Downtown Disney is a much smaller version of Disney Springs. It's enjoyable for a few hours, but I wouldn't plan a big chunk of a day around that. If money was no object, I'd much rather have another partial day in the parks.

When it comes to crowd calendars, most of them have been less accurate at Disneyland over the last 2 years. Maybe that's from not taking economic conditions into account, or maybe it's because more people are paying attention to them now, so that's pushing more crowds into those periods of times. Regardless, I think they will be almost worthless for the 6+ months following GE's opening as nobody can adequately predict what will occur. But even the most optimistic fans expect significant crowds for many many months (or years) after it opens.

To sum it up, if you're dates are set in stone, then you just need to be prepared for heavy crowds and don't expect to get everything accomplished (even with MaxPass). Hopefully that will help you enjoy what you do experience, and then, on the off-chance that you get lucky and it's not crazy crowded, well, icing on the cake!

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

Thank you all for the good info. We are going one way or another on those dates so we will do max pass and hope for the best!

why are folks recommending park hoppers though? Why couldn't we just focus on one park per day?

The parks will be so busy due to Star Wars that the flexibility of park hoppers (especially combined with MaxPass) will be really worthwhile.

 

[Tbone17701]

I'm bumping/hijacking this with my question instead of creating a new thread as it's the most relevant info I've been able to find for my particular concerns. I hope the OP doesn't mind. The historical park hours thread is VERY helpful, so many thanks for that @theluckyrabbit!

We are WDW vets going for the first time early Nov this year. I'm doing my due diligence on these boards with research and have a bunch more to absorb, but I'm getting a bit nervous on two fronts. The first is potentially short park hours due to it being an off time (11/4-11/9) and a mid-week (Mon-Fri) stay. The second is potential refurbishments. I only went back as far as 2015, but it looks like I can almost bet on IASW being down and at least one other headliner along with WOC? I'm already disappointed that we are stuck with a week in-between holiday seasons thanks to DD's school calendar, but shorter park hours and missing out on some of the headliner (and perhaps unique to DL) attractions is a real bummer. I know that's just par for the course, but is it possible that SWGE crowds may help both causes? TIA for any input!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

... it looks like I can almost bet on IASW being down...

IASW goes down every year toward the end of October for the holiday overlay and comes back up for the start of Holiday Time (debate on this board whether it will be 11/08 or 11/15 this year). If DLR goes with the earlier start date, you might get to ride the holiday version of IASW by the end of your trip. I don't think SWGE will have any effect on the overlay. IASWH is a much loved holiday tradition at DL.