August 2024 Disneyland Crowd Calendar

Our August 2024 Disneyland crowd calendar predicts the best & worst dates to visit the parks, what’s going on at Disneyland and Disney California, plus what to expect from the end of vacations and tourist season. Beyond wait times and congestion, we offer info about special events, weather, and more during August at Disneyland Resort.

In terms of crowds, August is all over the place. Schools are back in session mid-month in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. However, Magic Key Annual Pass blockouts start to lift throughout the second half of the month, leading to pure anarchy (eh, more or less). Suffice to say, August attendance can be a veritable roller coaster, and one that we’ll “ride” in the updated crowd calendar section.

Before that, let’s start with a look at weather. Although August is one of the hottest months of the year in Southern California, it’s really not that bad. Humidity remains low even as high temperatures break 80º every single day of August. At the other end of the spectrum, expect lows of around 65º every day.

Even though the temperature will creep into the mid-80s and could peak at 90º some days, August in Anaheim is still fairly comfortable, as shown by these graphs. The chances of mugginess are 9 or 10% every day of the month, which is not bad. This is why a common refrain among Californians is “but it’s a dry heat.”

It’s the truth–90º and little humidity is much more pleasant than 80º and muggy weather. It might seem counterintuitive, but it’s wise to pack a light sweater or a long sleeve shirt for evenings at Disneyland.

What’s New & Not Open in August 2024

Disneyland has not yet announced what’s happening in Summer 2024, but we’re expecting (somewhat) of a repeat of last year when Rogers: The Musical played in the Hyperion Theater at DCA. This Marvel-inspired stage show has already proven incredibly popular and offers a free virtual queue or paid package for seating. We highly recommend checking it out.

In terms of August attraction closures, we cover those on the regularly-updated Disneyland Refurbishment Calendar. Last year, those included Haunted Mansion (that’ll go down again in August 2024), plus Disneyland Monorail, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, and Toy Story Midway Mania.

In addition, Splash Mountain is now officially and permanently closed to be reimagined into a new ride based on The Princess and the Frog. There are already visible signs of the transformation into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. That’s scheduled to debut in “Late 2024,” but there’s an off chance that it’ll be ahead of schedule and debut in Summer 2024. We definitely wouldn’t count on that, though. It could just as easily be delayed until 2025.

Speaking of which, let’s take a look at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure crowds during the month of August…

August 2024 Disneyland Crowd Calendar

Unfortunately, Disneyland crowd calendars for specific dates are no longer highly reliable due to changes in attendance trends, Magic Key passes, the park reservation system, ticket discounts, and other factors. It can be difficult to say a particular day will have low, moderate, or heavy crowds—which is why we’ve eliminated our color-coded Disneyland crowd calendars.

This is a trend that began prior to the opening summer of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and has continued the last two summers 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.

Last summer, crowd levels started falling as “revenge travel” started ending. We expect that trend to accelerate in 2024, including (and especially) during the summer tourist season.

Expect numbers to be down about 25% as compared to the same time last year and reservation availability is easing up, making crowd levels much easier to predict. In August 2024, crowd levels will likely peak at around 5/10, with many dates being even slower. That’s as compared to plenty of 7/10 to 9/10 days two summers ago.

In broad strokes, the first half of August 2024 is fairly predictable, with a pattern dictated by summer vacations, ticket prices, and Magic Key Passholder blockouts. Last year, the worst of the month’s crowds occurred August 1-4, with those being 9/10 days. Following that same pattern, expect August 1-3, 2024 to be the worst days. It’s likely that August 7-9 will be slightly better, but still busy.

As a general matter, August 2024 crowds drop when Orange County and Los Angeles schools go back into session. Orange County schools resume around August 10, 2024 and Los Angeles County resumes on August 12, 2024. That second date is key; there will almost certainly be a precipitous drop starting that week, with off-season crowds until Halloween kicks off in September 2024.

Unfortunately, that is partially offset by the summer Magic Key Annual Passholder blockouts for the lowest tiers of passes ending around roughly the same time. There will be a lot of pent-up demand for locals who have been blocked out for ~2 months, and they will return in droves that week.

Exactly how that plays out in August 2024 is unknown. Last year, the biggest drop occurred when local schools went back into session, and crowds remained relatively low even as AP blockouts lifted. However, the key difference this year is that Magic Key sales have resumed many times, whereas they were still paused last August. So in theory, the AP pool is larger this year and there could be a larger influx of locals. That is how things played out in 2019 and earlier, when things were more normal.

Still, we’re not talking 7/10 to 9/10 crowd levels for any days in August 2024. If current trends more or less continue–even with more of a spike for when AP blockouts lift–August 1-3 and 7-9 could peak at 5/10 to 7/10 so crowd levels. Other red flags are August 14 and 21, which are the days when two different tiers of AP blockouts lift. Those might also be in 5/10 to 7/10 territory.

