Crowds on weekdays during Christmas season

[Amanda8619]

We will be going to Disneyland on Tuesday Dec 4th. What are crowds generally like on weekdays during the Christmas season? Is it highly likely the park will reach capacity and we won't be able to get in if we don't go when they open? My plan was to go later and stay until Midnight when they close, but I don't want to chance them reaching capacity and not being able to get in. But there is no way we can do open to close, that is a really long day. Any suggestions would be great. We want to be able to do everything in one day. I should add that we don't like fast rides so we won't be doing those. We do want to do all the kids rides as well as Indiana Jones and Pirates. We are not doing California adventure, just the Disneyland park.

Is it possible to go at lunchtime and get everything done by midnight? Should we go in earlier, like morning time? Also does the monorail go from Disneyland park to the Disneyland hotel? Interested in going to Trader Sams.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

The monorail no longer goes all the way to the DLH, but it does have a stop on the western end of DTD, across from the LEGO store. From the DTD monorail station, you would walk west to the end of DTD, exit through security (no check for those exiting), and walk to the DLH -- about 5+ minutes from the station.
Mornings are your best time, efficiency wise, at DL -- the earlier, the better. It is unlikely the park will reach capacity on 12/4, but you will get more done the earlier you are in the parks. The later you arrive, the longer the ride lines will be and fewer FPs will be available for the headliners. The return times will be later, too. You will accomplish more if you arrive at opening and leave before closing, rather than arriving later and staying until closing. It really is amazing how much you can get done from rope drop until noon, especially if you will be doing rides that aren't on the FP system, like POTC. To get a ballpark idea of what this looks like, download the free Disneyland app now and start looking at wait times for the rides you like for the times you're thinking about. Compare early morning with later in the day. You'll get a feel for how mornings compare with noon/early afternoon with later afternoon, etc.

 

[katyringo]

It most likely won’t hit capacity. Capacity is usually just the week between Christmas and New Years.

That being said- fastpasses for some
Of the higher in demand rides may be out by the time you arrive in the afternoon.

The general consensus on this board is ALWAYS fo early in the morning if you are able. You will get the most done the first few hours the park is open. I would consider going at opening and taking an afternoon break somehow whebbrhe crowds are at the highest. In general Christmas time is busy. Tuesday is a magic morning day for Disneyland park so keep that in mind that it will open an hour earlier to guests with that privilege.

 

[chickapin parterre]

You are in luck for 2018, thanksgiving is so early this year, that it created an additional whole week to help with the crowding. I am there on the first Wednesday of December and never had a big problem with Tuesday. But regardless when in the week, noon to 4 is going to be tough, best to use that time to focus on holiday decor, shows, easy loading attractions. then eat, then go full throttle from 6 to closing, you will accomplish many attractions from 10 to close......but then, what are the hours for that day,? they seem to change so much for me on my visits, that I can no longer recall a yearly standard closing time. There will be no park closure due to crowding.

 

[Cal-Pie]

Morning. Always Morning. We can accomplish 5x the rides between opening and 11 am than we can for the rest of the day.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

...but then, what are the hours for that day,? they seem to change so much for me on my visits, that I can no longer recall a yearly standard closing time...

According to the park schedule, DL closes at midnight on 12/4, which means that Disney expects reasonably large crowds that day.

 

[chickapin parterre]

I didn't see that morning was also an option.....but let me continue selling a noon to midnight approach.

* Christmas Lights= small world, toontown, NOS and Main Street.
* special christmas street acts along Main street
* from rope drop to noon you will be caught in the moving crush of of speed of accomplishing attractions, then come up for breath and ask yourself....what did we just do?
* it is Christmas at Disneyland....not going to find that in July......take in the holiday decor and events....ever done a Meet and Greet at the Haunted Mansion, well they have one during Christmas. Ever stopped and listened to street singers, well they have different acts, every look up in NOS, the tight quarters allow for fun placement of Christmas garland. The castle has its own snow roof lighting. And what do they decorate that Main street Christmas tree and what do they plant in the hubs. A noon to midnight visit will force you to slow down....and breathe in Christmas!!!

 

[Amanda8619]

I didn't see that morning was also an option.....but let me continue selling a noon to midnight approach.

