Labor Day Weekend

[meredith55]

How crazy does Labor Day weekend get? We are in the beginning stages of planning a trip and trying to decide when to go.

Will the closing of the Pixar Celebration impact the crowds? I obviously know it will be busy, but I don’t want to be there if it is unbearable. I also don’t want to go the next week and miss out on the long hours and entertainment (we’ve never seen Paint the Night and hear at amazing!).

We are a family of 7, 5 kids ages 1-10. We can go anytime starting the Saturday before Labor Day to the Saturday after. We will likely have 3 or 4 day hoppers. What do all of you experts think? Would you do some days over the weekend? Or avoid it all together? As always, thanks for all of your advice!

 

[Indiana Scott]

All the crowd predictors give it their highest ratings for huge crowds.
However, the days immediately after Labor Day are some of the best but Haunted Mansion for sure and Pirates (maybe) will be closed.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Last year, DLR went to the non-peak nighttime entertainment schedule by the last week of August, a move which caught a lot of guests by surprise. So WOC was still showing nightly, but F! and fireworks went to the weekend only (Fri., Sat., Sun.) schedule. There has been no word yet on whether DLR will continue the summer entertainment schedule all the way through Labor Day weekend (which is what so many people were assuming would happen last year). So, I would try to include some of the weekend days into your trip just to make sure that you get a chance to see PTN, the new Pixar fireworks, and F!. If you can include more than one chance to see fireworks, even better, since September is heading into Santa Ana wind season in southern California, which means that fireworks have a higher risk of being cancelled. As the pp noted, HM will be closed by Labor Day for the installation of the Halloween overlay. SM should still be open that week since its Halloween overlay only takes a few days to install. As long as you are prepared for crowds, use rope drop to your advantage, and know how to use FP or MP, you should still be able to get a lot done.

 

[figment_jii]

While I do think the crowds will be high on Labor Day weekend (most three-day weekends are busy), I would try to go for that weekend. DLR announced that Pixar Fest would run through September 3 (Labor Day Monday). It's not known at this point what will be ending, but it's possible that any or all of the entertainment that debuted for Pixar Fest will either end or go to a weekends only (Fri-Sun) schedule. So if you wanted to be as sure as possible to see PtN, I would go before Labor Day. Also, as mentioned, the parks are likely to have long hours on weekends (Fri to Sun, plus the holiday Monday), but shorter hours on weekdays.

Unless there is some major changes this year to HalloweenTime (which is always possible), Haunted Mansion will likely be closed during this period to have the overlay installed. Space Mountain also closes for a few days before HalloweenTime to have the overlay installed (e.g., Tue-Thu before HalloweenTime).

 

[mon8key]

“Unless there is some major changes this year to HalloweenTime (which is always possible), Haunted Mansion will likely be closed during this period to have the overlay installed.”

Anyone know when HM will likely go down for the overlay? We are heading down week of 8/13 and would hate to miss it.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

...Anyone know when HM will likely go down for the overlay? We are heading down week of 8/13 and would hate to miss it.

You can check the Halloween Time Superthread from last year for exact dates, but HM usually goes down the 20-somethingth of August, so you should be fine.

 

[figment_jii]

Anyone know when HM will likely go down for the overlay? We are heading down week of 8/13 and would hate to miss it.

As theluckyrabbit said, you should be okay. The Haunted Mansion usually closes for 18-days before the start of HalloweenTime to have the overlay installed. Lately that means it usually closes either the last or second to last Monday in August. Last year it closed on August 28, 2017 (re-opened on Sep 15) and in the year before it closed on August 22, 2016 (re-opened Sep 9).

 

[mon8key]

Thanks all!

 

[meredith55]

Thanks for all of your advice! Now I’m thinking maybe we will go for 2 days that weekend and enjoy the extra hours. We went during 2 Grad nights last summer, so I feel like we can handle a holiday weekend!!