Busy Day Guide For Disneyland Main Park -Updated with Federal & Local Holidays & Events for 2022

Bad Pink Tink · 23 Feb 22, 10:33 AM

Some people advise that you don't need to book or plan and can just turn up , as California has a more chill vibe. While this may be true comparing it to Walt Disney World, Disneyland California is busy in its own way.

Disneyland has a much higher % of local visitors than Walt Disney World.

This really affects crowd patterns and the flow of people during the day throughout the parks.

The first 2 to 3 hours after park opening are when the crowds and wait times are the lowest.

This means that being there for rope drop or in the first 30 minutes after park opening will really make a difference to the amount of rides you can do.

The biggest thing to note about crowd patterns in Disneyland, is that there is a low % of locals buying Genie+ on any given day.

Local crowds will be bigger at new things such as Galaxys Edge and any new show, attraction, character meet or limited time festival.

The best strategy is to be opposite of the local crowd pattern.

Where To Go At Rope Drop / First 30 Minutes After Park Opening

The most efficient use of time during the first few hours after park opening is to go straight to Fantasyland. This is because the rides in Fantasyland are slow loading rides, which have low capacity and don't have Lightning Lanes.

In the first hour after opening, Peter Pan will have wit times of approx 15 minutes. After that, for the rest of the day, the wait time for Peter Pan wont go below 40 minutes.

The rest of Fantasyland ride will either be walk on or less than 10 minutes and again will climb to 40 minutes and higher for the rest of the day. There are 10 rides including The Carousel in Fantasyland and it is possible to go on all 10 rides in the first 3 hours after park opening.

Another efficient use of the first 3 hours after park opening is to go to Adventureland and New Orleans Square. The headline rides of Indiana Jones, Pirates' of The Caribbean and Haunted Mansion will all have their lowest wait time of the day, approx 15 minutes or less.

Another efficient use of the first 3 hours after park opening is to go to Tomorrowland. Again the headline rides of Buzz Lightyear, Star Tours, Space Mountain, Astro Orbitors and Autopia will have wait times of 15 minutes or less. Space Mountain used to get big crowds at rope drop but now it has a more reasonable wait time in the morning as the crowds head to Galaxys Edge.

Rides to Avoid at Rope Drop
Both of the rides in Galaxys Edge should be avoided after rope drop and the first 3 hours after park opening.

While it is very tempting to race to Rise of The Resistance, unless you are at the rope at the entrance to Adventureland beside Jolly Holiday Restaurant AND can speed walk, you will still end up waiting 60 minutes or longer.

This is where the Individual Attraction Lightning Lane is essential, especially if you are a first time visitor to Disneyland or if you only visit once a year or less. It will cost you approx $20 but it is worth it to avoid waiting in long lines. If you decide to buy the Individual Attraction Lightning Lane, the best way is to get one with an almost immediate return time. This is because Rise of The Resistance goes down a lot , often multiple times in a day. If you have bought the Individual Attraction Lightning Lane, and the ride goes down, it will be converted into an anytime return. This means that you can return to Rise of The Resistance and redeem your Individual Attraction Lightning Lane any time for the rest of the day when the ride re starts.

The same with Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run. The morning time is when this ride has the longest wait times, 60 minutes and higher. In the afternoon, the wait times for Standyby drop down to 20 minutes or less. This ride has both Single Rider and Genie+ Lightning Lane.

Single Rider is a really great way to ride Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run multiple times in a row. Usually the single rider lanes are not crowded, but if the line extends to the corridor, don't wait. Only wait in single rider if the line is halfway up the stairs. There are two sets of stairs and the single rider line goes to both, so check both, as one may be shorter than the other. The single rider lane goes direct to the role assignment area, so you will miss the theming in the standyby / Genie+ Lightning Lane and the preshow.

The same strategy for Individual Attraction Lightning Lane at Rise of The Resistance applies to Genie+ Lightning Lane at Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run. Try to get an almost immediate return time. If you plan it right, it is possible to do single rider, Genie+ Lightning Lane, single rider at Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run in the same length of time as someone just waiting in standby.

