How Crazy Am I?/Christmas at Disneyland

[Guy in Fargo]

Thinking about visiting Mickey and Friends this year.

Four weeks possible to avoid disruption of kids' schooling.

October
Veterans Day
Thanksgiving
Christmas

Just wondering how crazy it would be to plan for a Christmas trip, especially as it relates to crowds and having a good time.

We've attended on busy (almost, but not closed gates) days and it's been okay. We're very good at tailoring our day to conditions, be it crowds, weather, kids behavior.

Want to avoid a situation where the vacation is a disaster, or even worse that we're permanently traumatized and don't want to go back.

How crazy do you think Christmas 2021 will be? Is it worth doing?

 

[sjmac42]

Between Christmas and New Year is always crazy busy but we went just before and during Christmas in 2019 (Dec 22nd to Dec 26th) and the crowds were remarkably low the majority of that time which surprised me. Christmas Day had particularly low crowds, we could have played tennis in Toontown till mid morning and not hit anyone. The other days were very manageable with many wait times under 30 mins and rarely exceeding an hour. We also had the benefit of MaxPass of course so we’re often doing 6-8 rides in the first 2-3 hours.
We left Anaheim on the 27th and the crowds walking to the Harbour entrance were really ramping up, noticed the park reached capacity that day but the rest of our Christmas at Disneyland had what I would call low to moderate crowds.
Just a single example for Christmas of course and I suspect my experience may have been unusual. Have been around Memorial Day weekend which was much busier and on Veterans Day when the park reached capacity around 11am but the other days were fine. Both those times were much busier than I experienced that Christmas. All bets may be off this year but you can read my trip report if it helps. Plus you cant beat the feeling of been in Disneyland at Christmas
https://www.disboards.com/threads/disneyland-christmas-2019-tr-from-down-under.3786424/

 

[mich311e]

I've been planning on going. We bought tickets in January of 2020 for December 2020. So we are still holding on to those for this Christmas. We've been on Thanksgiving and Easter, we really want to be there for Christmas once. Crossing fingers!

The only thing that will hold us up is the membership program (whatever replaces AP) because we want to upgrade to that while there.

 

[Matrixleos]

We did WDW at Christmas one year and it was packed, especially the Magic Kingdom. Hardly any room to walk around and most people were elbow to elbow on the pathways. I got to a point where I was purposely looking for long lines to wait in long ques just to get away from the pathways. LOL

It was a cool experience seeing all the Christmas decorations but I kind of compared it to doing Times Square for New Years Eve. Great to experience once but likely will never do it again!

 

[disneycat321]

I'm a teacher, so we're stuck with all the busiest times as well.

For me, Christmas is worth it because it's CHRISTMAS, and I find that time of year to be extra magical at Disney. I'm not a huge Halloween person, though I do like Halloween at Disney.

All bets are off right now with crowds, but this has been my experience at DLR in the past:

October - Surprisingly more crowded than you'd think. People are really super fans about Halloween at Disneyland, maybe even more than Christmas. We went for a long weekend over Gay Days in October 2019 (coincidence; we weren't there for the event) and it was a lot of fun, but definitely high crowds. We would do it again, though. Oogie Boogie Bash was fun.

Veterans Day - We've done this one a few times, and found it to be manageable, but definitely busy. Christmas decorations are out, so it's worth it for us.

Thanksgiving - Haven't done it. I've heard that it's better than actual Christmas break, though. Most of CA has the entire week off for Thanksgiving (I know this isn't necessarily true all over the country), so I'm sure it's very crowded. We'd do it, though, and probably will eventually.

Christmas - We've never done between Christmas and New Year's, and probably never will. We did Dec 22 one year and found it to be very crowded, but manageable. This year, Christmas is on a Saturday. I think that will help. If you can go the week before Christmas, my guess is that it will be very crowded, but maybe better than if Christmas were earlier in the week. I would do it, but then, I love Christmas! Sure, October would be less crowded, but Halloween is not my favorite; Christmas is. So I'd choose Christmas every time.

 

[StormyCA]

BFF & I went the week after Christmas and it was INSANE. I swear you could have lifted your feet on Main St and the crowd would have carried you from Town Sq to the Hub without ever touching the ground.

MaxPass and a few specific mobility related return times made the wait times bearable but OH! the crowds!!! I don't think I'll ever choose to go during Xmas holidays again. I still had fun, but it wasn't the 'best fun' I've ever had.

It used to be (back in the '60s/early '70s) that during theXmas holiday it was a great time to visit as it was 'family time' and a lot of people didn't consider DL as part of those 'rituals' so the crowds were low-ish. We were local then and usually went for a day either during Xmas vacation or more commonly New Years Day.

DL was also closed on Mon & Tue during the winter and hours were really short which also contributed to low crowds. I don't remember when they opened but typically they closed 6-7pm.

 

[downinit]

After they introduced the Signature Plus pass and made the two week Xmas/NYE period a blackout for everyone else, the week leading up to Xmas has been one of the best times to visit the park. The low crowds made it a no-brainer for us to go with the Plus over the standard Signature. Needless to say, what happens this year is a complete crapshoot. Only Miss Cleo can say for certain what the crowds will be like with everything that has been happening. Regardless, I would still definitely aim for pre-Xmas over post Xmas, as that will certainly be busier.

