Is Disneyland Busy In December? | Holiday Tips & Forecast
December means Christmas, and Christmas means one of the most popular times of the year to visit Disneyland - but that doesn't mean the entire month will be super busy.
Our Disneyland Crowd Guide will detail what to expect when visiting Disneyland and how to effectively plan your visit to avoid the busiest times of the month!
Questions We'll Answer About Disneyland Crowds:
- What Is The Best & Worst Time Of Year To Visit Disneyland?
- Is Disneyland Busy In December?
What Is The Best & Worst Time Of Year To Visit Disneyland?
There once were very clear "Busy Seasons" and "Off Seasons" at Disneyland where you would see extremely high crowds and then other times where the park sometimes felt empty.
However as Disneyland has become increasingly popular, and a ticket pricing structure was introduced that offers cheaper tickets if you visit during "slower periods" busyness at Disneyland has spread throughout the year.
We see less of a slow season and busy season these days (except a few weeks out of the year) and generally high crowding throughout the year, but some times are better than others to consider visiting.
While there isn't ever a bad time to visit Disneyland you may want to keep in mind some periods of the year to avoid if you have flexibility.
To optimize your visit to Disneyland, we've provided some of the best and worst times of the year to visit Disneyland:
BEST TIMES OF THE YEAR TO VISIT DISNEYLAND
- January - beginning the second week of the month and avoiding MLK weekend.
- February - all month.
- March - the first two weeks before Spring Break begins.
- May - all month.
- June - the first week before Summer Break begins.
- September - all month after Labor Day weekend.
- October - all month.
- November - the first two weeks before Thanksgiving Break begins.
- December - the first two weeks of the month before Christmas Break begins.
WORST TIMES OF THE YEAR TO VISIT DISNEYLAND
- January - The week of New Year's Day and MLK weekend. We especially recommend avoiding New Year's Day.
- March - The last two weeks of the month which kicks off Spring Break.
- April - A large number of schools are on Spring Break all month creating a lot of crowding.
- June - The first three weeks begin Summer Break for many schools. around the country, kicking off the continually busy Summer season.
- July - Most of the USA is deep into Summer Break at this point bringing many families to the parks. We recommend especially avoiding the 4th of July weekend.
- August - The first two weeks of the month are particularly busy as Summer Break is still in effect. Crowds begin to moderate substantially in the last two weeks of the month.
- September - Labor Day weekend is extremely busy and should be avoided if possible.
- November - Thanksgiving week is another extremely popular time and we recommend generally avoiding this time of year.
- December - The week of Christmas and the week following Christmas leading into New Year's Eve is one of the busiest times of the year at Disneyland.
Is Disneyland Busy In December?
December kicks off the most wonderful time of year AKA the holiday season at Disneyland... which also means huge crowds.
The week of Christmas, and following week leading into New Year's Day are the busiest times of year for Disneyland and California Adventure.
There really isn't any way around this and if you'll be visiting around this time you'll need to prepare yourself for long lines and a ton of people.
Even carefully planning every detail of your trip may make this time of year too busy to accomplish everything on your to-do list and we almost always recommend Genie+ and Lightning Lane if you're going to want to experience the most popular attractions.
Most families and vacationers hold off on any traveling until closer to Christmas when school is out and many offices shutdown until January, so it's no surprise this is what we consider the busiest times of year.
You might think that Disneyland and California Adventure can't possibly be busy on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day assuming most people want to stay home or visit family, but this couldn't be further from the truth.
Christmas Day remains one of the top three busiest days of the year to visit Disneyland!
While the weeks surrounding Christmas are insane when it comes to busyness at Disneyland and California Adventure, the first two weeks or so are a really great time to visit.
The parks won't be too busy and you'll be able to experience all of the holiday offerings throughout the parks as they start to appear in November each year.
If you have flexibility on when in December you'll visit Disneyland, then we definitely recommend aiming for these first two weeks which happens to also be our favorite time of year to visit as well!
Related Articles!
Is Disneyland Busy In November? | Thanksgiving Tips!
Is Disneyland Busy In September? | Our End Of Summer Guide!
Is Disneyland Busy In October? | Our Tips & Guide
Is Disneyland Busy In January? | New Years Planning Tips