Disneyland in early November

Any guesses as to when the Christmas season might start in November?
 
The Holiday season usually starts in mid-November, somewhere around Veteran's Day (11/10/17, 11/10/16, 11/13/15, 11/13/14, 11/12/13). Dapper Day is slated for the first weekend in November this year (11/3 and 11/4).

It seems like there really aren't that many periods in the Fall when the parks aren't busy anymore. HalloweenTime (which usually starts in early-to-mid-September) is the kick-off and crowds, especially on the weekends, seem high through the Holidays (early-January). There maybe a few days here and there that aren't that bad (mostly weekdays), but they seem hard to predict. While early-November might be between seasons, I would try to go either before Halloween (to enjoy the HalloweenTime offerings) or after the holiday start (to enjoy the HolidayTime offerings). Early November seems kind of that middle time, when the parks are transitioning (IaSW might be closed to have holiday overlay installed and SM might be down for one or two days to remove the Ghost Galaxy Overlay).
 

The Holiday season usually starts in mid-November, somewhere around Veteran's Day (11/10/17, 11/10/16, 11/13/15, 11/13/14, 11/12/13). Dapper Day is slated for the first weekend in November this year (11/3 and 11/4).

It seems like there really aren't that many periods in the Fall when the parks aren't busy anymore. HalloweenTime (which usually starts in early-to-mid-September) is the kick-off and crowds, especially on the weekends, seem high through the Holidays (early-January). There maybe a few days here and there that aren't that bad (mostly weekdays), but they seem hard to predict. While early-November might be between seasons, I would try to go either before Halloween (to enjoy the HalloweenTime offerings) or after the holiday start (to enjoy the HolidayTime offerings). Early November seems kind of that middle time, when the parks are transitioning (IaSW might be closed to have holiday overlay installed and SM might be down for one or two days to remove the Ghost Galaxy Overlay).
While Dapper Day is an unofficial event, Disney dictates the date with discounted onsite hotel rates. So Dapper Day is scheduled to fill the break between HalloweenTime and HolidayTime. I visited this during this period last year, and thought the crowds were reasonable. There are many closures, and hours are rather short.

Guests that visit once a year (or less), might want to avoid early November -- except to enjoy Dapper Day.
 
You'll see a few Christmas decorations up in early November. Veteran's Day can bring crowds to the parks before and after it happens. The good news is that DL killed all of their races, so the race that would always happen in early/mid-November won't be there. That will ease some of the crowding in the parks, but it will mostly affect access to hotels. It'll be a lot easier to get a good one now.
 
I’ve never been in November but Space Mountain closes for at least a couple days so if you like it, don’t go too early in November.
 
I went for Dapper Day this past November. Other than Dapper Day itself (Sunday), I thought the crowds were not bad... not very low but not crazy packed. I was there Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. We stayed at the DLH with the special Dapper Day rate and it was a great time! Christmas decorations were up, Christmas music was playing, the horse on Main Street was wearing sleigh bells on his harness... it was very Christmasy even though the holidays didn't officially start until that Friday. I would definitely avoid Veterans Day, but we thought Dapper Day was great! I loved seeing all of the amazing dapper clothes!
 
We've always found early November to be a good time to go (we go 3-4 weekdays, not weekends.) We go between seasons, so we don't get IASW but my kids don't really care about that.
 
Keep watching for an annoucement for the dates for the Christmas parade taping. That can cause some congestion in the Town Square, Main Street, and Hub areas because of camera equipment and things being roped off. Some people love the taping, others try to avoid it.
 
We went early November 2014 and it wasn't busy at all, I think we went around nov 1-5.
 


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