Another ride to avoid at rope drop / first 3 hours of park opening is Big Thunder Mountain in Frontierland.
Again this is another ride that gets huge crowds waiting at the rope at the entrance to Frontierland Land and the wait time hits 60 minutes very fast.

Wait until the afternoon or evening and then book a Genie+ Lightning Lane. Depending on standby wait times, you could lucky with a low wait time. A good strategy would be to book a Genie+ Lightning Lane with an immediate return time while you are in the standby line.

Bad Pink Tink · 23 Feb 22, 10:38 AM

As Disneyland is a locals park, American National holidays and also local California / Nevada / Arizona holidays will have an affect on crowd levels.

Another thing to take note of is when the block out dates for the different levels of Annual Passes start and end. Annual Passes, now known as Magic Keys can not be used during specific times during the year.

Usually the week before a block out starts and the week after a block out ends are busy. As a result summer in Disneyland California has lower crowds than summer in Walt Disney World due to the Annual Pass / Magic Key holders being blocked out.

While Anaheim does have a very large convention centre about 15 minutes from Disneyland, the multiple conventions throughout the year don't really have an affect on crowd levels in the parks. Many conventions give discounted park tickets to their guests but there is a low % take up on these discount tickets. However conventions in Anaheim do have an affect on hotel capacity, availability and room rates.

These are the planned events and holidays for 2022, thanks to figment_jii on Disboards who created the thread in October 2021

January
Last day of Christmas season - Approx 9 January
Last day of Christmas School Holidays - Approx 9 January
Last Day of Believe Magic Key Holiday Blockout - January 2
Last Day of Enchant Magic Key Holiday Blockout - January 6
Last Day of Imagine Magic Key Holiday Blockout - January 9
Martin Luther King Jr. Day - third Monday of January, Federal Holiday
Lunar New Year Festival - Starts last week of January

February
Lunar New Year Festival - Ends approx 13 February
Valentines After Hours Ticketed Event - Aprox 1 to 14 February
Presidents Day - third Monday of February, Federal Holiday
Ski Week - Optional local holiday week for Northern California Schools, extra days before and after Presidents Day

March
Spring Break- California / Nevada / Arizona schools take a week for mid term / half term. Schools set their own time for taking the week off.
Food and Wine Festival - starts 4th March
After Dark Villain's Ticketed Event - March 8th, March 10th
California Adventures Park Early Closing - Park Closes at 5pm on March 23 and March 24
Cesar Chavez - March 31 - Local California School Holiday

April
Spring Break- California / Nevada / Arizona schools take a week for mid term / half term. Schools set their own time for taking the week off.
Imagine Magic Key Spring Blockout - April 8th to April 17
Believe and Enchant Magic Key Spring Blockout -April 8th to April 17
Easter - April 17th
Main Street Electrical Parade- First Night - April 22
Disneyland Forever - First Night - April 22
World of Color - First Night - April 22
Dapper Day - April 23rd, April 24th
Food and Wine Festival - ends April 26th
Fantasmic - First Night - April 28

May
Grad Nites - May 13, 14, 18, 20, 21, 25, 26, and 31
After Star Wars Ticketed Event - May 3rd, May 4th, May 27th
Cinco de Mayo - May 5th
Mothers Day - May 8th
Memorial Day - May 30th, last Monday in May, Federal Holiday

June
Grad Nites - June 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11, and 17
Start of Imagine Magic Key Summer Blockout - June 3rd
Start of Enchant Magic Key Summer Blockout - June 10th
Fathers Day - June 19
End of School Year

August
Last Day of Believe Magic Key Summer Blockout - August 14th
Last Day of Imagine Magic Key Summer Blockout - August 21

September
Labor Day - September 5th, First Monday in September, Federal Holiday
D23 Disney Expo Convention - September 9th to 11th
Gay Days - September 16 to 18th
Start of Halloween Season
Oogie Boogie Bash - Halloween After Hours Ticketed Event, dates to be announced

October
Columbus Day - October 10th, second Monday in October, Federal Holiday
Oogie Boogie Bash - Halloween After Hours Ticketed Event, dates to be announced
End of Halloween Season- October 31
Nevada Day - Local Nevada State Holiday - October 29th, Last Friday in October

November
Start of Christmas Season - November 1
Disneyland Very Merriest Nites - Christmas ours Ticketed Event, dates to be announced
Veterans Day - November 11

December
Candlelight Processional - first weekend in December
Disneyland Very Merriest Nites - Christmas ours Ticketed Event, dates to be announced
First Day of Enchant Magic Key Holiday Block out - dates to be announced
First Day of Imagine Magic Key Holiday Blockout -dates to be announced
First Day of Believe Magic Key Holiday Blockout --dates to be announced

megaflyer · 23 Feb 22, 10:45 AM

Well that may well be true of your latest visit it is far from being a definitive guide so maybe tittle it to reflect that ?

I have been going to Disneyland for over 50 years and while working out of Sand Diego for 10, went most Sundays.

It is a quiet park . At the moment it may appear busier due to covid - locals haven�t been able to attend as they would usually so lent up demand is making it, and all similar attractions, unusually busier. It twill settle down to pre-pandemic levels soon.

Sunday mornings at my preferred time. It is quiet as:

A; Many LA locals leave for the weekend to say Vegas, Palm Springs, Sand Diego etc so Sat and Sunday are the less busy days

B. Those left attend church, sports, or brunch

C. On hot days the beach at weekends take the numbers

I have never had to plan or pre-book. It simply has not been required. I have always got on the rides I wanted to do without any military campaign planning as that is how I will proceed.

I am laid back on holiday and go with the flow - it suits me. On the one occasion it was too busy for me (Boxing day 2019) we headed to Universal instead and had a blast - end of the day I made the memories .

Each to their own but I find the parks very different to you. That�s absolute fine. We both may be right but I know from long experience what I am happy with and report back. That does not make my advice wrong.

Bad Pink Tink · 23 Feb 22, 11:44 AM

I have now updated the second post with details of local and Federal holidays, and special events and festivals. This should help people planning to visit Disneyland California to know if their planned dates will be on days which could have high crowds.

Wismgari · 23 Feb 22, 02:21 PM

Thanks for this thread. Any tips for navigating the parks on grad nights? My days can't be changed so I have a full day on Friday 13th May and then until late afternoon on Saturday 14th May (I am also there on 12th May so have one more "normal" day). I am planning on buying park hoppers too

Bad Pink Tink · 23 Feb 22, 02:39 PM

Originally Posted by Wismgari

Thanks for this thread. Any tips for navigating the parks on grad nights? My days can't be changed so I have a full day on Friday 13th May and then until late afternoon on Saturday 14th May (I am also there on 12th May so have one more "normal" day). I am planning on buying park hoppers too

Grad Nights are after hours events held at California Adventures Park. They have 3 ticket options

Just the Grad Night Event
A full Day at California Adventures Park
A one day park hopper ticket

It really depends on how many people buy the park hopper or all day tickets for the crowd levels that day.

I usually always have my first park at Disneyland Main Park, but if I had the park days you have, with Park Hopper Tickets, I would start at Disneyland Main Park on May 12 and then hop to California Adventures and stay there until close, as thats the only chance you will have to be there late and see World of Color.

On May 13, with a Park Hopper ticket, I would start at California Adventures and then hop to Disneyland Main Park, as thats the only chance you will have to see Fantasmic and the Fireworks.

On May 14 I would just go to Disneyland Main Park at park opening and stay there as long as you can.

Jessika · 23 Feb 22, 08:34 PM

I�m currently stood in line for monsters inc using the app the wait time when I joined the line was 30 minutes. This has gone up twice since I joined the line and is now 80 minutes. We have bought the genie plus and some LL attractions and so thought this 30 minute filler would slot in nicely! I think that whilst some strategies of how to navigate the parks work on certain days and times of year, it all really does depend.

Wismgari · 23 Feb 22, 09:47 PM

Originally Posted by Bad Pink Tink

Grad Nights are after hours events held at California Adventures Park. They have 3 ticket options

Just the Grad Night Event
A full Day at California Adventures Park
A one day park hopper ticket

It really depends on how many people buy the park hopper or all day tickets for the crowd levels that day.

