Late September closures?

[Hooked On The Mouse]

Hi, I'm a WDW vet planning a first time visit to Disneyland, probably in September in hopes that it will be less busy. I will probably return again if I like it as much as WDW, but I will be bringing two 50-ish gentlemen with Down's Syndrome for what will likely be a once in a lifetime trip for at least one of them.
I already read the guide for WDW vets trying Disneyland, so I understand that the whole system is quite different. I get that Disneyland ride closures aren't announced until fairly last minute, but I'm just wondering if some Disneyland vets would be able to give me their best guess. If I schedule a trip for late September, the HM will have to be back up with the holiday overlay on already, right? The only other ride closure that would make me weep is PoTC. Is it LIKELY to be closed in late September? And will the Halloween parties make the parks a lot more crowded, or just a bit?

 

[Indiana Scott]

I did a lot of research for this Sept and IMO the best time to go (crowd wise) will be the week of the 11th - which is when we're going. After that there are things going on that will create bigger crowds and closures to deal with.

 

[figment_jii]

Aside from the closures for overlays and a few of the water rides, it's really hard to say whether a specific attraction will be closed or not. There doesn't seem to be a lot of consistency about when attractions close. PotC was down for part of September last year (see here), but that doesn't mean it'll be down during that same time this year. I don't really think there is anyway to know in advance if a specific attraction will be down on any given day.

Unless something markedly different happens this year, Haunted Mansion Holiday should be up and running by late September. It usually re-opens with the start of HalloweenTime, which usually starts in early-to-mid-September. I think the best guesses at this point are either 9/9 or 9/16, but they probably won't announce anything about HalloweenTime until mid-summer (late-June/early-July). The weekends will be busy once HalloweenTime starts as guests come to see the seasonal offerings, but weekdays in September are generally still manageable.

The Halloween Parties do impact the parks. There is a noticeable increase in crowds starting 3 hours before the party starts (that's when MHP ticket holders can enter the park using their MHP tickets). During the overlap period, day guests and MHP guests are both in the parks so the attraction and food lines increase. I would try to do everything you want before the overlap period starts.

 

[Hooked On The Mouse]

Thanks for the advice. I did look at the week of the 11th too, but I'm worried HM will be down that week. The people I'm going with won't ride any rollercoasters or "thrill" type rides; HM and PoTC are about as wild as they're going to get, so if I lose those rides, it's a week of Alice in Wonderland and Pinocchio's Daring Journey for me.

 

[lindyv321]

You are an amazing person for making this once in a lifetime trip happen for these two lucky guys! We will be in the parks from 9/25 to 9/28. Have a great time!