Best Months & Specific Dates to Visit Disneyland in 2023 & 2024
Photo Credit: MickeyVisit.com
One of the biggest deciding factors when planning a Disneyland trip is figuring when to go! While there is no time of the year anymore that Disneyland will be completely empty, there are certainly certain best months to visit Disneyland and specific dates of those months to consider.
You can avoid some of the most intense crowds of the year while also taking advantage of some of the best deals which often coincide with those less busy months at Disneyland. But this doesn’t also mean you can’t visit during some of the best celebrations of the year which include both Halloween and Christmas. We have all our tips
My guide to the best months to visit Disneyland covers not just the best months of the year to avoid crowds but also the best dates to visit to enjoy everything Disneyland has to offer with special events, holidays, and celebrations.
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Best Months to Visit Disneyland
Here are some of the best months to visit Disneyland broken down by our favorite months to visit. These choices reflect some of the lower crowded times of the year but also the celebrations at the resort.
January
January offers some of the lowest crowd levels of the year which makes it a popular month to visit Disneyland. If you visit at least a week after New Years Day you will see some of the lowest crowds of the year. Of course, if you’re looking to avoid crowds then you shouldn’t visit on the weekend of Martin Luther King Jr. Day which is a popular travel holiday weekend. Read our guide to Disneyland in January.
Guests looking to enjoy special celebrations at the resort can also target the end of January which is often when the popular Lunar New Year festival at California Adventure kicks off bringing a variety of food marketplace booths, entertainment, and special character photo ops.
Guests looking to prioritize low crowds above all other considerations will find January a great time to visit.
February
February is another month that sees lower crowd levels before the busy spring break season begins. The only weekend to avoid in February is the third Monday of February which is President’s Day weekend. As always, any three day weekend will bring extremely high crowd levels. Read our guide to Disneyland in February.
February also will see the continuation of the Lunar New Year festival at California Adventure which usually lasts until the middle of the month. There is also the time of year we will see the popular after dark events take place with Disneyland After Dark: Sweethearts’ Nite occurring multiple times throughout the month.
February is one of the best months to visit Disneyland if you want to take advantage of lower crowd levels and also enjoy special events.
April
April is far busier than both January and February but not quite as busy as other months of the year (think October for Halloween season!) and offers plenty of things to do. Especially if you take advantage of weekdays or go towards the end of the month, you can find plenty of days in April with reasonable crowds. Read our guide to Disneyland in April.
During April the popular Disneyland Food and Wine Festival takes place in California Adventure which is one of the best festivals offered at California Adventure all year. This festival brings marketplace booths full of varieties of food and wine, culinary demonstrations, the return of Soarin’ Over California, and more. Dapper Day at Disneyland also takes place in April which is a fun site to see as many guests dress up in their best to visit the resort. Depending on when Easter takes place, if it falls during April, you will also find plenty of Easter themed treats, activities, and more.
August
August is one of my favorite times to visit Disneyland as you get to enjoy all of the summer celebrations and weather while the crowds begin to die down. Many schools return to class before Labor Day which makes August one of the slower months of the summer as tourist crowds start to trickle down. Read our guide to Disneyland in August.
I have visited during the beginning of August before the local passholders (Magic Key holders) are unblocked from visiting the parks and as some of the tourist crowd levels start to dwindle down. This is one of the best months to visit Disneyland. You will still get to enjoy the longer operating hours of summer along with all the other benefits of a summer visit without the higher crowd levels you may see in June and July.
September
For folks looking for the best time to visit Disneyland for Halloween season, September is the best choice. October is notorious for being busy, perhaps being one of the busiest months all year at Disneyland! September is the perfect time to visit before the Halloween crowds at Disneyland start picking up. Read our guide to Disneyland in September.
The Halloween season at Disneyland usually begins after the first week of the month and crowds will progressively pick up as the month goes on. The earlier in September you can visit, the more crowds you can avoid.
November
November is a great winter month to visit Disneyland as you can enjoy the holiday season which kicks off within the first week of the month. If you want to try and catch both Halloween and Christmas, visit starting November 1st for the best chance of seeing the Halloween decorations (as they come down) and the holiday ones (as they go up.) Read our guide to Disneyland in November.
Just be sure to avoid Veteran’s Day weekend as this will likely be one of the most crowded weekends in the month along with Thanksgiving weekend.
