Hi all. I want to take my family to Disneyland one day between now and Jan. 2. I know it's peak season, but which day would be best? The least crowded day between tomorrow (Dec. 21) and Jan. 2. Hope you can help. Thank you!
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Disneyland over Christmas – which day?
- Thread starter Sebastian Flounder
- Start date
Californian Elitist
Well-Known Member
Avoid this week entirely.
RandomPrincess
Keep Moving Forward
There won't be a least crowded day. 10/10 everyday packed in like sardines. If you go understand you will be fighting through crowds every step of the way. I would only go if you have older kids - no strollers and have very low expectations of what you would like to see or do. You may only be able to ride 4 or 5 things between open and close.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
Like the other folks have said, you are pretty much hosed every day from now until January 3rd. Plus, the weather will cooperate with some rather spectacular sunny, cloudless, 75 to 80 degree days this week, which normally would be the least crowded of the next 12 very busy days.
But since the weather between now and Christmas Eve promises to be some of the best in North America, you are, quite frankly, hosed.
Why not wait until later in January? Or, if these peak holiday weeks are truly the only time in the entire calendar year that your family can get off work to spend a day at Disneyland together, then just go and assume you will be waiting 15 minutes for bathroom stalls, 30 minutes to order a cheeseburger, 45 minutes for 90 second spinners like the Teacups or Golden Zephyr, and 120 minutes or more for E Tickets like Indy, Radiator Springs Racers, Space Mountain, Tower of Terror, Small World Holiday, etc., etc., etc.
Good luck, and Merry Christmas!
But since the weather between now and Christmas Eve promises to be some of the best in North America, you are, quite frankly, hosed.
Why not wait until later in January? Or, if these peak holiday weeks are truly the only time in the entire calendar year that your family can get off work to spend a day at Disneyland together, then just go and assume you will be waiting 15 minutes for bathroom stalls, 30 minutes to order a cheeseburger, 45 minutes for 90 second spinners like the Teacups or Golden Zephyr, and 120 minutes or more for E Tickets like Indy, Radiator Springs Racers, Space Mountain, Tower of Terror, Small World Holiday, etc., etc., etc.
Good luck, and Merry Christmas!
Californian Elitist
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I'd wait until close to or mid January.
GiveMeTheMusic
Well-Known Member
Yesterday was surprisingly manageable, but the closer you get to Christmas the worse it will be. Christmas Eve shouldn't be too bad especially if you're willing to stay til closing. The absolute worst is the period between Christmas and New Years.
maelstrom98
Active Member
I'm thinking about this too. We live on the east coast and will be in California for a few days with one day of down time and am thinking about taking the plunge. I know it will be insanely crowded but I can't imagine I'll have another shot to see it anytime soon.
GiveMeTheMusic
Well-Known Member
Christmas Eve is definitely the best day to go if you can. Otherwise, just make sure get there before park opening and use Fastpass to your advantage. Bring lots of patience.
SpectroPhoenix
Active Member
Due to an unexpected health problem with my girlfriend's grandfather, we will be in CA for New Years instead of Houston. This is my first time to California and the only chance I'll have to go to Disneyland for at least the next five years, so we're going to the park on the 2nd. I've mentally prepared for the long lines and have already eliminated the duplicates that exist in WDW from our itinerary, but does anyone have any suggestions? We are going to embrace Fastpass of course, pack our own lunch, try to get there at opening and stay till close to get the most out of it. Probably going to skip World of Color unless we manage to hit the staple attractions before it starts.
Thanks in advance and happy almost New Year to all!
Thanks in advance and happy almost New Year to all!
Californian Elitist
Well-Known Member
GiveMeTheMusic
Well-Known Member
Make sure you don't skip the superior or unique duplicates - Pirates, Haunted Mansion Holiday, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain come to mind right away. If you use Fastpass correctly and arrive at park opening there's no reason you wouldn't have time to see World of Color or Fantasmic (which is WAY better than its WDW sister).
