Is there a quiet time to visit anymore?

[Mama_Cass]

I’m sure this has been covered somewhere but I can’t find what I’m looking for so thought I would ask . I know a quiet time is all relevant but we can visit anytime we choose so was hoping some might have input into quieter times. We would love to visit while decorations are up as well...is there a quiet time during the holidays? Thanks for your help

 

[Skyegirl1999]

The short answer is: not really, at least not times that are predictable in advance.

This holiday season, a lot of people thought the week after Thanksgiving would be quiet. It ended up being quite crowded, much more crowded than any day in December (until Christmas weekend).

In 2016, the week before Christmas was surprisingly light. So, in 2017, Disney planned accordingly and reduced park hours and staffing for that week... and then the parks were slammed. They ended up having to extend hours day-of.

This coming year, everything is up in the air because of Star Wars opening. I expect that the early part of the year, often considered “off-season,” may be quite crowded as people try to get trips in before the new land opens.

Now, there are definitely times to avoid, like the height of Spring Break or the week after Christmas... but beyond that, there’s not really a way to pinpoint when crowds might be low.

So, I’d pick some times that would work for/appeal to you, and then check to make sure none of them are predictably crazy times, and then just go with the flow.

 

[MDIME]

The short answer is: not really, at least not times that are predictable in advance.

This holiday season, a lot of people thought the week after Thanksgiving would be quiet. It ended up being quite crowded, much more crowded than any day in December (until Christmas weekend).

In 2016, the week before Christmas was surprisingly light. So, in 2017, Disney planned accordingly and reduced park hours and staffing for that week... and then the parks were slammed. They ended up having to extend hours day-of.

This coming year, everything is up in the air because of Star Wars opening. I expect that the early part of the year, often considered “off-season,” may be quite crowded as people try to get trips in before the new land opens.

Now, there are definitely times to avoid, like the height of Spring Break or the week after Christmas... but beyond that, there’s not really a way to pinpoint when crowds might be low.

So, I’d pick some times that would work for/appeal to you, and then check to make sure none of them are predictably crazy times, and then just go with the flow.

You mention Spring Break. Just wondering if that is the same as east coast — Presidents’ Day week as well as most of March? Thanks

 

[lalasmama]

@Skygirl1999 hit everything right on the head!

There isn't a slow or quiet time like there used to be. Heck, nearly 7 years ago we took our first trip to DLR, and that was about the end of the quiet times. Those secret pockets of time have decreasing each year as someone says, "Hey, that looks like it should be quiet!" and people all over the area rush the parks... All over the area meaning anywhere from the Canadian border south, or the western quarter of the country. There's several crowd calendars, and unfortunately these help that rush to the parks as well, since people think they managed to find the last quiet days of the year.

Our scheduling theory:
--Choose a basic season to go.
--Pull up the thread on here for the school and convention center schedules. This thread usually also includes important dates at the parks that you may want to be aware of.
--Pick your days based on when things aren't on the calendar, or when the things on the calendar are likely to increase the attendance at the parks. Like "Moms Against Huge Mice" aren't likely to go rushing to the parks after their conference is let out for the day. However, some obvious ones would definitely increase attendance--kid-related, teen-related, Disney-related, comicons, videocons, etc.
--Cross your fingers and hope for the best. Plan for huge crowds, and when they aren't huge, you can enjoy it being better than expected

 

[tarheelalum]

No its always crowded. Its been that way for a couple of years now. Even when its not very crowded it will seem that way due to Disney reducing staff levels and ride refurbishments during the winter months. Disney wants the parks packed $$$ everyday.

 

[gottalovepluto]

No. But it’s not like the parks aren’t totally enjoyable despite constant crowds. They are downright magical during the holiday season so if that’s what you’d really like to see go then!

 

[gottalovepluto]

You mention Spring Break. Just wondering if that is the same as east coast — Presidents’ Day week as well as most of March? Thanks

Spring Break is mid-March through easter. Peak Spring Break is around Easter (I think!).

 

[gottalovepluto]

The short answer is: not really, at least not times that are predictable in advance.

This holiday season, a lot of people thought the week after Thanksgiving would be quiet. It ended up being quite crowded, much more crowded than any day in December (until Christmas weekend).

In 2016, the week before Christmas was surprisingly light. So, in 2017, Disney planned accordingly and reduced park hours and staffing for that week... and then the parks were slammed. They ended up having to extend hours day-of.

This coming year, everything is up in the air because of Star Wars opening. I expect that the early part of the year, often considered “off-season,” may be quite crowded as people try to get trips in before the new land opens.

Now, there are definitely times to avoid, like the height of Spring Break or the week after Christmas... but beyond that, there’s not really a way to pinpoint when crowds might be low.

So, I’d pick some times that would work for/appeal to you, and then check to make sure none of them are predictably crazy times, and then just go with the flow.

As a vet there week before Xmas 2017- OMG! Crazy, crazy, crazy! But to the OP- we still had a great time. The parks were stupid slammed- 45 mins for Monsters, 40 mins Ariel- it was the craziest I’d ever seen and yet we had a great time. Totally unexpected to see that many crowds but we went with the flow & still had a great trip. That’s one of the reasons I stick to my opinion of go when you want, not when you think it will be less crowded.

 

[midnight star]

As a vet there week before Xmas 2017- OMG! Crazy, crazy, crazy! But to the OP- we still had a great time. The parks were stupid slammed- 45 mins for Monsters, 40 mins Ariel- it was the craziest I’d ever seen and yet we had a great time. Totally unexpected to see that many crowds but we went with the flow & still had a great trip. That’s one of the reasons I stick to my opinion of go when you want, not when you think it will be less crowded.

