How busy is October?

[tiggercraZ]

It has been several years since we have been to Disneyland. How busy is it in October? Is the weather nice that time of year? Thanks.

 

[DLR29]

During the week the crowds are pretty low, but that also means short park hours and limited entertainment, along with some rides that will go down for refurbishment. The first weekend is Gay Days, which can be pretty crowded. The next weekend (we went last year) is Columbus Weekend/Fall break for some AZ/UT schools. It was pretty crowded when we went, but definitely manageable. The last weekend, or around Halloween, crowds begin to grow again.

Basically, there will be crowds on the days with the longer hours and fireworks/fantasmic, so pick your days carefully. You might want to have some weekdays, along with one or two weekend days to be able to see the nighttime shows, as well as tour the parks without crowds during the week. But crowded parks are not completely awful. If you read the tips around these boards, you can still get a ton of stuff done on even the most crowded days.

Oh, and the weather is nice!

 

[Canyon girl]

I will have to say that we were there last Oct., and it was no where near what others had said it would be like. It was hotter that you know what! Even the locals said that it was busy (during the week too), and we still had short hours. With the economy the way it is, it is impossible to predict "normal" crowd levels for specific times. Also, with the increase of Halloween activities, the park business has increased. Note: We were not there during any of the high crowd events i.e. Hannah Montana madness, Utah break, or Gay Days.

 

[Mugglemama]

last year, a LOT of people posted to the disboards saying that october was much busier than they had expected. the 2 years that we had AP's, october was a GREAT time to go....perfect, in fact. but last year that did not seem to be the case, at least not during certain weeks.

we were there the last two days of september last year, thinking we'd be sure to miss high crowds. but we were wrong, lol. it was a lot more crowded than we had expected.

 

[Sherry E]

We were there for the weekend of the Hannah Montana madness and Gay Days last year. We arrived on a Thursday evening, and it was in the upper 90's at 6:00 p.m. Awful. DTD was as busy as I would expect to see it on a Friday or Saturday evening. I couldn't figure out why. On Friday, the parks didn't seem to be too bad, crowd wise - I mean, maybe it was busier than some October Fridays past, but not unbearable. The temperature had dropped to the 80's. And even the first part of Saturday was manageable as far as people, and it was a bit overcast and in the upper 70's that day!! Yes, the decrease in temperature over the course of a couple of days was drastic (but what a relief because I would have collapsed in 90-degree weather). But by late Saturday afternoon, DL was crazy busy. The HMH line was suddenly 45 minutes to an hour or more long, whereas it had been 15 minutes long earlier. The Blue Bayou was packed. I think the Saturday evening crowds packed in for the Miley Cyrus birthday thing on Sunday. Fortunately, we got out just in the nick of time and didn't have to deal with any of that.

As Canyon girl said, because of the economy, it is hard to tell what will happen with crowds this year. On the one hand, lots more people have APs this year than last year. Halloweentime is a bigger deal at DLR now. October used to be the off-peak season, but last year the crowds were unprecedented, according to some Cast Members.

As far as weather, October is one of those weird, unpredictable months where it could be as hot as 100 degrees (like last year), it could be a nice comfy 70 degrees, or it could be chilly and drizzly. Most likely will be dry and sometimes it is very windy (the dreaded Santa Ana winds, which contribute to all the wildfires).

 

[ORMom2Four]

We were there the same time as Sherry. It was miserable. Very crowded and hot. Then again, we also went in May and found it almost just as crowded.

It seems there is no "off season" anymore, only off days.

 

[MAH4546]

Weekdays are pretty slow, but Fridays and weekends are very, very busy during October. Its a very popular time for locals to go to the park, especially to check out the Halloween decortations. Plus you have Columbus Day, Utah breaks, Gay Days and October Break adding to the crowds.

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

I think it's pure luck if you happen to hit the days where the crowds are managable, in general it's a very busy month. Many events, Gay Days, fall breaks for schools all around the country, Columbus Day. Not to mention all the halloween parties and decorations draws in a lot of the locals.

