Disneyland Trip end of September- Hitting some snags

[tiffjoy]

We have a trip planned to DL for Sept 28-20 (Wed-Fri). We made all our plans before realizing the 30th is Mickey's Halloween Party.



So, now we are trying to switch up our plans a little so that our 3rd "day" at the park isn't cut short nor do we have to pay twice to experience it. We're now going to go to the park when we arrive on Tuesday, using the first day of our 3 day park hopper. Friday, our last day, we will do Goofy's Kitchen, swim at the hotel, then enter the park with our Halloween passes at 4pm.

I'm now wondering if the parks aren't going to be very busy at the time, anyway, which is what we were trying to avoid by waiting until September.

How crazy is the Halloween party? We went to Disneyworld two days right before Christmas, so I can't imagine it being worse than that. But, we expected the crowds then, and this time, we were planning expecting less crowds. Sigh...

 

[skiingfast]

Crowds will be great but grow on Friday, be ok Friday afternoon, but by 5 it's going to be crowded. The first party will most likely sell out again.

Use the party for candy, meet and greets, the parade, and fireworks. Use the other days for rides. During the party Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy and the Holiday Haunted Mansion will have crazy lines. I'd suspect Star Tours will too since for many it may be their annual visit.

 

[Sherry E]

It's only Disneyland that closes extra early for Mickey's Halloween Party. California Adventure stays open. If you didn't want to do the party and if you adjusted your schedule could you do some California Adventure things when DL closes for the party, maybe? Would that work? Or did you want to go to the party?

Late September is technically considered off-peak season, but there is no denying that the "first day" of anything - the Halloween Time season, the holiday season, the Halloween Party, etc. - draws extra crowds. People come out for the novelty of that first day/night, just to see if anything is new or different from the previous year, to gather info for blogs or articles they write, etc. Plus, Fridays are always more crowded at DL anyway. Also, it will be Gay Days that weekend so that will attract more people in the parks.

However, I don't think you have to worry about 9/30 being as crowded as 12/23 at WDW. Even though I've never been to WDW, I'd be willing to bet that crowds 2 days before Christmas at WDW are worse than September 30 at Disneyland.

The non-party guests can stay in Disneyland until 7 p.m. on 9/30, and the party guests can enter DL as early as 4 p.m. So that 3 hours of overlap time will probably be pretty crowded. Last year people reported the overlap time to be quite busy.

I don't think you have anything to worry about! You'll have a great time!

 

[DahliaRW]

We went 3 years ago this Fall. We went in Sept, and the end of our trip corresonded with the first week before the first Halloween party (which wasn't until the Friday after we left - we were there Monday and Tuesday). It was noticeable more crowded on Monday and Tuesday than it was the previous Friday. I think more people come in for days at DL, and to attend the party at the same time. We were really surprised by how crowded it was.

 

[tiffjoy]

We went 3 years ago this Fall. We went in Sept, and the end of our trip corresonded with the first week before the first Halloween party (which wasn't until the Friday after we left - we were there Monday and Tuesday). It was noticeable more crowded on Monday and Tuesday than it was the previous Friday. I think more people come in for days at DL, and to attend the party at the same time. We were really surprised by how crowded it was.

This is exactly what I am worried about... sigh.

Oh, well, there's nothing I can do to change it. I'm relieved to be prepared for it, though. At least we can now anticipate the crowds where before we were anticipating less people than usual.

Thanks for all the responses.

 

[LisaT91403]

Also, just an FYI that Sept 29th is a school holiday for many/most of the districts in Southern California. I would expect that day to be more crowded than a typical Thursday.