I usually always have my first park at Disneyland Main Park, but if I had the park days you have, with Park Hopper Tickets, I would start at Disneyland Main Park on May 12 and then hop to California Adventures and stay there until close, as thats the only chance you will have to be there late and see World of Color.

On May 13, with a Park Hopper ticket, I would start at California Adventures and then hop to Disneyland Main Park, as thats the only chance you will have to see Fantasmic and the Fireworks.

On May 14 I would just go to Disneyland Main Park at park opening and stay there as long as you can.

Thanks for this. Your ideas were pretty similar to mine, mostly to avoid California adventure from mid afternoon on head nights as I assume that's where most teenagers will go!

No fantasmic when we go sadly, returning later in May so we miss it which I am sad about, but very excited for my favourite parade ever! Also, controversial to say I think we will skip world of color too... We did it on our list trip and it was very pretty but not worth the time needed to stake out. Good spot if you are short and can't see anything from very far back! Definitely want to do the fireworks though as I have never seen any fireworks at Disneyland!

I'm definitely doing park pass for Disneyland on the Thursday and California adventure on the Friday. Just undecided on the sat as California adventure has a lot of new stuff (especially marvel which we both love) so I can't decide which one to book! Not a bad problem to have really 😂

23 Feb 22, 10:33 AM	#1
	23 Feb 22, 10:33 AM Bad Pink Tink Imagineer
Bad Pink Tink Imagineer Join Date: Aug 19	Busy Day Guide For Disneyland Main Park -Updated with Federal & Local Holidays & Events for 2022 Some people advise that you don't need to book or plan and can just turn up , as California has a more chill vibe. While this may be true comparing it to Walt Disney World, Disneyland California is busy in its own way. Disneyland has a much higher % of local visitors than Walt Disney World. This really affects crowd patterns and the flow of people during the day throughout the parks. The first 2 to 3 hours after park opening are when the crowds and wait times are the lowest. This means that being there for rope drop or in the first 30 minutes after park opening will really make a difference to the amount of rides you can do. The biggest thing to note about crowd patterns in Disneyland, is that there is a low % of locals buying Genie+ on any given day. Local crowds will be bigger at new things such as Galaxys Edge and any new show, attraction, character meet or limited time festival. The best strategy is to be opposite of the local crowd pattern. Where To Go At Rope Drop / First 30 Minutes After Park Opening The most efficient use of time during the first few hours after park opening is to go straight to Fantasyland. This is because the rides in Fantasyland are slow loading rides, which have low capacity and don't have Lightning Lanes. In the first hour after opening, Peter Pan will have wit times of approx 15 minutes. After that, for the rest of the day, the wait time for Peter Pan wont go below 40 minutes. The rest of Fantasyland ride will either be walk on or less than 10 minutes and again will climb to 40 minutes and higher for the rest of the day. There are 10 rides including The Carousel in Fantasyland and it is possible to go on all 10 rides in the first 3 hours after park opening. Another efficient use of the first 3 hours after park opening is to go to Adventureland and New Orleans Square. The headline rides of Indiana Jones, Pirates' of The Caribbean and Haunted Mansion will all have their lowest wait time of the day, approx 15 minutes or less. Another efficient use of the first 3 hours after park opening is to go to Tomorrowland. Again the headline rides of Buzz Lightyear, Star Tours, Space Mountain, Astro Orbitors and Autopia will have wait times of 15 minutes or less. Space Mountain used to get big crowds at rope drop but now it has a more reasonable wait time in the morning as the crowds head to Galaxys Edge. Rides to Avoid at Rope Drop Both of the rides in Galaxys Edge should be avoided after rope drop and the first 3 hours after park opening. While it is very tempting to race to Rise of The Resistance, unless you are at the rope at the entrance to Adventureland beside Jolly Holiday Restaurant AND can speed walk, you will still end up waiting 60 minutes or longer. This is where the Individual Attraction Lightning Lane is essential, especially if you are a first time visitor to Disneyland or if you only visit once a year or less. It will cost you approx $20 but it is worth it to avoid waiting in long lines. If you decide to buy the Individual Attraction Lightning Lane, the best way is to get one with an almost immediate return time. This is because Rise of The Resistance goes down a lot , often multiple times in a day. If you have bought the Individual Attraction Lightning Lane, and the ride goes down, it will be converted into an anytime return. This means that you can return to Rise of The Resistance and redeem your Individual Attraction Lightning Lane any time for the rest of the day when the ride re starts. The same with Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run. The morning time is when this ride has the longest wait times, 60 minutes and higher. In the afternoon, the wait times for Standyby drop down to 20 minutes or less. This ride has both Single Rider and Genie+ Lightning Lane. Single Rider is a really great way to ride Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run multiple times in a row. Usually the single rider lanes are not crowded, but if the line extends to the corridor, don't wait. Only wait in single rider if the line is halfway up the stairs. There are two sets of stairs and the single rider line goes to both, so check both, as one may be shorter than the other. The single rider lane goes direct to the role assignment area, so you will miss the theming in the standyby / Genie+ Lightning Lane and the preshow. The same strategy for Individual Attraction Lightning Lane at Rise of The Resistance applies to Genie+ Lightning Lane at Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run. Try to get an almost immediate return time. If you plan it right, it is possible to do single rider, Genie+ Lightning Lane, single rider at Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run in the same length of time as someone just waiting in standby. Another ride to avoid at rope drop / first 3 hours of park opening is Big Thunder Mountain in Frontierland. Again this is another ride that gets huge crowds waiting at the rope at the entrance to Frontierland Land and the wait time hits 60 minutes very fast. Wait until the afternoon or evening and then book a Genie+ Lightning Lane. Depending on standby wait times, you could lucky with a low wait time. A good strategy would be to book a Genie+ Lightning Lane with an immediate return time while you are in the standby line. Edited at 11:42 AM.

