Disneyland in October?

[jodi90]

Hello Everybody!! This is my first post and I have to say I love what I'm reading so far. This will be my first trip to Disneyland as an adult and I'm not sure where to start. There will be seven in our group. 4 adults and 3 kids. We are looking at going the last part of September, first part of October. Is that a good time? Is it pretty crowded?

 

[rune_74]

I'm looking at the end of october.

I have heard the first part has gay days? Not sure if that effects your group or not but for sure it will be busy.

 

[avalon451]

Hi, Jodi, welcome!

A good place to start is with Hydroguy's excellent Tips Compilation, a sticky thread at the top of this forum: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1520483 Lots of great info there on how to do the parks with a minimum of fuss and a maximum of fun!

October is getting to be a very busy time of year at DL, for several reasons: the Mickey's Trick or Treat parties on the weekends in California Adventure, the amazing Halloween decorations, and the fact that there are many school districts in CA, UT and AZ that take "fall breaks" and there is a mass exodus to Anaheim to celebrate! We were there from Sun-Thurs last October on Columbus Day weekend. We just happened to hit it right, AZ had fall breaks the week before, UT was out on the day we left, and we had moderate crowds during the week. This year, I'm not so sure about; you may want to research or ask on here about Fall breaks; there's lots of AZ and UT people on here. Gay Days is the first weekend in October, and it's busy, but then weekends are always busy, anyway.

I'd suggest making the bulk of your trip during the weekdays, with one or two weekend nights in there to see Fireworks and Fantasmic, and go to the Mickey Trick or Treat party, if you'd like. See on Hydroguy's tips thread about "High season/low season tradeoff rule"... you get fireworks and F! but lots of crowds; or you get low crowds but not a lot of entertainment stuff scheduled.

Hope you have a great time regardless, and enjoy planning!

 

[Sara*s_Mommie]

Yes, I believe the gay days are around the 1st weekend of Oct...to each his own I guess, but found the open public affection a little unnerving when I encountered it unknowningly a few years back. Also, a lot of California schools have a fall break around this time (end of Sept, beginning of Oct). In 2006, I found the crowds larger than I'd expected with the school breaks. I went the first week of Oct.

 

[iKristin]

Gay Days was a fairly busy day last time I went (2007) but I actually didn't think it was too busy at all; felt like it usually does on a steady day

 

[disneyfan4ever54]

UEA is also the first weekend in October this year, the same weekend as Gay Days, so it will probably be pretty busy. As mentioned above, October is a busier time now overall since the addition of the Halloween parties. We're going the 18th -24th and hoping for less crowds then. If I had to choose between late September and the first week of October though, I would choose September.

 

[mechurchlady]

I would recommend avoiding Gay Days strongly.

It is a fun family time for Gays to meet and greet each other. A time of bonding and fellowship. For some people this is their one big trip for the whole year. There are private events offsite. The Gay Days people ask that Gays looking to meet and greet wear red shirts. They are a very civil group and well organized.

I have had only one nasty time while Gay Days were in the park. Some nasty male pin traders were rude. I cannot in this site describe what those guys were doing as it was nasty and their words were just as mean and hateful.

The only reason I would be against going during Gay Days is the crowds. However if you go then then you will meet nice people and have a good time.

 

[zeitzeuge]

Yes, I believe the gay days are around the 1st weekend of Oct...to each his own I guess, but found the open public affection a little unnerving when I encountered it unknowningly a few years back. Also, a lot of California schools have a fall break around this time (end of Sept, beginning of Oct). In 2006, I found the crowds larger than I'd expected with the school breaks. I went the first week of Oct.

Yeah as far as I'm concerned ANY public displays of affection by anyone is unnerving.

 

[amyamya]

We went the week right after Gay Days (actually used discounted Gay Days tickets, anyone remember that drama!?) and I think one of the reasons it was so crowded was spill over from Gay Days combined with other events. I'd avoid October all together if you can....

 

[wvnative]

We've used the Gay Days tickets before, after Gay days was over. Our October trip is actually one of my favorites. I just checked the calendar for next year, and fall break for our little corner of AZ is 10/12-16. The districts around us will be the same week and/or the week after.

We're actually hoping to come the end of September to avoid some of those crowds and because it's the kid's birthday.

