For those who went mid-late July in 2017 --

[AuntieG]

I would love to hear a report on crowds. We are looking at going Saturday through Thursday, either the third or fourth week of July. We realize there are no really slow times anymore, and that it can differ from year to year -- just looking for a general idea of what it was like last year.

I looked at the July 2017 check in thread, but there aren't many after-trip comments. I'm also not a fan of the isitpacked site.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

I went on a Saturday in mid July when APs were blocked and it was glorious. I would make sure to include a Saturday as a Park day.

 

[AuntieG]

I went on a Saturday in mid July when APs were blocked and it was glorious. I would make sure to include a Saturday as a Park day.

Thank you! We will be able to get to the parks fairly early on our arrival Saturday.

 

[amyg1975]

We have APs and were there in late July, and again in early August. We always find it to be busy, but the mornings are great.

 

[DznyPrnces]

We went mid/late July (around the 20th?) last year. Yes, it was crowded, but not overly so. We went when maxpass was fairly new, and utilizing that, I felt like we were able to get more done then we usually do. Last year we just did one day at Disneyland. This year we are going back the week of 7/16 and we will be doing one day at each park. I’m not worried.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

The problem with year-to-year comparisons is that there are always extenuating factors. Last year, Fantasmic and the Rivers of America weren’t coming back until late July, so a lot of people put trips off until then; whereas this year the Pixar stuff opens June 23 and should theoretically spread out crowds more. You also never know when a heat wave or something might keep people away... or that last year’s crowds for a certain time may have been weather-affected.

As others have noted, expect it to be busy because it’s summer! But there’s no reason to think it would be unusually packed or anything, and will full park hours and all attractions open, you should have a nice time anyway!

 

[lalasmama]

As @Skyegirl1999 noted, a year-to-year comparison can be misleading.

To gauge crowds, I do a bit of research around the net, without using any crowd calendars. First, I check AP block dates, and try to plan my dates based on when the most ones are blocked. If it's a time when school is expected to be in session, I check out the surrounding school district calendars. Then, I hop over to the Anaheim Convention Center calendar, and see what they have going on there. Some things have more weight than others--I don't expect the mortician's convention to bring in an appreciable crowd to the parks, but VidCon or D23 would cause me to reschedule potential dates. Basically, my Convention Center questions are: (1) Is it likely the convention would bring in Disney peeps? and (2) Is it likely that the convention peeps would bring their families to visit Disneyland for their convention? If either seems likely, then I will rework my dates.

I also try to avoid 7/17. People like celebrating Disneyland's birthday.

 

[AuntieG]

We have APs and were there in late July, and again in early August. We always find it to be busy, but the mornings are great.

Thank you. We will definitely take advantage of the morning hours, go back to the hotel for pool, rest, etc., then come back for evening fun and shows.

We went mid/late July (around the 20th?) last year. Yes, it was crowded, but not overly so. We went when maxpass was fairly new, and utilizing that, I felt like we were able to get more done then we usually do. Last year we just did one day at Disneyland. This year we are going back the week of 7/16 and we will be doing one day at each park. I’m not worried.

Thanks for the reply. I'm pretty excited about Maxpass and not having to run around in the heat for FPs. Glad to hear it is manageable.

 

[AuntieG]

As others have noted, expect it to be busy because it’s summer! But there’s no reason to think it would be unusually packed or anything, and will full park hours and all attractions open, you should have a nice time anyway!

Thanks. This is exactly why, after going in the "off season" for so many years, we are wanting to go in July!

 

[AuntieG]

As @Skyegirl1999 noted, a year-to-year comparison can be misleading.

To gauge crowds, I do a bit of research around the net, without using any crowd calendars. First, I check AP block dates, and try to plan my dates based on when the most ones are blocked. If it's a time when school is expected to be in session, I check out the surrounding school district calendars. Then, I hop over to the Anaheim Convention Center calendar, and see what they have going on there. Some things have more weight than others--I don't expect the mortician's convention to bring in an appreciable crowd to the parks, but VidCon or D23 would cause me to reschedule potential dates. Basically, my Convention Center questions are: (1) Is it likely the convention would bring in Disney peeps? and (2) Is it likely that the convention peeps would bring their families to visit Disneyland for their convention? If either seems likely, then I will rework my dates.

I also try to avoid 7/17. People like celebrating Disneyland's birthday.

I agree, this comparison is not an exact science--just wanting to get a bit of an idea of what the most recent summer was like. I've done all of the research you mention, and the weeks we are looking at seem to be in as good of a sweet spot as we can choose that also meshes with when we can get away. No matter what, we will have fun!

 

[ebharris]

We are going from the 23-28th. I can’t wait

 

[az4boys]

We were there the second week of July. I had always had fears about how bad summer was, but I was pleasantly surprised. We did mornings and evening with afternoon breaks. Our trip in October seemed so much more crowded.

 

[AuntieG]

We were there the second week of July. I had always had fears about how bad summer was, but I was pleasantly surprised. We did mornings and evening with afternoon breaks. Our trip in October seemed so much more crowded.

I'm hoping for pleasantly surprised as well!

 

[dina444444]

We were there the second week of July. I had always had fears about how bad summer was, but I was pleasantly surprised. We did mornings and evening with afternoon breaks. Our trip in October seemed so much more crowded.

This past July was a bit of an anomaly. Crowds were significantly lighter than past summers.

 

[az4boys]

This past July was a bit of an anomaly. Crowds were significantly lighter than past summers.

Were the AP blockouts different last summer? The lower APs were blocked out this last July so I wondered if that helped.

 

[dina444444]

Were the AP blockouts different last summer? The lower APs were blocked out this last July so I wondered if that helped.

Nope, AP blockouts for summer time have been relatively the same since at least 2012