Memorial Day Week?

[Pluto468]

I booked a trip for May 24-28, completely forgetting May 26 is Memorial Day. How are crowds that week, generally? The park days would be May 25, 26 & 27.

 

[Irish Duck]

A few years ago, I would've said to avoid all holidays as the parks are so much busier. Nowadays.. they are busy every day. There are no more slow days. I wouldn't worry about it. But that could be just me.

 

[Irish Duck]

I don't plan around holidays anymore.

 

[LKing]

It is going to be very busy over Memorial Day. It is always busy on non school days. It is even more busy on days that adults have off. It will be even more busy because it is the beginning of Disneyland's 70th celebration.

 

[joseph821]

It is going to be very busy over Memorial Day. It is always busy on non school days. It is even more busy on days that adults have off. It will be even more busy because it is the beginning of Disneyland's 70th celebration.

Agreed but remember lower Keys are blocked out and there are no ticket sales. Friday through Monday are Tier 5, Tier 6, Tier 5, and Tier 4. It will be busy but not packed not at those prices. Tuesday and Wednesday 5/27 & 5/28 are Tier 3 days.

 

[LKing]

Agreed but remember lower Keys are blocked out and there are no ticket sales.

With respect to MK being blocked, Memorial Day week isn't all that different than normal weeks.

May 24 - One MK is open - pretty normal for Saturdays during the summer and holidays
May 25 - Two MK are open - pretty normal for Sundays during the summer and holidays
May 26 (Memorial Day) - three of four MK are open
May 27 - all MK are open
May 28 - all MK are open

The lowest MK (Imagine) is blocked over 215 days/yr, including 22 Mondays. May 27, 28 and 29 are the last days that Imagine MK can visit the parks before being blocked until mid August. I would expect more than normal Imagine MK holders trying to get their last visits in on those days.

 

[tink89]

the 27 is a grad night so DCA will close early and im sure the parks will be packed the day of and before and after.

 

[joseph821]

the 27 is a grad night so DCA will close early and im sure the parks will be packed the day of and before and after.

I am not certain they will be packed. There are no ticket sales and Grad nights sometimes affect attendance and sometimes do not.
I will be there then and I will report back. Last year there were moderate crowds that week according to Touring Plans data. Also the last days before blocking are weekdays - maybe the evenings will be crowded but SoCal schools are in session then.

 

[joseph821]

With respect to MK being blocked, Memorial Day week isn't all that different than normal weeks.

May 24 - One MK is open - pretty normal for Saturdays during the summer and holidays
May 25 - Two MK are open - pretty normal for Sundays during the summer and holidays
May 26 (Memorial Day) - three of four MK are open
May 27 - all MK are open
May 28 - all MK are open

The lowest MK (Imagine) is blocked over 215 days/yr, including 22 Mondays. May 27, 28 and 29 are the last days that Imagine MK can visit the parks before being blocked until mid August. I would expect more than normal Imagine MK holders trying to get their last visits in on those days.

Thanks. All is true but there are no ticket sale offers. Last year 2024 there were. There will be no ticket sales for this summer - at least none announced as of yet. I do not think there will be a sale. Disney 1Q earnings were very good but the theme parks showed 5% decline because of the hurricanes in WDW and cruise ship costs. Disneyland income was flat. I do think Disney wants to recoup the money lost in the parls division.

 

[tink89]

I am not certain they will be packed. There are no ticket sales and Grad nights sometimes affect attendance and sometimes do not.
I will be there then and I will report back. Last year there were moderate crowds that week according to Touring Plans data. Also the last days before blocking are weekdays - maybe the evenings will be crowded but SoCal schools are in session then.

So Cal schools might be in session, but for many of our schools, the last day is that week before Memorial Day. And well the 70th celebrations starts in May. Looking at past crowd calendars is really not much help anymore. discount on rooms for Spring usually come out towards end of this month so we will have to wait and see if any discounts will be given

 

[joseph821]

So Cal schools might be in session, but for many of our schools, the last day is that week before Memorial Day. And well the 70th celebrations starts in May. Looking at past crowd calendars is really not much help anymore. discount on rooms for Spring usually come out towards end of this month so we will have to wait and see if any discounts will be given

I do not think there will be ticket sales.
There are always hotel sales.
Just to clarify.

Los Angeles county school district schools are in session until June - largest student population and yes some other area schools end before Memorial Day. Not a big impact on crowds.

My reference to crowd calendars was to show there was a ticket sale in 2024 and crowds were moderate.

Even with the sale Disneyland income was down in 2024. I blame the refurbs for that.

I doubt they are going to have a ticket sale for the summer season.

Imagine so cal keys are blocked out for almost the entire summer and they are the largest group in all the Keys.

Also Disney already released the summer hotel sales for May 2025 through Sept. 2025 - must book by 5/15. I agree a spring 2025 hotel sale will be announced soon.

 

[Pluto468]

Thanks for all the input! I'm going to change the trip to May 29-June 2. Hopefully that will be a slightly less crowded week. I'll have to deal with 2 grad nites, but hopefully that will be manageable.

 

[joseph821]

That time is perfect! I will be there then too!

 

[LKing]

Last year there were moderate crowds that week according to Touring Plans data. Also the last days before blocking are weekdays - maybe the evenings will be crowded but SoCal schools are in session then.

