Summer Saturdays = Lowest Wait Times Of The Year

[TP2000]

It's July and a Saturday, so you would think Disneyland would be packed, right? Wrong. While we did get a heat wave this weekend, and the temp in Anaheim is currently 89 degrees, that climate is nothing compared to Orlando or Tokyo or Hong Kong in the summer and the Anaheim parks are absolutely dead today. You can thank a Triple Annual Passholder Blockout for that.

Here are wait times in early evening, after folks have started coming back from their hotel pool. Wait times were even lower when I was running errands this afternoon and looked at the App, but this is what the waits are like at 6:00pm on Saturday...

Splash Mountain & Grizzly River Run - 45 Minutes (It's hot!)
Guardians of the Galaxy - 40 Minutes
Radiator Springs Racers & Midway Mania - 30 Minutes
Star Tours & Indiana Jones - 25 Minutes
Submarines & Soarin' - 20 Minutes
Peter Pan's Flight - 20 Minutes
Pirates & Jungle Cruise - 15 Minutes
Big Thunder Mountain - 10 Minutes
Haunted Mansion - 5 Minutes
Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters - 5 Minutes
Autopia - 5 Minutes

Pretty much the rest of both parks is listed as a 5 Minute wait, from Goofy's Sky School to Monsters Inc. to Little Mermaid to Mr. Toad to StorybookLand Canal Boats to Winnie The Pooh to, well, everything else.

Those who aim their Disneyland visits for the most Annual Passholder blockouts available are very smart people. A Saturday in July has some of the lowest wait times of the entire year, not seen since the weekdays with heavy rains of this past January.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

What the heck am I doing here naked listening to Bjork at full volume so I can hear it over the sound of the air conditioner?

 

[TP2000]

What the heck am I doing here naked listening to Bjork at full volume so I can hear it over the sound of the air conditioner?

A question that will likely remain unanswered. Hopefully.

 

[JD2000]

is "the more blackouts = the lesser the crowd" very consistent though?

 

[Kiwiduck]

A question that will likely remain unanswered. Hopefully.

Your information about wait times has sold me on a summer time trip next time I come to Disneyland rather than my normal late Nov/early Dec. Bonus points for taking a break from the NZ winter. I had always thought it was crazy busy all of the US summer because of school holidays but you have convinced me otherwise!

 

[TP2000]

is "the more blackouts = the lesser the crowd" very consistent though?

The two weeks around Christmas is the anomaly to that.

Otherwise, it's pretty solid, and it seems to be getting more consistent every year.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

Sundays aren't bad either.

 

[Curious Constance]

It's July and a Saturday, so you would think Disneyland would be packed, right? Wrong. While we did get a heat wave this weekend, and the temp in Anaheim is currently 89 degrees, that climate is nothing compared to Orlando or Tokyo or Hong Kong in the summer and the Anaheim parks are absolutely dead today. You can thank a Triple Annual Passholder Blockout for that.

Here are wait times in early evening, after folks have started coming back from their hotel pool. Wait times were even lower when I was running errands this afternoon and looked at the App, but this is what the waits are like at 6:00pm on Saturday...

Splash Mountain & Grizzly River Run - 45 Minutes (It's hot!)
Guardians of the Galaxy - 40 Minutes
Radiator Springs Racers & Midway Mania - 30 Minutes
Star Tours & Indiana Jones - 25 Minutes
Submarines & Soarin' - 20 Minutes
Peter Pan's Flight - 20 Minutes
Pirates & Jungle Cruise - 15 Minutes
Big Thunder Mountain - 10 Minutes
Haunted Mansion - 5 Minutes
Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters - 5 Minutes
Autopia - 5 Minutes

Pretty much the rest of both parks is listed as a 5 Minute wait, from Goofy's Sky School to Monsters Inc. to Little Mermaid to Mr. Toad to StorybookLand Canal Boats to Winnie The Pooh to, well, everything else.

Those who aim their Disneyland visits for the most Annual Passholder blockouts available are very smart people. A Saturday in July has some of the lowest wait times of the entire year, not seen since the weekdays with heavy rains of this past January.

If only the triple blocked APs were for more than just one day in a row!!! I want a whole week of it.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

I'm down.

 

[Macro]

If only the triple blocked APs were for more than just one day in a row!!! I want a whole week of it.

You can get two days in a row. Triple blocked Saturdays are the best but double blocked Sundays are usually very nice. That's the way I've done it for years. I stay until closing and the place pretty much clears out after 10:00 PM. Sunday nights from 10 to Midnight are pretty empty The place gets a bit creepy when there's hardly anyone there. It actually adds to the haunted mansion when you're in the stretching room with only four other people. Plus you can ride thunder mountain seven or eight times in an hour if you're interested.