23 Feb 22, 10:38 AM	#2
	23 Feb 22, 10:38 AM Bad Pink Tink Imagineer Thread Starter
Bad Pink Tink Thread Starter Imagineer Join Date: Aug 19	As Disneyland is a locals park, American National holidays and also local California / Nevada / Arizona holidays will have an affect on crowd levels. Another thing to take note of is when the block out dates for the different levels of Annual Passes start and end. Annual Passes, now known as Magic Keys can not be used during specific times during the year. Usually the week before a block out starts and the week after a block out ends are busy. As a result summer in Disneyland California has lower crowds than summer in Walt Disney World due to the Annual Pass / Magic Key holders being blocked out. While Anaheim does have a very large convention centre about 15 minutes from Disneyland, the multiple conventions throughout the year don't really have an affect on crowd levels in the parks. Many conventions give discounted park tickets to their guests but there is a low % take up on these discount tickets. However conventions in Anaheim do have an affect on hotel capacity, availability and room rates. These are the planned events and holidays for 2022, thanks to figment_jii on Disboards who created the thread in October 2021 January Last day of Christmas season - Approx 9 January Last day of Christmas School Holidays - Approx 9 January Last Day of Believe Magic Key Holiday Blockout - January 2 Last Day of Enchant Magic Key Holiday Blockout - January 6 Last Day of Imagine Magic Key Holiday Blockout - January 9 Martin Luther King Jr. Day - third Monday of January, Federal Holiday Lunar New Year Festival - Starts last week of January February Lunar New Year Festival - Ends approx 13 February Valentines After Hours Ticketed Event - Aprox 1 to 14 February Presidents Day - third Monday of February, Federal Holiday Ski Week - Optional local holiday week for Northern California Schools, extra days before and after Presidents Day March Spring Break- California / Nevada / Arizona schools take a week for mid term / half term. Schools set their own time for taking the week off. Food and Wine Festival - starts 4th March After Dark Villain's Ticketed Event - March 8th, March 10th California Adventures Park Early Closing - Park Closes at 5pm on March 23 and March 24 Cesar Chavez - March 31 - Local California School Holiday April Spring Break- California / Nevada / Arizona schools take a week for mid term / half term. Schools set their own time for taking the week off. Imagine Magic Key Spring Blockout - April 8th to April 17 Believe and Enchant Magic Key Spring Blockout -April 8th to April 17 Easter - April 17th Main Street Electrical Parade- First Night - April 22 Disneyland Forever - First Night - April 22 World of Color - First Night - April 22 Dapper Day - April 23rd, April 24th Food and Wine Festival - ends April 26th Fantasmic - First Night - April 28 May Grad Nites - May 13, 14, 18, 20, 21, 25, 26, and 31 After Star Wars Ticketed Event - May 3rd, May 4th, May 27th Cinco de Mayo - May 5th Mothers Day - May 8th Memorial Day - May 30th, last Monday in May, Federal Holiday June Grad Nites - June 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11, and 17 Start of Imagine Magic Key Summer Blockout - June 3rd Start of Enchant Magic Key Summer Blockout - June 10th Fathers Day - June 19 End of School Year August Last Day of Believe Magic Key Summer Blockout - August 14th Last Day of Imagine Magic Key Summer Blockout - August 21 September Labor Day - September 5th, First Monday in September, Federal Holiday D23 Disney Expo Convention - September 9th to 11th Gay Days - September 16 to 18th Start of Halloween Season Oogie Boogie Bash - Halloween After Hours Ticketed Event, dates to be announced October Columbus Day - October 10th, second Monday in October, Federal Holiday Oogie Boogie Bash - Halloween After Hours Ticketed Event, dates to be announced End of Halloween Season- October 31 Nevada Day - Local Nevada State Holiday - October 29th, Last Friday in October November Start of Christmas Season - November 1 Disneyland Very Merriest Nites - Christmas ours Ticketed Event, dates to be announced Veterans Day - November 11 December Candlelight Processional - first weekend in December Disneyland Very Merriest Nites - Christmas ours Ticketed Event, dates to be announced First Day of Enchant Magic Key Holiday Block out - dates to be announced First Day of Imagine Magic Key Holiday Blockout -dates to be announced First Day of Believe Magic Key Holiday Blockout --dates to be announced Edited at 04:09 PM.

