California parks attendance in August

[magicalmom]

Is there apt to be a bump just before or just after the D23 Expo?

[tinkwest]

Perhaps. But really all of August can be incredibly crowded.

[bruin1344]

crowds are manageable toward the end of August.

[Elias1901]

I went to the parks a little bit before and a little bit after the last D23 Expo and found it busy, for sure, but workable. You just gotta plan your day smart and "work the park" as best as you can. Utilize Magic Mornings (even though it is only an hour, it really helps!), use Disney's FASTPASS service when you can, etc. I was able to whip through everything I cared to see at the Disneyland Resort only 2.5 days into that trip and had still had 3.5 days left to do whatever I wanted to do.

[PirateLover]

As others have said, there will likely be a bump around D23 but August is pretty busy in general. We were there last year during the 2nd week of August. You definitely should have at least a general plan if you want to hit the big rides and not spend a lot of time in line. Also, in August, you may have to deal with heat. Most of the year the weather is beautiful, but we had the unfortunate luck of being there during a heat wave. There are hardly any indoor or shaded queues like you have in WDW because the heat just isn't typically as much of an issue. Just something to be aware of.

[BrerGnat]

crowds are manageable toward the end of August.

Except around the 1/2 marathon dates...

Really, all of August is crowded. While it seems like it would be less crowded at the end of August, it usually isn't. Schools don't start that early in Orange County (after labor day, mostly) and the So Cal APs are "let back in" for summer around mid August, so crowd levels bump up, in fact.

And yes, there will be an increase in crowds in the evenings during D23. Count on it.