If Disneyland has been feeling extra crowded lately, it’s probably because it is. The “Happiest Place on Earth” is experiencing a surge in crowds in recent weeks, fueled by cheaper tickets and popular seasonal events. Disney fans are now bracing for things to only get worse, as the parks head into the busy Spring Break season.
With the Disneyland Resort set to celebrate its 70th anniversary this summer, just how much more crowded can it get?
Deals for the masses
UPDATE: The Disneyland Anniversary Ticket Offer (valid May 16 – August 14) is the latest deal for the summer. Here’s the bad news: it’s not as cheap as the previous promotions, with tickets going for $100/day or more. The good news? Crowds haven’t been anywhere near as bad, at least so far. Check out the Disneyland Crowd Calendar for the updated forecast! Right now, Sundays have been trending as the best day of the week to go.
If you’re going to Disneyland soon, plan on waiting even longer for a ride on the Millennium Falcon or that turkey leg. Average wait times at both Disneyland and Disney California Adventure have steadily risen over the last few weeks, and it’s largely thanks to two popular ticket promotions that are drawing bigger crowds.
The SoCal Resident Ticket Offer has been going on since the beginning of the year. The locals-only deal prices 3-day, 1-park per day tickets at $199 ($67/day), a bargain considering 1-day admission goes for as high as $196 on peak days. Disney does this promotion almost every year, and it’s proven again to be a hit with Southern California residents.
There is a major change to the promotion for 2025: weekend admission. The tickets are now valid every day of the week, as opposed to just Monday-Thursday in the past, so Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays have become more popular days to visit.
Another deal, the Kids’ Special Ticket Offer, has also been ongoing since January 7. This one slashes the price of child tickets (ages 3-9) to just $50/day for admission to one park.
The overlapping deals have been driving attendance higher since the start of the new year. The kids’ promotion expires on March 20, so it shouldn’t have an impact on peak Spring Break season at the end of March and early April. The SoCal deal, however, doesn’t end until May 15, so the Disney faithful are expected to take advantage of the cheaper tickets through Spring Break and up until the start of the summer.
Don’t hold your breath for relief just yet, though. Disneyland’s 70th Anniversary Celebration officially kicks off the very next day on May 16, and another ticket promotion could very well be announced for the summer. Stay tuned.
Un-Presidented crowds
This past Presidents’ Day Weekend may have given Disney fans a glimpse of what’s to come over the next few months, as the resort gears up for the Spring Break and summer seasons. If the holiday weekend was any indication, Disneyland could be in for attendance levels it hasn’t seen in years. With the ticket deal now valid all week long, crowds swelled and wait times soared. The holiday weekend was particularly bad, enough to be marked as “Forget About It” days on the Disneyland Crowd Calendar.
Sunday ended up being one of the most crowded days in months at Disneyland, with average wait times peaking at over 50 minutes for most of the afternoon and evening. Lines for popular attractions like Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Space Mountain, and the new Tiana’s Bayou Adventure stretched past 60 to 90 minutes long.
Over at Disney California Adventure, things were only worse. The average wait there was pushing 70 minutes, with rides like Radiator Springs Racers and Soarin’ Around the World hitting 90-120 minutes throughout the day. Guardians of the Galaxy clocked in a whopping 180-minute wait time at one point in the afternoon.
Park-goers hoping the Tuesday after the holiday would be more manageable didn’t have any luck, either. With many schools out on mid-winter break on the week of Presidents’ Day, weekday guests were also treated to Spring Break and summer-like crowds in the middle of February.
The promotional tickets, combined with the steady flow of Magic Key annual passholders, are expected impact attendance at Disneyland through at least mid-May.
Events galore
Discounted tickets and holiday weekends aren’t the only things driving attendance higher at Disneyland. Park officials are betting on a slew of seasonal and special events to keep the crowds coming during what’s normally the resort’s “off-season.” So far, it’s been working.
The popular Lunar New Year celebration just ended at Disney California Adventure, but the annual Food & Wine Festival is set to begin at the end of the month. Separately ticketed “Disneyland After Dark” events, including Sweethearts’, 90s, Star Wars, and Pride Nites, have been taking place at Disneyland on select dates. The events themselves don’t tend to be very crowded at all since ticket sales are limited, but California Adventure typically sees much higher attendance on these nights due to Disneyland closing early.
The usual Halloween Time (August 22 – October 31) and Holidays at the Disneyland Resort (November 14 – January 7, 2026) events are all set to go as well later this year, but it’s Disneyland’s 70th Anniversary Celebration that’s expected attract more crowds this summer and beyond. The event begins on May 16 and continues through the summer of 2026. Disney is pulling all the stops for the year-round celebration, with new and returning shows, parades, and more.
It’s still too early to tell exactly just how much the 70th anniversary will affect attendance at Disneyland going forward. With the parks already drawing massive crowds ahead of the summer though, Disney fans are bracing for even longer lines.
Keep an eye on the Disneyland Crowd Calendar to find the best and worst days to visit Disneyland. The forecast may change depending on conditions throughout the year, like new ticket promotions, so check back often.
Have you been to Disneyland lately? What were the crowds like? Are the lines really unbearable? Be sure to let us know in the comments below!
The crowded lines are worse than ever. We waited at a posted time for monsters inc. of 20 minutes for almost 75 minutes. With all crowd manipulation by the Disney app., the park has not become a place for families with young children. Little ones cannot wait in line for over an hour. we timed our bathroom breaks, and it was still too long of a time to wait for the little ones. I dropped just over $ 18,000 dollars for a four-day trip to Disneyland and it was totally no worth the price. They have turned their parks into hangouts for young people who only care for the big rides. Bugs land gone with its 8 kids rides! Bugs life gone. Muppets Gone. Mickey’s Magical map gone. Aladdin gone! I brought 13 young grandchildren to the parks and the maxi pass is too expensive for the little ones and is very unhelpful time wise. What do I do with the very little ones when the others get a fast pass line opportunity. WE could have gone to Hawaii for 10 days at the price we paid for Disney that offers less now at a higher price.