Reference
By the Numbers
Attendance, then and now
Disneyland drew about 17 million guests in 2024, roughly ten times its first full year. The long climb is in the first chart, the same one that appears in the Timeline.
Disney does not publish attendance by month, so there is no official way to compare a month today with a year in 1960. The closest public measure is how long lines are. A Mickey Visit analysis of posted wait times for 2025 found March the busiest month and September the quietest (Mickey Visit).
Spring break, the winter holidays and the Halloween season fill the park. Late summer, after local schools reopen, is the quietest stretch. Peak single-day waits in March, October and November reached 300 minutes at some attractions (Mickey Visit).
Park hours through the year
Disneyland usually opens at 8 a.m. Closing time moves with the seasons and the crowds. Disney posts hours about six weeks ahead, so check the official calendar before you go (Mickey Visit).
| Season | Disneyland | Disney California Adventure |
|---|---|---|
| January to mid-February | 8 a.m. to midnight; 10 p.m. on some weekdays | Mostly 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.; sometimes 9 p.m. |
| Spring and summer | 8 a.m. to midnight; 10 p.m. on some late-April days | Mostly 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. |
| May, and late August to September | 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. or midnight | Mostly 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.; 6 p.m. on Oogie Boogie Bash nights in the fall |
| Holiday season | 8 a.m. to midnight | Mostly 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. |
| December 31 | Until 2 a.m. | Until 1 a.m. |
Weather through the year
Anaheim is mild in winter and hot from July through September, when afternoon highs average in the high 80s. Nights stay cool all year. Rain falls mostly from December through March, about 14 inches a year in all, and hardly at all in summer: July and August average less than a tenth of an inch between them (Wikipedia: Anaheim, NOAA normals).
Which attractions break down most
Every ride goes down sometimes. Sensors stop a ride when anything is out of place, and a stopped ride is the system working. Mickey Visit tracked how often each attraction was listed as down through 2025. It counts every closure, including weather and fireworks, and publishes a ranking rather than hours (Mickey Visit).
| Rank | Attraction | Park |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Golden Zephyr | California Adventure |
| 2 | Luigi's Joy to the Whirl | California Adventure |
| 3 | Goofy's Sky School | California Adventure |
| 4 | Tiana's Bayou Adventure | Disneyland |
| 5 | Disneyland Monorail | Disneyland |
| 6 | Incredicoaster | California Adventure |
| 7 | Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance | Disneyland |
| 8 | Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway | Disneyland |
| 9 | Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin | Disneyland |
| 10 | WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure | California Adventure |
| 11 | Indiana Jones Adventure | Disneyland |
| 12 | Big Thunder Mountain Railroad | Disneyland |
| 13 | Matterhorn Bobsleds | Disneyland |
| 14 | Alice in Wonderland | Disneyland |
| 15 | Sorcerer's Workshop | California Adventure |
The top of the list is mostly outdoor rides, which close for wind and rain as well as for faults. Radiator Springs Racers came in 18th, and Space Mountain 19th. If a ride you want is down, check the app again later: a closure is often short.
Where the guests come from
Disneyland has always been a Southern California park first. In February 2026 Disneyland Resort president Thomas Mazloum said that more than half of the resort's visitors come from California, and that those guests helped make up for a drop in international travel (Los Angeles Times via Hotel Online, February 20, 2026).
Disney does not publish a finer split. There are no official shares for other U.S. states or for each foreign country, and this guide does not guess at them.
The pricing follows the visitors. California residents get discounted tickets, a deal now open to residents of the whole state. Annual passes, called Magic Keys, are sold mostly to locals. U.S. military members can buy discounted tickets year-round.
Growth and the road ahead
Walt Disney never had room to grow. Hotels and businesses sprang up around his park soon after it opened and boxed it in. Every expansion in Anaheim since has reused land Disney already owned: the old parking lot became Disney California Adventure in 2001, and backstage land became Galaxy's Edge in 2019.
The next chapter is DisneylandForward. The Anaheim City Council approved it on April 17 and May 7, 2024. It lets Disney build attractions, shopping, dining and hotels on land it already owns, including the Toy Story parking lot and the west side of the resort, without adding an acre (City of Anaheim). Disney committed to invest at least $1.9 billion over ten years. It also agreed to pay for public benefits: $30 million for affordable housing, $8 million for parks, $45 million for streets and sewers, and $39.6 million to buy and rebuild Magic Way. "Yes, our future is indeed bright," said Disneyland Resort president Ken Potrock when the plan passed (Disney Parks Blog).
The first work came in 2026 (Mickey Visit, June 10, 2026):
- A new parking structure with about 6,000 spaces, with construction slated for fall 2026, and a skybridge over Harbor Boulevard.
- The South Manchester cast parking lot closed on June 28, 2026.
- Disney filed a demolition permit for the Team Disney Anaheim East building on June 9, 2026.
Announced projects include an Avatar land at California Adventure, on part of Hollywood Land. Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! is set to close in early 2027 to make room. Avengers Infinity Defense, Stark Flight Lab and a Coco boat ride are under construction at California Adventure. Disney has not given opening dates for most of these, and dates in fan reports are estimates. The plans for Tomorrowland are in the Tomorrowland chapter.