 

[cheezbat]

That's good news for me...I might get a chance while on business to hit up the park on either a Saturday or Sunday in a week or two...

 

[TP2000]

That's good news for me...I might get a chance while on business to hit up the park on either a Saturday or Sunday in a week or two...

Congratulations. On July 14th the Orange County Fair begins down the freeway in Costa Mesa and runs through mid August, which is a HUGE draw for locals and saps Disneyland local attendance even further.

Last year the OC Fair drew 1.35 Million visitors, which is 1.35 Million people who aren't at Disneyland. Even the local Nuns stay away from Disneyland in mid-summer and go to the County Fair instead.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

Looks like it will be brutal tomorrow. I better make sure to wear jeans, boots and a black t-shirt.

 

[mickEblu]

It's July and a Saturday, so you would think Disneyland would be packed, right? Wrong. While we did get a heat wave this weekend, and the temp in Anaheim is currently 89 degrees, that climate is nothing compared to Orlando or Tokyo or Hong Kong in the summer and the Anaheim parks are absolutely dead today. You can thank a Triple Annual Passholder Blockout for that.

Here are wait times in early evening, after folks have started coming back from their hotel pool. Wait times were even lower when I was running errands this afternoon and looked at the App, but this is what the waits are like at 6:00pm on Saturday...

Splash Mountain & Grizzly River Run - 45 Minutes (It's hot!)
Guardians of the Galaxy - 40 Minutes
Radiator Springs Racers & Midway Mania - 30 Minutes
Star Tours & Indiana Jones - 25 Minutes
Submarines & Soarin' - 20 Minutes
Peter Pan's Flight - 20 Minutes
Pirates & Jungle Cruise - 15 Minutes
Big Thunder Mountain - 10 Minutes
Haunted Mansion - 5 Minutes
Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters - 5 Minutes
Autopia - 5 Minutes

Pretty much the rest of both parks is listed as a 5 Minute wait, from Goofy's Sky School to Monsters Inc. to Little Mermaid to Mr. Toad to StorybookLand Canal Boats to Winnie The Pooh to, well, everything else.

Those who aim their Disneyland visits for the most Annual Passholder blockouts available are very smart people. A Saturday in July has some of the lowest wait times of the entire year, not seen since the weekdays with heavy rains of this past January.

I wonder if they will start adjusting the AP summer blackouts? I know they blocked out most APs to adjust for the summer tourists/ crowds but it seems that they have over done it. I doubt their intention is for a Saturday in July to be more empty than a random "off season" Saturday. Unless of course the strategy is to make the park as desirable as possible for tourists ( esp considering the heat) so that they book repeat visits. With that said something tells me that this result of the AP summer blackouts isn't really the "money spot" they are targeting. So they either need more summer tourists / day guests or they will probably start slowly unblocking the APs.

It would suck If I upgrade to a Signature AP and the AP blackout dates are lowered next summer for the lower tiers.

 

[nevol]

It's July and a Saturday, so you would think Disneyland would be packed, right? Wrong. While we did get a heat wave this weekend, and the temp in Anaheim is currently 89 degrees, that climate is nothing compared to Orlando or Tokyo or Hong Kong in the summer and the Anaheim parks are absolutely dead today. You can thank a Triple Annual Passholder Blockout for that.

Here are wait times in early evening, after folks have started coming back from their hotel pool. Wait times were even lower when I was running errands this afternoon and looked at the App, but this is what the waits are like at 6:00pm on Saturday...

Splash Mountain & Grizzly River Run - 45 Minutes (It's hot!)
Guardians of the Galaxy - 40 Minutes
Radiator Springs Racers & Midway Mania - 30 Minutes
Star Tours & Indiana Jones - 25 Minutes
Submarines & Soarin' - 20 Minutes
Peter Pan's Flight - 20 Minutes
Pirates & Jungle Cruise - 15 Minutes
Big Thunder Mountain - 10 Minutes
Haunted Mansion - 5 Minutes
Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters - 5 Minutes
Autopia - 5 Minutes

Pretty much the rest of both parks is listed as a 5 Minute wait, from Goofy's Sky School to Monsters Inc. to Little Mermaid to Mr. Toad to StorybookLand Canal Boats to Winnie The Pooh to, well, everything else.

Those who aim their Disneyland visits for the most Annual Passholder blockouts available are very smart people. A Saturday in July has some of the lowest wait times of the entire year, not seen since the weekdays with heavy rains of this past January.

