There are a lot of things to consider when you are planning a trip to Disney like weather, special events and celebrations, and crowd levels. With the way the parks have been lately, it’s almost impossible to know what crowds are going to look like. There really are no down times anymore at Disneyland, you will likely never be able to just walk onto rides in a fairly empty park. But with that being said, we can get an idea of what to expect in terms of crowds by looking at previous years crowd patterns, off season times, major events, and more to find the best time to visit.

So to make your life easier, I have created a crowd calendar to help you more easily decide when to visit the parks! Not only have I given my estimate of what the crowds will look like (based on previous years trends, this does not guarantee full accuracy as that isn’t possible) but I have also included all of the major celebrations, events, and after hours parties that will be happening in the parks so you can see what is going on during the year. To most accurately represent crowd levels, I have color coded days to make it even easier for you to see how crowd levels will differ based on a 6 color system so you will have a more accurate idea of how busy the crowds will be rather than just a basic not busy, normal busy, or busy category crowd calendar.

Be aware, not all of the events in the parks are on this calendar yet as dates for things like Oogie Boogie Bash and the CHOC Walk in the Park have not been announced yet, but as those become available I will update the calendars. Another thing to keep in mind is that during the off season (January-mid May) crowds will be lower at times but you can expect to see shorter park hours, more attractions being closed for refurbishment, and sometimes less entertainment options, so just keep that in mind when planning to visit during those months. If you visit during May-December, generally speaking the parks are busier but the park hours will be extended, less attractions will be closed for refurbishment, and there will be more entertainment options to enjoy. Definitely pros and cons to visiting during each time so I’d factor that in to planning your trip!