OMG ... It was seriously packed today!

[Jrog92]

Planning my first trip to Disneyland in January and our plan was Sun, Mon, Tues (Jan 22-24). Is that a bad idea? Should we avoid Mondays and Tuesdays or weekdays in general? Or is it just really bad during spring break? I've heard so many conflicting things! Is there a better date range in January to avoid crazy crowds (granted I realize it will always be busy)?

 

[Snap Crackle Pop]

Planning my first trip to Disneyland in January and our plan was Sun, Mon, Tues (Jan 22-24). Is that a bad idea? Should we avoid Mondays and Tuesdays or weekdays in general? Or is it just really bad during spring break? I've heard so many conflicting things! Is there a better date range in January to avoid crazy crowds (granted I realize it will always be busy)?

Honestly what is busy now might change by January so I really wouldn't take everything as complete truth. No one knows how it's gonna be then especially with some MK expiring... we will see.

 

[Jrog92]

Honestly what is busy now might change by January so I really wouldn't take everything as complete truth. No one knows how it's gonna be then especially with some MK expiring... we will see.

When do Magic Key passes expire? The first of the year? The Magic Key calendar goes all the way out to Aug 2023, so that confused me.

 

[brightlined]

When do Magic Key passes expire? The first of the year? The Magic Key calendar goes all the way out to Aug 2023, so that confused me.

They expire a year after first use.

Btw - I was there those January days this year, and had a really lovely trip. If there was another upside to that timeframe - most of the things that were closed to remove Christmas overlays were reopened by then. (Small World had the last day of its Holiday overlay that Sunday, so it was kind of like getting a teaser of Christmas.)

 

[Jrog92]

They expire a year after first use.

Btw - I was there those January days this year, and had a really lovely trip. If there was another upside to that timeframe - most of the things that were closed to remove Christmas overlays were reopened by then. (Small World had the last day of its Holiday overlay that Sunday, so it was kind of like getting a teaser of Christmas.)

Really?? That's awesome! How were the crowds from the Lunar New Year festival? How were weekdays compared to weekends? We did really want to hit that sweet spot and see the regular haunted mansion, but didn't mind if Small World was still decorated or not.

 

[brightlined]

Really?? That's awesome! How were the crowds from the Lunar New Year festival? How were weekdays compared to weekends? We did really want to hit that sweet spot and see the regular haunted mansion, but didn't mind if Small World was still decorated or not.

I didn't think they were so bad. I think the Lunar New Year stuff is slightly more under-the-radar compared to Food & Wine - I've seen some packed parks during Food & Wine.

One popular trick with the festivals to save time is to scout the booths and figure out what you want to buy for the day, then buy it all at the first kiosk you go to (ie, the one with the shortest line, even if you don't want something from that particular booth) - all of the booths can sell anything from any of the booths. Then, you just keep your receipt and head to the appropriate pickup window when you're ready for that item. (The purchase lines can sometimes get long, and that'll help you skip them.)

I arrived on Sunday afternoon, and the crowds didn't seem so bad. Historically, at least for me, with January and February, I've usually found Fridays and Saturdays to be busier than Sundays - by late in the day on Sunday, it's sometimes felt like I had the parks to myself. The weekdays felt pretty okay, too - I think that's a time period that people aren't, for example, pulling their kids out of school to go to the parks. I did Sunday afternoon through Wednesday night, which I really liked.

It's hard to predict how it'll be year-to-year, especially since things have gotten so weird this summer. And even this year - BadTinkPink was there the week after I was there, and maybe had a little bit less luck than I did, but still had a great trip. Her trip report might give you a broader picture of that timeframe. (I almost went that week, but moved it back a week for a D23 thing, and I think it gently worked in my favor.)

 

[Jrog92]

I didn't think they were so bad. I think the Lunar New Year stuff is slightly more under-the-radar compared to Food & Wine - I've seen some packed parks during Food & Wine.

One popular trick with the festivals to save time is to scout the booths and figure out what you want to buy for the day, then buy it all at the first kiosk you go to (ie, the one with the shortest line, even if you don't want something from that particular booth) - all of the booths can sell anything from any of the booths. Then, you just keep your receipt and head to the appropriate pickup window when you're ready for that item. (The purchase lines can sometimes get long, and that'll help you skip them.)

I arrived on Sunday afternoon, and the crowds didn't seem so bad. Historically, at least for me, with January and February, I've usually found Fridays and Saturdays to be busier than Sundays - by late in the day on Sunday, it's sometimes felt like I had the parks to myself. The weekdays felt pretty okay, too - I think that's a time period that people aren't, for example, pulling their kids out of school to go to the parks. I did Sunday afternoon through Wednesday night, which I really liked.

It's hard to predict how it'll be year-to-year, especially since things have gotten so weird this summer. And even this year - BadTinkPink was there the week after I was there, and maybe had a little bit less luck than I did, but still had a great trip. Her trip report might give you a broader picture of that timeframe. (I almost went that week, but moved it back a week for a D23 thing, and I think it gently worked in my favor.)

So she had a bit of a busier time at the park it looks like, but still had a good time? I wonder how it changes so much from week to week and day to day!