Not sure when you should plan your visit to Disneyland Resort? Take a look at our Disneyland crowd calendars to find out when crowds are low at the Happiest Place on Earth.
Disneyland Resort and its two theme parks – Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park – are enjoyable no matter what time of the year you visit. But when you’re planning a once-in-a-lifetime vacation or your dream theme park trip, it’s always a good idea to go when crowds are few and far between. You’ll get to enjoy more attractions, see lower wait times, and have an overall smoother time exploring absolutely everything resort-wide. But how do you know when crowds are low?
We’ve created Disneyland crowd calendars that’ll help you plan! We used data like annual events at Disneyland’s theme parks and the surrounding Anaheim area, local school schedules, holidays, and our experts’ knowledge of historic crowd levels to put together these calendars so you can estimate what daily crowd levels will be like during your visit.
Dad’s Guide to WDW Crowd Calendar Disclaimer: These calendars are based on historical facts as we know them today and personal experiences. Disneyland is an ever-changing destination, and you might find the crowds to be different from what we’ve predicted.
Click on a month below to starting planning your visit!
2024 Disneyland Crowd Calendars
2025 Disneyland Crowd Calendars
June 2024 Disneyland Crowd Calendar
June is a month filled with events at Disneyland Resort, from Pride Month festivities (which, for 2024, includes the popular and currently sold out Disneyland After Dark: Pride Night event) to Pixar Fest, spread across both theme parks and into Downtown Disney. However, one of the biggest drivers of crowds at Disneyland in June is the end of the school year.
Disneyland – specifically, California Adventure – plays host to seniors who’ve graduated from high school with Grad Nights scheduled throughout the month of June. Though this after-hours event only shuts down California Adventure a few hours early on select nights, other schools like elementary and middle school groups come to the parks to celebrate their own graduations during the day. That can leave guests caught in larger-than-expected crowds and in the midst of some pretty big local groups.
July 2024 Disneyland Crowd Calendar
Disneyland starts to see increasingly summer crowds come July, with many days on the calendar seeing solid, consistent crowds. However, the busiest days of the month are always the same: the dates around July 4. Families and local guests use the holiday as a reason to take an extended trip to the parks, and crowds can get extremely high in the days leadings up to July 4 and the days after.
August 2024
August is a busy month at Disneyland, since it’s the final weeks of summer before school gets underway once again. Summer celebrations – like 2024’s Pixar Fest – are wrapping up on August 4, and both locals and long-distance guests are getting in their final weekday and weekend visits, so you can expect moderate crowds all month long, with the highest levels at the start of the month.
However, there are a few dates in August that typically see much, much lower crowds. On the dates local school districts welcome back students, the parks typically see a big decrease in guests. So, plan for potentially much lower crowds around August 22 and 23.
It’s worth noting, though, that Halloween Time at Disneyland gets underway on August 23, 2024. The first day of spooky festivities just might result in some higher-than-typical crowds, but overall due to school start dates, wait times shouldn’t be too high.
September 2024
By September, both local schools and Disneyland’s Halloween festivities are in full swing, which makes this month a bit of a mixed bag. There are some great mid-week dates with lower-than-typical crowd levels, but weekends tend to stay pretty solidly crowded all month long. That’s because Halloween is a hugely popular time of the year at Disneyland and California Adventure – and all month long, Oogie Boogie Bash takes place on select nights, meaning California Adventure closes early for guests three to four nights every week. That can result in higher-than-usual crowds, since this separately-ticketed event draws a lot of guests to the resort (and its surrounding hotels!)
October 2024
October at Disneyland means Halloween is in full swing, with both parks fully immersed in spooky season and decked out in frighteningly fun touches. Over at Disneyland Park, Halloween takes center stage with guest favorites like Haunted Mansion Holiday returning for the season as well as plenty of specialty seasonal treats. At California Adventure, Oogie Boogie Bash continues with more event dates through October 31. However, all guests can enjoy the popular Plaza de la Familia offerings in this park, celebrating Mexican traditions for Day of the Dead.
Because Halloween is so popular at Disneyland Resort, you can expect crowds to be pretty steady all month long. Halloween itself – October 31 – is typically a very busy day at the parks, especially because there tends to be an Oogie Boogie Bash event happening that night. However, if you visit midweek, you’re more likely to miss the crowds and see more moderate guests levels.