Last year had Pixar Fest which started in April and was kind of a bust. This year, Disneyland's 70th with a much anticipated parade, starts on May 16. The parade is in the evening which might help. However, when the Electric Parade returned, people packed the parade route hours in advance.

Schools being in session is not a good predictor of crowds at DLR. When locals go on vacation, they aren't going to Disneyland. That's part of the reason that visitors report July being such a nice month to visit. Additionally, don't assume that parents won't pull their kids the last week of school to go to Disneyland, especially if it is after AP exams, school is winding down, and it is the last week they can use their passes before being blocked.

While Los Angeles Unified School District might be the largest district, it is less than 15% of the southern California student population. Los Angeles County has 1,298,060 students in 80 public school districts. Approximately 400K of those students are in LAUSD. That means that 800K of the students in Los Angeles County are in school districts with different calendars than LAUSD. Look at the student population per county in California. Just like Los Angeles, there are multiple districts (each with their own calendar) in each county. To get a better idea, look at the number of school districts within a 2 hour drive of Disneyland.

Schools/districts ending before Memorial Day include Burbank (where the studios are located), Anaheim Union HS District, California State Universities, Chapman, Claremont Colleges and all community colleges.
Local school districts ending May 28-30 include ABC Unified, Buena Park, Fullerton, Garden Grove, La Habra, San Diego, Santa Ana, Tustin
Local school districts ending June 3-6 include Anaheim, Brea, Bellflower, Capistrano, Irvine, Los Alamitos, Newport Mesa, Norwalk La Mirada

 

[joseph821]

Last year had Pixar Fest which started in April and was kind of a bust. This year, Disneyland's 70th with a much anticipated parade, starts on May 16. The parade is in the evening which might help. However, when the Electric Parade returned, people packed the parade route hours in advance.

Schools being in session is not a good predictor of crowds at DLR. When locals go on vacation, they aren't going to Disneyland. That's part of the reason that visitors report July being such a nice month to visit. Additionally, don't assume that parents won't pull their kids the last week of school to go to Disneyland, especially if it is after AP exams, school is winding down, and it is the last week they can use their passes before being blocked.

While Los Angeles Unified School District might be the largest district, it is less than 15% of the southern California student population. Los Angeles County has 1,298,060 students in 80 public school districts. Approximately 400K of those students are in LAUSD. That means that 800K of the students in Los Angeles County are in school districts with different calendars than LAUSD. Look at the student population per county in California. Just like Los Angeles, there are multiple districts (each with their own calendar) in each county. To get a better idea, look at the number of school districts within a 2 hour drive of Disneyland.

Schools/districts ending before Memorial Day include Burbank (where the studios are located), Anaheim Union HS District, California State Universities, Chapman, Claremont Colleges and all community colleges.
Local school districts ending May 28-30 include ABC Unified, Buena Park, Fullerton, Garden Grove, La Habra, San Diego, Santa Ana, Tustin
Local school districts ending June 3-6 include Anaheim, Brea, Bellflower, Capistrano, Irvine, Los Alamitos, Newport Mesa, Norwalk La Mirada

Agreed. I don’t think Late May will be packed. June is a different story. May busy but not packed. I think most of the crowds will flood in on the 16th.

 

[joseph821]

I just think there will not be a summer ticket sale. I just called the Walt Disney Travel company about my trips. I asked about a summer ticket sale and the cast member said she has not heard that and the company is gearing up for the 70th and she also said that Paint The Night parade is a sufficient draw to bring in people.

 

[LKing]

Disneyland just announced Heroes Tickets. Interestingly, they won't be distributed until April and will be valid Monday - Thurs from May 5 - Aug 7.

 

[joseph821]

Disneyland just announced Heroes Tickets. Interestingly, they won't be distributed until April and will be valid Monday - Thurs from May 5 - Aug 7.

Sort of a sale but not quite. firefighters and law enforcement only. Tickets will be distributed internally. I do not think this will affect crowds. Registration is required.

 

[LKing]

Sort of a sale but not quite. firefighters and law enforcement only. Tickets will be distributed internally. I do not think this will affect crowds. Registration is required.

It won't impact crowds, but it is the beginning of summer marketing.

There is no mention of tickets for family members of the hero. If they give a freebie out to an individual, that person needs to purchase tickets for their partner, kids, etc. Why not make the tickets valid now? By starting it on May 5, the heroes have 8 days to purchase and use a 3 day So Cal ticket or pay full price for the people who are accompanying them. The timing isn't coincidental. They could easily have said that the ticket was good for a year. Instead, it ends on Thursday, August 7. Imagine Keys start up again on Monday, August 11.

Edit: Correction, they might be able to bring someone with them for free. Ken Potrock said, “We hope these heroes can enjoy a memorable day with a loved one at our parks, because they certainly deserve it.”

 

[joseph821]

It won't impact crowds, but it is the beginning of summer marketing.

There is no mention of tickets for family members of the hero. If they give a freebie out to an individual, that person needs to purchase tickets for their partner, kids, etc. Why not make the tickets valid now? By starting it on May 5, the heroes have 8 days to purchase and use a 3 day So Cal ticket or pay full price for the people who are accompanying them. The timing isn't coincidental. They could easily have said that the ticket was good for a year. Instead, it ends on Thursday, August 7. Imagine Keys start up again on Monday, August 11.

Agreed. Targeted marketing.