SpectroPhoenix
Active Member
Suggestions as to how to maximize our time in the parks to see as much as possible.
Definitely won't skip those. Thanks for the advice and the optimism. If I had to choose, I think I'd ather see Wold of Color, even if DL's Fantastmic is better.
How does Fastpass work between the two parks? If I have a Park Hopper, can I have a Fastpass in both parks at the same time or are the systems connected to one another? From the look of the Disneyland Wait Times app I have, Disneyland is currently ridiculous but California Adventure looks to be mostly manageable.
Thanks again in advance
George Lucas on a Bench
Well-Known Member
You can get Fastpasses in both parks, they're not connected. Just start early, use Fastpass as much as possible and don't dawdle with sit down restaurants. If you get there for opening and hustle, you should be able to knock out the E tickets and major draws in Disneyland by noon. However, this is a really ridiculous time to go, so you may be screwed regardless! I've personally avoided the parks for weeks now because it's a nightmare. Some people would tell you to go to DCA first and immediately Fastpass Cars. However, I absolutely loathe that process. It just takes up too much time and I hate DCA in the morning when Disneyland has everything with minimal waits and perfect crowd flow right across the way. I would try to opt for the single rider line on that one if it's manageable, depending on when you go.
GiveMeTheMusic
Well-Known Member
Take a gander at our WDW vet thread, it will give you a good base to work from:
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/guide-to-dlr-for-wdw-veterans.875596/
If you don't wanna single rider RSR, it needs to be your first stop for riding or FP. DCA is usually more manageable because there aren't as many marquee attractions. For someone who's skipping WDW clones, DCA has even less to offer. Cars Land, BVS, Monsters Inc and Screamin are the only noteworthy exclusives. Mermaid is worth riding if you walk by it because there's never a wait and it's improved over the WDW version.
Pick up WOC FPs so that you have them. You can always give them away if you end up skipping it. If you hate Frozen, skip it anyway; the winter show is about 50% Frozen content.
Focus on hitting the biggies first and then fill in with smaller stuff as the day goes on. Have a blast!
SpectroPhoenix
Active Member
Thanks everyone for the advice and tips. I hadn't seen that Guide-To-DLR-For-WDW-Veterans thread before, it was really helpful.
Overall, we had an awesome time. Due to some off-site hotel issues the night before, my gf and I slept in later than we were planning to. The parks opened at 8:00 and we ended up getting into Disneyland by 9:30. The longest line that we waited in all day was Indy at around 30 minutes thanks to park hopping and taking advantage of the old Fastpass system. At one point, the Fastpass machine for California Screamin' accidentally spit out 5 passes and the CM told us to just hold onto them. What that meant was back-to-back-to-back rides, which was awesome. Parks were really busy but we hit practically everything we wanted to. Only things we missed that I wanted to go on were IASW Holiday, Mickey's Fun Wheel, and Nemo Subs.
As a WDW fan, I had an amazing time in DLR. I think I personally prefer WDW's ToT and Thunder Mountain. I didn't love Disneyland's Space Mountain as much as I thought I would. The layout of the park can be a pain in the butt. World of Color was alright, but I think I would've liked it better if it weren't Christmas themed, probably because I'm pretty burnt out from Christmas by the time that New Years rolls around. However, their Downtown Disney was amazing. I was finally able to ride Mr. Toad and the Matterhorn. All of the soup in a bread bowl offerings were delicious. Characters everywhere with little-to-no-lines and plenty of live entertainment was refreshing. I lucked out by being there during Haunted Mansion Holiday, which was a great change for the ride. Innoventions was finally worth exploring. Walking between parks was incredibly convenient. Being in the park that started it all was a dream come true.
I still love WDW and can't wait to run through all four parks this weekend, but I had a fantastic time in DLR and can't wait to go back again.
Happy New Year everyone!
