How accurate are crowd predictions and wwyd?

[ExcitedMama]

We are going to DL the week of September 24 and I'm trying to plan a day to go to USH. According to isitpacked.com USH is listed as all right on Sunday 9/25 and Fri 9/29 which seems counterintuitive to me since I would have thought a Sunday would be busier than a Friday. That same website lists DL as packed on 9/24 which makes me think that's a better day to skip DL for USH. Those are the days I have to play with and USH is only on my list for Harry Potter as a surprise for DS if that affects crowds at all for HP. We are staying at DLH so I was also thinking a Sunday might be better for driving than a Friday? We would hopefully be there for the early admission and I have no idea about LA traffic patterns. Any recommendations? Or any other site with better crowd predictions?

 

[cruisehopeful]

I haven't found any crowd predictors to be particularly useful. I do suggest that you check to make sure USH isn't closing early for Halloween Horror Nights when you go there. I went on a day last September when it supposedly wouldn't be crowded and it was very crowded. Everything we wanted to do was about an hour wait. Then, they closed early for Horror Nights, which seemed to draw in even way more people. We didn't go to Horror nights, but saw all the people lining up. They were just piling in like a very busy day at DL. It was crazy.

 

[MacMama0930]

We are going to DL the week of September 24 and I'm trying to plan a day to go to USH. According to isitpacked.com USH is listed as all right on Sunday 9/25 and Fri 9/29 which seems counterintuitive to me since I would have thought a Sunday would be busier than a Friday. That same website lists DL as packed on 9/24 which makes me think that's a better day to skip DL for USH. Those are the days I have to play with and USH is only on my list for Harry Potter as a surprise for DS if that affects crowds at all for HP. We are staying at DLH so I was also thinking a Sunday might be better for driving than a Friday? We would hopefully be there for the early admission and I have no idea about LA traffic patterns. Any recommendations? Or any other site with better crowd predictions?

Friday is a party night I believe at DL...so it would close early (unless you have a party ticket). Disneyland has kind of flip flopped on their "crowded" times due to the sheer volume of So Cal APers. There are two tiers and the lowest, most affordable one, is blocked on the weekends and therefore affects the crowds. A lot of people have noticed that weekends/summer, when certain APs are blocked are actually much less crowded even though it's considered "peak time".

Also, I have no idea if it's an option, but my DH and I did the VIP tour at USH and it was SO worth it! I absolutely loved it. No waiting....ever. True front of the line, delicious lunch, preferred viewing for shows, and we got to get out at the back lot tour and walk around. It was so cool. I always highly recommend that.

 

[tarheelalum]

They are all a joke. People on this forum are far better at predicting crowd levels than any of those websites.

 

[ExcitedMama]

They are all a joke. People on this forum are far better at predicting crowd levels than any of those websites.

Want to give me a guess on the week of 9/25? How crowded will DL be? Which day to skip DL for USH, Sun 9/25 or Fri 9/29?

 

[SMD]

I'm going to guess that the USH CA Neighbor pass is blocked on weekends leading up to Halloween and not Fridays, which is also probably a horror night. The one thing about the last week in Sept that I would worry about is that USH had record attendance the week between Christmas and New Years. A lot of people bought the CA Neighbor pass, and many probably bought at the park, which means it expires between Sept 25-30. Given those options, I'd go with the Sunday, I think you'll have a lot of people using their last day that week, but many will be blocked on the Sunday.

 

[StormyCA]

Honestly, most of the crowd predictor websites have been off the mark since early 2015.

This link is a good thread about what's going on during the year

https://www.disboards.com/threads/2017-calendar-of-events-school-breaks-and-dlr.3528760/

Check for local events to see if there are any conventions, etc in town. Check Halloween party dates, the park closes early and crowds will be generally heavier.

Also check the DL website for AP blockouts. The more APs blocked, the 'less' crowded.

Your trip is running into HalloweenTime at DL, which can be a 'high' crowd period.

But as I said, for the last couple of years there have been huge crowd days during traditionally low periods, and low crowd days during traditionally high periods. I just figure it'll be crowded and if it's not, that's a bonus. If it is, well, you're still at the Happiest Place on Earth.

 

[tarheelalum]

Want to give me a guess on the week of 9/25? How crowded will DL be? Which day to skip DL for USH, Sun 9/25 or Fri 9/29?

It will be crowded that week as always but nothing out of the ordinary except on the Halloween party nights. It will get very crowded on those nights. Sunday's and Fridays are both very crowded days at Disneyland but Friday is not that bad until the afternoon. Sunday's are crowded all day/night and probably is the most crowded day of the week due to the Socal annual pass eligible to attend with most people being off work and kids out of school.

 

[ExcitedMama]

Thanks so much! I never even gave a thought to the pass situation at USH, thanks for bringing it to my attention SMD! I know there have been posts about weekends and summer being less crowded at DL because of the passes and blackout dates but once school starts up again is it safe to assume weekdays are going to be less crowded at DL?