WDW in mid-October compared to Disneyland in mid-October?

[Andona]

The only time we've visited Disneyland was in early January - the crowds were non-existent and we walked onto many rides with a minimal wait.

Last year we visited WDW in mid October and found it very manageable ( by avoiding the early-entry parks, being at the gate for rope-drop and by using a combination of Tour Guide Mike/Unofficial Guide/Ridemax for our touring plans)

This year we are visiting Disneyland in Mid October ( Friday 15th and Saturday 16th)

For those of you that have visited both WDW and Disneyland - how do they compare, crowd-wise, at that time? Can we expect similar crowd levels at Disneyland as we experienced last year at WDW?

I have been getting a feeling ( from other posts) that mid-October could be quite crowded at Disneyland?

Thanks
Andona

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

With the halloween season becoming so popular, October crowds are picking up. I haven't done Oct. in DL since 2005 when it was very mild crowds during the week, and a little more crowded on the weekend. I have heard it was busy last October.

 

[Sherry E]

I have not been to WDW to be able to offer that comparison, but I can say that you can almost bank on the fact that October 2009 at DLR will be a very busy month. I would be surprised if it does not turn out to be busy. Last year saw unprecedented crowds at DLR for October, which was typically considered the off-peak season. Not only will there be the Halloweentime festivities which are becoming bigger each year (this year we have Haunted Mansion Holiday, Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy, the Halloween/villains fireworks spectacular, the Trick or Treat Party and various other Halloween sites/decorations around the Resort), but there are assorted things happening to draw in crowds - Gay Days, certain school breaks, Columbus Day, etc.

 

[Pamb]

So is Columbus Day a State holiday? That is my DH birthday and the 1st day of our trip so I am just curious how busy to expect the park. I was anticipating Mon-Wed a bit slow with it getting more crowded Thurs, Fri, and Sat should I plan for just a busy week all week?

 

[Sherry E]

So is Columbus Day a State holiday? That is my DH birthday and the 1st day of our trip so I am just curious how busy to expect the park. I was anticipating Mon-Wed a bit slow with it getting more crowded Thurs, Fri, and Sat should I plan for just a busy week all week?

Columbus Day is a government holiday. All the banks, libraries, Post Offices, courthouses, etc. close, and most schools will be closed out here in California. But all other businesses tend to be open. It is not really a big deal for companies or businesses in California unless it is at one of those places. I think that Columbus Day weekend will probably be busy but I am not sure about the actual holiday itself. I would imagine that weekdays in general will be less crowded in October than the weekends, but this year has been so weird as far as crowd patterns that there is no telling what will happen! I just have a feeling that with so many things happening this year for Halloweentime, and Space Mountain's overlay and the Halloween fireworks only being up for the Halloweentime season (whereas the Haunted Mansion Holiday lasts all the way through the rest of the year), October as a whole will probably be very busy. Plan for the worst and hope for the best!

 

[gatorfreud]

We are hard core TourGuideMiker's and we went to DLR last October for a weekend, and also over Thanksgiving weekend. Honestly I could see that it was crowded but using TGM strategies, we had no problem at all.

The CM's seem to think October weekend is very crowded - reason why is that there was a special line to walk back to TSMM at RD. When we went over Thanksgiving there was no special line, and the CM told me they only do the line when it is really crowded. So I guess based on that October was more crowded than TG.

Kim

 

[sarasmom97]

We will be there on Wed the 14th thru Sat the 17th. We are expecting it to be fairly busy. Most all of Arizona is on fall break that week. We are hoping to avoid the columbus day weekend crowd by coming the end of the week.