 

[wideeyedwonder]

We are looking at going the last part of September, first part of October. Is that a good time? Is it pretty crowded?

Make sure you hit the Haunted Mansion for the Nightmare Before Christmas themed "Haunted Mansion Holiday":

 

[ukstitch]

I went for 3 days at this time last year and actually found it to be ok (though it was my first trip so I'm not too familiar with DLR crowd levels). It certainly wasn't quiet, but at the same time it wasn't rediculous.

Gaydays can be "avoided" with careful planning - if you look at their schedule then you'll see that they tend to focus on a particular park (last year it was DL on saturday, DCA on sunday).

I didn't really notice the displays of affection to much, although I did notice the red shirts a lot, so I guess it depends on the level of tollerence of each individual as to whether they're affected by this.

Ride times weren't too bad in the morning, though it did get longer as the day went on, although it dropped off again towards the end of the day.

The weather was mixed - "comfortable" on the saturday and sunday but very hot on the monday.

 

[Mugglemama]

we visited DLR just this past september with our 4 kids (sept. 29th and 30th, a monday and tuesday), hoping for smaller crowds and mild weather.

while it wasn't overwhelmingly crowded, it was more crowded than i'd expected. lines for rides like space mountain were 90 minutes, although lines at DCA weren't too bad (40 mins for GRR, 25 mins for Cal Screamin'). we definitely had to utilize fast passes for things like Splash and Soarin'.

also, the weather was a LOT hotter than i was hoping for. it reached about 90 (maybe a little higher) both days we were there, when i was hoping for maybe somewhere around 78-80. and it was humid, for SoCal.

we only had 2 days, and it was too crowded to really do everything we wanted as many times as we wanted in that short amount of time, considering the crowds. but, it was still fun, of course.

 

[ratherbe@disneyland]

I hate starting new posts if I can avoid it, so I am just going to ask this here. Do you think at the end of October we will need Camelbaks? I'm thinking I probably will just because I am always drinking water and get really thirsty if I don't. But don't know about DH and I don't know if we should waste the room in our luggage. Any opinions would be great! Thanks!

 

[platypus67]

We were there Oct 3 - 6 last year. Our trip was weekend during gay days and the Miley Cyrus Sweet 16 party, so it was pretty busy. This being said we really didn't mind the crowd levels. We only abandoned one ride due to long waits, but didn't even bother with fast passes for any of the others. We have always gone at the "quiet" times in the past, but really didn't notice much difference enjoyment wise with going at this time last year. We attended the Trick or Treat party- fantastic! We are booking again this year as we will be there Oct 14-18. I'm sure you will have a great time whenever you go.

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

We avoid October now. Too many events with Gay Days, Fall school breaks, halloween parties and decorations. That month draws HUGE crowds. While we love the halloween stuff too, we did not enjoy it being that crowded.

 

[UtahDisneyFan]

I am wondering how busy it will be the weekend before Halloween. 23-26 Anyone gone during this time?

 

[SirtanJedua]

I am wondering how busy it will be the weekend before Halloween. 23-26 Anyone gone during this time?

A couple years ago we went Oct 21st-26th and it was GREAT! Although it was my 1st time going to disneyland the weather was great probably 80 at the highest peak. I had expected crowds to be ALOT worse than they were. They were about the same if not less than a local Amusement Park here in Utah (Lagoon) around mid summer. plus with the decorations and the fun halloweentime activities, I would highly recommend later in Oct.

We also got a chance to do the Trick or Treat with Mickey party they had in DCA after regular park hours on the last day we were there. LOTS of fun! especially for the kids (6 and 11).

 

[jodi90]

We avoid October now. Too many events with Gay Days, Fall school breaks, halloween parties and decorations. That month draws HUGE crowds. While we love the halloween stuff too, we did not enjoy it being that crowded.

Thanks so much for all the responses to my question. I think that we may end up going earlier in September.

Thanks!!

Jodi

 

[mmlover74]

Almost 4 yrs ago, I went to DL for just a day in Oct. as we got off the cruise ship and I was pg at the time...park was packed to capacity because of Make A Wish Foundation. I have never seen the park like that before and to say it was extremely crowded was an understatement.