What Time of Year is Best to Visit Disneyland?

There is so much I could blog about regarding Disneyland. It is my favorite place. But each time I try to write a post for you all, I feel like I have writer’s block. It is hard to decide which subject to talk about. There are so many! Today though, I think I will try and talk about the best time to visit the parks. In today’s post-What Time of Year is Best to Visit Disneyland?

What Time of Year is Best to Visit Disneyland?

It is a bit tricky to answer. It changes all the time. Year to year. It seems like anymore the parks are just busy all the time. I would like to give some tips and information to help you make a decision.

Avoid Holidays if Possible

The first thing I would like to mention is the holidays. Schools are out and the parks can be extremely packed during the holidays and school breaks. Even the days leading up to and just after the holidays can be busy too. For example, The entire week of Thanksgiving can be really crowded. This includes the weekend that follows Thanksgiving day. A lot of people will extend their trips through the weekend if the holidays land on Fridays or Mondays as well. Who doesn’t want a 4 day weekend? Let alone a 4 day weekend at Disneyland. Am I right?

I personally would avoid the time around Christmas and through New Years at all costs. Unless you do not mind crowds, then this would be a great time for you. However, I am guessing the majority of readers would prefer to avoid the masses. This time of year is EXTREMELY busy. If you are wanting to experience the holiday season at the parks, I would recommend going in early-ish November to mid-November. The Disney parks kick off their holiday season sometime in mid-November (it varies a little bit each year). It may or may not be busy, but, it would be a lot less in comparison to the actual holiday times.

Slower Times

Disneyland has slower times during the year. Mid-January to mid-March generally is a slower time. There are a couple of exceptions to this. The first is if it is an anniversary year. Which Disney tends to celebrate for an extended time. (18 months) The second is Presidents day weekend.

Pros and Cons of Slow Times

Slow times can be the best time to visit Disneyland. However, there are some pros and cons to visiting the parks during a slow time. The pros during the slow seasons are that there are fewer people and shorter wait times. The cons are that there is a good chance some rides will be down for refurbishment. Also, they may not have the fireworks or other nighttime shows running nightly. (weekends only) Disney tries to let you know up to 6 weeks prior to your trip on their website. Check out the schedule here. Even though there are these downsides, sometimes that is better than the alternative of tons of people. If you are like me with crowds, the slow times would be more ideal.

Mid-July?

I have been hearing from some of the locals the last couple of summers that mid-July has actually been pretty pleasant crowd wise. Since Disney implemented its daily rate prices. (Which means the day pass is higher in price on busier days) It has been detouring a lot of locals that have blocked out dates on their Annual Passes. I want to let you know, however, I haven’t seen this for myself yet to see if it is truly a slower time. But the weekly Vloggers I watch have shown it and it looked a whole lot better than our last trip during a February when they were celebrating the 60th anniversary. Therefore this could be one of the best times to visit Disneyland.

In Conclusion

Whatever time of year you visit the parks, ( I know that some can’t avoid the school breaks if you have school-age kids) just keep in mind that there will be lots of people and possible long waits for attractions. If you go with that in mind and have a positive mindset then you will be prepared to handle whatever lies ahead and have a wonderful time at the park. Because no matter what happens, you are on vacation at the happiest place on earth with your loved ones. What could be better than that?

Questions or Comments?

If you have any questions or comments on today’s post, please feel free to leave them below. I would love to help!

Thanks for stopping by Life in Mouse Years!