Why are Mondays so busy?

[JadeDarkstar]

next year i have 1 Monday its the first of March (i think lol) maybe we will still be riding the low crowds but if not I still expect it to be not as crowded however star wars changes everything

 

[LizzyS]

I think being mentally prepared and having a plan are the most important things -- that way, if the parks are busy, you're already on top of things. And if the parks aren't as busy as you expected, great!

This is forever the best advice!

 

[Rblscm78]

I'm already mentally preparing myself for Veterans day!

 

[Bruin_mouse]

My guess is a lot of people call in sick. The only cure is a super dose of mouse.

 

[twodogs]

I also wondered if it was the Southern CA Select AP being blocked out on weekends? This is the lowest priced AP, and is typically blocked on the weekends, I think. Then maybe those folks are ready for a dose of Disney on Monday? We always travel back home on Mondays since that is my day off, so we have never been on a Monday, as I recall.

 

[DLgal]

I'm already mentally preparing myself for Veterans day!

That is one of the worst ones. Labor day is the other one.

 

[shaunacb]

I have read about Mondays and Grad Nites both being busy. Would you choose to go to the park on Sat May 11 (Grad Nite) or Monday May 13 (Monday). Trying to decide which day to make our non-park day. Saturday is in the middle of our trip, and we will be up late Friday night for F!, so it might make more sense to have a rest day on Sat May 11, but if Mondays are worse than Grad Nite Saturdays, I could change our rest day to Monday. Thank you!

 

[cmwade77]

Mondays tend to be busy because most Mondays are not blocked out from any pass level, even when the Friday before is and people can often justify taking an extra day off to make a long weekend. This leads to Mondays (or the Tuesday after a holiday) being extremely busy.

Wednesday during the school year and Saturday are usually the lower crowd days, but neither are empty by any stretch unless it is a Wednesday I'm mid to late January that has had fairly steady rain since at least two hours before the park opens until at least 1 PM or so, then the parks will be dead.

 

[EmJ]

So if you had to pick, would you do a Monday-Thursday, or a Tuesday-Friday trip? Or does it not really matter because crowds is crowds? This will be the first week in March, so not off season but also juuuuust before spring break season starts.

 

[cmwade77]

So if you had to pick, would you do a Monday-Thursday, or a Tuesday-Friday trip? Or does it not really matter because crowds is crowds? This will be the first week in March, so not off season but also juuuuust before spring break season starts.

Thats hard because Fridays can be busy.too, but I would probably do Tuesday - Friday and make sure to do rope drop on Friday because they usually don't get as busy until 3 or so in the afternoon.

But do be aware that you will have spring break crowds first week of March, not as much as a little later, but it will be a fairly busy week.

 

[EmJ]

Thats hard because Fridays can be busy.too, but I would probably do Tuesday - Friday and make sure to do rope drop on Friday because they usually don't get as busy until 3 or so in the afternoon.

But do be aware that you will have spring break crowds first week of March, not as much as a little later, but it will be a fairly busy week.

Thanks! I’m going to consider the Tuesday through Friday. I’m not deluding myself that there is anytime that’s NOT busy - just some times that are busier than others. Due to my work schedule, I can only go the first two weeks of any month. I don’t want to go the first part of February even though that would be the best crowd-wise. It’s just too soon after the holiday madness, plus I need something to look forward to dying my state’s frozen, long winter. And I definitely don’t want to be there during Easter time or the summer. So March it is!

 

[friedela]

I keep reading that Mondays are really busy and not the best day to go on. Is this a newer trend? I haven't been to Disneyland for 2 years but I don't really remember Mondays being lots busier. My adult dd and I are going for a belated graduation present for her over spring break and Monday was one of our planned days. We would probably have max pass that day and would be able to park hop.

We are so excited! I got to go to WDW last summer with dh but it was just not as good for us. Can't wait to get back to my home parks.

I've been watching a few youtube videos from regular goers (namely Theme Park Obsession) and the last few Mondays he has commented how quiet the parks are lately when usually Monday's are slammed.

We are doing our last Disney day on a Monday and I was initially worried about it, but from what I am seeing lately (and maybe someone else can confirm or deny this) it looks like Monday's the last few weeks have been uncharacteristically quiet perhaps because a lot of people are holding off until GE opens?

