Our guide to September 2024 at Disneyland offers a free crowd calendar, when to visit, weather to avoid, new attraction openings & closures, plus Halloween & fall events. We also cover info & tips for what’s happening in Disney California Adventure, Disneyland, and beyond.
Good news! There are a lot of lightly crowded days this month. With schools back in session throughout the country and tourist season over, there’s a low-crowd window between Labor Day and the end of the annual ticket deal (we’ll explain why this is significant in the crowd calendar section below). Historically, late August through mid-September has the lowest crowd levels of the year at Disneyland.
This is flat-out one of the best times of the year to visit Disneyland Resort, and Southern California, in general. Along with our crowd predictions for Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, in this post we’ll offer other thoughts on what to expect during this month at Disneyland Resort…
September Weather at Disneyland
Let’s start with a look at weather. September is a turning point for Southern California, although we probably shouldn’t overemphasis that. Abnormal weather aside, it’s pretty much pleasant year-round in Anaheim. For September, you can expect humidity to remain low even as high temperatures break 80º most of the month. Expect lows of around 65º early in the month, dropping to around 60º by the end of September.
As you can see by the, various graphs on this page, September in Anaheim is fairly comfortable. Humidity and precipitation is low, the hours per day that are “comfortable” is high, and other variables are favorable. Not really all that different from most of the year. This is why people pay the “Sunshine Tax” to live in California. With lows in the 60s in the evening, we recommend packing a light sweater or a long sleeve shirt. Most people overlook this, assuming California equals sunshine and palm trees, but the nights can get chilly.
What’s New & NOT Open in September 2024
Fair warning: there are a lot of attraction closures at Disneyland and DCA in September 2024. Worse yet, more keep getting announced relatively last-minute, so it’s entirely possible the list is longer by the time the month actually rolls around. For now, we have what’s possibly a partial list on the 2024 Disneyland Refurbishment Calendar.
It doesn’t help that a large portion of the west side of the park is basically shut down. Aside from Haunted Mansion, every attraction on that side of the park in nearby Critter Country is closed. This includes the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes, Hungry Bear Restaurant, plus the gift shops and the character meet & greets.
No reopening date has been given, but it’s assumed to be the opening date of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, which is November 15, 2024. That opening date also means the reimagined ride replacement for Splash Mountain won’t be open in September. With a holiday season debut, that’s too early for previews or soft openings. But the rest of Critter Country might return by the second half of September.
On the plus side, spook season will be celebrated for the entire month of September 2024–as it’s beginning in August for the first time ever! See our Guide to Halloween Time at Disneyland, which covers everything you need to know about the second-best time of the year at Disneyland and DCA.
Next, let’s take a look at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure crowds during the month of September…
September 2024 Disneyland Crowd Calendar
We’ll preface this section by referring you to all of the caveats in our main 2024 Disneyland Crowd Calendars: Best Times to Visit & When to Avoid. That goes into extensive detail about why Disneyland crowd calendars are less reliable than in the past, which is why there’s no color-coded calendar or numerical scores for each day of the month here.
This is a trend that began prior to the opening summer of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and has continued the last few years as post-reopening crowds have been more unpredictable. None of the crowd calendar sites can boast a strong track record for the last two years that Disneyland has been open–and that includes us. That’s the bad news. The good news is that attendance is starting to normalize and falling back into pre-closure patterns.
The other good news is that most of September 2024 won’t be too terrible from a crowds perspective. There are basically two times in the month when crowds spike. The first of these isn’t the least bit surprising, but the second always catches fans off-guard.
Unsurprisingly, the weekend around Labor Day can be busy. This shouldn’t be a huge shocker since it’s a holiday and Californians will have time off school or work, and visit the parks on those dates as a result. However, Labor Day is not a big time for tourists since it’s after most school districts have already gone back into session.
Moreover, the two lowest tiers of Magic Key Annual Passes are blocked out for part or all of Labor Day weekend and that’s a huge offset to crowds. That’s especially so since, again, this is a holiday weekend that draws Californians to the parks. With a lot of locals unable to visit and tourists already gone following the summer, we’re not expecting Labor Day crowds to be awful. If anything, the real surprise here is how Labor Day is not that busy by holiday weekend standards.
