Why is November 9 a "Forget About It" packed day?

[anneshirley11]

What's going on on November 9 at Disneyland? Is it because it's the first day of Christmas decor? We were thinking about the weekend of November 9-12.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

A lot of schools are out for Veteran's Day or fall break at that time. I'd bet that is the reasons.

 

[tink89]

It is the official start to the holiday season and most schools have a 3 day weekend.

 

[figment_jii]

It's also the start (first day) of the Holiday season at Disneyland Resort.

 

[anneshirley11]

Got it. I didn't realize that Nov 12 was Veteran's Day. Our school district is out for teacher in service on November 9 in the Northwest as well.

 

[anneshirley11]

So would you guys skip that weekend or nah?

 

[LizzyS]

If it were me, I'd skip a holiday weekend, yes.

 

[Malcon10t]

Veteran's weekend, and it is the first day of the Holiday season for Disney.

 

[figment_jii]

So would you guys skip that weekend or nah?

It really depends on how you feel about crowds, what the purpose of your trip is, and whether you have flexibility in terms of dates. It will be crowded as folks visit to see all the new stuff of the Holidays, but that doesn't mean it can't be a fun trip. I think that if you get there early, make good use of FP/Maxpass, and have realistic expectations about crowds, it's still possible to get a fair amount done and to have fun. That being said, if you have the flexibility to go on the weekdays (e.g., Tue to Thu), I would strongly think about going then.

 

[serendipityaey]

Checking the school's around the area though and they all have Monday off for the Holiday, as do we in PNW, which is the norm, not Friday.

 

[tink89]

Checking the school's around the area though and they all have Monday off for the Holiday, as do we in PNW, which is the norm, not Friday.

Yes all schools here have Monday off too, but many families take Friday off as well.

 

[serendipityaey]

Yes all schools here have Monday off too, but many families take Friday off as well.

Sure, of course, but that warrants a 'forget about it' when Saturday, Sunday and Monday are NOT 'forget about it's?

 

[figment_jii]

I'm a little surprised that they think Friday will be a "Forget About It" day, because I usually think of those as days when the park reaches capacity (e.g., between Xmas and New Year). That being said, I think it's going to be crowded that weekend regardless of when you because it's the first weekend for the Holiday offerings and a three-day weekend for some. Overall, I think there is a lot of uncertainty in terms of crowd calendars and I would take them all with a large grain of salt.

I'm of two minds about Crowd Calendars in general. I like the Isitpacked using a four tier, highly generalized, rating system rather than a more specific numbering system. That being said, there is no way to know if their "model" (whatever it is) predicted a "Forget About It" day way far into the scale or just at the borderline. For example, let's say their "model" predicts average wait times of 61 minutes. That is a "Forget About It" day (the note says that "Forget About It" days have average wait times between 60 and 90+ minutes). On the other hand, a different day predicts average wait times of 59 minutes. That's a "Yup, It's Packed" day (the note says that "Yup, It's Packed" days have average wait times of 30 to 60 minutes). But to the general visitor, is there much difference between a day with average waits of 61 minutes versus 59 minutes? If the split was 35 minutes and 90 minutes, I think most folks can tell the difference, but right at the threshold, it might not make much of a difference. Maybe there is some way that they deal with these border line days, but I generally think you can only use crowd calendars to predict what the day will be like in broad sense.

 

[mom2rtk]

First day of anything at DLR is always very busy.

 

[beachdreamr1229]

I used to go over Veteran's Day weekend all the time. It will be crowded, yes, but it's really not that bad if you go in with the mindset that you probably won't see absolutely everything.

 

[hyperminimalism]

I'm planning on visiting the week after Veteran's day, so the 11th through the 16th. I know it's kicking off the new holiday season and I know since it's a long-weekend that that Monday after Veteran's day is going to be observed/kids will be out of school/etc. But judging by past similar situations or just conjecture from people who manage to visit the parks more tan I get to, would that week be pretty crazy still after Veteran's day?

 

[mom2rtk]

I'm planning on visiting the week after Veteran's day, so the 11th through the 16th. I know it's kicking off the new holiday season and I know since it's a long-weekend that that Monday after Veteran's day is going to be observed/kids will be out of school/etc. But judging by past similar situations or just conjecture from people who manage to visit the parks more tan I get to, would that week be pretty crazy still after Veteran's day?

The rest of that week should be fine. I think the Veteran's Day weekend is mostly about locals who will be back at work and school. We did that week a couple years ago and it was just business as usual. Not sure what's in the works this year, but in 2016 they filmed the parade that Wednesday in DL. That kept Main Street pretty packed, but it still was decent in the rest of the park.

 

[JohnneeO]

This day will be our last day out of 5 park days. The first four days will fall between Nov. 4 and Nov. 8. (We are looking at skipping Monday 11/5 after the Monday horror stories here, lol.) Our plan is to do "everything" (or as much as we can on the other four days), and focus on the Christmas/Holiday shows & attractions on 11/9.

(I posted in the Holiday Super Thread asking for recommendations on how to utilize this one day, but crickets so far over there.)

Anyway, we are hoping it won't be so crowded that is unpleasant.

 

[figment_jii]

Assuming everything starts on 11/9, I think you'll probably need to look to see what is being offered and then prioritize what you want to see. I'm not sure it is possible to see everything in a single day, especially in terms of the entertainment. At this point, we don't know if WoC will be back or not (it's currently undergoing emergency repair with no solid return date). If there is no WoC, that simplifies the nighttime entertainment to some degree (fireworks). If WoC is back, then it might mean choosing between fireworks and WoC (historically, it's been possible to see both in one night, but you usually have to sacrifice a good view at one of the shows).

In terms of attractions, unless they add something, it's likely that only IaSW will have a major holiday theme overlay (they didn't do Jingle Cruise last year and it wasn't mentioned in the teaser blog post). Luigi's and Mater will have a minor holiday overlay, but I don't think that will translate to a huge crowd/line. You can ride HMH before the holiday season starts (it re-opens today).

There are so many unknowns, but for me, a rough schedule would be to be at the park at opening (I think that the crowds will still tend to arrive mid-day and the mornings might not be too bad) and head straight to IaSWH. Then from there, I would probably head over to DCA to check out the overlays in Carsland, the decorations and the entertainment offerings (including Viva Navidad and the Festival of the Holidays). Then head back to DL in the mid-afternoon/early evening for the entertainment (parade, fireworks) and be prepared for the crowds!