Is the first week of May a good time to go to Disneyland, crowd wise?

[stacyoates]

Hi. I'm planning a trip to DL for my family. The kids are 2 and 6. We've got the Southern California 2 day passes that expire on May 15th. We're looking to go on a Tuesday and Wednesday or a Wednesday and Thursday. I know there are some ride closures. That's not really affecting our decision of when to go. I do think the kids would like Olafs Snow Fest but that's not crucial. I had finally picked the dates of May 5 and 6th and booked a room but then realized it was Cinco De Mayo and I just found out about the Tinkerbell Half Marathon. I'm wondering how much those two events will impact the crowds on May 5th and 6th. We could also go March 3-5 or April 28-30th. I'm looking for a little advice on when to go and which dates might have the most manageable crowds. Thank you.

 

[figment_jii]

According to the flyers that some guest received in the mail, Olaf's Snow Fest is closing on April 30. I don't know if Olaf will continue to meet guests at an alternate locations (I'd be surprised if they end his meet and greet, but anything is possible).

I don't think Cinco de Mayo will have a huge effect on the parks, although there might be some type of small event to honor it over in DCA (kind of along the lines of the Lunar New Year celebration happening later this week). I think the Tinkerbell Half Marathon will result in increased crowds from Thursday through Sunday. If you are only going on May 5 and 6, I don't think you'll be hugely impacted by the marathon crowds. There might be a slight up tick on Wednesday, but mostly, I think the crowds will be there on the Marathon days themselves.

March 3 to 5 will probably be okay. The Natural Products Expo starts on March 6th. It's a huge convention over at the Anaheim Convention Center, which can impact crowds at DLR. My guess is that parks won't be too bad on the days leading up to the Convention, but once it starts (especially on the weekend) the crowds will probably pick up.

At this point, I don't know of any big convention or event happening on April 28th to 30th (not that it means nothing is happening). I would expect fairly low crowds, just because it is after "Spring Break-Season" and before summer.

 

[stacyoates]

Ok thank you. I made reservations for the May dates yesterday, but now I'm second guessing it. I know I deliberate for way too long on this. It's just such a bummer to me when the crowds are big. The kids don't really know the difference though. The April dates are more expensive as far as the hotels go. I guess I just need to decide if the potential for less people is worth the money difference. Sounds like the March dates may not be a good idea since the expo is going on. Thanks for all the info.

 

[figment_jii]

I don't honestly know if the Natural Products Expo is really going to make a huge impact on the parks on Tuesday to Thursday. I remember going down once the weekend of the Expo and I don't recall the parks being super crowded on Thursday (the weekends are always busy). So I wouldn't rule out March 3 to 5 just because of the Expo.

I'm surprised to hear that the April dates are more expensive than the May dates. Makes me wonder if something is going on...

 

[stacyoates]

Yeah I was surprised too about the hotels. March is more expensive than May also. I guess maybe just because of Spring Breaks around that time. I'll have to see if I can find anything going on on those April dates.

 

[figment_jii]

If you find out anything is happening on April 28-30, please let me know! I'll update the 2015 calendar is necessary.

 

[stacyoates]

Will do. Thanks.

 

[theworldneedscolor]

I'm going May 6th and 7th. A little worried because of the marathon, but hoping we'll just miss the crowds. If there is something for Cinco De Mayo, would it only be on that day? Or do you think it would still be around May 6th? I'd love to meet some characters in awesome Cinco De May outfits!

 

[SMD]

I'm not sure about last year, but the previous 2 years there was a 3 Caballeros meet on that small stage near Rancho del Zocalo on the 5th. One year they were switching out with the Country Bears, which was a bit of a head scratcher. There will also be special food items that day. On the 7th there might be an early closure of 1 park for a half marathon related party. I haven't checked the schedule, but there was one for Star Wars and there will be 2 for the half in Sept.