The other unknown is how the moving forward of Halloween will impact Labor Day crowds. With Halloween beginning earlier, it’s unclear whether the weekend will be more or less busy as a result–or if there won’t be much impact either way. For our part, we’re expecting moderate crowds for Labor Day 2024. (Last year’s crowd levels were 4/10 to 6/10–we’d expect a repeat of that, which is still high by August or the first half of September standards.)
At the other end of that week is the Disneyland Halloween Half Marathon Weekend (September 5-8, 2024). This could cause a spike on Thursday and Friday, but will probably have less of an impact on the weekend itself. That’s what happened earlier this year during the regular Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend in January.
However, we’re somewhat worried that there will be a larger impact on crowds for the fall runDisney event. For one thing, the January race occurred shortly after the flagship Walt Disney World Marathon, meaning it was less likely that runDisney diehards would travel for it. There’s no scheduling conflict this go-round and it’s the inaugural race, which could cause more runners to travel for it. On top of that, there’s the general public ticket deal discussed below, which could increase the likelihood of traveling runners buying tickets to visit Disneyland and DCA in the days leading up to the races.
The bottom line is that it’s difficult to predict how much crowds will spike due to the Disneyland Halloween Half Marathon Weekend. This year’s earlier precedent suggests not too much, but there’s also reason to believe the circumstances are different here. On balance, our expectation is higher crowds than Labor Day–another ‘yellow flag’ long weekend with 6/10 to 8/10 crowd levels.
The more surprising and most busy stretch of the month is the week or so leading up to September 26, 2024. This is when the current 3-Day Disneyland Discount Ticket Offer ends. Last year, this was offered until September 28, and locals scrambled to use their remaining dates on these tickets that last week. As a result, that last week had crowd levels of 6/10 to 9/10.
This dynamic occurs due to the ‘use it or lose it’ rush to take advantage of these tickets before they expire. The result is both diminished reservation availability and higher crowds. The same thing always happens the week before Memorial Day, when the winter/spring offer ends. This year, that resulted in several consecutive 9/10 crowd level days.
The big difference–and why crowds in late September 2024 could be even worse–is that this ticket deal is not just limited to California residents, as has been the case in the past. For the first time ever, anyone can purchase these discounted tickets, meaning tourists are eligible, too.
Our strong suspicion is that this had more of an impact on summer crowds than–as out-of-state vacationers could’ve used them then–than it will the last minute rush. It’s not like a high number of people who live in Utah or Nevada are taking advantage of this offer and will race to use the tickets before they expire. But some non-local fans may do that–trying to take early fall getaways to take advantage of the deal before it ends. So the change could have a minor impact on crowds.
What we do know is that locals will be doing this, since they always do. As such, we’re erring on the side of caution and forecasting heavy crowds (7/10 to 10/10) starting September 20, 2024 and running until the deal ends. The week before that could also be elevated, but won’t be so bad. It really depends upon reservation availability and if people are “forced” to take those last-minute visits earlier due to diminished reservations. (As a side note, if you’re taking advantage of the deal, make park reservations ASAP–they will run out for at least the final few days of the ticket promo!)
Beyond those yellow and red flags, September shouldn’t be too bad. It’ll still have some spikes in crowds, particularly Friday night (the worst evening of the week to visit) and Mondays through Wednesdays. This is actually a huge change as compared to last year, when weekends were worse than weekdays.
For September 2024, we’re anticipating that weekends (after Labor Day) won’t be as busy as weekdays, with Saturdays and Sundays seldom having crowd levels above 4/10. Keep in mind that these are numerical scores based on wait times and relative to last year. Crowd levels are not in absolute terms–September 2024 will be less busy than last year, and more on par with 2019 or earlier.
This dynamic with weekdays being busier than weekends is almost entirely the result of blockouts for Magic Key Annual Passes and higher ticket prices for weekends. Disneyland’s expectation is that visitors buying regular tickets would offset those blockouts, but that often is not the case because people can save a lot of money by visiting on Monday through Thursday instead of Friday through Sunday.
Our expectation is that this trend continues for the start of Halloween season, but it remains to be seen when the tides start to turn on that trend. Disneyland diehards love Halloween and Christmas, and they may turn out in large enough numbers on Saturday and Sunday to cause a ‘reset’ to recent trends. But we doubt it. The AP blockouts and higher prices on weekends are a lot to overcome–it really looks like Disneyland overcorrected when creating the blockout calendars and ticket price points for Fall 2024.
