How's early October at Disneyland?

[Bete]

We'll be there for Fri/Sat/Sun starting October 1. It's the weekend but school will be started. I'm expecting an empty park. Am I wrong?

Do hours get cut back big time? Do they still have fireworks and Fantasmic and the Electrical Parade? Are there as many characters around the park?

Any info would be appreciated.

 

[Firefly777]

The thing about Disneyland is that there are crowds every weekend in the park, no matter what time of year. But that also means that the hours are very long at pretty much every weekend of the year.

I checked Disneyland.com and it says that the hours are 9am-10pm on Friday and 8am-12am on Saturday. Right now, it doesn't list the hours for Sunday, or any show schedules. So just check the site later to get that information.

 

[dsnylndmom]

If I'm not mistaken I think that weekend is Gay Days weekend so the crowds could be a bit heavier due to that. Oh and the Chocwalk is that Sunday, I don't know how that will affect the crowds.

You should still be able to catch the Electrical Parade, but I'm not sure about Fantasmic!

Good Thing is that Haunted Mansion Holiday will be open!

 

[Bete]

I gather that the Haunted Mansion is all decked out special for Halloween month for this ocassion. Tell me more.

 

[Firefly777]

The Haunted Mansion gets totally redone in a Nightmare Before Christmas theme. It's a lot more than just putting in Christmas decorations, it's a really different experience. There is new music and a new narration by a Ghost Host sound-alike. It's a nice change of pace for the holidays.

I forgot to add, it lasts through Halloween and Christmas, since it's supposed to be about the two holidays "coliding".

I'm not sure what the Chocwalk is, though.

 

[lkohawaii]

dsnylndmom-You're right I think that is Gay Pride weekend. It was a bit more crowded on that weekend. If you have young children you may want to think about going on that weekend. The "couples" are very open about their lifestyles. My daughter asked kind of loudly why those two ladies were kissing. I didn't know how to explain and I'm sorry if my daughter offended that couple. I wasn't quite sure how to handle the situation.

I love going the 2 weeks before X-Mas. The parks are beautiful and the parks are empty. The closer you get to X-Mas the more you'll experience crowds. I usually go home on the 23 or 24th. Maybe you can swing it to go then?

 

[year2late]

I love weekdays in October at DLR.

Just a warning, check the refurb schedule so you will not be terribly disappointed. With the 50th coming up, I would think the refurb list will be big.

 

[Bete]

I think we are going to try some other places for this short stay. I was really looking forward to seeing a live TV show while we were in LA and October is a good time to do this activity; so, I think I'll get a few tickets for shows. We will go to Long Beach and maybe hit the Getty museum.

Thanks for everyone's replies, here. We will be in Disneyland in May 2005; so, I can wait until then when the parks will be in their glory.