Help me plan my September trip!

[ahale08]

Hey everyone!

My family (husband, daughter age 7 and son age 4 at time of trip) have never been to Disneyland for Halloween time. We are planning to go this year along with my mom and grandma who both haven't been to Disneyland in about 20 years! I would like to go right when Halloween Season starts as I'm guessing that would be the least crowded time compared to the rest of Halloween season? We also want to attend one of the Mickey's Halloween Parties however, I really don't want to have to wait till the July date announcements to pick our actual travel dates. My husband, kids and I have been visiting DL almost yearly for the past 4 years. We typically do 4 day park hopper passes and stay on site utilizing the early openings for hotel guests. This year I'm not sure if we will stay on site with all the construction going on in Downtown Disney..thoughts? Otherwise, we would stay on Harbor. I'm thinking I will book something on Harbor now and wait to see if I can get a promo through my Disney Visa later on. So if we have 4 day park hoppers or even 5 days since it's not much more to jump up which actual dates should we plan on going? We live in Northern Ca (San Jose) and will most likely fly down, though driving is not out of the question.

Also, I've been reading about the walls up on Main Street, when does this construction end? What about the Construction around Paradise Pier?

I greatly appreciate any suggestions! Thank you!

 

[disneylover102]

I wouldn’t decide not to stay on site just because of downtown Disney construction. Extra Magic Hours are very special and useful. I would go toward the beginning of September but make sure you know the date Halloween time starts (if we went during Halloween time, we’d be 100% sure our personal favorite, Space Mountain would be open- they close it for a couple days at the beginning of September to convert it to Ghost Galaxy.)

I think I heard somewhere that Main Street Construction would be done by March (I’m not completely sure). By September, it will definitely be done.

 

[tzeitel]

The Main St construction is slated to be done sometime in March, PP in Summer (no set dates yet). I would not count on Sept having low crowds. The first Halloween parties are very popular - I think most ppl think they will not be so crowded but they usually sell out pretty fast.

 

[GenGen22]

Halloween time starts usually the 2nd week of September and the Halloween parties usually start the third week of September. Last year the first party was on 9/20 and in 2016 the first party was 9/23. So you can most definitely expect a party on Friday 9/21. Things will be different this year as the Halloween party is moving from DL to CDL so we don't know what to expect until Disney announces it. I don't see any reason why you can't book your hotel around this time and buy your Halloween tickets in July when they go on sale. All the construction on Main street and Paradise Pier will be cleared up this spring so it won't be an issue.

 

[OneTrackMind]

Halloween time starts usually the 2nd week of September and the Halloween parties usually start the third week of September. Last year the first party was on 9/20 and in 2016 the first party was 9/23. So you can most definitely expect a party on Friday 9/21. Things will be different this year as the Halloween party is moving from DL to CDL so we don't know what to expect until Disney announces it. I don't see any reason why you can't book your hotel around this time and buy your Halloween tickets in July when they go on sale. All the construction on Main street and Paradise Pier will be cleared up this spring so it won't be an issue.

There have been Halloween mega-threads in past years and they have a huge amount of information. The 2016 one definitely had information on party dates and which ones sold out when. I can’t remember if the 2017 one had similar information. But that might be a helpful starting point to get a general idea. I’m pretty sure figment_jii (I hope I spelled that correctly and I’m very sorry if I didn’t) had some informative posts about party dates and general party information as well.

 

[GenGen22]

There have been Halloween mega-threads in past years and they have a huge amount of information. The 2016 one definitely had information on party dates and which ones sold out when. I can’t remember if the 2017 one had similar information. But that might be a helpful starting point to get a general idea. I’m pretty sure figment_jii (I hope I spelled that correctly and I’m very sorry if I didn’t) had some informative posts about party dates and general party information as well.

Yes you are correct there are Halloween threads. Sherry E hosted the 2016 one and we had someone new host the one for 2017 and I don't think she posted the days the party's sold out like Sherry did. I attend a Halloween party each year. I love Halloween time.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

... I would like to go right when Halloween Season starts as I'm guessing that would be the least crowded time compared to the rest of Halloween season? ... Also, I've been reading about the walls up on Main Street, when does this construction end? What about the Construction around Paradise Pier?...

The opening weekend of Halloween Time at DLR last year was crazy crowded! Local passholders flooded the parks (since DCA was decorated for Halloween for the first time, too) to see all the fun and to ride HMH and SMGG. Lines to buy special holiday merchandise were very long, too. (Anyone remember the lines to buy the Oogie popcorn buckets? Whew...) All this to say, Halloween Time starts right off with a bang and big crowds... and stays crowded until Oct. 31st. Don't try to guestimate the crowd calendars. Just pick whichever dates work best for you and your family, then do your best planning from there. And there have been rumors about changes to the Halloween parties swirling around since last year, so I would wait as long as you can to find out as much info as you can before committing to the parties. They are rumored to be moving to DCA (not sure what CDL is as mentioned above) for the next two years, but there has been no confirmation on that.
The end date for the walls on MS is supposed to be in mid-March. People are hoping that Pixar Pier will be finished by July -- Disney said "summer," but that could mean anytime from June through August.

 

[figment_jii]

I’m pretty sure figment_jii (I hope I spelled that correctly and I’m very sorry if I didn’t) had some informative posts about party dates and general party information as well.

Here's the link to the 2017 calendar (https://www.disboards.com/threads/2017-calendar-of-events-school-breaks-and-dlr.3528760/). The third post has the party dates and when they sold out online. Last year, every party sold out in advance, although there were some reports of "day of" tickets being available (not for all parties however, so I wouldn't count on it). I'll be tracking the same information in the 2018 calendar as it comes out.

As others have said, I would aim for the latter half of September. I also think HalloweenTime is likely to start in early-to-mid September, but if you wanted to be as safe as possible, I would go in late September (as late as you can). There really aren't any low crowd weekends (Fri PM to Sun) once HalloweenTime starts. You might be able to find a few less crowded weekdays (Tue to Thu), but it also means shorter hours and less entertainment. HalloweenTime is very popular, so there will be crowds (especially in the evenings).

 

[FutureDisneyEventPlanner]

Going during the last week of September so I can see all the Halloween stuff! When do they usually release dates for the parties?

 

[figment_jii]

Lately it's been in mid-summer (somewhere around early-to-mid July).

 

[Pamela M]

Going during the last week of September so I can see all the Halloween stuff! When do they usually release dates for the parties?

Be sure you add in a Friday or Saturday into your plan. I went the last week(during the week) of September last year and the park hours were VERY short - 10am - 9pm. It was also the most crowded I've ever seen Disneyland. I think it was the shortened hours because everyone was there from opening to close. With Max pass we barely made it on all fastpass rides. 2 years ago I went the 1st weekend of October - during Gay days and I would do that again. It got crazy crowded around 1pm on Saturday but that's when we headed back to the hotel and rested/swam. I think that's my plan for 2018 Halloween time.

 

[pblack]

Be sure you add in a Friday or Saturday into your plan. I went the last week(during the week) of September last year and the park hours were VERY short - 10am - 9pm. It was also the most crowded I've ever seen Disneyland. I think it was the shortened hours because everyone was there from opening to close. With Max pass we barely made it on all fastpass rides. 2 years ago I went the 1st weekend of October - during Gay days and I would do that again. It got crazy crowded around 1pm on Saturday but that's when we headed back to the hotel and rested/swam. I think that's my plan for 2018 Halloween time.

We were there during gay days this past October (From Tues-Sat) and boy was it crowded the entire time we were there. We thought that maybe the weekdays would be a little less crowded and they weren't. Even the Tuesday Halloween party was packed. We didn't experience "walk ons" like a lot of people report. OP i'd definitely just choose whatever days work best for you and if they happen to not be too busy it'll be a bonus.

 

[Pamela M]

We were there during gay days this past October (From Tues-Sat) and boy was it crowded the entire time we were there. We thought that maybe the weekdays would be a little less crowded and they weren't. Even the Tuesday Halloween party was packed. We didn't experience "walk ons" like a lot of people report. OP i'd definitely just choose whatever days work best for you and if they happen to not be too busy it'll be a bonus.

Hi- yep I was there that Tuesday & Wednesday. Tuesday was insane! The only time there was walk on rides was the Halloween party on Wednesday. For some reason the lines were crazy for the trick or treat lines so we just went on the rides had very short waits. We pretty much walked on to Nemo, Pirates, BTM and Indy. I think it was the fact that park tickets were cheaper that week.

 

[pblack]

Hi- yep I was there that Tuesday & Wednesday. Tuesday was insane! The only time there was walk on rides was the Halloween party on Wednesday. For some reason the lines were crazy for the trick or treat lines so we just went on the rides had very short waits. We pretty much walked on to Nemo, Pirates, BTM and Indy. I think it was the fact that park tickets were cheaper that week.

Definitely could have been. We were just really surprised by how busy the weekdays were. I mean we weren't expecting no crowds, but we definitely weren't prepared for how many people were there.

Still had a good time though!

 

[ahale08]

Thanks everyone! Since we have two young kids we don't stay late so shorter hours don't usually bother us. The past few times we've went has been during shorter hours. I think right now our plans are to arrive Sunday 9/23 and stay for 4 nights. With the young kids we utilize rider swap and typically hit the Big rides just once since it's the adults going on them. We tend to spend a lot of time on our kid's favorite rides which don't have fast pass. I am planning on doing the MaxPass this time as usually I'm the "runner" to get the fast passes for the adults to use and we always buy the photo pass plus so this will eliminate purchasing that. Since my mom and grandmas haven't been in 20 years we will spend a lot of time taking pictures with characters and seeing the shows/parades.

I didn't realize the rumor about the parties moving to DCA...

 

[ahale08]

Do you recommend doing the party at the beginning of your trip or at the end? Like if days are the same as last year and I have the choice of arriving doing the party Monday or Wednesday (at the parks sunday-thursday) when would you do the party? I'm thinking of ending our trip with the party...

 

[GenGen22]

Do you recommend doing the party at the beginning of your trip or at the end? Like if days are the same as last year and I have the choice of arriving doing the party Monday or Wednesday (at the parks sunday-thursday) when would you do the party? I'm thinking of ending our trip with the party...

Personally I would do it mid-week if I had the option. Less chance of locals attending on a midweek party than a Friday or Sunday party. Of course they all get busy but I think if you have an option I would pick mid-week.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Personally I would do it mid-week if I had the option. Less chance of locals attending on a midweek party than a Friday or Sunday party. Of course they all get busy but I think if you have an option I would pick mid-week.

We do multiple parties every year, and from what we see, you'll get crowds (locals and non) at all the parties, mid-week, Fridays, and weekend (if any). Most, if not all, MHPs sell out. Personally, I'd rather have more locals -- it is easier to maneuver through the parks with more people who already know the park layout, know where the restrooms are, where the ride lines are, how MHP works, etc. (We love the out-of-town guests, too, and have had some great conversations, answering all sorts of questions, while waiting for rides and parades.) But it sure is easier to have a more intricate costume when you don't have to pack it in a suitcase! And costumes at MHP are the best!