Other than that, we’d expect crowd levels below 5/10. It’s likely that weekends will be even slower, with Saturdays and Sundays seldom having crowd levels above 3/10. Keep in mind that these are numerical scores based on wait times and relative to last year, which was an incredibly busy year as a whole due to pent-up demand. Crowd levels are not in absolute terms–August 2024 will be far less busy than last year, and more on par with 2019 or earlier.

Speaking of weekends, our expectation is that all Fridays through Sundays in August 2024 will be less busy than Mondays through Thursdays. This dynamic is almost entirely the result of blockouts for Magic Key Annual Passes and the Discounted California Resident Tickets. Disneyland’s expectation is that tourists and locals buying regular tickets would offset those blockouts, but that often is not the case.

This dynamic will become even more pronounced once summer tourist season winds down, meaning each weekend in August 2024 at Disneyland should get progressively slower. Due to the Enchant Key tier being blocked out, Saturdays are a safe bet–probably the best day of the week to visit Disneyland in August 2024. (The lowest tier is blocked out on both Saturday and Sunday.)

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.)

Crowds should once again die down completely in the last week of August 2024, once locals get in their visits. This trend continues through early September, with more lulls early in the month. Post-Labor Day should see a significant drop-off in crowds. If you’re debating between a late August and early September visit, we’d suggest early September.

You’ll also notice that dynamic ticket prices start to drop substantially in mid to late August. Again, this is because summer visitors to Southern California are starting to head home by this point.

In both Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, early August is a time when park hours are typically longer. Both parks regularly open at 8 a.m., with Early Entry starting 30 minutes before that for on-site resort guests.

Disneyland closes at midnight for the first half of the month, with Disney California Adventure regularly closing at 10 p.m. These are the “maximum” operating hours for each park–the longest either are open any day of the year, aside from New Year’s Eve and other outliers. Expect earlier closing times later in the month, but you should still be able to enjoy a fairly late night in the parks.

Anyone planning a trip debating whether to visit in August or later in the year can consult our When to Visit Disneyland in 2024 or our Best & Worst Months to Visit Disneyland posts. Again, we’d caution you against over-reliance on crowd calendar predictions for specific dates.

If you’re visiting between mid-August and mid-September, and have not yet booked a hotel room, your best option might be to wait until the last minute if prices do not look favorable at the moment. With summer tourist season ending and no major events scheduled for the Anaheim Convention Center, prices are likely to go down–not up.

In terms of ticket pricing, August has a range of rates. One-day park tickets are most are at “regular” season prices the first half of the month, with the exception of the first weekend being “peak” season. The end of the month then turns to “value” season Monday through Thursdays.

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.

Even with below-average crowds, you’ll still want a solid itinerary for touring the parks. The downside to visiting during a more touristy season is that guests are more likely to arrive early in the day, and prioritize attractions. By contrast, locals tend to spend more time hanging out, and focus on attractions to a lesser degree. This can mean higher wait times despite the parks “feeling” less crowded.

Overall, we consider August a fairly average month in terms of our Best and Worst Months to Visit Disneyland. If you can schedule a visit during that third week of the month right when Los Angeles County schools go back into session, but before AP blockouts are lifted, that’s your best bet.

Not only will you have lower crowd levels, but you’re also going to have lower hotel prices, and fewer tourists than earlier in the month. There are also unique wrinkles, but it’s generally a quieter month, especially towards the end. If you can avoid the “bad” dates in August and can deal with some hotter weather (“IT’S A DRY HEAT!”), August can be a surprisingly good time to visit.

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 August, what did you think of the experience? Did you find the crowd levels to be manageable? What about the weather? Did you notice a decrease or increase in crowds towards the end of the month? Are you visiting this August? Participating in the Disneyland Half Marathon? If you’ve visited in August, do you have any tips to add? Share any questions, tips, or additional thoughts you have in the comments!

22 Responses to “August 2024 Disneyland Crowd Calendar”
  1. Nick January 4, 2024
  2. Sal August 2, 2023
  3. Amy July 26, 2023
  4. Dottie July 17, 2023
  5. James July 17, 2023
  6. Josh July 16, 2023
    • James July 17, 2023
  7. James Cordell July 5, 2023
    • Tom Bricker July 5, 2023
    • Hailee Andersen July 16, 2023
    • Tom Bricker July 16, 2023
  8. Laura January 22, 2020
  9. Tina March 9, 2019
  10. Kimberly Klein August 6, 2018
  11. Oleg Chaikovsky July 12, 2018
  12. MW March 22, 2018
  13. Nicole Arbuckle January 6, 2018
    • Melinda February 11, 2020
  14. Craig August 20, 2017
    • Chris August 22, 2017
  15. HLM July 5, 2017
    • Tom Bricker July 5, 2017

Leave a Reply to Oleg Chaikovsky Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *