Disneyland in July

[jacobsmommy]

How bad would a Sunday be (July 20) at Disneyland next year? We've never been on a weekend before. We'd be going July 20-23.

 

[DLR29]

You'll be looking at lines around 50-60 min for the major attractions (Indy, Space, Star Tours) during the middle of the day, dipping down to about 40 during the afternoon and evening. If it's a warm day, Splash might even get up to 70-80.

Peter Pan, Roger Rabbit, Matterhorn, etc. will probably be around 30-35 with most other rides having shorter than 25 min lines.

Over in DCA, RSR is still bringing in 90-120 min lines. Grizzly, like Splash, will be over an hour during the heat of the day. ToT can vary a lot, but can get up to an hour. TSMM and Soarin will probably max out at 45-50, and everything else under 30 min.

Of course, all long lines are completely avoidable by arriving early and using FP throughout the day.

 

[luulu1999]

We will be there the same time!! Our trip is going to be 10days (5 at Disney) so I am doing our schedule to avoid the weekend so I am hoping that will help with the crowds some...I have heard many people say this summer the crowds have not been super bad so hopefully they won't be next summer either!!

 

[Rubygoose]

Were just there last week/weekend. We rarely waited more than 20-30 minutes for anything, but we did EE because we stayed at DLH. We did rides in the morning then shows in the afternoon and made good use of FPs (too bad the FP for splash is so far away from everything!) Saturday was one of the quietest days because it rained, but we're used to rain so we took advantage of the lower crowds. On Monday it was warm and we rode Splash at 8:30am with no wait. They even let us stay on and go a second time because there were very few people waiting.

 

[lalasmama]

We were there two weeks ago. It was busy, but not as bad as I expected, save the 17th. *That* was a zoo!

It was hot, for sure--90s according to my phone. I have MS, and don't do well in the heat at all, so I was a cooked goose every afternoon. In the future, I will try to do rope drop opening, and plan to watch shows in the afternoon. Oh, and I will be the "dork" with the misting fan! That was my saving grace this last trip.

I HIGHLY recommend GRR's single rider line in the heat of the afternoon... We never waited more than 5 or so minutes to get on a raft that way! FP for Splash was also a good way to go, but don't wait for the heat of the day to get it--often we would head over at 2pm or so, and have FPs for 8 or 9pm.

Evenings were much more tolerable, and that's when we did a lot of walking around, looking at things, and rides with short lines.

I don't think I'd necessarily go on DLR's birthday again unless it was a "big" one, but, despite the heat and crowds, I'd go again in July!

 

[Angela72181]

We were just there July 18-23 and it wasn't bad crowd wise but it was HOT.

Sure the regular long lines were bad but the single rider lines went quick. Best bet go early to avoid crowds and heat

 

[cymbaldiva]

I have to ask - can y'all please define hot? I've been watching the temps and they look pretty reasonable.

So, how hot is HOT?

 

[cuteinnocent]

You'll be looking at lines around 50-60 min for the major attractions (Indy, Space, Star Tours) during the middle of the day, dipping down to about 40 during the afternoon and evening. If it's a warm day, Splash might even get up to 70-80.

Peter Pan, Roger Rabbit, Matterhorn, etc. will probably be around 30-35 with most other rides having shorter than 25 min lines.

Over in DCA, RSR is still bringing in 90-120 min lines. Grizzly, like Splash, will be over an hour during the heat of the day. ToT can vary a lot, but can get up to an hour. TSMM and Soarin will probably max out at 45-50, and everything else under 30 min.

Of course, all long lines are completely avoidable by arriving early and using FP throughout the day.

We have NEVER waited in the long lines, because we get there early and/or stay late and constantly use FP. The only ride we have had to wait like 40 minutes is TSMM (since no FP) and RSR single rider.

 

[lalasmama]

I have to ask - can y'all please define hot? I've been watching the temps and they look pretty reasonable.

So, how hot is HOT?

90s.

 

[jacobsmommy]

We have always gone mid June. Will July be busier?