* Christmas Lights= small world, toontown, NOS and Main Street.
* special christmas street acts along Main street
* from rope drop to noon you will be caught in the moving crush of of speed of accomplishing attractions, then come up for breath and ask yourself....what did we just do?
* it is Christmas at Disneyland....not going to find that in July......take in the holiday decor and events....ever done a Meet and Greet at the Haunted Mansion, well they have one during Christmas. Ever stopped and listened to street singers, well they have different acts, every look up in NOS, the tight quarters allow for fun placement of Christmas garland. The castle has its own snow roof lighting. And what do they decorate that Main street Christmas tree and what do they plant in the hubs. A noon to midnight visit will force you to slow down....and breathe in Christmas!!!

My hope was to hit Trader Joe’s when they open at 1130 and then head to the park after that. But then I started thinking about them hitting capacity and wondered if it would be better to get there at 9 or 10 and leave at some point to do Trader Joe’s then go back in. I can’t decide what is the best most logical way to do things and make sure we get to do all the rides we want to do by midnight and still take time to see the parade and watch fireworks. We are skipping the fast rides.

 

[chickapin parterre]

It is Tuesday, has the letter T, therefore Disneyland has been open for an hour before you enter. Fantasyland is off limits, so your morning focus should be the ROA, as folks tend to head east rather than west. Easy area to pick-up fast pass attractions. Grab Indy fastpass, ride JC, grab BTMRR and ride pirates, Grab Hm fastpass and ride Splash, should have all of this done under 3 hours for your day of the week, if it is still under noon, then Pooh is option, doubt that Tiki room is easy wait by noon,

but then it is noon, and many folks headed to TRader Sam, so Sam is looking to be a 2:00 opportunity. So noon to 1:30 you can explore Main street then head over to Sam's. probably a 2 hour window for start to finish for Sam.

4:00, time for train, Mark Twain and any additional fastpass for the evening. plus lighting ceremonies, dust at 4:15?. strategist for parade and fireworks. after those two events, grab snacks and wait out the Fantasyland attractions of your choice and what fastpass you were able to find or grabbed by runner while waiting for fireworks and parade. So the Sam time would be your rest time and the train also, to save energy for the rest of the night.

The plus side to consider is that you didn't have to arrive at the gate early ( are you lodging nearby?), you didn't have Peter Pan anxiety and you are in a quiet ROA area first thing in the morning. So hydration and back pack snacks could be your salvation in good touring weather.

If you start at noon and Sam is the #1 priority, then Fantasyland/parade are off the list, fireworks should be easy from the west side, unless Fantastimic is running.

morning arrival....you are touring a Disneyland anytime of the year.

noon arrival your are touring Christmas Disneyland with some Fastpass privileges and an enjoyable time at Sams, with low expectations of number of attractions boarded.

maybe you could start a thread on what noon is like at Sams.

 

[FCDub]

Any thoughts on whether Tuesday the 4th or Wednesday the 5th is a better day to visit? I kind of like the Wednesday option because it lets me hit DL first, but it might not make a huge difference either way.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

Any thoughts on whether Tuesday the 4th or Wednesday the 5th is a better day to visit? I kind of like the Wednesday option because it lets me hit DL first, but it might not make a huge difference either way.

Wednesday is always my preferred day in the parks. It is very often the least-crowded day of the week.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Agree about Wednesday -- if not starting at/visiting DCA, at least you'll have the advantage of no MM at DL.

 

[Nevada Jen]

I feel like your plan is kind of a setup for a bad park day. If you do trader sams right when it opens you are hitting the parks just when it starts to get bad. Maybe hit the park when it opens (be at security check at least 30 minutes before opening) tour for a couple of hours and then hit trader sams at opening. Or better yet something in the gch. Then go back to the park and hit what you missed plus parade. Then end your day with fireworks. Maybe even schedule a sIt down dinner. That will make the day much more enjoyable. Otherwise I feel like you are literally hitting everything exactly wrong for crowds and you will spend your day waiting in line.

 

[FCDub]

Wednesday is always my preferred day in the parks. It is very often the least-crowded day of the week.

Agree about Wednesday -- if not starting/visiting DCA, at least you'll have the advantage of no MM at DL.

Appreciate you both!

