Is Disneyland significantly more busy on weekends?

[Surfinpiratee]

I'm thinking of planning a Oct 2015 trip. I was just wondering if it is busier on weekends? Should I avoid going over a weekend?
Or is it not really a noticeable difference?

Just got back from Disney World. The Saturday and Sunday we were there didn't really seem busier than the rest of the week we were there (monday-wednesday)

Thanks!

 

[sherilaine]

Yes. Much busier, unless you go during an already busy time in which case it is just busy the entire week, such as Christmas or Spring Break.

 

[BayGirl22]

I'd suggest reading the Superthread with HydroGuy's tips and guidance for WDW vets going to DLR. The demographics of the parks are very different. DL is more of a locals park and therefore significantly more crowded on weekends.

ETA: That said, if you are not going in the busy season there are some night time events like fireworks and Fantasmic! that only occur on weekends. So my suggestion is always to schedule at least one day of your trip on Sunday or Friday so you can catch those shows and enjoy the lower weekday crowds.

 

[Dream.Finder]

Our trip is from February 27th through March 3rd. We snag a weekend in there (Friday the 28th, Saturay the 1st, and Sunday the 2nd)... but we pretty much needed to in order to take advantage of late-night hours and full event schedules. Otherwise, the park has pretty slim pickings and closes earlier during the week at this time of year. Can anyone predict how the weekend I mentioned above might play out? I expect it to be busier than a weekday, sure... but it is late February and early March, it shouldn't be super crowded, should it? I know I've been to the parks at times when it is wall to wall people and I just wanted to go home, it's not fun at all...

Thoughts?

 

[sherilaine]

Our trip is from February 27th through March 3rd. We snag a weekend in there (Friday the 28th, Saturay the 1st, and Sunday the 2nd)... but we pretty much needed to in order to take advantage of late-night hours and full event schedules. Otherwise, the park has pretty slim pickings and closes earlier during the week at this time of year. Can anyone predict how the weekend I mentioned above might play out? I expect it to be busier than a weekday, sure... but it is late February and early March, it shouldn't be super crowded, should it? I know I've been to the parks at times when it is wall to wall people and I just wanted to go home, it's not fun at all...

Thoughts?

We are there from Feb 28th to March 9th - so same time, I expect the weekend to be busier but not crazy busy - and for it to get busier as the day goes on.

Locals arrive after work on Friday and the evenings fill up - but that is when shows are done this time of year so if you want to see Fireworks or Fantasmic then a weekend day is required.

 

[FreshBakedDisney]

I don't go much during the week, but the days I have gone...it's damn busy. So no, I would say that Disneyland is just plain a busy place. All the time.

 

[tlovesdis]

We were there this past October Thur-Sunday and Thursday was so nice, not too busy, etc, but come Friday, Sat & Sun, man was it packed!!!

 

[figment_jii]

As PP have said, there is a noticeable crowd difference between weekends and non-weekends. Assuming October 2015 is going to be similar to Octobers in the past, you'll find weekends (Fri evening through Sunday) to be more crowded than weekdays for several reasons.

1. Sundays are generally open to all levels of APs. So you'll find a lot of AP guests that come to see the nighttime shows and/or Halloween activities. The crowds start out light and build during the day.

2. Saturdays are always busy because of day guests (some APs are blocked), which means pretty good sized crowds from early in the day.

3. Weekends are also busy because October typically hosts several large scale events. These include Gay Days, CHOC walk, etc. These typically result in larger than normal crowds on the weekends.

4. Friday evenings have historically hosted Halloween parties, which means some of the crowds arrive earlier in the day (around 3 or 4 pm, depending on when the party ticket allows them entry). The result is that Friday late-afternoons can be fairly busy as you have day guests and party guests overlapping.

Overall, weekends in October tend to be busier than weekdays, but if you want to see the evenings shows (such as fireworks, Fantasmic, Mad T, etc.) you will probably need to schedule in at least one weekend day.