Crowded at Disneyland: What to do to keep it magical on busy days

While you can try your very hardest to attend Disney when the crowds are lowest, sometimes you just look around and find that you’re at Disneyland on a busy day. The GOOD news is that you can still have a lot of fun even when it’s crowded. Here are 5 tips and 10 things to do when Disneyland & California Adventure are crazy busy.

I 100% recommend checking out how busy Disneyland will be at the time you plan to go. Last year we did a mid-year trip to Disneyland and it wasn’t bad at all, but sometimes the only time you can go IS busy, and sometimes even though it doesn’t look like it WILL be busy, it is. — so here are my tips for busy days (btw, this is part of my Disneyland Tips for Families page — which includes stuff on budgeting, planning your trip and the cheapest hotels near Disneyland):

Pro Tip: A lot of people want to use a fancy crowd calendar, but the truth is that the Disneyland Hours (like the hours that the park is open) are the best guides for how crowded Disneyland thinks it will be. Longer hours usually means larger crowds!

The Rules for Visiting Disneyland on a Busy Day

BUUUT, if you find that the best time for your family to visit the park is on a crowded day, NEVER FEAR! Follow my two main rules, check out my other tips. You’re bound to still have a good time:

Arrive Early (consider staying late). Arriving early is always important at Disneyland, but never more true than at peak times. You want to be to the gates at least 30 minutes before park opening. I try to aim to hit security an hour before it opens. We then take the time to apply sunscreen while we wait. You can also take a mid-day (peak crowd) break and then come back later (I find I am always too tired to do this).
Pack your Positive Attitude. Moms, the dirty secret of family life is that if you are having a good attitude about things, it carries over to the whole family. So be ready to be jostled and bustled, and still enjoy the day. You CAN do it! You may have to take a minute to find the Disneyland magic — but you CAN do it!

BTW, I talk about the best times to go to Disneyland in a recent podcast, I also have a post on the best time of year to go.

Use Maxpasses Wisely on Crowded Days at Disneyland

MaxPasses or FastPasses are your best friend on a busy day at Disneyland.

You can use them to get the “big” rides in, and then just enjoy your time between Max/Fast Passes.

The key will be to make sure you get the “big” Maxpasses in before they “sell out” {while you aren’t BUYING the passes, they have a limited # each day, and once those fast passes are gone, they conclude distributing them for the day). My Disney Day Planner gives you an idea of what rides to do first:

This is more of a problem in California Adventure with the Racers and the Guardians of the Galaxy Ride. In Disneyland sometimes Indiana Jones or Splash Mountain sell out faster, but only when it’s REALLY busy.

Pro Tip: Even if you’ve been to the park, and then got back to the hotel, you can reserve MaxPasses from your hotel room for later in the evening. It’s a handy tip!

I have a whole post on tips for using MaxPasses. But, they come the MOST handy when it’s busy.

And, you really can just enjoy the park while you wait for your fastpasses.

Use the App when it’s busy at Disneyland

While I believe the Disneyland App is necessary at all times, when it’s busy it’s the MOST necessary.

You need to be thoughtful about how long your family really wants to wait in line.

I remember when I was in high school, I didn’t mind waiting an hour in line talking to my friends.

But, now that I’m older (and more overweight — btw, I have a whole post on being overweight at Disneyland) I absolutely HATE the lines. I really won’t do more than half an hour for anything.

By using the app, I can know what I need to expect before I walk somewhere to get in line. It can be really helpful!

Bonus Tip: The Disney Play app is separate but has some fun games to play in line and the Star Wars fans will find a lot of joy in that land on that app.

If you KNOW it’s going to be busy — arrive early!

Like I said before, on busy days it’s SO important to go early. We like to arrive to the gates at LEAST a half an hour before the park opens. And that means you arrive to security about an hour before the park opens (as security takes a while).

If you have magic mornings or early entry, use it thoughtfully!

We used Magic Morning and got a TON of stuff done in Fantasyland in an hour. While those rides don’t often have a long wait, there are quite a few, so they add up!

It also left us free to do other things for the rest of the time.

