What is the best day of the week to visit Disneyland? There are a few factors to consider when trying to pick the best day of the week for a Disneyland trip. Disneyland has a large population of annual passholders which have greater impacts on crowd levels than arguably any other factor. Plus yearly events, holidays, and seasonal celebrations can also have an impact on the best and worst days to visit Disneyland.
Let's go through what our pick is for the best day of the week to visit Disneyland, the worst day to visit, and our recommendations for the best days of the week for the 2024 Disneyland calendar year.
My top pick for the best day of the week to visit Disneyland may surprise you!
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What is the Best Day of the Week to Visit Disneyland?
Surprising to most guests, during peak times of the year (Spring Break, summer months, holidays) the best day of the week to visit Disneyland is often Saturday. This is because most Magic Key (Disneyland's Annual Passholders) are blocked out on Saturdays! Along with the Magic Key blockout calendar, the popular SoCal resident ticket offers are often only good Monday through Fridays which makes both Saturday and Sunday better options than weekdays.
Other days of the week that can be the best day to visit Disneyland are Tuesdays and Wednesdays. These mid-day week days often have the best of both worlds with lower crowd levels from visiting tourists and fewer Magic Key holders visiting due to their own work/family schedules. If you were picking between Tuesday and Wednesday, Wednesday would come out on top as the lowest crowd-level day. Since the introduction of variable 1-day ticket pricing at Disneyland, the lowest cost of 1-day tickets often falls on Tuesdays which may increase crowds on those days.
But one day stands out as the consistently best day to visit Disneyland due to those low local crowd levels and that is Saturdays! This answer might surprise many of our readers so the common assumption is you should avoid weekends at Disneyland but in fact, it has become the opposite!
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What is the Worst Day of the Week to Visit Disneyland?
The worst day of the week to visit Disneyland can vary depending on the time of the year but one day that stays consistently busy year-round is Mondays. There are a few reasons that contribute to why we say Monday is the one day of the week to avoid!
Lower Cost
Many guests fly out of the area on Tuesdays (a lower-cost day to travel) so they make Monday their last day in the parks. Hotel stays are often cheaper Sunday through Thursday nights, rather than weekends. Disneyland's lowest 1-day ticket tier types are often on Mondays meaning Mondays are often the cheapest day of the week to visit.
Magic Key Passes
Mondays are also a day that is consistently unblocked for nearly all Magic Key holders so many come out to visit on Mondays especially if they were blocked out over the weekend.
Work Schedules
It is also more common for schools and workplaces to have sporadic Mondays off for long weekends or holidays which contributes to larger crowds. Since this weekday is the closest to the weekend, many families take this day off for a longer park weekend.
Plus many people think the weekend must be the busiest time to avoid so they pick Mondays to start their vacation without knowing just how busy those days are! Mondays are consistently the worst day of the week to visit Disneyland due to these higher crowds!
Disneyland Annual Passholder Crowd Impact
The Disneyland annual passholders (called Magic Key holders) have a huge impact on crowd levels at Disneyland. While we do not know the exact number, Disneyland annual passholders were rumored to be around the 1 million mark prior to 2020. That number may have changed since the program was restructured to the Magic Key passholder program which has also limited how often the passes are for sale.
Still, it is likely still a significant number as nothing has more crowd impact on Disneyland than the local Magic Key holders. For this reason, I looked at all the block-out calendars for the Magic Key passes on Disneyland's website to get the best day of which days are the best to visit Disneyland per season.
Halloween Best Days to Visit Disneyland
In October, most Magic Key passholders are blocked out on Saturdays and Sundays. This means that Friday will consistently be a day to avoid since many Magic Key holders will come out to see the fireworks (which only take place Friday-Sunday) and will greatly impact the crowds on Fridays.
The best days of the week to visit Disneyland during the Halloween season will often fall on weekdays and Saturdays/Sundays. But keep in mind that October itself is one of the busiest months of the year at Disneyland so it gets a bit harder to pin down days of the week that are the least crowded. The crowds are far more unpredictable in October than in September!
