Halloween season crowds

maverik85

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jul 27, 2016
I'm looking at potentially going out to Disney and Knott's during their Halloween events this fall. I'm a little worried how crowded it will be with Galaxy's edge opening, hopefully the initial hype will start to die down by that point though. In recent years how have the crowds been for Halloween season? Is it usually crowded or mid-level crowds?
 
I'm looking at potentially going out to Disney and Knott's during their Halloween events this fall. I'm a little worried how crowded it will be with Galaxy's edge opening, hopefully the initial hype will start to die down by that point though. In recent years how have the crowds been for Halloween season? Is it usually crowded or mid-level crowds?
Halloween time is already extremely busy. With SWGE in the mix this year, expect massive crowds.
 
I’m one who isn’t bothered by big crowds. However Halloween crowds to me were awful! I only went twice between September and October last year. Granted I was busy with other things around town, but since I couldn’t get there early in the day I just didn’t bother going. I would expect high crowds during this time
 
My friend and I only get to go during Halloween time (due to her schedule), and the crowd levels are high. I'm not terribly bothered by them however most people I've went with found it unbearable. We end up banking a lot on the actual Halloween event to cover as much ground (so that'll be interesting to see how we fare this year). With SWGE, we expect it to be about the same, if not worse, so we're going with park hoppers in hope to switch between parks to deal with the crowding.
 


I usually go in August but last year went in October and I couldn't believe how crazy the crowds were. On Saturday it got to the point where we couldn't move in New Orleans hardly at all. DCA wasn't as bad though. That said I did love finally being there during a seasonal time and my birthday. I don't know that I expected that many people though.
 
Halloween is very very busy! But also the decorations are pretty awesome. I doubt there will be any die-down from SWGE. Could be even worse if Rise of the Resistance is open by then. And with the new Flex AP, I don’t think any past crowd predictions will really be useful anymore. Disney is trying to basically even out crowds even more so it will be constantly busy.
 
As pp all have noted, Halloween Time is one of the most popular times of the year at DLR. (Maybe second only to Holiday Time?) And Halloween Time just keeps getting busier every year. This is not a slow season at DLR by any means! SWGE will only add to the excitement and fun (and crowds!).
 


We go every year to Disneyland during Halloween and yes its very crowded and this year will probably be worse, but I don't care. It is the absolute best time to go to Disneyland if you are smart about things and when you need to avoid things, you will be fine. Get an early start at Disneyland in the morning before rope drop and only use fast passes after the mornings and you'll be fine. Maxx pass helps tremendously with the big crowds during Halloween. Also before closing, the lines will die down a lot but Disneyland will post the wait times really high to scare you off. Most of the time its false and you can ride attractions as fast as you can run around and get back in line in the last 30 minutes of the day when they close at 11 or 12pm. We especially love to do this at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

If you go to Knott's Scary Farms on the weekend or on the week days closer to Halloween, you really do need to buy the front of the line pass. Knott's and Knott's Scary Farms are a blast!! This year we hope to do the behind the scenes tour with Micechat at Scary Farms.
 
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We usually go in Oct and I really think the earlier in the month you go the busier it is - at least that is how it feels to us. Our trip this past Oct was 10/27 to 11/02 and it was the best (crowd-wise) in the past few years. Of course SWGE will not help the crowds.
 
Spooky season is something any Disney fan would enjoy. We just happened to have booked 5 day trips on weeks where there were three parties each week which was a bit of a let down for me. It made crowds quite high on mix in days and rarely did we stay at DCA for long after we were moved over there. Also the park hadn’t really adjusted hours yet for the crowds and we had some early closes, but that is the trade off. However on the plus side there are tons of characters out, rides seem to be all up and running, people are in great moods and the entertainment schedule was great! We wouldn’t visit in September again due to early spook crowds but might do an October visit again if it were our only option.
 
We are going for Halloween for the first time. It's been helpful to read all this so we can set realistic expectations.
 
September is better than October crowd wise but SWGE is probably going to throw a wrench in that! We are going the last weekend in September and are hoping it won’t be completely insane.
 
We have gone on Halloween day and the two days after for 3 years in a row, and I don't think we've ever seen a line longer than 15 minutes (outside of RSR which hovered around 45.) Like, not FP lines, regular lines. Early-mid October is terrible b/c of halloween and fall breaks. At some point, everyone is back in school. Halloween day is the very best, because it seems people are hesitant to either 1. buy both park and party tickets or 2. buy a park ticket and get kicked out at 6pm.
 
First, I haven't been to Disneyland in a long time that HASN'T been during October... with that said...

I'm surprised everyone is saying crowds are so horrible during October. I certainly think there are really really high traffic days, but overall I've REALLY enjoyed my October trips the last four years or so. What I've personally noticed is that obviously weekends are rough, but don't get that way until about noon, so if you're staying onsite or close by and get in right away in the morning, it won't be too bad for your first three or four big rides. Tuesday Halloween party days also don't seem bad, this year will be interesting since it's not in Disneyland, but previous years it seemed to be very manageable until about 4pm in the afternoon, then by about 6 or 7pm the Halloween crowds didn't seem too bad, other then the fireworks and parade. Week days didn't seem too bad either.

My trips are usually as close to Halloween as possible, without actually being down there during Halloween, and usually always included a Sunday. This year's plan is Oct 19-24th (24th will be leaving Disneyland at about 4pm to go do Knott's Scary Farm). Last year was 20th to the 24th (20th, Saturday, arrival, not in the park. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday full park days with Halloween party on Tue, Wed was half a day before Knott's Scary Farm). Previous year would be the same kind of pattern.

I think the time of year and the overall feel of the theme parks certainly balances out any extra crowds, as long as you can spend at least a two or three (or more) days there and get to the park early, at open or within an hour of open. The weather is also about the best you're going to get before it moves into Christmas season at the parks. A couple times it broke into the 90s, but usually 78 to 88, which is a little high, but only during the late afternoons.
 
We've been in October twice and I would have to agree with most posters that we found it to be very busy, but I wouldn't say unmanageable, although there were times that walking along Rivers of America area is crazy. I think there are days of the month that are more crowded than others. Our first trip in October coincided with the UEA (Utah Education Association) statewide teacher's convention. One might think what happens in another state wouldn't affect Disneyland traffic patterns, but that is wrong and UEA was nicknamed Utah Escape to Anaheim (or something like that). I believe I read they are no longer doing that break statewide, but I think most districts still take an October break so it's probably harder to figure out when those are, except they might be more spread out now versus one mass exodus to Anaheim. I think Arizona might have some October breaks too?!? So it's best just to plan around the things you know and hope for the best. Use MaxPass, go to the parks in the early morning and get things done before the crowds start rolling in.

If you like fall and/or Halloween, I think you would really enjoy it. It is probably the 2nd most festive time in the parks (after Christmas) with all the decor, more villians are out and about, holiday flavored drinks and spooky treats-each time we've been the weather has been beautiful, warm and sunny (shorts, short sleeve, pants and a sweatshirt in the evening). We love it! We are going for a third time, but September 14-18th this year because of a milestone birthday.
 

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