November 2024
November is a pretty mild to moderate month when it comes to crowd levels at Disneyland. During the first half of the month, there’s a bit of a lull as the parks change over from celebrating Halloween to the holidays – and guests visit, but not in huge numbers. However, once the holidays really get underway come mid-month (for 2024, the holidays are scheduled to officially kick off on November 13 at Disneyland Resort!) crowds do pick up. The week of Thanksgiving is notoriously a crowded one, and both the parks and surrounding hotels tend to see a huge influx of wall-to-wall people.
December 2024
December is a great month to visit Disneyland, especially if you just can’t get enough of that Disney magic during the holidays. However, you’ll want to plan your visit for the first half of the month, as things can get absolutely crazy towards the end. Once December 20 rolls around and Christmas is just around the corner, the parks get absolutely packed.
Oh, and if you’re thinking about ringing in the new year at Disneyland or California Adventure, you might want to reconsider. New Year’s Eve is the number one most crowded day of the year at Disneyland Resort each and ever year. It gets so crowded that the parks and parking lots will typically close midway through the day to new guests. Inside, expect wall-to-wall people who are waiting for the special end-of-year fireworks show and midnight countdown as early as rope drop.
January 2025
January is a pretty quiet and calm month, crowd-wise, at Disneyland. After the rush of the holidays fades and the New Year’s Eve crowds clear out by the first weekend of January, the rest of the days and weeks see average or lower-than-average crowds. The weather is cool enough (and, depending on the weather in any given year, potentially rainy enough) to keep some guests at home. You’ll find mostly locals in the parks during the first month of the year.
While events are relatively few and far between, it’s important to note that the popular Lunar New Year Celebration takes place in January each year. This event, which grows increasingly more each year, is centered in California Adventure and can draw decently-sized crowds on the weekends. Featuring festival food booths, live performances, and activities for all ages, it’s a must-visit for many locals.
Additionally, 2025 is a particularly special year for Disneyland Resort. Come July, Disneyland will celebrate its milestone 70th anniversary – and it’s very likely a number of surprises will kick off throughout the year. While we don’t yet know if the celebration will get underway as early as January, if the resort’s 50th anniversary is any indicator, the month very well could bring some big news (and more crowds!)
February 2025
February is another pretty quiet month for Disneyland, with cold to rainy weather and average crowd levels. California Adventure’s Lunar New Year Celebration typically winds down in the first weeks of the month, and little else picks up to replace this tentpole event. Valentine’s Day and Celebrate Soulfully events can attract larger-than-typical crowds during certain weekends, but you can generally expect much of the month to be status quo in terms of crowd levels and attraction wait times.
March 2025
March is an exciting month at Disneyland – and crowds certainly start to return! Spring arrives this month, and so too does Spring Break. As local and far-flung schools and universities let students out for at least a full week of Spring Break, many people head to Disneyland and the surrounding hotels. As a result, you’ll start seeing crowds pick up during the second week of the month. Weekends in particular can start to get increasingly crowded, with many Saturdays and Sundays hitting very high crowd levels (it’s particularly crowded after 11:00 AM on weekends in March, so plan to rope drop if you’d like to beat the rush.)
Additionally, March brings the start of the annual Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival. The start date varies year to year, but you can always expect the food booths, beverage seminars, chef demonstrations, and foodie fun to return during this month. Food & Wine always draws big crowds, so this is a great month to spend some time over at Disneyland if you’d like to skip the festival or avoid the weekend crowds somewhat.
April 2025
April is another Spring Break heavy month at Disneyland, with increasingly more local schools taking weeks off as Easter draws closer. This year, with the holiday falling on Sunday, April 20, you can expect heavier crowds towards the first half of the month. In addition to Spring Break, you’ll also want to keep the ongoing Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival in mind; it typically runs through the month, wrapping up during the last week.
In previous years (like 2024), April has also brought the start of other exciting events like Pixar Fest. However, with the resort likely gearing up for a big 70th anniversary celebration come July, it’s unclear if events will begin in spring or later on as summer approaches.
May 2025
When May rolls around, summer is fast approaching – and as the weather starts to warm up, the crowds start to grow at Disneyland. Some schools wrap up for the year in mid-May, which can bring some unexpected weekday crowds. However, for the most part, local schools are in session for the month, which means weekdays are still pretty moderate.
The biggest draw of the month is Memorial Day, which is the first long weekend of the summer. Crowds can get pretty large over the weekend, but it really does vary from year to year. Your best bet to beat the crowds? Visit the Friday before the long weekend, and go early in the morning. Often, crowds will arrive later in the day.