Christmas Best Days to Visit Disneyland
Let's break down the most common blockout dates for Magic Key passholder types at Disneyland for November and December:
- Imagine Key: most Fridays-Sundays, all of December
- Enchant Key: December 1, 7-8, 14-31, 2024
- Believe Key: December 7, 2024, December 14-15, 2024, December 18-31, 2024
- Inspire Key: Dec. 21-31, 2024
By looking at the blockout dates for the Magic Key passes, I predict that Saturday will consistently be one of the best days to visit Disneyland during the Christmas season. Since weekends are consistently blocked out for passholders in the holiday season, this will also greatly contribute to Monday being one of the worst days to visit the parks as passholders will often come on Mondays after being blocked out all weekend.
Another interesting thing to note is that Dec. 20-31 is blocked out of ALL Magic Key holders. This will greatly help reduce the crowds during those dates but still expect crowds since the holiday season is so popular among tourists. This also means we will see large crowds on December 19th as the passholders that are not blocked will come out to see the parks before they are limited for the rest of the year. So this would make that particular Tuesday one to avoid!
Spring Best Days to Visit Disneyland
Spring at Disneyland is such a large block of time to analyze as this can include the months of January through May. While the top tier Magic Keys (Inspire and Believe) have little to no blockout dates, the two lowest tier keys (Enchant and Imagine) are blocked out all Saturdays and Sundays for the lowest tier Imagine key.
For the best day to visit Disneyland in the Spring, Saturdays and most Sundays look to be the best day to visit the parks. This also helps continue the trend of Monday being one of the consistently worst days to visit as passholders will flock to the park on Mondays after being blocked out on Saturdays and/or Sundays. If I were picking my best day to visit Disneyland this time of year, I would pick Saturday.
In the Spring months, you will see consistently lower crowds on weekdays mornings and afternoons, and evenings will pick up as locals come out to the parks after work or school.
Summer Best Days to Visit Disneyland
Summers are easily become one of the best times of the year to visit Disneyland for lower crowds. As popularity increases for both Disneyland Halloween and Disneyland Christmas, not as many out-of-state guests are visiting Disneyland in the summer.
Plus the two lowest-tier Magic Keys (Enchant and Inspire) are blocked for nearly all of June and July making these two months perfect for a low-crowd visit. As for the Believe Key, Saturdays continue to be blocked out for all of July making Saturday a consistently good choice for the best day to visit Disneyland.
For the summer, I would pick Saturday as the best day to visit along with Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Disclaimer: Disneyland Can Always Be Busy
While we can speculate all day long on the best days of the week to visit Disneyland, you never know when you may find yourself on a busy day at Disneyland. While crowd levels at Disneyland may vary throughout the year, there is never any truly “dead time” to visit the parks. Disneyland runs consistent discount hotel sales and ticket offers to incentivize guests to visit during non-peak times of the year. These sales often bring out more locals to visit, like those who may not be Magic Key holders, so there is always a nearby demographic the resort can appeal to.
However, you can do your best to plan your trip by avoiding days that are consistently more busy (Mondays!) and taking advantage of days that are less crowded (Saturdays!) to help maximize your time. Following a good morning strategy for both Disneyland and California Adventure is also the best plan to guide your day. And knowing the best tips and tricks for Genie+ at Disneyland is also essential to navigating the parks.
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FAQs
The least busy day of the week at Disneyland is most often Saturdays since most of the annual passholders are blocked out on those days.
Saturday is the best day of the week at Disneyland since it is less crowded because most annual passholders are blocked out. Saturdays are also the one day a week that you can expect fireworks in the park since during the off-season there are only fireworks on weekends.
Weekends are often the best choice to go to Disneyland due to lower levels of locals in the crowd, longer hours, and a more robust entertainment schedule like fireworks!
Three days at Disneyland is often the perfect amount to see everything at both parks.
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