Labor Day Weekend (Saturday and Sunday)

[Disneyfanman]

I have the last minute opportunity to visit Disneyland on Labor Day Weekend. I have searched for crowd projections for Saturday and Sunday, but have come up dry.

Do we have any experts on the boards here? Saturday is the busiest day of the week anyway, and I wouldn't mind that, but I don't want to end up on one of the busiest weekends of the year.

How does it compare, crowds wise, to other holiday times of year?

Thanks.

 

[TP2000]

Saturday will be the least crowded, and should be very pleasant, because 800,000 local Annual Passholders will be blocked out that day. Sunday will be much busier, but not overly crowded.

At Disneyland in the 21st century, you have to throw out any ideas about crowd patterns for Disney parks that you've learned at WDW. Disneyland is mobbed by locals and Annual Passholders, most of whom are blocked out on Saturdays. Thus, Saturdays are the least crowded day of the week during peak periods.

All bets are off if the dragon appears at Fantasmic! on Monday as heavily rumored. That will send Annual Passholder attendance through the roof, especially next Sunday.

 

[Disneyfanman]

Thanks! We are watching the "Murphy" debut possibilities, and may postpone if he drives the crowds. (Although it would be fun to see him since we love Fantasmic).

 

[prberk]

I was there last year, and had a great time. Crowds were moderate all weekend. A great time to go.

One odd thing was that they had a marathon at 6 a.m. that Sunday morning. We stayed at the Paradise Pier hotel, and I was up early and saw the marathon from my window. They turned on all of the DCA rides as the marathoners ran through it. Then turned them off after they passed!

We happened to go the Crystal Cathedral for church that morning, and the speaker had been in the marathon!

Another strange thing was that on Labor Day morning there was a labor union demonstration outside the hotel (which we could hear from the 15th floor!)... just banging trash cans and carrying signs about how unfair Disney was with benefits, pay, etc. The desk told us that it was a demonstration, and that they had no control over it, of course, but it was just for labor day. The picketers didn't get in the way of you walking by, though, just demonstrating on the sidewalks around the hotels.

But the parks themselves were nice.

Paul

 

[TP2000]

The marathon is this weekend. And Murphy debuted tonight and looks great, so he will be here this weekend.

And the hotel maids/dishwashers union still hasn't settled their contract with Disney and they'll bang pots and pans at dawn outside the hotels on Labor Day again this year.