I ONLY visit on saturdays. I went during "spring break" April 21stish? And the line for mansion was 15-25 minutes. The fountain/park area that is usually overflow queue was open to guests and we sat on the ground in the shade underneath the fountain for a while. Lines weren't as short as the ones you are sharing but still pleasant. I was actually concerned about a sunday visit coming up because it is the only day I can go with my friends from out of town, but I checked the App today and wait times are incredibly short today as well. One less passholder bracket blocked out, but still no so-cal.

 

[nevol]

Your information about wait times has sold me on a summer time trip next time I come to Disneyland rather than my normal late Nov/early Dec. Bonus points for taking a break from the NZ winter. I had always thought it was crazy busy all of the US summer because of school holidays but you have convinced me otherwise!

Oh man, you gotta! My friends and I did a late november trip during the holidays/60th/season of the force and that was intense.

 

[TP2000]

I ONLY visit on saturdays. I went during "spring break" April 21stish? And the line for mansion was 15-25 minutes. The fountain/park area that is usually overflow queue was open to guests and we sat on the ground in the shade underneath the fountain for a while. Lines weren't as short as the ones you are sharing but still pleasant. I was actually concerned about a sunday visit coming up because it is the only day I can go with my friends from out of town, but I checked the App today and wait times are incredibly short today as well. One less passholder bracket blocked out, but still no so-cal.

Go on a weekend during the Orange County Fair and I bet wait times will be manageable and the parks will be pleasant.

There's also an element here that this is the weekend before Fantasmic! starts, which will likely be frenzied around New Orleans Square/Frontierland in the evening when that begins, regardless of daily crowds.

Still, the lowest crowd levels are when the most Annual Passholders are blocked out. It helps that summer in SoCal is chock full of other entertainment offerings for locals to dig into; the beach and endless beach town festivals, the Orange County Fair in July/August and the Los Angeles County Fair in August/September, and all the various summer activities a giant mega-city of 20 Million people can offer its residents.

Disneyland in summer is mainly for tourists, and tourists often arrive on Monday/Tuesday and go to Disneyland first before spreading out to the other SoCal tourist stuff later in the week and over the weekend.

 

[NobodyElse]

which is a HUGE draw for locals and saps

I almost stopped reading right there. ;-)

 

[TP2000]

I almost stopped reading right there. ;-)

There's more to that sentence.

I actually go to the Orange County Fair every two or three years. As far as County Fairs go, it's a big one, but is done tastefully and is a lot of fun. The fairgrounds are nicely developed and modern, there's plenty of parking (on weekdays), and they manage it very well. It's an generally upscale family OC crowd that goes.

And yet there's lots of animal displays with adorable teenagers in 4H vests proudly showing off their prized cow/goat/horse/pig/etc., local farming and horticulture exhibits, and some neat local artisans displaying their wares. Plus rides and concerts and marching bands and deep-fried Twinkies and all the usual County Fair excitement.

One of my Fair favorites is the competition where local OC ladies create Dinner Party Table Settings, and get judged on artistic presentation, theme, functionality, etc. It's hysterical to walk through and inspect! And the ladies who create them are seriously proud!

But seriously, it's no wonder the OC Fair gives Disneyland a run for its money with the locals. It's a really nice summer offering for Orange County.

 

[NobodyElse]

There's more to that sentence.

I actually go to the Orange County Fair every two or three years. As far as County Fairs go, it's a big one, but is done tastefully and is a lot of fun. The fairgrounds are nicely developed and modern, there's plenty of parking (on weekdays), and they manage it very well. It's an generally upscale family OC crowd that goes.

And yet there's lots of animal displays with adorable teenagers in 4H vests proudly showing off their prized cow/goat/horse/pig/etc., local farming and horticulture exhibits, and some neat local artisans displaying their wares. Plus rides and concerts and marching bands and deep-fried Twinkies and all the usual County Fair excitement.

One of my Fair favorites is the competition where local OC ladies create Dinner Party Table Settings, and get judged on artistic presentation, theme, functionality, etc. It's hysterical to walk through and inspect! And the ladies who create them are seriously proud!

But seriously, it's no wonder the OC Fair gives Disneyland a run for its money with the locals. It's a really nice summer offering for Orange County.

Yeah, I know. I try to go every year, but it doesn't always work out. The permanent structures that house the above mentioned Table settings (and decorated cakes) as well as the art and photography displays are a great way to get out of the heat. The little wine tasting area is cool as well.

If there's an act worth seeing at the Pacific Amp, it's nice that they lump in fair admission for the day, but I've also gone to see friends playing in "The Hangar".

We'll see if I make it down there this year...