Afraid of the crowds. Need advice

[being-dragged-to-DL]

Hi! I need advice on a good time to go to DisneyLand. We have two small kids, 6 and 4, and will fly in and stay at the Disneyland hotel. BUT I have been dragging my feet about the whole thing because I dont do well in busy crowds. "Shoulder to shoulder" freaks me out and I couldnt imagine standing in line for longer than 15-20 minutes with my 4 year old! I DONT want to ruin this trip for the rest of my family... can anyone help me figure out a time to go when it is the least crowded? My kids can afford to miss a little school, but we want to go before the end of April to get in on the travel deal. I know I cant go on a day when its empty, but maybe just less crammed than other days? Staying about 4 days. Any advice would be SOOOOO great! Thank YOU!

 

[abby]

I'm like you. So we are going in 17 days. I would suggest any time before the 10th or so of March and probably a week after easter. Last year we were there the last week of April and it was great, but that was right before the 50th started. AS for crowds, go when they open and do a lot of the kids stuff first off, by doing this we avoided a lot of longer lines in the afternoon.

 

[Judy from Boise]

3/4 of the battle can be won just by avoiding weekend days.

 

[denyd]

Also be there first thing in the morning, about 30 minutes before the scheduled park opening and head for what you really want to do each day. You should have until about 11:00 each morning a pretty empty park. Take advantage of Fast Pass (Unlimited Fast Pass if you're an AAA member) to reduce line waits. Plan on a mid-day break to go back to the hotel for some pool time and lunch (maybe a nap) then back to the park for a couple of hours to use the FP's.

Also DCA is rarely crowded on weekdays, so plan for late afternoon visits when the MK feels crowded. There's 8-10 fun things to do over there and after a couple of hours you'll be ready to go back to the MK.

 

[jemilah]

I am thinking about going April 4th the week before most Spring breaks start. I am hopeing Wed to Fri should be ok. Any advice?

 

[ZeusNike]

I agree with both trying to only go on weekdays (Tue,Wed,Thurs are best from my experience) and going early. I can't stress the early thing enough. We were there on November 11th...I don't know if you read the posts about November 11th but apparently DL was closed 4 times because it was at capacity. We have pictures of our group in the park in the morning that day and there are hardly any people around us and we barely waited for rides (used FP on the really popular ones, of course). When you are on Main Street before the rope drops to let you into the park proper it looks like there are lots of people but the park is big so once they disperse you won't feel crowded at all. We did leave DL at just before noon as it was getting too crowded for our taste (particularly DH - he HATES crowds!) and enjoyed the rest of the day at DCA.

As far as DL is concerned the best advice ever is go early, go early, go early!

 

[abby]

Depends on where you are when spring break is. Here in Oregon our public schools have break last week of March or first week of April. If you use the search function, I know folks have talked before about when spring breaks are. One hint, if DL is open late on week days, (say after 8) then it is probably going to be busy. The eariler they close on week days the smaller the crowds.

 

[tinkerbell13]

Come Now! A friend went yesterday and it was empty! I am going on Thrusday and expect much of the same.
Anytime this month or next avoiding the holiday weekends should be great.

Also DCA is rarely crowded on weekdays, so plan for late afternoon visits when the MK feels crowded. There's 8-10 fun things to do over there and after a couple of hours you'll be ready to go back to the MK.

I think there is so much more to do there than 8-10 things. For your kids ages they will love bugs land, the new Monsters Inc ride, Aladdin show, Animation Building, Turtle Talk with crush, Playhouse Disney, Soarin' Over California, The midway games, Ferris Wheel, Jumping Jellyfish, King Tritons Carousel. I love CA, I think you will find more than a couple of hours worth of stuff to do there.

 

[LeftCoaster]

The peak for DL spring break is the week before and the week after Easter.
Depending on when you go, I would still try to plan on having at least 1 day on the weekend there. That way, you'll get a chance ot see fireworks. On the weekend day, I'd plan on hitting the parks early, then take a long break during the day, and just come back for fireworks, parades, and other evening activities.

 

[being-dragged-to-DL]

Great forum! Thank you all for the info and advice. I think the fireworks and parades sound great on a Sunday night... my book says that they only do it in the summer months or on special days though...? BTW, I would go NOW but we are in Idaho, and jumping over for a day or two isnt so easy. I did tell hubby that I want a direct flight though. I guess from Boise you have to stop in Portland Oregon. BUT I said to get the direct flight, which means we have to take a 45 minutes shuttle to our hotel. That sounds better than going all the way to Portland first. Probably should have mentioned... this will be my first trip by air. eeeeeeek! I warned hubby that I may flip out, attack the attendants, and beat the door down to the pilot! I told him to take bail $$.

 

[stampinshauna]

Have a wonderful trip! Just stay away from holidays and Saturdays and the crowds shouldn't be too bad. I went in 2002 during the Olympics (before President's day weekend) and we didn't wait more than 15 min on anything. We walked right on to most of the rides. We were gone over Valentine's and it was fun to see all of the Princesses there with there Princes.

 

[RADOPT]

My daughter HATES crowds also (and lets everyone know it) so we never go when it is crowded. I can't add anything to the days to go but for inside DL I have a couple of thing that help us.

Don't shop at the end of the day - the stores in DL are crowded then. DTD stores get crowded at night.

If main street is crowded (or just more people then you like), and it is not the end of the day, you can walk thru the stores on either side to get to the end of main street. The right side you end up walking out of the store for a few yards.

Look at other ways of getting to where you want to go instead of the most direct. They usually don't take much longer, there should be less people and you might find something that alot of people miss.

If you are waiting in line, for the parades, or fireworks, carefully placed things (including family) can get you more space.

The are a number of area to get away from people and recuperate.

If the area you are going look to crowded, go somewhere else and come back later. We always know what we want to do but never make a list so that we can change where we are headed without anyone feeling disappointed.

Have a wonderful time!

 

[LadyDeathstrike]

Anytime this month ( January) is in the off-season, so crowds will be at a minimum, the beginning of May through the beginning of June would also be a good time to go, you want to avoid July and the weeks of Spring Break leading up to Easter, I recall having to literally wait in line to move 1 night in July.

 

[denyd]

Here's a couple of sanctuaries in MK for you to seek out if you're in need of a bit of solitude.

1. The Main Street Cinema
2. The Pier that overlooks the old Motorboat course (across from Matterhorn)
3. The back room of Rocket Redd's Pizza Port
4. Downstairs at the Hungry Bear restaurant overlooking the Rivers of America
5. The rock cove next to Chip N Dale's treehouse
6. The Snow White & Seven Dwarves Waterfall
7. The Disney Art Gallery above Pirates
8. The Magical 50th Film (in the Abe Lincoln location)