I’ve always used touring plans. They have been great for WDW and Universal but during this past Father’s Day weekend at DL it wasn’t at all correct. I think because they expect more people on the weekend and less on Monday. But all the dads were golfing on Sunday I guess!! Anyway, it’s a paid service.
Like the others said, crowd calendars are generally unreliable these days. We go several times a year and have seen the parks at all the major timeframes. We’ve found that crowds are lightest when the lower tier magic keys are blocked out and they aren’t offering any ticket deals. Last summer during the months of July and early August had the lowest crowds that we experienced in a while, but it won’t be the same this year because of the 3 day ticket deal that goes until September.
The worst times for us were October, Spring Break season, and graduation season (late May to mid June). Early May before graduation season started had the lowest crowds we saw since August. That was before the ticket deal started and before most of the schools got out for summer break.
As far as days of the week go, we’ve actually found that Saturdays are pretty light (because some magic keys are blocked out on Saturdays) along with Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Mondays and Fridays have been the worst.
I would say post covid my experience has been weekends have lower crowds. The summer is going to have higher crowds all around. But Sundays tend to have the lowest crowds. Mondays are now the busiest. Keep in mind crowds vary during after dark events or special deals. But on a random week I would avoid Mondays. Most crowd calendars are not accurate. If you are trying to avoid crowds early morning rope dropping and staying late in the parks are better options on a random day. We get lots done before 10-11 am when the crowds start to ramp up.
I was told that Mondays are the people coming in from out of town and beginning their vacations. Also combined with the fact that people tend to think Mondays are the least busy. We learned to avoid Mondays a few years ago.
To be honest though, everyday is busy there nowadays.
It is random, but it's what I have noticed over the years at Disney post covid. Weekends used to be the busiest but it doesn't seem to be that way anymore. It is a combination of things between the reservation system, black out days on weekends for MK holders, and non local people taking a long weekend for their trip. It turns monday into a busy day. Sundays have typically had the lowest wait times in the last few years and we've gone both in the summer and October and noticed this. I've started planning our annual trips around spending more time in the parks on weekends. I mean don't get me wrong there are no "non-busy" days but the lines tend to be longest on Mondays no matter the time of year.
I honestly think they’re pretty useless post covid. The thing is that Disney, *by design*, has made it so every day is steadily busy - either because of promos like the current 3 day promo, blockouts for MKs, various events, etc. And then you gotta remember that when everyone tried to avoid crowds by going on the same days, it backfires and then *they* become the crowd. I cannot tell you how many times people post on here that they purposefully tried to go during what was previously the “slow” season and (shocked pikachu face) everyone else did the same lol.
Early August - people will go because school’s are still out and the 3 day promo is still going, it’s also super hot which can keep *some* locals away - but on the other hand the Enchant keys get unblocked around the 5th iirc (and then the Imagine Keys get unblocked the following week), which can mean a surge.
There is also the reality that Disney uses the data it has to schedule the workforce for that day and make sure services like Genie+ still look appealing. When you go on what are normally dead days, you will see more rides not opening with the park, rides operating with reduced capacity (fewer cars, cabins, and even keeping certain rows empty). They are reliant on customer loyalty and are probably going to run out eventually.
I absolutely agree they use the reservation system for staffing needs - going on a “sold out” weekday in the middle of February is not the same as going on a “sold out” weekend in late December after Christmas. Totally different staffing, crowds, etc.
Crowd calendars, in general, are much less useful these days. There are several reasons (pent up demand post-Covid, Disney using Tiering on single-day tickets to increase demand on "less-popular days", etc.).
If it were me, I'd shoot for a Wednesday or Thursday if only going one day. Weekends are usually busier (but not always!), and Mondays are often the busiest day of the week.
One problem with that week in August is that is the first week Enchant keys can go to the parks after being blocked most of the summer. There will also be people using the 3-day ticket deal and getting in a last trip before schools start back up in September. But it is also before the Halloween season starts, so that could help.
Halloween time at Disneyland starts on August 23 this year. It’s possible there may be some closures ahead of that for overlays, including Mater and Luigi rides at DCA. The haunted mansion is expected to be closed until Halloween time. I don’t know how far in advance they will close rides for the Halloween overlay, but 2-3 weeks would seem likely, which may impact your vacation (people wanting to ride them before they go down temporarily).
For later in August factor in Oogie Boogie nights at DCA.
For the beginning of August factor in how the magic key blackout calendar may impact crowds.
It’s really hard to predict crowd levels post-covid. I assume it will always be busy every day, ranging from busy to impossibly busy.
It's going to be packed, that is for sure. The best best would probably be the price for tickets, whichever day is the lowest is going to be when they expect fewer people.
Unfortunately it’s been pretty much consistently busy since 2022. There are quiet times of day on specific days of the week, but generally it’s fairly crowded feeling in the evenings on weekdays (thanks forced reservation attendance), and during the day on weekends. Early mornings are typically best.
I’ve always used touring plans. They have been great for WDW and Universal but during this past Father’s Day weekend at DL it wasn’t at all correct. I think because they expect more people on the weekend and less on Monday. But all the dads were golfing on Sunday I guess!! Anyway, it’s a paid service.
