We are going to be in LA from Saturday 11th to Tuesday 14th October and have 2 days spare to go to DL and DCA. I understand this is Columbus Day weekend, is this weekend very busy or will it be much the same as any other weekend, but busier on the Monday I guess?
Wondered if anyone has any advice which days are best to visit each park to avoid the biggest crowds? I was thinking of going on the Saturday and the Tuesday, though have also heard that due to Mickey's Halloween party the parks close early on Tuesdays and Fridays?
thanks
Mike
Thanks AJ Hummel, that's a great help.
It sounds like it will be better to get a 2 day hopper pass so we can switch between the two. I was going to do DL on Sat and DCA on Tuesday (as we would like to see DL at night), but if it's quieter at DL on a Tue and following your advice I am thinking it may be better to use the hopper to its max as follows:-
Saturday - DCA during the day, then DL in the evening.
Tuesday - DL during the day and go over to DCA in the evening (for world of colour etc)
Your plan sounds good. If you want to save money, one park per day is fine and you'll still be able to do a good number of attractions at Disneyland no matter when you visit, but since you only have two days a park hopper will let you maximize your experience. I still think it might be better to go Sunday or Monday instead of Saturday, but there probably won't be that significant of a difference. One note about World of Color: If you want to see it on Tuesday, you'll need to go over to DCA during the day to get showpasses, as they are required for viewing that show from the official viewing area. Fortunately, it is extremely easy to park hop between the two parks as the gates are literally a couple hundred feet apart (in metric, probably less than 100 meters). It shouldn't take long to run over to DCA, get passes, and get back to Disneyland.
Thanks AJ, I will look into going on Sun or Mon.
The main reason we were thinking about the Saturday was because prior to LA we are staying in palm springs and then in LA we are staying in north Hollywood area. We were going to leave Palm Springs early on saturday, go to Disney and then up to N Hollywood for 4 nights. So we would only be making the journey from North Hollywood to Anaheim, and back, once (on the Tuesday). It seems to save a bit of journey time. That said, the downside of this is that we will be arriving at the villa in N Hollywood very late, after Disney, which I don't usually like to do.
So may think about the Monday (here in the UK when we have 3 day holiday weekends, the monday is busier than normal of course, but not usually as busy as the Sat or Sun).
Re World of Colour - due to our quite tight schedule, I was debating whether to bother with it or not. I have read reports about it being great, but also about it being a bit crowded and chaotic. Is it a must see?
If Saturday works better for your travel plans, then go on Saturday. There really won't be that much difference (the average line lengths on Sunday or Monday should be within 10-15 minutes of those on Saturday). The one thing I will warn you about is that if you intend to be there at opening and are leaving from Palm Springs, you really need to prepare for a very early departure as you want to be at the park by opening and Palm Springs is a good 90+ minute drive (for reference, North Hollywood is about half that). Expect an opening time of 8 A.M. due to the holiday, which means you'll need to be there by 7:15 A.M. on a Saturday to get a good position at rope drop. Anticipate 30 minutes to get from your car to the gate, and this translates to a 5 A.M. departure. During your trip, expect closing times between 10 P.M. and midnight during the weekend, so if you are going to the North Hollywood villa afterward you'll probably be arriving after 1 A.M. I'd recommend you wait until closer to the trip, look at park hours and your schedule, and decide then what day you wish to go.
As far as World of Color goes, I would consider it a must see if you've never seen it before AND if you won't be seeing Fantasmic. If you do plan to see Fantasmic, World of Color is nothing new and therefore I wouldn't bother with it unless show passes still happen to be available when you get over to DCA. If you don't see Fantasmic, however, then definitely see World of Color. Since you only have two days, pick one or the other and don't spend time with both.
You have been a great help, many thanks. As you say the next thing is to wait for the opening times to be published to make final plans
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You definitely want to go on Tuesday, as that will be the least busy day for sure (though still moderately crowded (expect 45-60 minute waits for headliners)...Disneyland is rarely empty anymore when its not raining). As for the other days, they'll all probably be about the same (read: packed...90-120 minute waits for headliners, 15-30 for everything else). Normally, I'd recommend Saturday over Sunday, but since it is a holiday weekend Sunday or Monday may be better than Saturday. Off hand, I would probably say just go Monday and Tuesday.
As for which park to do when, are you getting park hoppers or one park per day? If you are doing park hopping, it doesn't matter much which day you do each park as you'll be able to visit both each day. If you are doing one park per day, it depends how much you want to do at Disneyland. Mickey's Halloween Party will affect Disneyland's closing times but not DCA's, so if you want to do a lot at Disneyland do it on the day with longer hours. However, if you more just want to visit Disneyland and doing as many attractions as possible isn't a concern, definitely visit Disneyland on Tuesday. The hours may be shorter, but the crowd should be much less (probably around a 40% wait time reduction vs other days). Which day you use for DCA shouldn't really matter as 90% of the time you can do everything worthwhile at the park in one day.