 

[smartlabelprint]

What are you wanting at trader Sam’s. The kitchen next door is under refurb so the food is brought up from an underground hotel kitchen. Been hearing reports of very meh food.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

I feel like your plan is kind of a setup for a bad park day. If you do trader sams right when it opens you are hitting the parks just when it starts to get bad. Maybe hit the park when it opens (be at security check at least 30 minutes before opening) tour for a couple of hours and then hit trader sams at opening. Or better yet something in the gch. Then go back to the park and hit what you missed plus parade. Then end your day with fireworks. Maybe even schedule a sIt down dinner. That will make the day much more enjoyable. Otherwise I feel like you are literally hitting everything exactly wrong for crowds and you will spend your day waiting in line.

Another problem with waiting to hit the parks after Trader Sam's opens is that the OP wants to visit DL only on a Tuesday, which is a MM day -- putting her an hour behind lots of people right from the start. Even with getting to the gates when the parks open, the MM crowd already has the jump on Fantasyland and Tomorrowland and getting started on MP for the day.

 

[Amanda8619]

What are you wanting at trader Sam’s. The kitchen next door is under refurb so the food is brought up from an underground hotel kitchen. Been hearing reports of very meh food.

I just wanted a drink so I could get a cup

 

[Amanda8619]

It is Tuesday, has the letter T, therefore Disneyland has been open for an hour before you enter. Fantasyland is off limits, so your morning focus should be the ROA, as folks tend to head east rather than west. Easy area to pick-up fast pass attractions. Grab Indy fastpass, ride JC, grab BTMRR and ride pirates, Grab Hm fastpass and ride Splash, should have all of this done under 3 hours for your day of the week, if it is still under noon, then Pooh is option, doubt that Tiki room is easy wait by noon,

but then it is noon, and many folks headed to TRader Sam, so Sam is looking to be a 2:00 opportunity. So noon to 1:30 you can explore Main street then head over to Sam's. probably a 2 hour window for start to finish for Sam.

4:00, time for train, Mark Twain and any additional fastpass for the evening. plus lighting ceremonies, dust at 4:15?. strategist for parade and fireworks. after those two events, grab snacks and wait out the Fantasyland attractions of your choice and what fastpass you were able to find or grabbed by runner while waiting for fireworks and parade. So the Sam time would be your rest time and the train also, to save energy for the rest of the night.

The plus side to consider is that you didn't have to arrive at the gate early ( are you lodging nearby?), you didn't have Peter Pan anxiety and you are in a quiet ROA area first thing in the morning. So hydration and back pack snacks could be your salvation in good touring weather.

If you start at noon and Sam is the #1 priority, then Fantasyland/parade are off the list, fireworks should be easy from the west side, unless Fantastimic is running.

morning arrival....you are touring a Disneyland anytime of the year.

noon arrival your are touring Christmas Disneyland with some Fastpass privileges and an enjoyable time at Sams, with low expectations of number of attractions boarded.

maybe you could start a thread on what noon is like at Sams.

We have decided to get there at opening, do as much as we can then head over to Trader sams around 1 and then back into the park for the parade and fireworks and do whatever rides we didn’t do that morning.

 

[Amanda8619]

I feel like your plan is kind of a setup for a bad park day. If you do trader sams right when it opens you are hitting the parks just when it starts to get bad. Maybe hit the park when it opens (be at security check at least 30 minutes before opening) tour for a couple of hours and then hit trader sams at opening. Or better yet something in the gch. Then go back to the park and hit what you missed plus parade. Then end your day with fireworks. Maybe even schedule a sIt down dinner. That will make the day much more enjoyable. Otherwise I feel like you are literally hitting everything exactly wrong for crowds and you will spend your day waiting in line.

We have decided to get there at opening. Tuesday is the only day we are able to go. We will take a break probably around 1 or so to do Trader sams and then back into the park for parade and fireworks and more rides. Would that be an okay way to do things? I just feel like 8 to midnight is a really long day and feel like we may need a break in there somewhere somehow.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

We have decided to get there at opening. Tuesday is the only day we are able to go. We will take a break probably around 1 or so to do Trader sams and then back into the park for parade and fireworks and more rides. Would that be an okay way to do things? I just feel like 8 to midnight is a really long day and feel like we may need a break in there somewhere somehow.

That sounds like a better way to plan your day. Check the entertainment schedule for 12/04 (it's up on the DLR website now) and plan your breaks with parades, shows, meals, longer rides and attractions (e.g. POTC, DLRR, Mr. Lincoln, Mark Twain, etc.) throughout the day. That should at least keep you all going through the fireworks, if not until closing!