How bad will Grad Night be?

[JennaDeeDooDah]

My family and I (husband and seven-year-old daughter) will be going to Disneyland this May. We are going to have 4 days in the parks (May 23, 24, 25, and 26). Of those days I see that the 24th is on of their grad nights. How bad will it be? We are staying at a Good Neighbor Hotel so we aren't eligible for Extra Magic Hours so we were going to do Disneyland on both Wednesday and Friday and go to California Adventure on Tuesday and Thursday. I worry that with Friday being the Friday before Memorial Day and Wednesday being Grad night the park will be crowded both days and we won't get a lot done. Can someone please tell me about your experiences with Grad Night and how it affected the park all day?


ETA: And what is the difference between Extra Magic Hours and Magic Morning? We have Magic Morning but not Extra Magic Hours and it now looks like they are on the same day. I'm pretty lost here.

 

[gottalovepluto]

EMH= extra hour for hotel guests, occurs at the same time with MM
MM= extra hour at Disneyland on specific days of week, is included on certain tickets (like yours!)

I'll be blunt, IMHO you are setting yourself up for 2 disasterous nights in DL. The last time I tried to do a grad nite in Disneyland we ended up hunkered down at a table at Plaza Inn for 3 hours because the crowds were unbearable (shoulder to shoulder but the were rude, teens were shoving adults, children, didn't matter). After that experience 2 years ago I wouldn't ever try to bring a young child into DL after 6pm on a grad nite. If cursing type language is an issue for your 7yo be aware standing in cues you may hear any number of words shouted out depending on the teenage boys that night.

Fri before Memorial is the traditional kick off to summer season. If Paint The Night comes back for summer that's a logical day to debut it. DL will be SO PACKED that night if that's the case.

Solution? Don't go to DL on grad nite. Also your plans may be about to change anyway because to use your MM I think you'd have to go to DL on Tues or Thurs.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Also upgrading to park hoppers would solve any issues. Park too full? Hop to the other one!

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

I can handle blunt and absolutely appreciate that you didn't sugar coat it. We are early risers by nature so at WDW we usually do rope drop and rarely stay in the park long after supper. We were planning on doing some midday breaks at Disneyland and heading back for the evenings but it sounds like we might not want to do that. Instead I'm thinking maybe we do Disneyland on Tuesday with a midday break and an evening in the park (really want to see Main Street Electrical Parade), Wednesday at DCA, and then just decide which we would rather do on Thursday and Friday. Do you think DCA will be less crowded on Grad night or are they both nuts?

 

[Butterfly123]

I have been to Disneyland when there were grad nights and they weren't that bad. But I agree with gottalovepluto that hoppers helped immensely in handling the crowds. I don't know if you can swing it financially, but it helped us...a lot! If you already have tickets, they can be upgraded. It's something to consider.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

We can do hoppers. We hadn't planned on it because we didn't see a need. This might definitely change that, though. Thanks for the reply!

 

[mom2rtk]

We can do hoppers. We hadn't planned on it because we didn't see a need. This might definitely change that, though. Thanks for the reply!

We never hop at WDW but always do at DLR. There usually ends up being some show that's not showing on the right day, or a parade or fireworks that we need to catch on another day.

 

[gottalovepluto]

We do DCA on grad nite & it's fine. The grads themselves stay away for the most part because they get to do the DCA after the park closes during their party.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

Yall are so great. Thank you so much. I'm thinking we will add the park hopper and do Disneyland on Tuesday, DCA on Wednesday, probably Disneyland the morning of Thursday and hop over to DCA when/if it gets too crowded, and then DCA the morning of Friday and see how we feel throughout the day on whether we want to stay or hop. I appreciate the responses and if there is anything else you think I might need to know or be prepared for, please let me know.

 

[Butterfly123]

We focused on the more popular rides like Space Mountain, Matterhorn, Indy in the morning, before the kids started arriving. All the rides that really appeal to teens! Early starts like you say you do are perfect. We started most of our days at DL, the hopped over to DCA when DL started to get too crowded later in the day. It worked really well.

Just editing to add we had three grad nights! It looks like you have one so you should be just fine with your planning.

 

[VandVsmama]

I don't think that you should reschedule your whole trip just because of Grad Nights. We've gone to DL 3 times now during times when there are Grad Nights and some of the things we do are:

• Make sure to get to the park entrance for rope drop. On Grad Night days, the early bird really does get the worm!
• Use your Magic Morning entry! Magic Morning & EMH at DL are essentially the same. You won't be able to get EMH at DCA because you're not staying at DLH, GCH, or PPH. But yes, you should totally use your one Magic Morning entry to Disneyland, preferably earlier in your trip when you are not as tired.
• Get park hopper tickets and use them to park hop on Grad Night days.
• For example, start the first 3-4 hours of your day at DL. Then hop over to DCA by early afternoon. If your 7 yr old is a night owl, hop back to DL just before 10pm because all of the grads have to go over to DCA by 10pm and after 10, DL is off limits to them.
• Go on the E ticket rides at DL in the morning of a Grad Night day.
• Stay out of Tomorrowland entirely during the late afternoon/evening of Grad Nights.

 

[disneychrista]

Here is my experience with Mid-May last year.