Best Dates to Visit Disneyland For Each Month
While it can be hard to pinpoint the exact best date to visit Disneyland, I can give a rough estimate for the best days each month. This isn’t an exact science but you can get an idea of what days to focus your trip on. These dates would the ones I would select if I was picking my own best times to visit Disneyland.
- January: 4-10, 17-31
- February: 1-14, 22-29
- March: 1-8
- April: 22-30
- May: 1-11, 13, 15, 17, 18, 20
- June: 20-30
- July: 5-31
- August: 1-31
- September: 5-21, 25-30
- October: 1-5
- November: 1-9, 14-17, 27-30
- December: 4-8, 11-15
These dates are all meant to avoid peak h0liday periods in each specific month.
Cheapest Days to Visit Disneyland
Disneyland’s cheapest one day ticket is called Tier 1 and is priced at $104 for an adult ticket. Disney usually just offers these lower prices for one day tickets on days of the year they would consider slower days.
Most of these cheapest days for Disneyland will be on weekdays during slower months of the year. Read our guide to the cheapest times to visit Disneyland.
Busiest Times to Visit Disneyland
You can read more about the busiest time to visit Disneyland in our crowd calendar, but ultimately the good rule of thumb is to avoid holidays. This also includes holiday weekends which can sometimes be the busiest weekends the parks will see all year. Some of these weekends to avoid include President’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Labor Day, and Indigenous/Columbus Day.
October is also known to be one of the busiest months of the year at Disneyland due to the popularity of Halloween along with the many Fall breaks that schools receive in the west coast. Other times of year like Spring Break weeks during March/April, Thanksgiving week, and Christmas week also all draw big crowds. During the holiday season especially in late November and December, weekends will be extremely busy as locals turn out in droves to see the holiday decorations.
Best Time to Visit Disneyland During Halloween
Disneyland goes all out for Halloween with the celebration taking place starting mid-September through the full month of October. What can be surprising for a lot of guests to find out is that October is just as popular as December can be, if not more, at Disneyland. Many schools in California, Utah, Arizona, and more all have week long fall breaks in October and many of those families choose to visit Disneyland. Read our full guide to Disneyland Halloween for details on the general celebration and a guide to the after-hours Ooogie Boogie Bash Party.
If you want to see Disneyland during Halloween and avoid the crush of the crowds, then visiting during September is going to be your best choice. Avoid October if you can and choose to visit in September. Disneyland will begin decorating for Halloween as early as September 1st, sometimes even in late August, but the official Halloween celebrations begin the first week of the month.
When is Best Time to Visit Disneyland During Christmas?
If you’re looking to visit Disneyland during Christmas then there are some best times to visit to avoid crowds and have better weather. This is one of the best times of the year to visit Disneyland as the parks go all out for the holidays! This is truly one of the best times of the year to visit, it’s my favorite time to go personally!
If you are looking to avoid crowds, the earlier in the celebration you go the better. The seasonal celebration often begins after the first week of November and runs until the first week of January. If you visit before Thanksgiving, you will experience the lowest crowd levels during the holidays. After Thanksgiving the parks will increase in crowd levels, especially on weekends, as the holiday draws near and more locals are enticed by the Christmas decor.
Another tactic is to wait until after New Years Day and catch the Christmas celebration before it officially ends during the first week of January. Crowds will filter out quite quickly at Disneyland after New Years.
When is the Best Time to Visit Disneyland in Summer?
Disneyland is actually pretty reasonable when it comes to crowds in the summer, more so than busier weeks during the Halloween and Christmas season! While you will have more tourists coming to visit the parks during the summer, many of the Magic Key holders will have more restrictions on their park availability. However there are still some best times to visit Disneyland in the summer too! Read our guide to Disneyland in the Summer.
The first half of June is still wrapping up the Grad Nites celebrations at California Adventure park so if you visit towards the end of June you will avoid most of those crowds. July will see some of the heavier summer crowds and you will also have higher temperatures so if you’re looking to avoid both, the end of June is a great choice.
August is another good month to visit as many schools around the country go back before Labor Day with many school dates scattered throughout August. My son’s school always starts around mid-August, usually the 12th or so, so this is more common than you might expect. The end of August is a great time for low crowds although you may have high temperatures.
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