Crowds in October

[elmoandzoey]

So after 10 years of not having been at DL I was sent to San Francisco on a business trip in May and decided hey, let's drive down to DL! It sounded all so great - except the weekend I picked was the kickoff for the 60th anniversary with the 24hr party. Crowds were insane. I did 2 days before the 24hr which were not as crowded but with the hype going on and the crowds and all I felt a bit.... off. Lots of areas were blocked off on all days for media previews, so many people in DL you could barely walk (DCA was loads better) and wait times that went through the roof. Add the shortened opening hours and the closure of attractions to that.... it was off. Mind you, I really enjoyed my time there but I just didn't get into the whole Disney spirit if you get what I mean.

So my company is sending me to San Diego in October and I am really really debating with myself if I should consider driving to DL for a few days. I am hoping to really get into the Disney spirit and enjoy everything that has come with the anniversay (andy maybe finally be able to see the fireworks without having a 6ft guy put their teenage daughter on his shoulders so people behind couldn't see a damn thing!). I am just wondering how crowded it still will be? I know it won't be as bad as it was for the 24hr party but if people will still be camped out for the night parade from noon on and if wait times will still be 2hrs+ for most attractions, I am not sure I'd want to go.

I don't mind waiting in line. I am perfectly fine waiting if it's a great attraction (says the person who waited 5hrs in line for a rollercoaster at Six Flags once... hey, it was worth it!). I am also fine with people. I am just not fine with pushing and shoving and not being able to find a tranquil spot somewhere where I can sit for like 15 minutes and just soak in Disney. I'd even take a not so tranquil spot as long as there is a spot

I have also learned my lesson that I need to take my cellphone for Call Otto. I cannot believe DL doesn't have any kind of official wait time app like WDW does. I guess that probably also put me off a bit - I was at one end of the park and never knew if I headed to the other end of the park or even to DCA would give me less crowds and shorter queues unless I went there. Yes, I've been spoiled by WDW I think....

So to sum it up - I cannot believe I wrote so much - what can I expect from a typical mid October visit to DL crowdwise?

 

[Girimama33]

Do you know the exact dates?

 

[figment_jii]

October is an interesting month in DLR. Depending on when you go, you could encounter very high crowds (not quite the 24-hour day level, but certainly busy) to manageable level crowds. In general the weekends are going to all be very busy because of events (e.g., Gay Days, CHOC, UEA), holidays (Columbus Day), and HalloweenTime. The weekdays are usually less busy, but it can vary from week to week. There are also Mickey's Halloween Parties scattered throughout the week, which will impact crowds. The 2015 Calendar of Events thread might be helpful in identify any events (that I know of) that might be occurring when you're there. Also, as Girimama33 said, if you post the dates that you will be there, folks here can probably help you identify things that might be happening at the same time that will impact park crowds.

 

[bwang123]

we are going october 24 - 28 so interested in this as well.

 

[tzeitel]

we are going october 24 - 28 so interested in this as well.

We will be there 18th-24th and it seems like that week (and your days as well) are in between all the events listed in the list figment linked. So there's hope!

 

[VandVsmama]

We were at DL in June on a Monday and we are planning on going to DL the Sun-Tues on the tail end of Gay Days weekend in October (Gay Days is 10/3-10/4). Crowds at DL on that Monday in June were apparently pretty busy, but for us, it was manageable because we used a few tips to make it work. Here are some of those, along with some other tips that I've read about on these boards and on other sites:

1. Get to the parks when they open. The first couple of hours are always way less crowded than later in the day.
2. Have a plan for what you want to ride that day. Pick one "must do" ride and make sure that you go on that in the morning if at all possible. Then everything else you go on is like icing on the cake.
3. Don't waste time at a sit down breakfast. Eat breakfast early at your hotel/motel or bring "grab and go" items to eat when you're standing in line at the esplanade waiting to go through the turnstiles.
4. If you're going to eat a meal at a Table Service restaurant, consider doing it at lunch time and make it an early lunch OR a late lunch...so you avoid the lunch rush. And then in the 12-1pm hour when EVERYONE is eating, you can go on some rides.
5. In the middle of the afternoon when ride lines are the longest, go and do the not-as-popular attractions. See Mickey and the Magical Map, Aladdin, the Jedi Training Academy show, watch the Pixar Parade at DCA. Go explore Tom Sawyer's Island, Tarzan's Treehouse, go on Winnie the Pooh (which never has a long line) or Ariel's (also a short line).
6. Middle of the afternoon is also a good time to do stuff like SHOP (you don't have to carry your purchases with you all day, by the way, you can have them held for you near the front gate at package pick up), take pictures with PhotoPass photographers, have a mint julep & Mickey beignets and eat them outside at the French Market seating area...preferably when the Dixieland jazz band is playing, and you can hear the sound of the New Orleans Square railroad station's telegraph in the distance. It's pretty fun to sit there and people watch.
7. Over at DCA, in the afternoon, you could soak up some ambiance at Flo's V-8 Cafe and get a mud pie and sit outside while you eat it and watch the RSR cars race by. Or have a snack at the Cove Bar on Paradise Pier.
8. Have dinner at the Hungry Bear restaurant and get a table right by the water and just spend some time there relaxing while you eat and listening to the sounds of the water and of the people in the background. We usually end up seeing a family or 2 of ducks swim by. The Harbour Galley is another great spot for this, too.
9. Bring some Disney magic to share with others. If you're planning on seeing Paint the Night parade and the new fireworks show, bring a couple of dollar store glow necklaces and hand them out to some families sitting nearby.

