Weekday or Weekend?

[katmigordon]

I hear they only do shows and parades on the weekend, but crowds are lower during the week? What's a Disney Diva to do?

 

[Aspencreek]

Actually the crowds are often lower on the weekends due to Magic Key blockout days. I'd go on the weekend and enjoy the shows!

 

[katyringo]

Fireworks and Fantasmic will probably move to just weekends in the fall. For the summer everything happens every single night. Once school starts that changes. It will depend on the time of year you go!

But to the above poster the weekend/weekday thing is not the same at Disneyland. Monday is historically a busier day.

 

[katmigordon]

We're going in May and staying onsite - does this change anything?

 

[cruisehopeful]

We're going in May and staying onsite - does this change anything?

May is a great time to go. The new shows/parades/entertainment usually start towards the end of May. I'm a fan of Fri/Sat at the parks. Friday is very laid back until after 5:00pm when everyone gets off work and goes to the park. Saturday has long hours with most everything open. Having all the entertainment on the weekend gives the crowds other places to go. There might be more people overall, but it will feel less crowded.

 

[aammtt20]

Sundays are actually the slowest day of the week when you look at the wait time data. In 2023, I went to DCA on a Sunday morning and was able to to do almost every ride within the first two hours of the park opening.

 

[hardcorestitch]

I hear they only do shows and parades on the weekend, but crowds are lower during the week? What's a Disney Diva to do?

Weekdays for sure. You should be able to get on your attractions with fewer lightning lanes.

 

[OlliePop27]

I mean, people find it hard to believe but the data clearly shows weekends are less busy than weekdays during certain parts of the year. During summer it's less true, but Saturdays in July tend to be pretty quiet. During non-summer times, weekends when the two lowest passes are blocked plus ticket prices are higher have been less busy than lower priced weekdays. Look out for weekdays when single day ticket prices are $106. When you see people say how crazy Mondays are, this is often why. On higher priced days such as weekend, holidays, and summer, single day ticket prices jump all the way to $206. A family of 4 can save $400 by shifting a visit to Monday vs. Sunday. Because of the local-centric demographic of DLR visitors, there are still many people who buy single day tickets, hence the extreme influence of single day ticket prices and passholder blockouts on crowd patterns.

 

[LKing]

This is what May should look like in 2026.

May
May 1-10 (likely dates) Season of the Force
May 3 Bats Day
May 4 Star Wars Day
May (first week) Star Wars Nites
May 8, 12, 13, 15, 17, 20, 21, 28, 29 and 31 Grad Nite
May 10 Mothers Day
May 22 Last Friday for Enchant MK before being blocked for summer
May 25 Memorial Day
May 28 Last day for Imagine MK before being blocked for summer

DL closes early on Star Wars Nites. DCA closes early on Grad Nites.