January 2023 Crowds

[Jrog92]

I'm currently trying to plan our first trip to Disneyland as adults and we're having a really hard time deciding when to go. We love cold weather, so we planned to go in January. We noticed that crowd predictions vary throughout the month, but that the last week or two should be better than right after the Holidays or around MLK day. We were going to try for the middle of the week, Maybe Jan 24th and 25th... But I saw that one crowd tracker, Magic Guides, predicts Jan 25th and 26th as red/yellow busy days. None of the other crowd prediction sites agree. I can't seem to find any reason why those two weekdays would be packed? Can anyone help me figure out why? Do we need to reschedule?

 

[starlite_]

Don't trust crowd predictors. They haven't been accurate for the last couple of years at least.

 

[DLgal]

Generally, weekdays are kind of crowded. The 2 best weekdays are Wednesdays and Thursdays, but actually weekends are often less crowded than weekdays due to annual pass blackouts.

I'd personally plan your trip over the last weekend in January. You will get longer park hours and no potential for special after hours party nonsense or early park closures.

And also, it's not always cold that time of year here. We have had heat waves with temps in the 80s and 90s on several occasions in January and February. It's gonna be short sleeves weather, more than likely.

 

[DisneylandFan22]

Post pandemic reopening crowd trackers have little value. You will get better info from this site.

 

[foolish_mortals]

The Lunar New Year begins Jan 22. Officially it is 7 days but Disneyland starts the food booths the 1-2 weeks before. If international travel picks back up I would imagine a decent amount of Chinese visitors. CA has a huge population that identifies as Chinese and in SoCal alone the Chinese community is huge.

Disney engineers it to be as packed as possible. If it looks like a slow season they will offer locals discounted tickets for weekdays or make more availability for MKs(assuming those still exist in 2023)

No matter what the crowd calendar says expect it to be busy. If it’s not… you can enjoy a pleasant surprise, if it is… at least you were mentally prepared.

 

[Jrog92]

So, if that week or those days are bad, when do you guys recommend going to avoid crazy crowds? I'm traveling with a family member who is disabled, but might not qualify for the DAS pass (we've never used it before). We haven't been to Disneyland since we were kids, so this is all basically brand new for us. Also, as far as the weather... we are just aiming for the cooler parts of the year. We're both from CA, so we know how much it can vary and to pack accordingly.

 

[foolish_mortals]

So, if that week or those days are bad, when do you guys recommend going to avoid crazy crowds? I'm traveling with a family member who is disabled, but might not qualify for the DAS pass (we've never used it before). We haven't been to Disneyland since we were kids, so this is all basically brand new for us. Also, as far as the weather... we are just aiming for the cooler parts of the year. We're both from CA, so we know how much it can vary and to pack accordingly.

I don’t think anyone can give a definitive answer as to when there WON’T be crazy crowds. Crazy is also relative, will that January be as bad as Christmas? Most likely not. Will wait time be <30 minutes? Maybe a few rides but not most. I would say a day with Space Mountain at 60 minutes isn’t crowded, busy, but not crowded.

End of January is usually not crazy busy like President’s Day, NYE, or Christmas. Though the Chinese New Year food booths bring locals. The middle of the week used to be safer bets too, but sometimes there are weirdly really busy Wednesdays and calm Saturday depending on MK blockout days and random school admin holidays.

Mid week Feb used to be good too but they have Sweethearts Nite in Feb now on Tues/Thursday/Sundays so it will be quiet in the morning but busy in the afternoon.

Early March might be good before Spring Breaks but that is Food and Wine Festival Season and can be crowded.

April has Easter and more Spring Breaks, and Food and Wine.

May could be good but Grad Nites start during the week and lots of schools buy full day tickets. Also schools start to let out in May as well.

So what I’m trying to say that if it was historical a slower day Disney has found ways to increase attendance via After Dark Events, Grad Nites, limited festivals, etc…

Your best bet is to avoid holidays and After Hour Events, have a plan to rope drop and get as much done in the morning before the crowds arrive. You can interview for DAS 30 days before your arrival so you’ll at least know if you qualify before you get there. Maybe come up with a plan to use Genie+ if you can’t use DAS. There are some really helpful guides on here about getting the most out of Genie+.

 

[Jrog92]

That's a great detailed response, thank you. We might just stick to end of January if it really is busy all the time. It's my boyfriend's 30th birthday on January 19th and he's been wanting to go since we met over 8 years ago. It sounds like of all the holidays and events the Lunar New Year festivities is a little more mild than Christmas or days where kids are off. In regards to avoiding holidays, would the Lunar New Year (Jan 22nd this year) be considered one day holiday or should we count out all 3+ weeks of the event?