Go back to the hotel mid-day

I have never done this, until our last trip (and frankly I rarely have the energy to go back, if I’m being honest)

As I said above I just get SUPER tired standing in lines and I start to get ornery. So, this time we walked back to the hotel. We usually stay within walking distance, but even using the shuttle it doesn’t take too long to get back to your hotel.

Pro Tip: Be sure to take care of your feet at Disneyland.

It was SO nice to lay on our bed and just read a book or take a catnap. Rehydrate with cold water.

It was very much worth it, and everyone was in a much better mood when we went back. Plus, as I said above, we had some Maxpasses lined up for the evening, so we already had some fun to look forward to!

Pro Tip: If it truly is CRAZY busy, check with cast members to find out if they are close to shutting the parks down. If that happens (which is rare — but does happen around the holidays and peak summer times) you may not be able to get back in.

Be sure that your hotel is stocked with the essentials and use my Disneyland Packing List to do just that!

Bright Idea: If crowds are just more than you can take — have you checked out Knotts Berry Farms? MUCH fewer crowds, and you can even get their front of the line passes that help you skip the lines for cheaper than Disneyland. It’s not my first pick, but certainly viable option — and I compare the two in that post I linked to.

Eat when it’s busy at Disneyland

When the lines seem insane, think about getting something to eat. There are a few reasons to do this

Everyone’s happier when their belly is full
Gives you an opportunity to sit down and re-group. Decide what’s important to you.
Hydration is key, and it’s HARD to get enough water in when you’re “doing the park”
Honestly, even when the park is really crowded, we have always found a table at Plaza Inn or at the Jolly holiday (to have the world’s best raspberry macaroon). I don’t feel it is as crowded in these cool places

Also, I like to plan our reservations at times that are busier/hotter and don’t create a magical experience.

That usually means sometimes around 3 or 4, for us.

Pro Tip: I have a post all about using the app to make the best Disneyland Food experience, and a post on my favorite places to eat.

People Watch

Sometimes, just park your body. Let your teenagers play on their phones, and just get some SWEET people-watching in.

I love seeing all the different ears that people wore, or t-shirts they made. It’s fun.

Sometimes you can play a game to find the angriest parent. Just enjoy yourself. Disneyland brings-out all kinds of people!

You don’t want to miss my post about the umbrella stroller.

Where to hide on busy days at Disneyland

Find a Quiet Spot

Even when Disneyland is crazy, there are quiet spots if you know where to look:

Best spots on Busy days in Disneyland

Tiki room (don’t forget to get a Dole Whip and sit on the back row so you can lean back)
Pirates Lair (formerly known as Tom Sawyer’s Island)
Mark Twain Riverboat or the Columbia Riverboat
Main Street Theatre
Abraham Lincoln

Best spots on busy days in California Adventure

Redwood Creek Challenge Trail — I call this the Tom Sawyer Island of California adventure and kids LOVE this place. Plenty of spots for parents to sit down too. The cast/crew in this area really works to make it fun. Also, you can watch people get splashed on the River ride across the way.
Frozen, the Musical — they allow food in. Yum, yum!
Watch a movie where the Muppets attraction used to be
The animation building, and the animation academy, more specifically (my kids LOVED this last time we were there)

** We had never done animation academy before, but honestly, my kids could’ve happily spent an entire afternoon in there. That building is cool and has just a nice “vibe” inside. Happy music, happy people. I’m a fan, as are my kids!

All of these places are extra fun at Christmas!

Come to terms with that it’s BUSY

There has to be a mental shift that you make when it’s busy at Disneyland.

Even if you checked the crowd calendar, and you THOUGHT it wasn’t going to be too bad, sometimes it just is…

So, you need to realize….

You may just not be able to do everything you’d hoped to do, and that is OK.

Why did you come to Disneyland? Did you come to have fun, and ride some rides?

Then have fun, and use the MaxPass system as well as you can.

If you came to ride EVERY. SINGLE. RIDE. — you might just need to go in mid-September or January/February. Both of those seem to be times that are the least busy.

But, frankly, you never know. Sometimes there are giant conferences that bring tons of people to the park. And you just have to go with it.

I have a post all about my best tip for Disneyland — but staying on budget is a way to help with that tip. You can grab my Disneyland cost calculator below — and be sure to check out my other Disney posts below that: