Yesterday (1/2/2012) was N-U-T-S!!

[lilpooh108]

So me and 100,000 of my closest friends all decided to go to DLR yesterday (1/2/2012)... Was anyone else there? IT WAS NUTS.

--M&F structure was completely full, as were all other surface lots. All parking was directed towards Gardenwalk. It took us 30 minutes to get from Ball Road to even turn left on Katella. There was supposed to be a shuttle from Gardenwalk, but the CM did not know where it was. So me and 100,000 of my closest friends walked altogether to the Harbor entrance.

--It took us 40 minutes to ORDER FOOD at the Plaza Inn since apparently EVERYONE was craving fried chicken after the parade, but man, that fried chicken was GOOD.

--Foot traffic was jammed up between the entrance of DL and the end of main street for 20 minutes when the parade ended at around 6pm. You. Could. Not. Move. Everyone was suprisingly polite and I only saw a few people rude enough to "cut across" the vertical traffic going down mainstreet. We followed 2 angry looking people with a giant stroller so the walk was easy. When in doubt, follow these kind of people to pave the way for you.

--Small World wait was like 50 minutes throughout the day.

--Indy was 85 minutes, Star Tours--forget about it. Even Buzz was 35 to 40 minutes. Thank goodness for the Tiki Room and Autopia

--Dole Whip line was at least 20 minutes. By the time my husband got a Dole Whip, the tiki show was over (he started waiting before the Tikis outside were even chanting).

We went to City Hall at the end of the night to collect our $12 for Gardenwalk parking. CM did not offer us instant fastpasses, but did offer them to people behind us in line collecting their $12 I wasn't offended (well kind of) since we were leaving anyway, but hey man, be consistent! As in, offer to compensate ALL pissed off people equally! Whatever...I overheard from the CM that the instant fastpasses do not work on Star Tours. So these being given at 11pm = kind of pointless, as everything "major" was about a 30 minute wait at that point.

We had an overall good time, but I will NEVER go on or near New Years again!

 

[Tiny Little Seed]

I was there yesterday. Got there at opening and stayed until about 4-ish. I went to hang out with some old friends, so we were not really focused on doing a lot of big rides. We did HM early, and got FPs for Space, but mostly we enjoyed the little things like riding the Mark Twain, looking for Hidden Mickeys, eating lunch, shopping, stuff like that.

It was very busy, but manageable, especially if you didn't have huge expectations and know your way around. I think the week between Christmas and New Years is noticeably worse. You're right about the time after the parade. Crazy. I would not usually go at that time, but like I said, I was just there to hang out with friends. The weather was beautiful, so that kept us happy too.

 

[sonnyjane]

The weather was beautiful, so that kept us happy too.

I think that warm weather impacted crowds at all the parks here in SoCal. The zoo had nearly TRIPLE the projected attendance yesterday!

 

[lilpooh108]

I was there yesterday. Got there at opening and stayed until about 4-ish. I went to hang out with some old friends, so we were not really focused on doing a lot of big rides. We did HM early, and got FPs for Space, but mostly we enjoyed the little things like riding the Mark Twain, looking for Hidden Mickeys, eating lunch, shopping, stuff like that.

It was very busy, but manageable, especially if you didn't have huge expectations and know your way around. I think the week between Christmas and New Years is noticeably worse. You're right about the time after the parade. Crazy. I would not usually go at that time, but like I said, I was just there to hang out with friends. The weather was beautiful, so that kept us happy too.

The weather was beautiful! And we ran into the parade, so to speak. We were at DCA avoiding the crowds and actually went to DL just for dinner and to see if crowds had died down. We literally ran into the parade crowd, and just stayed in DL after that. CRAZY!

 

[I❤MICKEY]

Everyone was suprisingly polite and I only saw a few people rude enough to "cut across" the vertical traffic going down mainstreet. We followed 2 angry looking people with a giant stroller so the walk was easy. When in doubt, follow these kind of people to pave the way for you.

Hmmm... I wonder if my husband and I were the angry people you were following with the double stroller. I had a woman stop in front of me and just stand there. I bumped her with the stroller on accident. She turned to look at me and I said sorry, excuse me. And she started screaming at me that I hit her with my stroller and it was on purpose. I said it wasn't on purpose you stopped for no apparent reason and I wasn't prepared to stop. Then she started screaming at me that I was snotty, blah blah blah and that I could meet her outside the gate. I said, "have a nice holiday" and kept the bus moving. So I was upset and just headed over to frontier land so my son could ride BTMRR.

