Greetings, Pam, and welcome to planDisney! It's great that you’re considering a trip to the Disneyland Resort later this year. I especially love it when the Resort
transforms for the holiday season in mid-November.
If you're looking to visit in November or December, Pam, I suggest planning for sometime in the first few weeks of November. Once Thanksgiving comes, holiday travel will pick up, and the parks will be busier. In my experience, midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday) has lighter crowds than weekends. The
1-day ticket pricing tiers can sometimes provide a clue about crowd levels. Lower-tier days may indicate fewer crowds. For instance, weekends generally fall into higher tiers than weekdays. For fun, you can
select a 1-day ticket and follow the prompt to see the ticket prices by date. Just a note: it's a little too early for November and December to show up in the calendar – you'll want to check back in a month or two.
Pam, as you plan your trip, keep in mind that there are certain times of the day when wait times for various attractions may be shorter. This, in my opinion, can shape your experience more than the day you choose to go. I love being in the park bright and early – the ticket gates open approximately 30 minutes before the park opening time. Guests can walk to the other side of Main Street, U.S.A. to gather behind a rope. The Cast Members lower the ropes at the park opening time so Guests can proceed to the attractions. When we rope drop, my family usually heads to the Rivers of America to go on Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. In my experience, the wait times are usually great in the first two hours of the day. The park is also quite magical at the very end of the night, around 10 p.m. and later. Similar to rope drop, there are generally shorter wait times, and certain areas of the park feel very quiet.
One way to maximize your time inside the parks is to get the
Lightning Lane Multi Pass for each person in your party. It grants access to the Lightning Lane entrance at several attractions, leading to shorter queues. With this pass, your family could select return times for participating attractions using the
Disneyland mobile app. You'd save time and also stay together. There are other benefits to this pass, too, like unlimited digital downloads of
PhotoPass photos.
Pam, I hope this information has sprinkled some pixie dust onto your planning efforts. No matter when you visit the Disneyland Resort, I'm confident your family will have a wonderful time. Please reach out if you have any other questions before your trip. We're always happy to help here at planDisney!
Wishing you magic,
Kriss