23 Feb 22, 10:45 AM	#3
	23 Feb 22, 10:45 AM megaflyer Imagineer
megaflyer Imagineer Join Date: Nov 07	Well that may well be true of your latest visit it is far from being a definitive guide so maybe tittle it to reflect that ? I have been going to Disneyland for over 50 years and while working out of Sand Diego for 10, went most Sundays. It is a quiet park . At the moment it may appear busier due to covid - locals haven�t been able to attend as they would usually so lent up demand is making it, and all similar attractions, unusually busier. It twill settle down to pre-pandemic levels soon. Sunday mornings at my preferred time. It is quiet as: A; Many LA locals leave for the weekend to say Vegas, Palm Springs, Sand Diego etc so Sat and Sunday are the less busy days B. Those left attend church, sports, or brunch C. On hot days the beach at weekends take the numbers I have never had to plan or pre-book. It simply has not been required. I have always got on the rides I wanted to do without any military campaign planning as that is how I will proceed. I am laid back on holiday and go with the flow - it suits me. On the one occasion it was too busy for me (Boxing day 2019) we headed to Universal instead and had a blast - end of the day I made the memories . Each to their own but I find the parks very different to you. That�s absolute fine. We both may be right but I know from long experience what I am happy with and report back. That does not make my advice wrong.

23 Feb 22, 11:44 AM	#4
	23 Feb 22, 11:44 AM Bad Pink Tink Imagineer Thread Starter
Bad Pink Tink Thread Starter Imagineer Join Date: Aug 19	I have now updated the second post with details of local and Federal holidays, and special events and festivals. This should help people planning to visit Disneyland California to know if their planned dates will be on days which could have high crowds.

23 Feb 22, 08:34 PM	#7
	23 Feb 22, 08:34 PM Jessika Apprentice Imagineer
Jessika Apprentice Imagineer Join Date: Apr 09	I�m currently stood in line for monsters inc using the app the wait time when I joined the line was 30 minutes. This has gone up twice since I joined the line and is now 80 minutes. We have bought the genie plus and some LL attractions and so thought this 30 minute filler would slot in nicely! I think that whilst some strategies of how to navigate the parks work on certain days and times of year, it all really does depend.