 

[darph nader]

I don't remember when they do the Christmas decorations. We're plannin on hitting the park the first full week in Nov. We've seen the Halloween decos and would like to see the next decos for what may be my last trip.

 

[coasternut22]

We did 3 days between 12/26/19 and 12/30/19. Yes the crowds wer enormous, but I’m a super planner and I made the most of everything. Actually 12/26/19 wasn’t that bad. We used EMH (3 day pass version) one day and rope dropped each morning. For EMH we did all of fantasyland before official park open. We also had reservations at Blue Bayou and a Fantasmic package for River Belle.

What made that trip make me not even notice the crowds was Maxpass. I constantly refreshed and never had to wait in any lines. I even got a Maxpass for Matterhorn for 5 people mid-day, five minute out, meaning our return time was five minutes after I booked it. That was my shining moment that day. I believe Maxpass made that week worthwhile.

For CaAdv, we rope dropped Toy Story MM and was well on our way of getting most rides done by 3pm because of Maxpass. No way you can do that week without it.

Overall, yes crowds were insane. I really didn’t notice them though due to proper planning and Maxpass.

 

[wassily]

It's a crap shoot this year. Key thing will be if they release APs earlier... and then what types of APs with blackouts.
Everything right now is topsy turvy. More people are getting to the parks early to maximize their day.
Less people are coming in the afternoon and staying through to evening. No annual passes changes the way people spend time at the parks.

If the AP program comes earlier... then maybe Disneyland returns back to historical norms where Christmas to Rose Bowl week is super busy.
OTW, tough to say.

 

[Malcon10t]

If the AP program comes earlier... then maybe Disneyland returns back to historical norms where Christmas to Rose Bowl week is super busy.
OTW, tough to say.

However, majority of APs during that week have always been blocked. It was busy by day tickets sales, not AP media. I would guess the week could be even busier, if Disneyland is back to full capacity by then. That said, reservations could help with the crowded feeling though as they need space for all the reservations, so you would be less likely to see gate closures if they did reservations.

 

[wassily]

However, majority of APs during that week have always been blocked. It was busy by day tickets sales, not AP media. I would guess the week could be even busier, if Disneyland is back to full capacity by then. That said, reservations could help with the crowded feeling though as they need space for all the reservations, so you would be less likely to see gate closures if they did reservations.

True.. most should be day passes at that time. I remember thinking that if the Rose Bowl is hosting the national championship or if the Rose Bowl has schools that haven't been to the game for awhile, then it will be really crowded. I remember going one year and it was a sea or "red" with people wearing Wisconsin gear. Line for space mountain was 3 hours long. Rode like 3 rides that day.

 

[brentm77]

Thanksgiving - Haven't done it. I've heard that it's better than actual Christmas break, though. Most of CA has the entire week off for Thanksgiving (I know this isn't necessarily true all over the country), so I'm sure it's very crowded. We'd do it, though, and probably will eventually.

Thanksgiving is super crowded, but a bit better than Christmas in my experience. The hardest part is getting a good dinning reservation for dinner. In the past, Disney has done a huge buffet at the Disneyland hotel, but it is unbelievably expensive the past few years (even considering it is Disney), and there are many reviews of people waiting a long time to get in, despite having a reservation. Because of that, we haven't tried it. But it does look fun once you are in.

The bottom line for holidays is that they are the busiest times of the year, but can be a lot of fun if you can be chill. You just have to go into it knowing that walkways will be crowded and lines will be long.

 

[CandyMouse]

The last time we went to DL was Thanksgiving week 2017 ( 4- days Tues through Friday ) and had a great time! Was it busy? Yes, but more at night with all the shows, which we did the WOC dessert party and Fantasmic/ Blue Bayou package and that helped a lot! I think the least busy day was the day after Thanksgiving. We're going this year the week before Thanksgiving with more family that's never been, and hoping it will be as fun and decorated with Christmas decorations. I would definitely do that week again!! Good luck!!

 

[mouschievous]

We've been over Thanksgiving a couple times, most recently 2018, and we're planning to go again Thanksgiving 2022. It was busy, not not ridiculously so, and we did a ton. I recommend Thanksgiving to everyone (although maybe I should quit - it will get too crowded!).

We did Thursday in DL, Friday in DCA and Saturday in DL (no park hoppers). Saturday was by far the busiest and most crowded day, and even then I think we rode BTMRR 3 times and Star Tours 4!

 

[pharmama]

I don't remember when they do the Christmas decorations. We're plannin on hitting the park the first full week in Nov. We've seen the Halloween decos and would like to see the next decos for what may be my last trip.

You'll likely see transitioning of decorations. If you do mean the week of 11/7 I would guess that whatever holiday decorations they are planning to do will be fully up by the end of that week but each day during that week will be a progression. It can actually be kind of neat to go in the parks each day and see what new things have shown up. In the past, the holiday season usually officially starts on a Friday somewhere between 1.5-2 weeks after Halloween (kinda depends on what day of the week Halloween is). This year if I had to guess it would be Friday 11/12, though maybe they start on Thursday 11/11 since it's a holiday. If they do IASW holiday, for example, it wouldn't open until the official holiday season start day.

But all that is speculation- I don't think anyone knows what they are (or aren't) going to do this year for Halloween or Christmas yet.