 

[Midnightred]

We were there July 15-20th. Monday the 15th was very hot. My son purchased one of those fan's with the water sprayer. Tuesday wasn't too bad, still a little hot. The rest of the trip it was in the low 80's and very pleasant with a nice breeze. I am from Texas and can tolerate the hottest of weather, so all but the one Monday felt great to me.

Midnightred

 

[SnowWhite09]

Thanks to everyone for the info re July crowds. We have just returned from WDW and there were a lot of tour groups visiting during July which obviously increased wait times for the main attractions substantially. Has anyone experienced this at DL during July?

 

[lalasmama]

Thanks to everyone for the info re July crowds. We have just returned from WDW and there were a lot of tour groups visiting during July which obviously increased wait times for the main attractions substantially. Has anyone experienced this at DL during July?

We experienced that this last trip 2 weeks ago. Unfortunately, we found a group of non-English-speaking pre/early teens that we seemed to run into every few rides. They didn't understand things like the GAC lines, fast pass lines, and regular lines. Multiple times, a group of 10-15 would be in the GAC line, and be "annoyed" when a CM pointed them towards the regular line, but they had no GAC, and couldn't read to see where the correct line was. Had to be frustrating for them! It was frustrating for us, too, because we could never be sure of the wait time in the GAC lines when we saw these huge groups. Of course, July is busy, and there's also competitions and conventions, along with touring groups, that may pick the middle of summer to go to DL.

 

[DarthMole]

We were there two weeks ago. It was busy, but not as bad as I expected, save the 17th. *That* was a zoo!


I don't think I'd necessarily go on DLR's birthday again unless it was a "big" one, but, despite the heat and crowds, I'd go again in July!

I was wondering how busy it got this year. We were there on the 17th last year and it was very busy. More so than the days before or after. When people concerned about crowds would ask about date ranges with the 17th in it, I'd comment about our experience. A few times people commented that the 17th is "just another summer day" to which I was floored. I like going in July but if my dates cover the 17th, it will most likely be a beach day for us.

 

[SnowWhite09]

We experienced that this last trip 2 weeks ago. Unfortunately, we found a group of non-English-speaking pre/early teens that we seemed to run into every few rides. They didn't understand things like the GAC lines, fast pass lines, and regular lines. Multiple times, a group of 10-15 would be in the GAC line, and be "annoyed" when a CM pointed them towards the regular line, but they had no GAC, and couldn't read to see where the correct line was. Had to be frustrating for them! It was frustrating for us, too, because we could never be sure of the wait time in the GAC lines when we saw these huge groups. Of course, July is busy, and there's also competitions and conventions, along with touring groups, that may pick the middle of summer to go to DL.

Thanks for this feedback. We did expect big crowds in July, but perhaps not quite as big as we found. We still had a great trip though!

 

[Midnightred]

I will not go on July 17th again except rope drop until 11 am was ok. After that, it was crazy. I think some folks were trying to get anniversary pins. Saw lots of corporate types in suits. Crowds on Friday the 19th were even worse!

Midnightred

 

[Disneylovers2000]

We are here now and have been since the 24th. The weather is high 70's/low 80's with most wait times at 20-30 mins, besides RSR of course We can't believe how manageable it is. We are really enjoying it!

 

[jacobsmommy]

Would going from July 20 (my birthday ) to July 23 be too close to the 17th craziness?

 

[Rubygoose]

Would going from July 20 (my birthday ) to July 23 be too close to the 17th craziness?

That should be fine. We flew in on the 17th and did 18-22nd in the park. As long as you go early it doesn't seem busy at all. And weather wise, it was hotter on our trip last September.

 

[Krissy Marissy]

Crowds fluctuate and it's hard to predict, but you can count on the parks being busy. This past Thursday the weather was gorgeous and splash was 110 minute wait by late afternoon. We went back Friday, after rain showers early, and that line was half as long even though crowds were generally longer across the park. I guess my mismanaged point is that you can't possibly guess these things a year out. It's summer and every day of the week will be busy.