Jan. 16 or 17?

[DisneyMandC]

Hi all,

DH and I are heading to Disneyland for our first EVER trip the weekend of Jan 16-17. We only have one day at the park (our trip to CA was not intended to just be a Disneyland trip) and it has to be either the 16th or 17th. I'm trying to decide which day we should go. I know that it's going to be a packed weekend with the Star Wars Half, and I'm seeing that it appears to go into the park on Sunday? I was thinking we'd go that day, but that concerns me. However, it looks like Saturday has EMH (sorry if that's the wrong name, I'm used to WDW) that morning, so I'm concerned that by the time we get in there an hour later we're not going to be able to get on as many rides without long waits/have fewer fastpasses.

Advice? What's a better day to go? Just doing DL, no CA Adventure. Thanks!

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

Coin flip if I was going, but I would lean towards Saturday. We have been for this event the last two years and it gets pretty packed. If you are driving from another destination, be wary of all the street closures, and parking may be limited.I would not worry too much about the MM/EMH, not quite the craze as at WDW. A lot of families and runners will go into the parks on both days after cleaning up/resting, so expect some crowds on both days. Get there as early as you can, again check road closures, and you should have a blast the first couple of hours. Start collecting FP's around 10-11 and have more fun.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Coin flip if I was going, but I would lean towards Saturday. We have been for this event the last two years and it gets pretty packed. If you are driving from another destination, be wary of all the street closures, and parking may be limited.I would not worry too much about the MM/EMH, not quite the craze as at WDW. A lot of families and runners will go into the parks on both days after cleaning up/resting, so expect some crowds on both days. Get there as early as you can, again check road closures, and you should have a blast the first couple of hours. Start collecting FP's around 10-11 and have more fun.

Thanks! Didn't think about road closures. We're staying about 8 miles away, so I'll definitely be on the lookout for that.

 

[tlovesdis]

Disneyland always seems busier to me on Sundays so I would say go on Saturday, but it will still be packed!

 

[DisneyMandC]

Disneyland always seems busier to me on Sundays so I would say go on Saturday, but it will still be packed!

Good to know! Yeah I wondered too if the same rule applied to Disneyland as it does to Magic Kingdom that Sundays are usually the worst day to go. I think I'm leaning more towards Saturday now even with MM that day. I wish we could come on a different less-crowded weekend, but this is just one of those random opportunities that popped up to go. I'm having a great time reading about all the differences between WDW and DL! I was freaked out when we decided to go just about 10 days ago thinking "I better get online and book Fastpass+ for us, they're probably all gone!" Never mind!

 

[kirstie101]

Ditto what everyone else said! Go on Saturday. We've been there for race weekend the last 3 years and Sunday has always been more busy than Saturday. Saturday will be busy too but not as bad. The first year I did the race weekend (2013?) on Sunday DL almost reached capacity in the afternoon.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Saturday it is! Thank you all! We'll plan on getting there plenty early to be in the park right when it opens to general admission. So looking forward to our first trip!

 

[NiceOneSimba]

I'd do Saturday, too. There is a race that morning, as well, so please check out the road closures before you head out. The first couple of hours are golden on race days. It will be very crowded in the afternoon and evening. Study up on the legacy Fastpass system to take the best advantage and use your time most efficiently.

 

[NiceOneSimba]

Oh, and if you want to eat at a table service restaurant, book an online reservation. The restaurants get crowded!

 

[DisneyMandC]

Oh, and if you want to eat at a table service restaurant, book an online reservation. The restaurants get crowded!

Thanks! Yup, booked a reservation for Blue Bayou after hearing from you all yesterday Late dinner at 8:40, so I'm going to check back and see if I find anything a little earlier. We're looking forward to January 16!