Sherry E
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- Jan 5, 2008
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We're debating going out 10/13 through 10/19, with 13th and 19th being travel days. 5 day passes for 14th-18th. I'd expect Fri/Sat to be busy, but what to expect for Tue-Thu? We generally go in late Feb and experience low crowds (relatively). This link http://www.scottware.com.au/theme/feature/atend.htm shows low crowds (even lower than Feb!) for most days in October except Columbus Day. Is that accurate?
Thanks!
starjazz --
Hello!
I haven't been to DLR in late February, but I suspect that October is now a bit busier than late February. October has become much busier than it used to be several years ago -- though not to the unbearable degree that can sometimes occur in the week between Christmas and New Year's. Halloween Time is increasingly more popular each year.
The interesting thing is that, as far as Disneyland is concerned, October is technically considered to be their off-peak/slower season. Weekday hours are often a bit shorter and entertainment can be more limited than it is in, say, summer or during the holiday season. But anyone who has been in the parks during October knows that it seems to be quite busy.
I think that, in the old, old days of Halloween Time, early October (or the first 2 weeks) may have been less crowded and then the week of Halloween got very busy. I assume that this was because Halloween Time hadn't yet really become a "destination time" for people to actually plan trips to come to Disneyland.
Now it seems that there is always some sort of school break taking place (sometimes more than one break happening simultaneously) in the first half of October. The kids come out to enjoy the Halloween Time festivities -- and that factor, combined with Columbus Day and Gay Days, contributes to the first half of October now being pretty busy and the second half of October (not counting the days immediately before Halloween) being a bit less crowded!
I don't know when the various Fall school breaks end this year -- and it seems that sometimes they extend into the 3rd week of October and sometimes they are over after the second week -- but I would have to think that at least some people will clear out after Columbus Day to get back to work.
I don't think it will be quiet when you go, but being there after Columbus Day will help to at least thin out some of the crowds. Tuesday, October 14th will probably be a Halloween Party night, as will Friday, October 17, so that could increase crowds in Disneyland -- especially after 3 p.m. or 4 p.m., respectively.
So I guess the short and sweet answer would be, if all of the school breaks are over with by the time you get to DLR, the crowds probably won't be too annoying. If there are still Fall breaks happening when you get there, you will encounter extra crowds!
ETA: I just saw that figment_jii posted an answer while I was typing up my response! Lol.