 

[elmoandzoey]

Work sends me out Oct 12-16 so I either have a few days before or a few days after. Either way it would work out only on the weekend for me. I didn't even think about the Halloween party.... They never really were an issue for us at WDW but I assume it'll be different for DL?

I just want to make sure that when I go back I won't be left with that weird feeling that my May trip left me with. I did enjoy my trip immensely but like I said I felt a bit that the Disney Magic was missing because it was just so crowded. I had to be more concerned with where I was going and what I was doing more than I had time to stop and just soak it in. I'm traveling from overseas so staying additional days for leisure are gonna be rather costly because my company will only cover half of the work travel expenses.

 

[Girimama33]

Work sends me out Oct 12-16 so I either have a few days before or a few days after. Either way it would work out only on the weekend for me. I didn't even think about the Halloween party.... They never really were an issue for us at WDW but I assume it'll be different for DL?

I just want to make sure that when I go back I won't be left with that weird feeling that my May trip left me with. I did enjoy my trip immensely but like I said I felt a bit that the Disney Magic was missing because it was just so crowded. I had to be more concerned with where I was going and what I was doing more than I had time to stop and just soak it in. I'm traveling from overseas so staying additional days for leisure are gonna be rather costly because my company will only cover half of the work travel expenses.

IMO, you are better off going after the trip vs. before

 

[Geemo]

Work sends me out Oct 12-16 so I either have a few days before or a few days after. Either way it would work out only on the weekend for me. I didn't even think about the Halloween party.... They never really were an issue for us at WDW but I assume it'll be different for DL?

If you look at figment_jii's thread for 2015, you'll see before the 12th is busy with big events.
The CHOC walk brings in lots of people to support the event. It will be busy.
Even though the next weekend has UEA convention listed, keep in mind that convention is held IN Utah not in Anaheim. So the only impact to the parks are the families with kids out of school while the teachers go to their convention.

The weekend after is the one I'd go for. I really feel the weekend of the 16th will be better crowd wise. There is a Party scheduled for Friday the 16th so you'd be able to see a DLR Halloween Party.

If you're going to need a room, you might look into that soon. The places close on Harbor seem to book up fast for the weekends.
http://www.accommodationsneardisney.com/Disneyland/default.asp

Have fun

Geemo

 

[Imdboss]

I would definitely go the weekend after. We've gone numerous times during the CHOC walk weekend and it's so crowded. Last year our first day in the park was the Wed before CHOC and it was amazing, Thurs was noticeably busier but still manageable, Fri we did MHP and it was awesome, Sat/Sun/Mon (Columbus Day) were crazy. Either way though I think you'll find it much more magical than the 24 hour party weekend plus you'll get to enjoy the Halloween Time atmosphere.

 

[DisneyloverinWA]

We are going October 30 - November 2 and doing the party on Halloween night. I wonder if I will regret that. I have never been at Halloween and never done the party, but I have been to Disney when the wait times were above 240 minutes, so I am not afraid of crowds. Good luck on your visit!

 

[kkmcan]

We always go the first weekend in Oct which is also Gay Days and its definitely crowded but we always get to ride what we want to ride. We don't wait longer than 20-30 minutes for any ride ever! We utilize fast pass, get to the park for opening, rest up in the afternoon and then return to the park in the evening until close. We continue to go this same weekend because its our kids fall break and we can no longer take them out of school for off season. We go with a loose plan and it always turns out great! If we walk up to a ride and the wait is longer than 30 mins we come back later or grab a fastpass or make a plan to hit it at the end of the night. We know that we don't have to wait hours for rides we just need to hit it at the right time (first thing in the AM, fastpass or last thing of the night).

The other thing to consider is the heat. The weather patterns have changed a lot and almost every year at this time the temps have been in the mid 90s to above 100. That's not fun when you come from the desert hoping for cool weather but we deal with it. Halloween is still our favorite time of the year.

 

[elmoandzoey]

Thanks for the input. I was leaning towards adding the days after work as a cool down so if that's the better time to go, then I'll look into that.