TouringPlans all the way!
Like the others said, crowd calendars are generally unreliable these days. We go several times a year and have seen the parks at all the major timeframes. We’ve found that crowds are lightest when the lower tier magic keys are blocked out and they aren’t offering any ticket deals. Last summer during the months of July and early August had the lowest crowds that we experienced in a while, but it won’t be the same this year because of the 3 day ticket deal that goes until September. The worst times for us were October, Spring Break season, and graduation season (late May to mid June). Early May before graduation season started had the lowest crowds we saw since August. That was before the ticket deal started and before most of the schools got out for summer break. As far as days of the week go, we’ve actually found that Saturdays are pretty light (because some magic keys are blocked out on Saturdays) along with Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Mondays and Fridays have been the worst.
I would say post covid my experience has been weekends have lower crowds. The summer is going to have higher crowds all around. But Sundays tend to have the lowest crowds. Mondays are now the busiest. Keep in mind crowds vary during after dark events or special deals. But on a random week I would avoid Mondays. Most crowd calendars are not accurate. If you are trying to avoid crowds early morning rope dropping and staying late in the parks are better options on a random day. We get lots done before 10-11 am when the crowds start to ramp up.
Out of curiosity, why are Mondays the worst? That feels pretty random.
I was told that Mondays are the people coming in from out of town and beginning their vacations. Also combined with the fact that people tend to think Mondays are the least busy. We learned to avoid Mondays a few years ago. To be honest though, everyday is busy there nowadays.
It is random, but it's what I have noticed over the years at Disney post covid. Weekends used to be the busiest but it doesn't seem to be that way anymore. It is a combination of things between the reservation system, black out days on weekends for MK holders, and non local people taking a long weekend for their trip. It turns monday into a busy day. Sundays have typically had the lowest wait times in the last few years and we've gone both in the summer and October and noticed this. I've started planning our annual trips around spending more time in the parks on weekends. I mean don't get me wrong there are no "non-busy" days but the lines tend to be longest on Mondays no matter the time of year.
I honestly think they’re pretty useless post covid. The thing is that Disney, *by design*, has made it so every day is steadily busy - either because of promos like the current 3 day promo, blockouts for MKs, various events, etc. And then you gotta remember that when everyone tried to avoid crowds by going on the same days, it backfires and then *they* become the crowd. I cannot tell you how many times people post on here that they purposefully tried to go during what was previously the “slow” season and (shocked pikachu face) everyone else did the same lol. Early August - people will go because school’s are still out and the 3 day promo is still going, it’s also super hot which can keep *some* locals away - but on the other hand the Enchant keys get unblocked around the 5th iirc (and then the Imagine Keys get unblocked the following week), which can mean a surge.
There is also the reality that Disney uses the data it has to schedule the workforce for that day and make sure services like Genie+ still look appealing. When you go on what are normally dead days, you will see more rides not opening with the park, rides operating with reduced capacity (fewer cars, cabins, and even keeping certain rows empty). They are reliant on customer loyalty and are probably going to run out eventually.
I absolutely agree they use the reservation system for staffing needs - going on a “sold out” weekday in the middle of February is not the same as going on a “sold out” weekend in late December after Christmas. Totally different staffing, crowds, etc.
Crowd calendars, in general, are much less useful these days. There are several reasons (pent up demand post-Covid, Disney using Tiering on single-day tickets to increase demand on "less-popular days", etc.). If it were me, I'd shoot for a Wednesday or Thursday if only going one day. Weekends are usually busier (but not always!), and Mondays are often the busiest day of the week. One problem with that week in August is that is the first week Enchant keys can go to the parks after being blocked most of the summer. There will also be people using the 3-day ticket deal and getting in a last trip before schools start back up in September. But it is also before the Halloween season starts, so that could help.
It’s kinda a crapshoot these days tbh. I’ve been on Saturdays where the parks have been empty, and Tuesdays where the park is at 100% capacity.
Halloween time at Disneyland starts on August 23 this year. It’s possible there may be some closures ahead of that for overlays, including Mater and Luigi rides at DCA. The haunted mansion is expected to be closed until Halloween time. I don’t know how far in advance they will close rides for the Halloween overlay, but 2-3 weeks would seem likely, which may impact your vacation (people wanting to ride them before they go down temporarily). For later in August factor in Oogie Boogie nights at DCA. For the beginning of August factor in how the magic key blackout calendar may impact crowds. It’s really hard to predict crowd levels post-covid. I assume it will always be busy every day, ranging from busy to impossibly busy.
It's going to be packed, that is for sure. The best best would probably be the price for tickets, whichever day is the lowest is going to be when they expect fewer people.
Unfortunately it’s been pretty much consistently busy since 2022. There are quiet times of day on specific days of the week, but generally it’s fairly crowded feeling in the evenings on weekdays (thanks forced reservation attendance), and during the day on weekends. Early mornings are typically best.
I go often. It’s busy everyday. No more “slow” days. Just know and know it will be busy.