To enter the park on a crowded day in the afternoon or not?

[Liberator]

We booked a 3-night vacation to Disneyland for the Memorial Day Weekend.
Arrival day will be May 23. Originally the plan was only two nights, but I added a night (and splurged for ParkHoppers and CL at PPH ) as a surprise.

We are driving out from Vegas that day and plan to arrive in the afternoon.
This day is considered as very crowded.

Would it make sense to enter the park this day in the afternoon or is it a waste of money because of the crowds and the lack of time.

Was the park open until midnight in the past years on Memorial Day Weekend?

I think about riding some headliners at both parks in the evening and night, especially RSR! Maybe some FPs are left at some headliners.

Not sure if it is worth the $$$...what would you do?

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

If it were me, I would say it would not be a waste if I could get in 6-8 hours for a full day ticket price, but that is just me.

Options could be some relaxing at the pool, checking out Downtown Disney for dinner and some shopping, enjoying the outside music performers.

But I would go in the parks, like you said, see if you could get some FPs for some headliners, hit some shows, just take it all in, get the lay of the land so you will be prepared for the coming days on where you want to go. Since you are staying onsite, use those extra morning hours to your advantage.

Have a great trip!

 

[Congo Queen]

Perhaps visit DCA that first afternoon. When crowds are heavy they seem to feel less onerous in DCA b/c there is just more space to spread them out. Dland on a crowded afternoon (especially if your arrival on Main Street coincides w an afternoon parade) can be oppressive. This happened to us one year and sucked the joy right out of our happy arriving souls. So zig while others are zagging and try DCA.

 

[mystic_path]

I agree that DCA is a good choice to spend the early day in as it has more elbow room. However I will tell you to play it by ear and see how you feel. If I were in your situation I would do DCA in the morning followed by a break and a swim in the early afternoon and then take on Disneyland in the evening and you have a nice variety of everything. No matter how you spend your day it will be fun.

 

[MissEllie]

Well- today- for instance is supposed to be a high crowds day and we are planning on getting there at around 1:30 and seeing a bunch of shows.

Fantasy Faire 2:30 pm
Mickey and the Magical Map 3:40 pm
Tree Lighting (DCA) 5:00 pm
Viva Navidad (DCA) 6:20 pm
World of Color 9:00 pm

We are planning on doing some smaller rides/pulling fps while we are there- but I feel like that's a ton of things we are going to do while also having free time for others.

As long as you know what kind of day you can realistically have- I'd say using it for a day of parks might be a good idea.

(That being said- you COULD make a day out of Downtown Disney/ Looking at Hotels.)

 

[dizneefan13]

Watching a bunch of shows on a busy day is a good idea if you enjoy this kind of thing. Most people want to slip a show in here and there between riding all the rides. I personally like a "mostly show" day when its busy. But I'm usually there for over a week each visit, so we are never in a hurry.

Don't forget Aladdin. I think its the best show Disney has to offer.

 

[disneychrista]

The past 2 years they did 24 hours "partys" from 6am Friday - 6am Saturday.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Yes, I was going to mention the 24 hour parties, too. The first year the crowds were horrific (near rioting in the esplanade). Last year was better overall, but it still took us over an hour to get from the convention center parking lot to the tram drop off.