Hi,
We’re planning a quick trip late July/Early August. Crowds are predicted to be a 7 or 8 on the Tues - Thurs when we’re going. But the prior Sat/Sun are actually a 6. We have flexibility, but should I plan specific days to go around the crowd calendar or am I safe to just pick whatever day is best for our schedule?
Thanks!
I’d always pick weekdays over a weekend.
We go to Disneyland multiple times a year, including summer. The lowest crowd day of the week is always Saturday in summer, thanks to the AP blockouts of 3 levels of passes. DL is very much a locals park, and the best time to go (for lower crowds) is when most of them are blocked, so Saturday is perfect. This summer we are going in July, for a Thursday- Sunday. This strategy has not proven me wrong yet.
Weekdays used to be a very good time to go. Until DL changed up its operating & ticket models & runs the park differently during less than “peak” periods (aka most weekdays). Now it really does work better to go when more passes are blocked & to avoid any periods whatsoever that are right before or right after any extended blockout time.
Aside from that though, I think going with your schedule is ultimately the best plan as the difference between 6-8 isn’t all that major.
Thanks for the replies, much appreciated! Sounds like I will stick with our original plan of Tues to Thurs because ultimately it may not make a huge difference in crowds.
Due to our kid’s schedule and nap time we’re constricted in terms of when we can go to the park. Likely arriving at the park at 11 and leaving by 6. Not ideal, but happy to make sacrifices in terms of rides. Its still totally worth it to me!! I’ve to WDW many times as a kid but this will be my first time at DLR. Any recommendations as to how best to schedule our time to hit up the major attractions? We will have Maxpass and will be utilizing child swap. According to the plan I made, apparently we can hit up the majority of attractions even with a relaxed walking pace. I’m skeptical! Any advice??
11-6 is very restrictive hours & also the most crowded time in the parks. I’m skeptical that you’ll be able to do it all in 3 days with those hours, but it really does depend on what types of attractions you are going for. MaxPass will definitely be a huge help though! We go frequently with our kids & so I know about working around naptimes but even so, we really have found that with littles, hitting the parks early in the day allows us to get so much more done & then go back for a naptime in the middle of the day to miss some of those bigger crowds (as well as the peak of the heat), then come back in the evening refreshed for another couple of hours. When they were younger, they could barely make it to FWs but now that they are older & don’t typically nap at home, if we can get them to nap at the hotel during the middle of the day, they can make it to park close running onto as many rides as we can before the park officially closes.
But I do understand that if you can’t make the schedule work, then anytime in DL is better than none at all. Just letting you know what we’ve done that’s worked very well for us.
Thanks for that context! Maybe we can instead go earlier (rope drop) and break in the middle of the day. I think this would be more efficient in terms of crowds.
When I entered all my rides into a plan, and selected the day we’re going, the wait times seemed very short (i.e. 15 mins for Snow White, 20 min for Pirates, 6 mins for Small World, etc). Does the plan automatically optimize wait times for the selected day, or am I missing something?
Also, anything you think I should be prepared for with an 11-month old at the parks?
Thanks for sticking with me and providing such detailed answers!
I hope you do! It’s so much easier to get to the parks early before the majority of crowds- rope drop can still get busy & be crowded but once the parks (& queues) open that crowd scatters into rides & a lot of things are very easily accomplished with little to no wait (excepting some more popular ones like Racers, Peter Pan, sometimes Space, Indy, Guardians).
This seems reasonable enough. The queue has a few entertaining (potentially scary) things right at first (for a fun effect have your kids hit the apple on the potion book right before going into the building!) and then looks out onto Fantasyland from a large opening so I don’t mind waiting too much (but I should say that because of the short length of the ride, 15 min is about the limit I would wait for it, personally).
Pirates just had a new scene added & apparently will be getting a FastPass soon both of things will inflate standby wait times so you’re right to question this. Small world also has had a FastPass recently added so that will inflate the standby wait time there as well. But it’s usually a FP that’s available for an immediate return & sometimes isn’t always necessary. The last time we used it those in standby had about the same amount of wait (maybe 2-5 min. more) than those in FP because the ride loads pretty efficiently.
Sorry, I forgot to answer this one! Make sure to keep the baby fed (I know, a given, right? But time moves at a different pace & so sometimes I haven’t realized how long it’s been since my kids last had a snack or meal & they get cranky instantly- so having snacks is my #1 lifesaver with kids). Staying hydrated & protected from the sun is important too so make sure you have things for that!
Also know that the parks each have a baby care center- at the end of Main Street in between the PhotoShop & First Aid (before the Plaza Inn) on the Disneyland side & then between Ghiradelli’s and Carsland in DCA. They have ample changing tables, feeding stations for babies eating solids (and a microwave to warm up their food), nursing stations for moms who want a more private quiet (and air-conditioned) place to nurse, and also a little potty for kids under 42" to use with a little sink to wash their hands. In DCA there’s also a companion restroom inside the childcare center so you can both go, but in DL there is just the little potty. Also both baby care centers sell diapers, baby food & I think even formula but take cash only. I don’t believe they sell any Tylenol/Ibuprofen but I believe some is available for purchase at the PhotoShop next door (I think it was kid’s ibuprofen…it might have been adult’s…). We have used them many a time especially when my kids were newly potty training for the little potty and to change diapers since most bathrooms, especially in the Disneyland side) only have 1 or 2 changing tables & there’s always a line in the middle of the day to use them.
Let me know if you have any other questions about kids in the parks! The first time we took our kids they were 23 & 3 months old each. Now they are 6(almost 7) & 5 and we have added another one who we took for the first time to the parks a year ago when he was 2 months old. So we have definitely been there, done that!!!
Do they have children’s Tylenol and/or ibuprofen at the med stations? Just curious. I have read that they do at WDW, not sure if they do at DLR,in all the years we have gone, we have never had to to go there (knock on wood).
So when we asked where we could get some in DL, CMs only said the PhotoShop so I don’t know… I am sure they must… And actually same as you, in all the times at DLR we’ve never had to go to the med station or get any assistance (except for when we asked where we could get some baby Ibuprofen & got it at the PhotoShop b/c the one time we came without baby Ibuprofen, my DD had just had her shots the day before we came so she was achcy & low-grade feverish). But the one time we’ve been to WDW she got sick our last day & later in the afternoon had a super high fever (we also had her in a giant fluffy princess dress because that morning we had CRT & that night was BOG). So before dinner when her fever got its highest, we were in a shop buying her a lighter outfit & she was so unwell & we were stressed trying to figure out what to buy her that 3-4 CMs all descended down to help, bringing her water to cool down (and cleaning it up after DS spilled it), gave us a free loose-flowing Ariel nightie for her & a plush Pluto to make her feel more comforted. Kept asking us what else we needed & I just couldn’t believe how attentive, responsive & magical they made that stressful moment. I’m pretty sure we had our own Tylenol for her, but they did mention and several times that they could get her medical help with 1 call if we wanted to. We did still do dinner with her in our laps, but after that we left MK early & ever since then have been wanting to go back to finish off the things we left un-done because she was sick (DH had also been sick the 2 days before).
Glad (sort of) that we are out of that stage.
Yes, you can get children’s liquid ibuprofen at the Emporium in DL. They keep it behind the counter, so you just need to ask. They also sell it at the gift shops in the DL hotels. Again, just ask. (Ask me how I know. 
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I (sometimes) wish I were too & then try to remember that I will never get it back ever again.
Thanks so much for this info. I was also confused about the predicted lower CL on the Saturday we’ll be there. So different from WDW!
You are welcome!
So true, oldest just promoted from 8th grade and I think back at how fast it went by!