 

[cmwade77]

I've been watching a few youtube videos from regular goers (namely Theme Park Obsession) and the last few Mondays he has commented how quiet the parks are lately when usually Monday's are slammed.

We are doing our last Disney day on a Monday and I was initially worried about it, but from what I am seeing lately (and maybe someone else can confirm or deny this) it looks like Monday's the last few weeks have been uncharacteristically quiet perhaps because a lot of people are holding off until GE opens?

No, it is because soring break just ended and a lot of local schools are getting out mid May this year, so parents don't feel like they can pull their kids out of school that close to the end of the school year. We will see Mondays kick back up soon enough and definitely before GE opens.

 

[katyringo]

This is my take. I think is bad to do with the ap block outs and Mondays usually being open. The Friday- Sunday after thanksgiving were pretty nice crowd wise and then BAM the Monday was super packed. You could also deff notice the change in the crowd too. It deff switched from a tourist family vacation crowd to more singles/ couples, teenagers and locals crowds.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

I've been watching a few youtube videos from regular goers (namely Theme Park Obsession) and the last few Mondays he has commented how quiet the parks are lately when usually Monday's are slammed.

We are doing our last Disney day on a Monday and I was initially worried about it, but from what I am seeing lately (and maybe someone else can confirm or deny this) it looks like Monday's the last few weeks have been uncharacteristically quiet perhaps because a lot of people are holding off until GE opens?

The last few weeks were a combination of the lower APs being blocked, the special promotional tickets being blocked, Coachella (a huge music festival in Southern CA), and a lull between Spring Breaks in major local school districts. All those things added up to a very surprisingly nice lower crowd period in the parks.

 

[tarheelalum]

The cheapest annual passes can usually go to the Parks on Monday during the spring and fall. Masses of pass holders show up then.

 

[Tasscrapper]

I think we lucked out on our trip. Overall we had low all the days we were there including Monday. I was super worried about the crowds because of what I had been reading and ended up letting the worry go because we were going whether it was crowded or not and it turned out wonderful.

 

[dieumeye]

Not to beat a dead horse with this Monday thing, but dang, today is busy.

I’m not sure what’s going on, but the line to enter Disneyland is literally backed up to the DCA gate at 1:45pm. And for some reason, they only have at most half of the DCA gates open, which is causing that line to back up at the middle of the plaza.

I wasn’t here this morning, so I don’t know how bad it was before noon, but since then it seems like there’s way more people here than maybe were expected? I’m usually only here on weekends, and only been a few times during the week this year, but this seems as bad as or worse than any weekend I’ve seen.

I’ve been in “maybe June won’t be as bad as people think” camp for some time but, man, it’s rough seeing lines this long just to enter the parks!

Just kind of thinking out loud while I wait in line!

 

[cmwade77]

Not to beat a dead horse with this Monday thing, but dang, today is busy.

I’m not sure what’s going on, but the line to enter Disneyland is literally backed up to the DCA gate at 1:45pm. And for some reason, they only have at most half of the DCA gates open, which is causing that line to back up at the middle of the plaza.

I wasn’t here this morning, so I don’t know how bad it was before noon, but since then it seems like there’s way more people here than maybe were expected? I’m usually only here on weekends, and only been a few times during the week this year, but this seems as bad as or worse than any weekend I’ve seen.

I’ve been in “maybe June won’t be as bad as people think” camp for some time but, man, it’s rough seeing lines this long just to enter the parks!

Just kind of thinking out loud while I wait in line!

Yeah, Disney thinks just because the last few Mondays were slow, this one is going to be too and reduce staffing accordingly, one day maybe they will learn it doesn't work that way. Honestly, Satudays are becoming one of the best days of the week to visit.

 

[bryanb]

In my experience as a cast member and my uncle's before me, the Monday trend has been true for a while. Disney has a lot of data gathering, and while not perfect, they work pretty hard to nail the estimates correctly and I was quite impressed that they did when I worked there.

During the peak seasons, Mondays actually had higher budgets for cast members during busy seasons than any other weekday. Sundays were the best weekend days to go, since just enough people go to church in the morning and leave early on a school/work night. The middle of Sundays get packed (annual passholders being a big reason). But the attendance estimate during vacation season has tended to be highest on Saturday, with Monday as the next highest. Note that all results may vary, but that was the trend.