I visited Sunday (afternoon only), Monday & Tuesday. Grad night was on Wednesday. Sunday the park was busy with what appeared to be Sorority girls (all matching sorority tank/tees) and some other school groups. Monday & Tuesday were busy with school groups (matching t-shirts). So in the end it didn't matter that I purposely shifted my trip to avoid grad night, as many school either do multiple days or are skipping grad night all together but still going to Disneyland.

Now I am a firm believer of going in with the right attitude. If you go in knowing that it is going to be busy (getting their early, using FP to your advantage, etc) then in the end you will still enjoy yourself.

 

[TygerHawks]

This thread made me check, and there will be 2 or 3 grad nights during our stay depending on what 4 days we choose to go. Never been, and have no experience, but I imagine if it wasn't grad nights then it would be some other school, group, tour, etc... etc... But I appreciate all the tips given here!

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

I don't think that you should reschedule your whole trip just because of Grad Nights. We've gone to DL 3 times now during times when there are Grad Nights and some of the things we do are:

• Make sure to get to the park entrance for rope drop. On Grad Night days, the early bird really does get the worm!
• Use your Magic Morning entry! Magic Morning & EMH at DL are essentially the same. You won't be able to get EMH at DCA because you're not staying at DLH, GCH, or PPH. But yes, you should totally use your one Magic Morning entry to Disneyland, preferably earlier in your trip when you are not as tired.
• Get park hopper tickets and use them to park hop on Grad Night days.
• For example, start the first 3-4 hours of your day at DL. Then hop over to DCA by early afternoon. If your 7 yr old is a night owl, hop back to DL just before 10pm because all of the grads have to go over to DCA by 10pm and after 10, DL is off limits to them.
• Go on the E ticket rides at DL in the morning of a Grad Night day.
• Stay out of Tomorrowland entirely during the late afternoon/evening of Grad Nights.

This is fantastic information. Thank you so so much!

Here is my experience with Mid-May last year.

I visited Sunday (afternoon only), Monday & Tuesday. Grad night was on Wednesday. Sunday the park was busy with what appeared to be Sorority girls (all matching sorority tank/tees) and some other school groups. Monday & Tuesday were busy with school groups (matching t-shirts). So in the end it didn't matter that I purposely shifted my trip to avoid grad night, as many school either do multiple days or are skipping grad night all together but still going to Disneyland.

Now I am a firm believer of going in with the right attitude. If you go in knowing that it is going to be busy (getting their early, using FP to your advantage, etc) then in the end you will still enjoy yourself.

I appreciate it. I am honestly just so excited to be going back to Disneyland that I can't wait, crowd or not! Last time we went was in October. We had Halloween Party tickets plus one full day at Disneyland, a full day at DCA, and then a morning before our flight left at 1:00 and we were able to do everthing we wanted. I figure we will probably be able to get more done this trip even thought it will likely be more crowded since we have 4 full days to spend in the parks, but even if we only get the same amount of stuff done, it will be great because it's Disneyland!

 

[julieheyer]

I'm so glad I checked! We're actually working around the 20th (going to the
U2 Joshua Tree concert in Pasadena) and could do DL either a few days before or after that...
So, we'll do the Monday and Tuesday (21-22) and hope for the best!

Thanks for the advice, rope drop is our normal MO, so hopefully it'll still be enjoyable!

 

[Butterfly123]

This is fantastic information. Thank you so so much!


I appreciate it. I am honestly just so excited to be going back to Disneyland that I can't wait, crowd or not! Last time we went was in October. We had Halloween Party tickets plus one full day at Disneyland, a full day at DCA, and then a morning before our flight left at 1:00 and we were able to do everthing we wanted. I figure we will probably be able to get more done this trip even thought it will likely be more crowded since we have 4 full days to spend in the parks, but even if we only get the same amount of stuff done, it will be great because it's Disneyland!

That is an awesome attitude!

 

[Rockiedave]

We went last year during a grad night and hardly noticed any difference, to be honest. We did park hop all day and evening and were in DL after 10.

 

[ngl]

My family and I (husband and seven-year-old daughter) will be going to Disneyland this May. We are going to have 4 days in the parks (May 23, 24, 25, and 26). Of those days I see that the 24th is on of their grad nights. How bad will it be? We are staying at a Good Neighbor Hotel so we aren't eligible for Extra Magic Hours so we were going to do Disneyland on both Wednesday and Friday and go to California Adventure on Tuesday and Thursday. I worry that with Friday being the Friday before Memorial Day and Wednesday being Grad night the park will be crowded both days and we won't get a lot done. Can someone please tell me about your experiences with Grad Night and how it affected the park all day?


ETA: And what is the difference between Extra Magic Hours and Magic Morning? We have Magic Morning but not Extra Magic Hours and it now looks like they are on the same day. I'm pretty lost here.

Thanks so much for starting this thread - we will be there the same time. We live in FL and have DW down pat but first time to DL! Is that Wed 5/24 the only grad night? was not sure where to get that information.

We are staying at Grand Californian and will have park hoppers. Planned on hopping each day. Sounds like on Wed we should start at DL and then go to DCA? What time do the grads generally come over to DCA?

 

[Butterfly123]

We started noticing them coming in around noon, early afternoon. Because they have to be in DCA at 10pm for their party, most of them want to spend their time before the party at Disneyland. At least that's how our grad night days played out.

 

[crazy for the mouse]

How do you upgrade your tickets. I have non Parkhoppers thinking we wouldn't need them. Now I find out that you need Parkhoppers for MM (I didn't do enough research before I booked) and I too am working around Grad Nights in June.