My husband and I will only have 2 days at DL/DCA, October 10 and 11. What are your thoughts on crowds and do we need a strict touring plan for both days? We have been to DW many times but this is our first time at DL.
Feel free to ask follow up questions!
Is that Columbus Day weekend? Regardless, crowds in October can be surprisingly large due to the fervor over the Halloween season, which has become one of the most popular times of year for locals and visitors alike to spend time at DLR.
That said, it’s nothing like Christmas or New Years or other major holidays, and at least the temperatures are nice. Some days are still relatively empty, especially weekdays in the morning and early afternoon. If it’s a Halloween party day, the parks will likely get busy in the early evening when the ticketed event participants are allowed to enter (plus a lot of them are season pass holders so they can go to both parks and don’t have to wait till the event starts to be let in).
I would have a touring plan ready but keep your fingers crossed that your days won’t be too busy.
I believe in always having a TP, no matter what the expected crowds are. First of all, you have a good starting point for doing things in an efficient manner and you have everything you want to do in a nice list. You also have a benchmark for how things are going - if you are ahead of plan, you know that you can go “off schedule” without too much of an impact. But if things are not going well, you have the option of re-optimizing to take advantage of the latest data to help you get back on track.
Yes, that is Columbus Day weekend. We definitely want to ride SR but when I add it to our TP it puts it at the end of the day. I was thinking we should go there first at rope drop then start with the other rides. Really hoping it is not as busy as I think it will be.
If you go into the wait times graphs in TP for SR, you’ll see a huge spike at opening (75min), then a sharp drop at 9:15 (10min), then hump up to 50 min til 12:00. After that a drop to 30 min at 12:45 and slowly tapering off to 16 min at 10:45. Maybe your TP is correct.
Since SW:GE opened to the public we’ve avoided the rope drop & morning rush to Smuggler’s Run, but we love to go later at night for it once the lines get 30 min or so.
Thank you! I didn’t realize there was a graph. I will look for that. Great info. I appreciate the help. I am feeling lost since we have never been to DL before.
I was thinking we wouldn’t be able to ride at all if we waited until the evening. Thank you for the advice!
If you are worried about extra crowds because October 10 & 11 flows into Columbus Day weekend, I would NOT WORRY. Columbus Day is not a recognized school holiday by California Public Schools. October is my favorite month to visit DLR because of the fall decorations and usually the SoCal heat has lessened. Others are right to mention the increased crowds on MMNSSHalloween events. October 10 & 11 are listed as event evenings. Last year our Thursday in October was fine at DL because there wasn’t a special event but Friday at CAA was crazy starting around later afternoon with costumed attendees that were eventually headed to DL.
Are you checking your TP crowd levels for Oct 10 and 11? The 10th is a 4/10. Not bad at all, but Oogie Boogie Bash. DCA may close at 6. The 11th is a 6/10.Still pretty manageable.