This is all so confusing, so we appreciate the help! We definitely plan on getting Genie+. It's a little confusing, but we're learning. Seems you really have to know how to utilize it, so hopefully we get the hang of it quickly.

 

[dieumeye]

Stick with your plan to go at the end of January / early Feb. That’s as good a window as any to avoid holiday and special events. (Although, yes, the Lunar New Year festival will be going on then.)

If you are worried about crowds, the number one thing you can do to avoid the hassle of a crowded park is to add more days to your trip. It’s better to go when you can spend the most time rather than trying to target a “low crowd” time.

Going at a time that you are expecting lower crowds, it’s mostly just setting yourself up for disappointment if the parks turn out to be crowded.

So instead, plan for them to be crowded, plan to spend as much time there as you can, and if the crowds turn out to be not so bad consider that a bonus!

 

[DLgal]

Stick with your plan to go at the end of January / early Feb. That’s as good a window as any to avoid holiday and special events. (Although, yes, the Lunar New Year festival will be going on then.)

If you are worried about crowds, the number one thing you can do to avoid the hassle of a crowded park is to add more days to your trip. It’s better to go when you can spend the most time rather than trying to target a “low crowd” time.

Going at a time that you are expecting lower crowds, it’s mostly just setting yourself up for disappointment if the parks turn out to be crowded.

So instead, plan for them to be crowded, plan to spend as much time there as you can, and if the crowds turn out to be not so bad consider that a bonus!

This is great advice.

Really, turn your 2 days into 4 and you don't have to worry about crowds.

 

[Jrog92]

This is great advice.

Really, turn your 2 days into 4 and you don't have to worry about crowds.

Oh, I forgot to say that we don't plan on visiting California Adventure this trip. Do you think we still need 4 days for just Disneyland?

 

[sophy1996]

Lunar New Year is at DCA so if you’re not going there it shouldn’t matter to you (except as something that might lure people away from DL into DCA).

 

[DLgal]

Oh, I forgot to say that we don't plan on visiting California Adventure this trip. Do you think we still need 4 days for just Disneyland?

You're missing out by skipping DCA, but 2 days is enough for just Disneyland.

 

[dieumeye]

Oh, I forgot to say that we don't plan on visiting California Adventure this trip. Do you think we still need 4 days for just Disneyland?

The general advice is the same: the more park time you have, the better able you are to manage a crowded park.

I will second that you should consider visiting DCA, especially on an adults only trip. The two parks are so close they are almost like one big park (and if you get Genie+ it’s good for both parks).

 

[shosh1530]

Like others, I recommend adding a park day and including California Adventure. Two days at Disneyland and one for California Adventure was plenty on our trip in the same time frame last year.

I also really enjoyed the Lunar New Year festivities, so it might be worth checking it out! Try to plan at least one weekend day if you want to catch shows like Fantasmic and Fireworks.

 

[Geemo]

Get Hopper Tickets for your trip. This will give you the ability to enjoy the whole Disneyland Parks experience.

Keep in mind weekdays the park hours are SHORTER! The parks will open around 9am or 10am and close around 8pm.
The entertainment schedule will also be limited.

Plus if Disney puts out any after hours events, the event park will close around 5 or 6pm. In 2022 they had Disneyland After Dark

For the most of a trip To DLR during the time you mention, add at least one weekend day.

 

[Jrog92]

Like others, I recommend adding a park day and including California Adventure. Two days at Disneyland and one for California Adventure was plenty on our trip in the same time frame last year.

I also really enjoyed the Lunar New Year festivities, so it might be worth checking it out! Try to plan at least one weekend day if you want to catch shows like Fantasmic and Fireworks.

Is Friday considered a weekend day?

 

[shosh1530]

Is Friday considered a weekend day?

Yes! Fanatsmic and Fireworks usually run Friday, Saturday, Sunday in the non-holiday, non summer times of year. Some shows will also be only those days.

 

[DLgal]

Is Friday considered a weekend day?

For the purposes of longer park hours, and a full entertainment schedule, yes.

 

[Jrog92]

We're are deciding between going Thursday, Friday, Sunday or Thursday, Saturday, Sunday. What do you guys recommend? It looks like magic key holders aren't blocked out of the Friday we'll be there. Any advice?