Even during the week we found it crammed with people. But I've heard there are days here in there that are good. I agree it seems to be "off days" rather then "off season" now.

Oh and it was HOT when we went a few years back.

 

[Mugglemama]

...on the other hand, when we got home from our trip last year (we were in the parks 9/29 and 9/30 - a monday and a tuesday, and we got home on october 2nd), i remember checking the disboards and somebody (a local AP'r, i think) had posted photos that they'd taken of disneyland that day, in the early afternoon, and it was pretty empty. i remember thinking, "i sure wish it could have been like that when WE were there", lol.

so maybe you will luck out!!

 

[heatherleigh]

We went in Oct two yrs ago, thinking it was off-season, which was not the case at all. We will never again go in Oct. Actually, the weekdays weren't bad as far as crowds go, so I shouldn't be so extreme on that. However, the weekend was out of control, and I am not exaggerating. The night we went to fantasmic, I got stuck in a crowd in the Pirate area that you couldn't even move in. It was unnerving and kind of scary.

 

[amyamya]

I'd just like to add, like a couple other posters did, that going on a weekday is no guarantee of low crowds in October. That month is crazy and all bets are off. Totally unpredictable in terms of crowds and weather. We were in the parks Tue-Fri. and it was packed.

 

[Husker Mickey]

It's hit and miss. We have been to the parks the last two Octobers and will hit them again this October. The weekends are busy. Plan for that. When we were there (toward the end of the month) it wasn't bad on the weekdays. I do remember people posting about 2 weeks before we went last year about how it got so crowded that no one could move on Mainstreet for about 45 minutes. Really! It wasn't like that when we went. I will have to say that the weather can be interesting. Again, we have been lucky with the upper 80's in the day and 60's at night. The week before we went last year it was at 100 for several days. (Those Santa Ana winds) HTH!

 

[Jenn1116]

All the posting about Oct crowds last year was madness. So of course I'm planning for an Oct trip this year What dates are you think of going?

 

[DisneyJulieZ]

We went the first FULL week of Oct. 08 (Tues & Weds) and it was BLAZING HOT on Tuesday--record breaking temps--in the 90's (and crowded, cause of MM) and then Weds. was cooler but still warm...but we got to the parks right before opening on Weds., so the morning was less crowded for us that day....not horrible crowds, but I've only gone one other time (March of this year) to compare it to (as an adult) so I'm not the best judge of what is crowded.
We did wait in Oct. for stuff, for sure...but some rides were 15 min. or less.
BUT we have little ones that can't do most of the big "E-ticket" rides, so that might have made our experience different than some other people's as well.

Hope that helps??

 

[iKristin]

I chose the third week of the month (20th through 25th) so that I could avoid the fall breaks the week before, the gay days two weeks before and halloween one weekend after that. I hope it's ok.

 

[disneynerd420]

I went the third weekend in Oct last year and found it to be cool weather-wise and manageable crowds.

 

[fairycat]

It really is so hit and miss these days I have to agree. We went several times last year in October and it was crazy how different each trip was in regards to weather and crowds. Halloween, the economy and the popularity of fall school holidays have made October a crap-shoot in regards to what you are going to get.

 

[disneyfan4ever54]

I chose the third week of the month (20th through 25th) so that I could avoid the fall breaks the week before, the gay days two weeks before and halloween one weekend after that. I hope it's ok.

We are going the 3rd week also, and I chose it for the same reasons after looking at the events in the beginning of the month and Halloween at the end of the month. Let's hope for good weather and low crowds.....at least low for how crazy it's been at other times in October.....LOL.

 

[rune_74]

We are going the 3rd week also, and I chose it for the same reasons after looking at the events in the beginning of the month and Halloween at the end of the month. Let's hope for good weather and low crowds.....at least low for how crazy it's been at other times in October.....LOL.

Funny we are doing the same thing...from the 20th to the 28th with 7 day park hoppers.

 

[iKristin]

I went on Gay Days 2007 and it wasn't that busy too me so I guess anything will be better haha