13 Dates to AVOID Disney California Adventure in 2025

Okay, so you’re planning a trip to Disneyland Resort, and you’re really excited about visiting Disney California Adventure.

We get it — Disney California Adventure has a LOT to offer throughout the year, including festivals, an entire land themed to Cars (and you don’t even need to be a Cars fan to appreciate it), and some pretty nice restaurants like Carthay Circle Restaurant and Lamplight Lounge. But if you’re planning on visiting California Adventure, we have to warn you about some dates.

January

January 1st: New Year’s Day

It’s January 1st and where do you think all the locals want to go to celebrate? Disneyland Resort! Now, Disneyland Park will be pretty busy, of course, but expect California Adventure to be super busy, too. If you MUST visit on a holiday like this, remember that Disneyland still requires you to have a valid ticket AND a park pass reservation.

1st day of Lunar New Year Festival

Another day you’ll want to avoid in California Adventure is the first day of the Lunar New Year Festival as it tends to bring a lot of extra crowds. We don’t have dates for 2025 yet, but the first day of the festival in 2024 was on January 23rd, so we can expect it to be around the same time. This is a hugely popular festival in California Adventure.

Mushu at Disney California Adventure for the Lunar New Year Festival

February

President’s Day Weekend

The weekend around February 17th is also a very busy time in California Adventure. President’s Weekend brings a lot of people to Disneyland Resort, so expect crowds.

Ski Week

Okay, so Ski Week is this West Coast tradition that usually happens during the week of President’s Day when California kids get out of school. This is something we only know about through experience, but basically, back in the day, parents would keep their kids out of school the whole week following President’s Day to go on vacation (or skiing, if you will). California schools caught on and it’s now a weeklong vacation for many area kids. Instead of skiing, though, everyone just goes to Disneyland. Trust us, this is one of the most crowded weeks of the winter season.

March

First day of Food & Wine Festival

EPCOT isn’t the only Disney Park that has a Food and Wine Festival — California Adventure has a Food and Wine Festival that generally starts sometime in March. Needless to say, it’s very popular, which means the first day of the festival is usually VERY crowded. If you must go, pick a day later during the festival’s run.

Mid-March through April

Spring Break is another big reason crowds come to Disneyland and California Adventure. Schools tend to have spring breaks from mid-March through early April, so it’s probably best to avoid the parks during those weeks.

May

Memorial Day is on May 26th in 2025, and that weekend is sure to bring a lot of people to California Adventure. This is typical of most long holiday weekends, so we don’t expect things to be any different next year.

July

Like you would also expect, July 4th is also a super busy day in Disneyland and California Adventure. It’s summer vacation for the kids and a day off for their parents, so they’ll be visiting the parks in droves.

September

Labor Day falls on September 1st in 2025, and that entire weekend will be busy. Again, long holiday weekends tend to bring the crowds.

November

Likewise, Thanksgiving falls on November 27th in 2025, and that week and following weekend will bring children who are out of school and their parents who are off work to the parks.

December

Who doesn’t want to visit Disneyland for Christmas on December 25th? Well, that means everyone might have the bright idea to head on over to California Adventure, too, on this special holiday.

December

California Adventure sounds like a great way to spend New Year’s Eve (December 31st), too, and a lot of people have that same idea. It’s going to be busy,

TBA

So there is another day that’s going to bring a ton of crowds to the park, but we don’t exactly know the date just yet. Next year marks the 70th anniversary celebration of Disneyland and Disney has already promised that both Disneyland and Disney California Adventure plan on going all out to celebrate. The first day of that celebration will bring a lot of people to the parks.