Holiday Crowds - Give it to me straight

[rpezz]

As a gift for the entire family, my in-laws are treating us to a holiday trip to DL. I suggested going after the new year with the hope the crowds would be smaller. Unfortunately, several members of the family were unable to get the time off work. So.... we are going to be there the 26th - 31st.

Can someone who has experienced DL the week between Christmans and New Years, exactly how bad are the crowds? My husband, daughter and I used to go every year the week before Christmas and enjoyed small crowds. I am just worried it is going to be so busy it will be hard to enjoy it as much as we usually do. Of course, I am NOT complaining. A free trip to Disneyland, crowded or not, is just about the best thing in the world.

 

[azgal81]

Very crowded and the busiest week to go to the parks. Doesn't mean you can't have fun though! Get there early use fast pass. The park might even reach capacity so you might not be able to get back in during the afternoon if you were to leave for a rest at the hotel or what not.

 

[dmk1021]

I went last year from Dec. 29 - Jan. 2 and it was crazy. Absolutely nuts. I went back the week before spring break and it was half the crowd. Even though it was still busy, it felt like it was dead to my family!

I remember there was actually a 3-hour wait for Space Mountain at one point. Just nuts. But, it feels more festive when the parks are fuller, to try and take a positive outlook

 

[hlbtimes2]

Yep, very busy. Plan to get there early, use fast pass as much as possible, and eat at odd times. I would be extra careful on the 31st with leaving the parks to rest of park hop. They will likely reach capacity and limit entry that day.

 

[Albort]

sources say the past few weeks has hit max capacity... 45K in Disneyland. Weekday that is...

 

[rpezz]

Thanks for the info everyone. We knew it would be pretty busy so we are for sure planning to get there very early. We are seasoned fast-pass users so it shouldn't be too bad. Like I said, even if it is busy, I am just happy to be going.

 

[Sleeping Jedi Beauty]

We've gone the week between Christmas and New Year's a few times and it's always crowded. NYE morning isn't too packed, but it gets nuts later in the day. One year DCA was dead on NYE, but Disneyland was absolutely packed.

 

[tlynk]

I went to the DLR the week of Christmas in 2004 and the parks were packed. However, we stayed 4 nights and were able to ride every ride at least 2-3 times. When DL got too busy we would go to DCA instead. It was actually enjoyable because we paced ourselves. However, during the Holidays- I wouldn't go for less than 3 full days.