I sort of have this philosophy. Growing up coming to DL, we always came either mid-summer or holiday weekends (my mom is a teacher and refused to pull me out of school for vacations, lol). So I got used to the parks being crowded a long time ago. We always went with the flow and managed. I totally get that dealing with less crowds is easier, especially if you have children, but I have always assumed DL is just a crowded place.Now, I never really try to go when it's low crowds, I just go when it's best for my schedule.

 

[tarheelalum]

To me Christmas is beautiful but too much for me crowd wise. Halloween is just right for us to go to Disneyland and Knott's Scary Farms. The special Halloween food at Disneyland is the best all year and the crowds are more manageable. And DCA is really becoming pretty awesome at Halloween. But if you can take the crowds, Disneyland is magical at Christmas.

 

[smartlabelprint]

I was there dec 6-9 this year. Not too bad. I hit my fave highlights, a few new shows. I had was in the parks 2 full days and 2 partial days over a weekend. There were people but it was rarely walk to wall. Very enjoyable.

Early hour until about 9:30-10 was amazing. Be sure to get to the parks an hour before rope drop. Made it much more enjoyable.

Look at the event calendar thread here on DIS. I planned around that best I could.

 

[Bluewild79]

We went the week before Labor Day this year and it was FANTASTIC. Very low crowds and warm but not blazing hot weather. It was positively magical and way above expectations. Next year, I suspect the same week would be super duper crowded as the lower level APs most likely will get their first look at Star Wars after being blocked out for the summer. It is so hard to predict crowd levels. We're going again in mid-August this time (before the lower APs get back in), planning for hellish crowds but hoping for the best! My kid is in a basketball camp in San Diego and we figured we'd just run up to Disneyland for a visit since we're so close. We have very low expectations and are hoping to be pleasantly surprised. We'd like to see the new Star Wars stuff, do our favorite rides, have my 11-year-old do the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique 1 last time before she's too old and just see how it goes.

Those early morning hours were the best. We got SO much done by being there at Rope Drop.

We have never been at holiday time but are hoping to go for my oldest kid's birthday at the end of November 2020.

 

[lildreamer101]

I went in January a couple years ago and it was great crowd-wise. Then I went to DLR on Halloween last year and it was crazy! A totally different experience with crowds! I wonder if the crowd decrease at the time was due to the refurbs in January? Probably won't ever happen again.

 

[midnight star]

I went in January a couple years ago and it was great crowd-wise. Then I went to DLR on Halloween last year and it was crazy! A totally different experience with crowds! I wonder if the crowd decrease at the time was due to the refurbs in January? Probably won't ever happen again.

Yeah Halloween time was so packed. I only went twice, once in September and once during the Halloween party. It was just way too packed, and I am normally not bothered by the crowds.

 

[lildreamer101]

Yeah Halloween time was so packed. I only went twice, once in September and once during the Halloween party. It was just way too packed, and I am normally not bothered by the crowds.

Did you go Halloween 2018?
For me, it was tough to get fastpasses for any of the rides because they were gone a little bit before evening. I was lucky to get any fastpasses at all. I never encountered this before when I went in January. However, it was great crowd-wise early in the day in the Halloweentime but got crowded by noon.

 

[disneyworldsk]

First time going in November, 2019 from the east coast. specifically the first week of november. opinions please on crowds that week? Thanks.

 

[dakotix]

Yea its crowded all the time. Crowd calendars are a sort of a good way to gauge things but are no guarantee that things will be light. One year we specifically picked a week to go because the calendar's showed very low crowd levels. When we arrived, utter crowd chaos. And because I was expecting light crowds that made the crowds seem worse lol. Our basic rule of thumb now is to make sure we hit the parks at rope drop and then leave at lunch time and hit the pools, then head back to the parks late afternoon.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

First time going in November, 2019 from the east coast. specifically the first week of november. opinions please on crowds that week? Thanks.

Halloween Time will be over, but Nov. 2-3 will be Dapper Day Weekend, which means some crowds. With SWGE opening this summer, it really isn't possible to predict crowds for the fall. SWGE will change the meaning of "crowds" at DLR for the known future. The lower passes are good to go for all/some of the days of that week, so I would expect it to be fairly crowded.

Yea its crowded all the time. Crowd calendars are a sort of a good way to gauge things but are no guarantee that things will be light...

Your experience is a good example of why crowd calendars are notorious around here for being unreliable. They work much better for WDW than for DLR, especially since DL's 60th anniversary. Around here, we rely more on the AP blockout calendars and school district calendars as a way to guesstimate (since "predict" is almost impossible these days!) crowd levels. There is a running thread on this forum for school holidays and other events going on throughout the current year. And the more passes blocked during your dates, the better your chances for less busy days. Agree with you that mornings are a great time to get things done at DLR.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Did you go Halloween 2018?
For me, it was tough to get fastpasses for any of the rides because they were gone a little bit before evening. I was lucky to get any fastpasses at all...

Halloween Time gets more popular and more crowded every year as Disney gets better at decorating the parks and advertising the fun. We've visited during Halloween Time every year since it started and have been amazed at the increase in crowds during that time. This is why we have the Halloween Time Superthread on this forum every year to help DISers do their best planning, ask their questions, and get the most out of their Halloween Time trips. The experience and wisdom on that thread can really help make a Halloween Time/MHP trip better!

 

[Zooey]

Did you go Halloween 2018?
For me, it was tough to get fastpasses for any of the rides because they were gone a little bit before evening. I was lucky to get any fastpasses at all. I never encountered this before when I went in January. However, it was great crowd-wise early in the day in the Halloweentime but got crowded by noon.

What time were you there exactly?