Where are the Disney experts?? Help me plan my dates!

[PineapplePrincessCA]

My kids have their fall break coming up and we're planning on spending a couple of days at DL.


I'm trying to figure out which days would be the least crowded. I don't know where calendars are that show what is going on.


We have any TWO consecutive days during
Sept. 24 - 28
and
Oct 1 - 5.


I don't know when things are decorated for Halloween, but we don't need to see that if it means bigger crowds.

Do any of these days fall on "Gay days"?


Which two days would you pick if you wanted your best chance at avoiding crowds?

TIA!

 

[Girimama33]

I think there is a lot more going on the first few weeks of October with fall breaks and Gay Days (10/5-7).
For lower crowds, I would be more inclined to go at the end of September. I would go on Tue, Wed or Thurs.
The Halloween overlays will be in place by 9/14.
Have fun!

 

[Sherry E]

I agree about October having more events and school breaks and things happening.

I also think that 9/28 could be crowded because that's the first night of Mickey's Halloween Party, which always draws in a lot of people. Disneyland will close at 7 p.m. on both 9/28 and 10/5 for the MHP, and the party guests will be allowed to enter Disneyland 3 hours early. So from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m., Disneyland should be full of both party guests and non-party guests.

I think I would probably go with either 9/24 & 9/25 or 9/25 & 9/26.

 

[PineapplePrincessCA]

So if we go Sept 26 - 26, the Haunted Mansion will be all decoracted up for Halloween?


Does anybody know what "touring plans" predicts the crowds to be on those days?


Thanks.

 

[starshine514]

So if we go Sept 26 - 26, the Haunted Mansion will be all decoracted up for Halloween?


Does anybody know what "touring plans" predicts the crowds to be on those days?


Thanks.

Touring plans is notoriously incorrect in its crowd predictions for Disneyland. A much better gauge of crowds (in my opinion) is Disneyland's hours. Sept 26 & 27 are scheduled to be the shortest regular operating hours for Disneyland 10:00 am - 8:00 pm. I'd be betting for low crowds on those dates.

And yes, you should get to see the holiday overlay at the Haunted Mansion.

ETA: I just ventured over to the Touring Plans website, and Sept 26 - 27 are dates posted with crowd predictions for non-subscribers. Both dates are estimated as 2 out of 10 overall, 1.1 for Disneyland and 3.8/3.7 for DCA

 

[Sherry E]

This year Haunted Mansion Holiday will open on September 14. It will stay open until early January 2013.

You'll get the full Halloween Time experience, with the exception of the things that are exclusive to the party itself (such as Halloween Screams fireworks, character cavalcade, special character photo spots and trick or treating).

So you'll be able to ride Haunted Mansion Holiday and Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy, see the Tim Burton "Frankenweenie" exhibit over in California Adventure, visit the Halloween Round-Up in Disneyland to see the great carved character pumpkins, sample Halloween goodies, etc.

 

[PineapplePrincessCA]

Well, we had our dates set for the end of September, but something has come up and we won't be able to do that.

We're looking back at the first week of October now.

Soooooo any thoughts on Oct 2nd and Oct 3rd? (Tuesday and Wednesday)

I guess my biggest concern is that I don't want to plan my trip during some big event that I didn't already know about. Any reason why Oct 2nd/3rd would be "extra crowded"?

Does anybody know what "touring plans" expects the crowds to be on these days?

Hours are:
10:00am - 8:00pm on Monday
8:00am - 6:00p on Tuesday
10:00am - 8:00pm on Wednesday
9:00am - 9:00pm on Thursday


Any idea why DL closes so early on Tuesday??


Would Wednesday and Thursday be better?
or
Monday and Tuesday??



TIA!

 

[Girimama33]

DL will be closed early on Tues for their Halloween Party. I would expect the first week of October to be busy. A lot of schools have fall break and Gay Days will start that week.
Here is what Touring Plans has for that week, but they are notoriously incorrect for DLR vs. WDW.
DL DCA
Mon, October 1, 2012 3 out of 10 1.1 4.5
Tue, October 2, 2012 1 out of 10 1.1 2.8 Mickey's Halloween Party
Wed, October 3, 2012 2 out of 10 1.1 2.6
Thu, October 4, 2012 4 out of 10 3.9 2.6
Fri, October 5, 2012 5 out of 10 2.5 7.4 Mickey's Halloween Party

 

[Mary09]

'1 out of 10' and '2 out of 10' don't sound very busy?

I'm curious if Touring Plans stinks at this. I put off my summer trip til October based on their crowd predictions.

 

[Girimama33]

Like I stated above, Touring Plans does not have a great reputation when it comes to their crowd predictions at DLR mainly due to the locals that may affect crowd levels. Plus, there is a lot going on the first two weeks of October and I am not sure if they take the fall breaks and Gay Days into account.
That is why I planned my trip at the end of October.