4th of July? and the 3rd, 5th, 6th

[DisneyMomma81]

How was the holiday and the days before and after last year?
2010, 7/3-7/6 was fantastic, other than the evening of the 4th.

My mom and I are considering taking DD for her birthday *7/3, she asked last night to go for her birthday earlier this week wasn't her ideal visit

 

[disneydeb64]

I'd kinda like to know myself...staying at PPH 7/4 - 7/6 The CM that took my ressie said last year 7/4 was "empty" until around 2PM. That's hard for me to believe.

 

[Girimama33]

I was there last year for July 1-3 before we spent the 4th in Big Bear Lake.
I really enjoyed that time, and was surprised that it was not nearly as crowded as I expected.

 

[Cheshirecatty]

I'd kinda like to know myself...staying at PPH 7/4 - 7/6 The CM that took my ressie said last year 7/4 was "empty" until around 2PM. That's hard for me to believe.

I know some might find it hard to believe, but when we've been there over the 4th, the Parks have been great, and uncrowded in the mornings/early afternoon!

We don't stay to watch the Fireworks on the 4th, however----massive crowds all up and down Main Street, the Hub, etc.! We like to leave Disneyland around 6:00pm, in order to avoid having to deal with the chaos!

We simply watch the patriotic fireworks a day or two before---yes, they do add a few things/lengthen time for the show on the 4th, but mostly the shows are pretty similar, so we're OK with that.

Other parts of Disneyland are nice/uncrowded(in our opinion) on July 4th, because most try to congregate in the afternoon, to save seats for fireworks.

We have found the days before/after the 4th, to be really nice---busy(as expected), but not horrible or unmanageable!

We're planning on being there this year over the 4th, and greatly looking forward to it!

 

[Californiacicle]

We will be there those days ourselves and are trying to decide whether we will take the day off on the 4th or not. So I'll be watching this thread.

Our kids have the same birthday!

 

[findmewdw]

We are planning our first trip to DL and were wondering about July 5th and 6th, too. We thought the weekend would be terrible and have thought about moving our dates to 8, 9th. We are going to be visiting other areas of CA, too. Which would be better, the weekend or later in the week for crowds. We are hoping to love DL as much as we do WDW. Thank you!

 

[findmewdw]

bumping

 

[basketballmom]

We are considering Disneyland during July 4th weekend too. We were also there in 2010, and didn't think the crowds were terrible. (we always visit in the summer, so we are used to crowds.)
I just wonder with the 4th being on a Friday instead of a Sunday (2010) if that would make any difference.....

 

[redwing]

We are planning our first trip to DL and were wondering about July 5th and 6th, too. We thought the weekend would be terrible and have thought about moving our dates to 8, 9th. We are going to be visiting other areas of CA, too. Which would be better, the weekend or later in the week for crowds. We are hoping to love DL as much as we do WDW. Thank you!

I was wondering the same thing. We are booked from July 8th-12th and would love to know what "just after the 4th" crowds have been like in the past! Glad you asked about it

 

[rangebob]

We were at DL last year for the 4th and it was great. The crowds were low in comparison to what I'm used to for the 4th. We normally spend it at WDW MK and are used to shoulder to shoulder crowds and it was a great day at DL. We rode many of the rides and had a great seating for the fireworks. I think we did the Fantasmic dinner party for the 4th so was able to stay there during the fireworks. The temps were great even though the locals were complaining that it was a heat wave I think it was low 80s with no humidity.

Like others have said it was less crowded in the morning and slowly got more crowded as the day went on.

 

[Malcon10t]

We have been there the last few years. We tend to go in the park in the morning, it usually isn't too bad, have lunch, then spend the afternoon by the pool (cabana day!) and head back in for Fantasmic! seating, followed by fireworks. We don't shoot for too much during the day, and actually thought the 5th was busier last year.

 

[findmewdw]

I was wondering the same thing. We are booked from July 8th-12th and would love to know what "just after the 4th" crowds have been like in the past! Glad you asked about it

We will probably be there the 8-12th, too. Hoping crowds won't be too bad! We are going to be visiting other parts of CA starting on the 5th.

 

[pharmjenn]

We have been there the last few years. We tend to go in the park in the morning, it usually isn't too bad, have lunch, then spend the afternoon by the pool (cabana day!) and head back in for Fantasmic! seating, followed by fireworks. We don't shoot for too much during the day, and actually thought the 5th was busier last year.

I have heard that if it gets too busy, they stop letting people in. If you have seats for Fantasmic, or say, a dining reservation, will your party be let back in?

I have reservations for July 2-7. Probably going to do 4 days in the parks, as we arrive Weds evening and I will have been awake for over 24hrs.

 

[Malcon10t]

I have heard that if it gets too busy, they stop letting people in. If you have seats for Fantasmic, or say, a dining reservation, will your party be let back in?

If the fire marshal has stopped letting people in, no, even if you have dining reservations or seating for Fantasmic! you won't be let back in.

About 10 years ago, a family had bought out the balcony seating for Fantasmic! for NYE. They hadn't paid attention to message boards reminding them the park closes when the park hits capacity. Instead of making sure they were in the park, they spent the day relaxing, had dinner at Napa, and showed up at the gates at 930pto get in for their 1030 show. They were turned away but did get their tickets refunded, and posted how they shouldn't have been turned away.

Turnstiles have closed before on the 4th, but usually reopens after the parade.