Hello,
How exciting to have a trip planned for Disneyland! With your children’s ages, the magic will really come to life for them & you are doing a great service by knowing more information before you go.
It looks like yesterday (the first day of lifted blockouts) ended up being a 9 in both parks so yes, I would consider that quite busy! However, because you are here, informing yourself & planning you will already be better positioned to navigate crowds.
My best advice is to get there early & power through the mornings with your must-do rides only stopping if there are must-do characters that you happen upon, then use afternoons/evenings for a more relaxed pace of characters, shows, parades & what you can get a FastPass for.
The crowd calendar has been updated to show that there are no blockouts but I don’t think that the crowd levels have been adjusted, but I haven’t been paying attention to those dates specifically so I’m not certain. Yesterday was predicted to be an 8 in both parks and so ending up at a 9 isn’t too far off so hopefully you’ll only see 1 point in CL differences like that, at most.
Looking at the crowd calendar, Sat does have the lowest pass (SoCal Select) blocked but is also the day most of the Deluxe & Socal (regular) passholders are probably available to go. On the other hand, they are familiar with the structure of not being able to go on summer weekends so they may already have other commitments/plans, so it’s really anyone’s guess. There’s no real precedent for this (that’s documented by TouringPlans) so it may open the floodgates, or by having multiple options of days, it could disperse the crowds of APs coming for lifted blockout dates.
It sounds like you already know that rope drop will give you a a leg up on the crowds, but just wanted to re-iterate how really, truly effective it is b/c less people in general (locals & tourists alike) are up & ready to go for the start of park operations. The crowd-friendly tips I can give are to be prepared with patience (especially if you will have a stroller for those little ones, crowds & strollers are a tough combo), and know that you can always take a break at the hotel in the middle of the day at the peak of crowds & heat & come back refreshed for evening touring (usually between 1-3pm crowds hit their peak so if you go back to your hotel for that period you aren’t missing a lot).
Lastly, if you really just want to spend as many of your minutes in the parks, there’s plenty of spaces that offer some break from the crowds. In DL: Opera House (has the Disney Gallery and Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln), Main St Train Station (take a loop or two on the train if you want changing scenery as you rest), Fire station, Main St Cinema, Tiki Room, Golden Horseshoe (time with the cute Laughing Stock show performed inside), ride the Mark Twain & stay on a lower shaded deck while the beautiful rivers float past, Tomorrowland Theater (currently showing preview for Ant-Man and the Wasp), Star Wars Launch Bay, also shows like Mickey & the Magical Map & Storytelling at the Royal Theater can give you a seat in at least a shaded area, even if not air-conditioned. There’s also shaded seating at some quick service restaurants namely, Rancho Del Zocalo in Frontierland, Hungry Bear in Critter Country, and tucked behind the Turkey Leg cart next to the Matterhorn. Also, Winnie the Pooh usually has short waits & is a great break for some dark/AC if in need. And in DCA: Animation Building (has Turtle Talk with Crush, Anna & Elsa Meet & Animation Academy or just sit in the lobby & enjoy the reel of Disney movie clips/artwork/music being shown), Sunset Showcase Theater (currently showing extended preview of Incredibles 2), Flo’s Cafe either inside on the Doc Hudson side for air-conditioning or outside on the back patio with a view of RSR is beautiful, Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. Also, Ariel’s ride in DCA is similar to Winnie the Pooh in DL with short waits & a nice break of AC and a seat, but with the benefit of usually having even less of a line & a longer ride. Lastly, Frozen Live at the Hyperion is a great show & can offer a reasonable break but it does take a large chunk of the day (show itself is an hour long & you’ll need to show up at least 5-10 min before to get a seat, 30 min if wanting a lower level ie less stairs to climb) so only unless you really need the break & won’t be going back to your hotel would I use this on a short trip. So plenty of places to get away from crowds, some off your feet while still enjoying the parks, if you want to maximize your park time.
