Let's Hazard Some Guesses

[pedestrianrex]

I'm a cheapskate without much spare money for burning, which explains why I've only made the trip to Disneyland once since moving to Los Angeles four years ago. But the closing / transformation of Tower of Terror was the perfect justification to splurge, and I'm planning on going on my birthday - Thursday, November 10th.

I'm super-whiney and really dislike crowds - I'm not claustrophobic or anything, but short of that I hate crowds about as much as a person could. My hope is that taking a day off in the middle of the week will mean I get a lightly populated park. I've done some research and seen that the 10th is the day before Half Marathon weekend, so I'm guessing it the lines will be a bit longer than the average Thursday. And I found some home-run website that estimate that day will register a 5 out of 10 on the crowded scale.

But enough from me, you guys the experts. Any educated guesses on how crowded it will be? I guess this is a pretty relative question, but would you expect me to be spending a lot of time in lines? The last time I went was a Sunday in the middle of October, and that felt to me to be unbearably crowded to me - how do you think a Thursday in mid-November will compare?

A big thank-you to any of you who can advise. I'm a newbie here, but I always like to over prepare for stuff like this.

 

[Pua]

The problem with Disneyland right now is that an entire section is currently closed for the Star Wars expansion. Add that into a park that's already small and you've got crowd flow issues. Not necessarily waiting in line issues as much as being out in the walkways issues. I went with my mom this year during a supposedly slow time and it felt so much more crowded than most of our WDW trips walking around just because the park is small and they're seeing record crowds for their diamond celebration. Now that's over though, maybe it won't be as bad?

 

[mom2rtk]

November 10th is the first day of Holiday Time at Disneyland. I would expect some crowds for that.

 

[Alesia]

You'll probably get better advice if you post this on the Disneyland forum. This one is for WDW.

 

[Robo]

You'll probably get better advice if you post this on the Disneyland forum. This one is for WDW.

Which again brings up the idea of changing the name of THIS forum (the one on which we are posting) to
"WDW Theme Parks Attractions and Strategies." It would save a lot of confusion.

• BTW, the Disneyland (California) Forum is found HERE.

 

[mom2rtk]

Which again brings up the idea of changing the name of THIS forum (the one on which we are posting) to
"WDW Theme Parks Attractions and Strategies." It would save a lot of confusion.

• BTW, the Disneyland (California) Forum is found HERE.

Seems like a good idea to me.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

Disneyland crowds are a given.

 

[SMD]

It's the first day of the race expo. That also traditionally brings crowds in the afternoon. There really are very few uncrowded days at DLR anymore.

 

[Darkbeer1]

OK, since we are in the Disneyland Forum (thread got moved), let's look at the time period.

1. As mentioned, Christmas Time starts on the 10th.

2. Friday, November 11th is a Federal Holiday, Veteran's Day.

3. Disneyland is hosting the Avengers Half-Marathon from November 10th through the 13th. (Main event is Sunday).

The Anaheim Convention Center has some decent sized events that 4 day weekend.

http://www.aaopt.org/regsite

Interesting to note, there is only 4 Blockout Days in November for the Deluxe AP, Friday the 11th and then Thursday through Saturday for Thanksgiving.

The SoCal AP's are blocked out Friday through Sunday

So you are looking at the lightest of the 4 days (Thursday through Monday), but with the start of Christmas on Thursday, that means EVERY AP holder can visit on the 10th.

So will it be busy, clearly yes. How busy? That is a guess, but I would be looking at a 8 or 9 out of 10, the early morning hours should be the lightest, and then getting busier in the afternoon and early evening. Disneyland should be much more impacted (compared to DCA), as that is the main focus for the Christmas celebrations.

Have fun despite the crowds.

 

[Indiana Scott]

FWIW, "Is It Packed" has Nov. 10 listed as Hey it's OK. The equates to a 2 on a 1 to 4 scale.
While these sites aren't as accurate as they once were, I have found that one to be pretty good the last two years we've used it. (Someone will probably jump in to disparage it but it has worked well for us)
Most recently, it accurately predicted very low crowds for the week of Sept 11 when we were last in the parks and it was spot on. It was a "Ghost town" (#1 of 4) during the middle of the week!

If you can swing it, Nov. 9th is listed as "Ghost Town" and should be much lighter crowd wise.

 

[Darkbeer1]

And while I think "Is it Packed" does a decent job, and of course you can't predict things like weather, and how it impacts the parks.

But I doubt that the Is It Packed didn't know that Christmas Time was starting on Thursday the 10th, as it was just recently announced.

https://disneyland.disney.go.com/events-tours/holidays-at-the-disneyland-resort/

Plus with the check in for the Marathon weekend starting on Thursday, I would say that Is It Packed is underestimating the day, especially with ALL Annual Passholders being able to check out the new Christmas stuff.

But only time will tell.

As mentioned, if you could pick the 9th, the place should be very light, but then, while you would see much of the Christmas Decorations, there would be no special events or Fireworks/Snow.

 

[agamble]

I would say the morning will be fine, the afternoon will be Friday holiday weekend busy. No blockouts, school's out the next day, and many adults may have the Friday off too. That will make Thursday more like it's a Friday.

If you really want low crowds celebrate your birthday one day early. Nothing wrong with that, and you can still get a birthday button and have random strangers say Happy Birthday. Wednesdays are typically the least crowded day of the week.

 

[bumbershoot]

Which again brings up the idea of changing the name of THIS forum (the one on which we are posting) to
"WDW Theme Parks Attractions and Strategies." It would save a lot of confusion.

Even though it got moved, YES, I wish they would do that to the Theme Parks Attractions and Strategies forum. Wish they'd done it years ago.

 

[Rabb it]

LOL, some of the options seemed the same as others..

 

[gottalovepluto]

I'm going with crowded but not shockingly so. The kickers for me are mentioned above: first day of Holiday Season and Avengers marathon weekend kicking off. Best way to avoid long lines is to be there first thing when the parks open, crowds may grow in the evening as APs roll in to get a first glimpse at the Holiday decor and as the runners move in for the weekend.

 

[Angrose]

I agree that the morning will be quiet and it will pick up when the kiddos get out of school and locals get off work. Make dinner reservations somewhere special so you're not fighting the crowds. Grab FPs in the afternoon for evening rides. Have fun!!

 

[lcp9]

We are going Nov 2-5 but when the opening of holiday season was announced I considered changing our trip to 9-12. We ended up not for most of the reasons indicated:
1. Opening of holiday season
2. Elena of Avalor starting at DCA
3. Avengers race weekend
4. Veterans Day

I think like people said, Thursday will probably be the best of the 4 days that we would have been there, but I think it will still be considerably more crowded than a typical Thursday.

 

[Donalyn]

I think that you should go on the 9th.

Okay, the real reason is that I'm arriving on the 10th and was hoping it wouldn't be too bad at the parks that afternoon/evening, since the rest of the weekend will be pretty crowded from what I understand. (Of course, I didn't know about the race when I booked the trip. But, as I say, a busy day at Disney is better than a day at the office, so DLR, here we come.)

 

[beachdreamr1229]

Define crowded. Honestly. For us, the types of crowds you would see on November 10 will be manageable, but that's in part due to our many visits during the 60th, which truly got us accustomed to a new definition of crowded. However, if you're longing for the crowd levels of the 1980s or 90s off season, it's just not going to happen. Disneyland is always busy.

 

[tarheelalum]

It will be crowded that day. And the next day and the next and the next. Its always crowded.