Nov. 2-4

[WardFam]

I'm thinking about planning a trip for Sun Nov. 2- Tues Nov. 4. Is there anything going on that I should know about these days? I'm trying to avoid the crowds of Veterans' day weekend and the Avenger's half marathon weekend so I thought this might be a good time. We really want to see the fireworks and Fantasmic this time so I know we need a Fri, Sat, or Sun - do you think it the 1st will still be really crowded from Halloween weekend?

 

[tiggeroo42]

We're going at the same time! Nov. 1-5. I picked the dates for the same reasons as you: to avoid the Veteran's Day and Avenger's Half Marathon crowds. From what I can gather, there's nothing going on this weekend. I've seen that the ABC Christmas Parade is sometimes taped during the first full weekend of Nov., but since Nov. has 5 Saturdays this year, I'm thinking (and hoping) that won't be until the following weekend.

I don't think Halloween is INSANELY crowded, but there may be some lingering crowds Sat and Sun. When I went Halloween week a couple years ago, there were a ton of local people checking in to the DLH for a long weekend to celebrate Halloween. But weekends are always busy, and it looks like you'll have a couple of weekdays to be at the park also, so that will help!

The weather will also be nice and cool AND Saturday night is when Daylight Savings ends, so we GAIN and hour! Woohoo!

 

[figment_jii]

I'm thinking about planning a trip for Sun Nov. 2- Tues Nov. 4. Is there anything going on that I should know about these days? I'm trying to avoid the crowds of Veterans' day weekend and the Avenger's half marathon weekend so I thought this might be a good time. We really want to see the fireworks and Fantasmic this time so I know we need a Fri, Sat, or Sun - do you think it the 1st will still be really crowded from Halloween weekend?

It's worth noting that the Mark Twain is slated to be undergoing refurb until 11/26, so you'll likely see a modified version of Fantasmic.

I think there might be some lingering crowds from Halloween, but not a huge amount. It's not clear if things like SMGG and the Halloween Carnival will still be running on Sat/Sun (the announcement said HalloweenTime runs through 10/31, so it might mean their last day is the 31st or they may run through the weekend). It'll be before the Holidays are in full swing, so some things may be down (e.g., IaSW). I would except that there will be the normal weekend crowds, but nothing truly out of the ordinary.

 

[Sherry E]

We're going at the same time! Nov. 1-5. I picked the dates for the same reasons as you: to avoid the Veteran's Day and Avenger's Half Marathon crowds. From what I can gather, there's nothing going on this weekend. I've seen that the ABC Christmas Parade is sometimes taped during the first full weekend of Nov., but since Nov. has 5 Saturdays this year, I'm thinking (and hoping) that won't be until the following weekend.

I don't think Halloween is INSANELY crowded, but there may be some lingering crowds Sat and Sun. When I went Halloween week a couple years ago, there were a ton of local people checking in to the DLH for a long weekend to celebrate Halloween. But weekends are always busy, and it looks like you'll have a couple of weekdays to be at the park also, so that will help!

The weather will also be nice and cool AND Saturday night is when Daylight Savings ends, so we GAIN and hour! Woohoo!

The Christmas Parade taping is not happening immediately after Halloween. Disney needs time to actually get some decorations in place and probably get IASWH decorated (the façade, at least) because all of that will or could appear on camera. They have to have holiday decorations in certain spots to make the parks look Christmasy for the filming. The parade taping will be taking place the following weekend (11/7 and beyond).

It's worth noting that the Mark Twain is slated to be undergoing refurb until 11/26, so you'll likely see a modified version of Fantasmic.

I think there might be some lingering crowds from Halloween, but not a huge amount. It's not clear if things like SMGG and the Halloween Carnival will still be running on Sat/Sun (the announcement said HalloweenTime runs through 10/31, so it might mean their last day is the 31st or they may run through the weekend). It'll be before the Holidays are in full swing, so some things may be down (e.g., IaSW). I would except that there will be the normal weekend crowds, but nothing truly out of the ordinary.

It is very unlikely that the Halloween Carnival will stay open through the weekend, as it has to transform into Jingle Jangle Jamboree mode. JJJ was open on Friday, 11/8 last year.

The fact that Disney said that Halloween Time runs through 10/31 means that something is coming down -- otherwise, Halloween Time would just officially run through 11/2. There is a reason for the hard 10/31 end date, but I think that there is a slight chance that SMGG could possibly stay open through the weekend (unofficially).

 

[figment_jii]

It is very unlikely that the Halloween Carnival will stay open through the weekend, as it has to transform into Jingle Jangle Jamboree mode. JJJ was open on Friday, 11/8 last year.

The fact that Disney said that Halloween Time runs through 10/31 means that something is coming down -- otherwise, Halloween Time would just officially run through 11/2. There is a reason for the hard 10/31 end date, but I think that there is a slight chance that SMGG could possibly stay open through the weekend (unofficially).

I generally go the other way with regards to SMGG. I would be surprised if they opt to close SMGG on a Saturday (although, stranger things have happened). There isn't any pressure to re-open it by a specific date for the Holiday season, so I can easily see SMGG staying open through the weekend and then closing on Monday to have the overlay removed. It's interesting that DLR has not yet announced the closure date for IaSW or much else regarding the holiday season overlay dates.

 

[Sherry E]

I generally go the other way with regards to SMGG. I would be surprised if they opt to close SMGG on a Saturday (although, stranger things have happened). There isn't any pressure to re-open it by a specific date for the Holiday season, so I can easily see SMGG staying open through the weekend and then closing on Monday to have the overlay removed. It's interesting that DLR has not yet announced the closure date for IaSW or much else regarding the holiday season overlay dates.

We're saying the same thing (just in different ways). What I was trying to say is that there is more of a chance for SMGG to stay open than for the Halloween Carnival to stay open -- although it cannot be stated with certainty that SMGG will stay open because 10/31 is the last official day of Halloween Time. But, as you said, SMGG doesn't have to switch into Holiday season mode, so that leaves more wiggle room for it to stay open through the weekend, as opposed to the Halloween Carnival, which has to quickly transform.

 

[cdatkins]

We will be there Nov 2-5. Keeping my fingers crossed on refurbs that week. If any of Matterhorn, IJ, or RSR would be down that week, we would be devastated!

 

[Sherry E]

I generally go the other way with regards to SMGG. I would be surprised if they opt to close SMGG on a Saturday (although, stranger things have happened). There isn't any pressure to re-open it by a specific date for the Holiday season, so I can easily see SMGG staying open through the weekend and then closing on Monday to have the overlay removed. It's interesting that DLR has not yet announced the closure date for IaSW or much else regarding the holiday season overlay dates.

IASW is supposedly down from 10/20 - 11/6 (which fits with the usual timeline).

Big Thunder Ranch a.k.a. The Halloween Carnival/Roundup is supposedly down November 1 - November 6 (to go into Jingle Jangle Jamboree mode, which also fits the expected timeline).

This info came from MiceAge's article "Disneyland Sweltering Autumn Fun."


I don't think anything was mentioned about SMGG, but there were some other refurbs/closures mentioned.

 

[cdatkins]

A little bummed about Big Thunder Ranch since we missed it last time we were there, but I will be so long as RSR, IJ, and Matterhorn are all up that week.