Another thing to keep in mind is that most of the Southern California locals visiting on weekdays have jobs, so the worst of these crowds will be in the afternoon and, especially, evening hours. If you arrive at rope drop and leave by 2 p.m., your perspective on crowds will be dramatically different from someone who arrives at 4 p.m. (By contrast, more locals can arrive early on weekends.)
Regardless, post-Labor Day should see a drop-off in crowds. If you’re debating between an early or late September visit, we’d suggest early September 2024. Crowds will get gradually busier towards the end of the month. Most people aren’t ready for Halloween season in early September, which is why crowds tend to be lower earlier in the month rather than later.
Another thing to keep in mind is Oogie Boogie Bash – A Disney Halloween Party. On dates when this event is held, Disney California Adventure closes early, which causes DCA to be less busy during the daytime hours and Disneyland to be busier on those same dates. As a result, we’d recommend having Park Hopper tickets and using that strategically to your advantage. Failing that, your best bet is doing Disneyland on days when Oogie Boogie Bash is not being held at DCA.
Still, much of September is a good time to visit. If we had to assign numerical scores, average days during the first half of September would be around 3/10 to 4/10. Again, the second half will see a sharp spike due to the ticket deal, but after that ends, crowds should fall back to below-average territory through the end of the month and in early October until fall break rolls around.
Dynamic ticket prices are at “value” or “regular” prices for most of September because school has gone back into session and out of state tourism slows. Likewise, Annual Passholder blockouts are minimal. Even these factors are not enough to cause a precipitous spike in attendance, though.
Read our Tips for Saving Money on Disneyland Tickets post for multi-day ticket recommendations to avoid having to deal with seasonal pricing. On the plus side, there are some multi-day ticket discounts currently available for all guests. Barring an aggressive (and unprecedented for this time of year) ticket promotion or the unveiling of some special, big draw, attendance in September will be fairly light.
In addition to fall being Disneyland’s off-season, it’s also very much Southern California’s off-season. This will be reflected in hotel prices. If you’re checking in after Labor Day, you can expect some of the lowest hotel rates of the year. At some hotels, you can reasonably expect prices that are about half of what they would be during peak season (or even during the Disneyland Half Marathon).
The downside of this is shorter operating hours during the weekdays in September. Outside of weekends, you can expect regular closings of 10 p.m. or earlier. While the earlier closing time might be a bummer, you will easily encounter 2 hours less in terms of lines during the course of the day.
Keep in mind that “low crowds” now are still nothing compared to what “low crowds” were at Disneyland even a few years ago (it’s all relative!), so we recommend an efficient itinerary for touring Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. Failing that, arriving at rope drop is an excellent strategy this time of year. With few tourists in town, you can get more done the first 2 hours the parks are open than the last 4 hours they are open.
Overall, there’s a reason September ranks highly on our Best and Worst Months to Visit Disneyland. To be perfectly honest, it could be at the top if not for our bias towards Christmas, and preference for November’s weather. Weekday visits are a pure joy during the front half of September, and the parks are a veritable ghost town on many of these days.
Halloween Time causes a spike, and Oogie Boogie Bash throws a monkey wrench into things, but not to nearly the same degree as October, when everyone starts actually caring about Halloween. If you can’t get bring yourself to get excited about Halloween in early September, get excited by the crowds that will come with experiencing the season early.
Planning a Southern California vacation? For park admission deals, read Tips for Saving Money on Disneyland Tickets. Learn about on-site and off-site hotels in our Anaheim Hotel Reviews & Rankings. For where to eat, check out our Disneyland Restaurant Reviews. For unique ideas of things that’ll improve your trip, check out What to Pack for Disney. For comprehensive advice, consult our Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide. Finally, for guides beyond Disney, check out our Southern California Itineraries for day trips to Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, and tons of other places!
YOUR THOUGHTS
If you’ve visited Disneyland during the month of September, what did you think of the experience? Did you find the crowd levels to be manageable? What about the weather? What about crowds during Halloween Time at Disneyland? Are you participating in the Disneyland Half Marathon? If you’ve visited in September, do you have any tips to add? Share any questions, tips, or additional thoughts you have in the comments!
