Is Disneyland Busy in September? | 2024 Forecast
With Summer wrapping up September is one of the more uncommon months of the year to visit Disneyland, but that doesn't always mean the entire month is a great time to visit!
Our Disneyland Crowd Guide details what you can expect in terms of busyness during September including some tips on what periods of the month you should consider planning your visit around.
Questions We'll Answer About Disneyland Crowds:
- What Is The Best & Worst Time Of Year To Visit Disneyland?
- Is Disneyland Busy In September?
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 September?
As summer comes to an end and nearly all schools across the country start back up Disneyland will begin to moderate in terms of crowds and busyness.
With kids just starting school again you'll see fewer families and children in the parks during the weekdays.
Because of this, the crowd levels at Disneyland will be much more manageable than in the summer months and making September a great time to visit!
Weekdays throughout September are going to be some of the least busy days of the year to visit Disneyland, but you'll see a slight uptick in business in the later afternoons in the evenings when people get off of work and children leave school.
Disneyland is very popular among California locals, so you'll see somewhat of an increase in crowding later in the day, unlike at Walt Disney World where 6-7 PM usually begins a slowdown at the parks.
While crowd levels might be low, keep in mind that operating hours will be reduced (Disneyland will likely close between 9-10 PM) which means you'll have less time to get things done.
The exception of this will be Labor Day weekend which will being summer-like crowds back to Disneyland as folks want to take advantage of this long weekend. This includes the Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday of the weekend!
September is a fantastic time to visit Disneyland if you can avoid Labor Day weekend!
As we get deeper into September and closer to October, the extremely popular Oogie Boogie Bash event at California Adventure will cause California Adventure to close early, sometimes as early as 6 PM.
Oogie Boogie Bash is a separately ticketed event, which requires you to purchase a ticket specific to Oogie Boogie Bash to enter. General admission tickets to Disneyland or California Adventure will not get you access to Oogie Boogie Bash!
When Oogie Boogie Bash begins you'll see a lot of people without event tickets leave California Adventure and head straight into Disneyland which will cause a surge in crowds and busyness.
If you can plan around Oogie Boogie Bash, as well as some reduced park hours, then September is one of the best months to visit Disneyland!
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