Overall, we had an awesome time. Due to some off-site hotel issues the night before, my gf and I slept in later than we were planning to. The parks opened at 8:00 and we ended up getting into Disneyland by 9:30. The longest line that we waited in all day was Indy at around 30 minutes thanks to park hopping and taking advantage of the old Fastpass system. At one point, the Fastpass machine for California Screamin' accidentally spit out 5 passes and the CM told us to just hold onto them. What that meant was back-to-back-to-back rides, which was awesome. Parks were really busy but we hit practically everything we wanted to. Only things we missed that I wanted to go on were IASW Holiday, Mickey's Fun Wheel, and Nemo Subs.
As a WDW fan, I had an amazing time in DLR. I think I personally prefer WDW's ToT and Thunder Mountain. I didn't love Disneyland's Space Mountain as much as I thought I would. The layout of the park can be a pain in the butt. World of Color was alright, but I think I would've liked it better if it weren't Christmas themed, probably because I'm pretty burnt out from Christmas by the time that New Years rolls around. However, their Downtown Disney was amazing. I was finally able to ride Mr. Toad and the Matterhorn. All of the soup in a bread bowl offerings were delicious. Characters everywhere with little-to-no-lines and plenty of live entertainment was refreshing. I lucked out by being there during Haunted Mansion Holiday, which was a great change for the ride. Innoventions was finally worth exploring. Walking between parks was incredibly convenient. Being in the park that started it all was a dream come true.
I still love WDW and can't wait to run through all four parks this weekend, but I had a fantastic time in DLR and can't wait to go back again.
Happy New Year everyone!
Californian Elitist
Well-Known Member
I'm honestly shocked the shortest wait time for you was 30 minutes. Good for you!
SpectroPhoenix
Active Member
Thanks!
30 minutes for Indy when we first got there. Had Fast Passes for Thunder Mountain, California Screamin', Tower of Terror, Space Mountain, and Roger Rabbit. Haunted Mansion Holiday and Mr. Toad were just under 30 minutes. Winnie the Pooh was walk-on. Waited 20 minutes to meet Thor. Pirates and Matterhorn were basically walk-on after the fireworks.
We obviously didn't get to see everything and we skipped the clones, but we also didn't have to wait in many lines.
30 minutes for Indy when we first got there. Had Fast Passes for Thunder Mountain, California Screamin', Tower of Terror, Space Mountain, and Roger Rabbit. Haunted Mansion Holiday and Mr. Toad were just under 30 minutes. Winnie the Pooh was walk-on. Waited 20 minutes to meet Thor. Pirates and Matterhorn were basically walk-on after the fireworks.
We obviously didn't get to see everything and we skipped the clones, but we also didn't have to wait in many lines.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
How nice of you to return and update us on your trip, unlike a certain OP cough @Sebastian Flounder cough.
Thank you for being so thoughtful @Pumpkin Phoenix !
What about Cars Land? Radiator Springs Racers? Did you try Single Rider for that one?
SpectroPhoenix
Active Member
Yes! My girlfriend and I stood in the Single Rider line in the cold at around 9:00 PM. The line went by pretty quickly, but I'm sure the beer helped with that
Incredible detail all around. It didn't feel like a Test Track clone at all despite when I was expecting. I was really impressed with the amount of personality each of the cars had and how fluid everything was. If felt like a whole world in there.
Unfortunately, the ride stalled for about 30 seconds before going into the body shop, and because of that, my car didn't race another one at the end. Of course the part of the ride that I'm looking most forward to doesn't work when it's my turn to race, but my girlfriend, who couldn't care less if she gets to race, gets a second car. Just my luck. I guess that's another thing to look forward to for when I eventually come back.
Incredible detail all around. It didn't feel like a Test Track clone at all despite when I was expecting. I was really impressed with the amount of personality each of the cars had and how fluid everything was. If felt like a whole world in there.
Unfortunately, the ride stalled for about 30 seconds before going into the body shop, and because of that, my car didn't race another one at the end. Of course the part of the ride that I'm looking most forward to doesn't work when it's my turn to race, but my girlfriend, who couldn't care less if she gets to race, gets a second car. Just my luck. I guess that's another thing to look forward to for when I eventually come back.