Navigating Disneyland on an Event Weekend

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October 18, 2010

Kyla and I are well-studied on how to maximize our Disney vacations. On a weekend like this, where crowds were inevitable and the weather was dreary, it was a good thing we were experienced park-goers and could make the best of our weekend.

Spending the night in Anaheim Friday and Saturday was a great plan. Both nights we left the park relatively late, and we would have been insane to drive all the way to San Diego and back the following mornings. We stayed at the Lemon Tree, which was about 3.5 miles away from the park. The website offered a one night free promotion, which meant we got a little studio apartment for two nights for the bargain price of $125. Being out all day, we didn't use the amenities much, but it was nice to have a little kitchen if we wanted it.

Parking is usually $15 a day, but with Kyla's new annual pass, we parked for free, another great savings (at the price of an annual pass). Disney has an amazing amount of infrastructure around Anaheim to direct visitors to various parking lots. Electronic message boards tell you to turn left for the parking garage, or to make a U-turn to get back to the parks. In this town, all signs point to Disneyland.

One word for attendance during Halloween Time: Crowded. October draws about 50,000 people on weekends, which felt like a big change after enjoying a quiet evening with only 20,000 people at the Halloween party. More guests meant longer lines, about an hour wait for most rides, and longer for the extremely popular ones like Space Mountain (87 minutes stand-by). Typically, we skip the parades and evening shows because it usually means shorter lines for rides. This was not necessarily the case for our visit this time. People were still packed in the queues and the waits were just as long. Kyla and I used Fastpass for the handful of rides we went on.

I think we were both frustrated that we hadn't really done much for the amount of time spent at the park, but it was exhausting navigating through the strollers and tides of people that we found it better to sit back and take it easy. Happily, Kyla and I had both been to the park several times before, so we were OK skipping Dumbo and the smaller rides and focused on the rides we most wanted to see.

Of course it was still a really fun visit to the parks. I would absolutely do the Halloween party again. If time off allowed, visiting the park on a week day would be best, followed in the evening by the Halloween party. If it means a chance of smaller crowds, I am all for it!

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