Grad Nights

[wendlle]

How bad are they?? We are in Anaheim from May 30th - June 2nd.
Two of those days are Grad Nights
I'm now really worried we won't get the magical experience I was hoping for.

I have 1 day to spend at Knott's, I'm thinking of making one of the Grad dates the Knott's day, which means I have to pick one of the others to go to DL, which one would be better to avoid? May 30th or June 1st ??

 

[tink89]

I personally would not plan on purposely going on a grad night. But at the same time if I happened to be there already and it happened to be a busy time i would go anyways because i was there anyways.

And if i had to pick between Knotts or DL it is obv DL. Have you seen all those Knotts videos.

 

[Mathmagicland]

How bad are they?? We are in Anaheim from May 30th - June 2nd.
Two of those days are Grad Nights
I'm now really worried we won't get the magical experience I was hoping for.

I have 1 day to spend at Knott's, I'm thinking of making one of the Grad dates the Knott's day, which means I have to pick one of the others to go to DL, which one would be better to avoid? May 30th or June 1st ??

If you are choosing between Friday 30 May and Sunday 1 June for DL, with grad night, I’d go with Sunday 1 June. I would also try to rope drop if possible, and spring for LL if in your budget. The Grads typically start arriving late morning to early afternoon, so you’ll get a few hours with lower crowds before it gets busier with the grads and the LL will be handy to have.

 

[Aspencreek]

And if i had to pick between Knotts or DL it is obv DL. Have you seen all those Knotts videos.

Curious what Knotts videos you mean. Crowds crazy bad or something?

 

[tink89]

Curious what Knotts videos you mean. Crowds crazy bad or something?

its crazy there constantly. We see a couple of videos of DL every now and then, but Knotts videos used to be constant of fighting or lin cutting or arguing with others to just no respect for others. Mostly due to teenagers running around the place and some adults who don't know how to behave. I will say I haven't seen as much of it lately.

 

[LKing]

What are you trying to avoid by not going on a grad night? Is it that you think the parks will be more crowded or are you trying to avoid the behavior of new grads?

 

[disneychrista]

Question about Knott's and Grad Nights. When I lived in OC pre-1984. The Jr. High's went to Knott's for their "Graduation." Does Knott's still do these types of events? Just something to think about when "escaping" to Knott's to avoid graduation crowds.

 

[foolish_mortals]

Question about Knott's and Grad Nights. When I lived in OC pre-1984. The Jr. High's went to Knott's for their "Graduation." Does Knott's still do these types of events? Just something to think about when "escaping" to Knott's to avoid graduation crowds.

Yes, but not in an official event this year, though it's starting up again in 2026.

Schools still buy group tickets and organize a trip. You would have to search by school, but I found a few schools planning to go in June and April. Those are just the ones that post publicly.

So agreed, Knott's is not a way to escape teenage grad events.

 

[wendlle]

Just to recap.
We are going to BOTH Disneyland and Knotts on this trip. We have 4 days.
1 at Knotts and 3 at Disneyland.

The time that we are there, there are 2 Grad Nights at DL.
I need to know which one is best for us to go to and which one not to.
I only have 4 days so one of the days has to fall on a Grad Night.

 

[disneychrista]

Just to recap.
We are going to BOTH Disneyland and Knotts on this trip. We have 4 days.
1 at Knotts and 3 at Disneyland.

The time that we are there, there are 2 Grad Nights at DL.
I need to know which one is best for us to go to and which one not to.
I only have 4 days so one of the days has to fall on a Grad Night.

If Friday is one of your Grad Night days at DL I would skip that one. Honestly it just a roll of the dice but I would think Friday events would be more heavily attended due to not having school the next day and easier for those who are traveling further.

 

[wendlle]

If Friday is one of your Grad Night days at DL I would skip that one. Honestly it just a roll of the dice but I would think Friday events would be more heavily attended due to not having school the next day and easier for those who are traveling further.

thanks, this is what I'm thinking too. I'll do Knotts on the Friday and leave the next 3 days in a row for Disneyland

 

[wendlle]

its crazy there constantly. We see a couple of videos of DL every now and then, but Knotts videos used to be constant of fighting or lin cutting or arguing with others to just no respect for others. Mostly due to teenagers running around the place and some adults who don't know how to behave. I will say I haven't seen as much of it lately.

I believe most of this got stamped out when they introduced the chaperone policy. I haven't been to Knott's in 10 years so do want to go back, my kids have never been.

 

[MonocularVision]

This was just asked and here is my answer: https://www.disboards.com/threads/grad-night-crowd-impact-at-dlr-and-dca-2025.3960508/#post-65936553

 

[LAS2AMS]

When I was a kid, I remember reading all the crazy stores about Disneyland in Mouse Tales - especially Grad Nights. But… I guess people have gotten more tame, because it was all hype. Or maybe Disneyland has changed (RIP Haunted Mansion).

 

[Tink3rbell86]

We went the first week of June last year and there were 2 gradnight when we visited the parks, both mid week. We did not notice a big impact during the day especially the early morning. Later in the day and into the early evening crowds picked up so we hopped over to DL.

 

[MillauFr]

Why on earth would anyone go to Knott's to avoid a DL grad night? That makes zero sense.

 

[MillauFr]

What are you trying to avoid by not going on a grad night? Is it that you think the parks will be more crowded or are you trying to avoid the behavior of new grads?

The behavior of the Knott's crowd is far worse than anything you are likely to encounter at DL. Think Wal-Mart on black Friday back in the olden days.

 

[LAS2AMS]

The behavior of the Knott's crowd is far worse than anything you are likely to encounter at DL. Think Wal-Mart on black Friday back in the olden days.

You must not have visited Knott’s lately. They now have a number you can call if people cut the line, and security will show up and throw them out. Disney could learn something here. Nothing worse than a group having one person wait in line, while the others jump the line to join them at the last minute.

 

[MillauFr]

My wife warned people about Knotts by saying.... You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. You must be cautious.

 

[LAS2AMS]

My wife warned people about Knotts by saying.... You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. You must be cautious.

I’ve never had issues with the Knott’s crowds. At its worst, they attract a lot of teens just as DL did in its Videopolis days, but they’ve slowly decreased as a curfew/ chaperone policy was implemented. Just like at DL during its Videopos days.