Yes the park was crazy yesterday. I personally thought it was very busy today too. We stayed at CA. Hoping to get in for Magic Morning tomorrow. It will be very hard to get the kids up and moving that early.

 

[ArchOwl]

Been here since 12/31 and 1/2 was easily the most crowded overall. Extended wait times in both parks until closing with very heavy crowds. I went into it expecting absolute chaos on 12/31, but DCA was very manageable that day. DL was crowded and closed briefly, but it was easy to escape to DCA.

All passes were blocked (except Premium) on 12/31 and 1/1. 1/1 was actually the least crowded overall, although still busy. 1/2 had all but SoCal Select unblocked and I think this, combined with nice weather made the parks super busy.

Today (1/3) was pretty crowded as well. All passes unblocked and it seemed as though many APers were taking advantage. Saw a fair amount of Oregon shirts today as well.

This also reinforced to me that I should take Touring Plans with a grain of salt. They were predicting fewer people on 1/2 than 1/1, but the opposite was true. I don't think their program really understands APs.

 

[lilpooh108]

Then she started screaming at me that I was snotty, blah blah blah and that I could meet her outside the gate.

What, was she in 5th grade? How lame!

I doubt we were following you guys...the people we were following did not have a double stroller but man, that's a weird/awful encounter to have!

I'm glad the ppl around us were pleasant enough, although I really really hate the ppl who STOP in the middle of the crowd walking to do random things. Uh, mass exodus, please move

 

[lilpooh108]

Been here since 12/31 and 1/2 was easily the most crowded overall. Extended wait times in both parks until closing with very heavy crowds. I went into it expecting absolute chaos on 12/31, but DCA was very manageable that day. DL was crowded and closed briefly, but it was easy to escape to DCA.

All passes were blocked (except Premium) on 12/31 and 1/1. 1/1 was actually the least crowded overall, although still busy. 1/2 had all but SoCal Select unblocked and I think this, combined with nice weather made the parks super busy.

Today (1/3) was pretty crowded as well. All passes unblocked and it seemed as though many APers were taking advantage. Saw a fair amount of Oregon shirts today as well.

This also reinforced to me that I should take Touring Plans with a grain of salt. They were predicting fewer people on 1/2 than 1/1, but the opposite was true. I don't think their program really understands APs.

*sigh* I really really didn't want to do the parks on 1/2, but DD was so looking forward to it so we braved it. DD is only 2 1/2 and even she said in toddler speak, "There's too many people!"

 

[Disney Dreams]

Been here since 12/31 and 1/2 was easily the most crowded overall. Extended wait times in both parks until closing with very heavy crowds. I went into it expecting absolute chaos on 12/31, but DCA was very manageable that day. DL was crowded and closed briefly, but it was easy to escape to DCA.

All passes were blocked (except Premium) on 12/31 and 1/1. 1/1 was actually the least crowded overall, although still busy. 1/2 had all but SoCal Select unblocked and I think this, combined with nice weather made the parks super busy....

The only difference on the 2nd (vs. the 1st) is the So Cal pass. I don't think they are to blame for the majority of the difference.

I think a huge factor was that the 1st landed on Sunday, making Monday a holiday for most people with traditional jobs. This makes a HUGE difference in Park attendance. It was a 3day holiday weekend.

- Dreams

 

[kelmac284]

We are going for NYE next year and I have heard so many horror stories and I really don't know WHAT to expect next year but hoping for the best but planning for the worst! It is encouraging that NYE is on a Mon next year although I am sure most people with normal jobs will get Monday and Tues off but we plan to drive down the weekend before and go to Universal first and not go to DL till the 31st. It is my daughter's birthday and for us we are not going to stress about rides and such but just do what we can and have a nice dinner/cake for my daughter's birthday and then just try to see the fireworks (hopefully the weather cooperates next year!!)

Then we are not going on the first either. We are going to sleep in, have brunch at one of the hotels and then drive up to Pasadena to see the floats AFTER the parade.

Then we plan to spend the 2-5 at the parks. Hoping that most people will have to go back to work but not sure cuz I know my kids are out of school till the 8th next year so not sure what to expect but we KNOW going in it will most likely be crowded so we are prepared.

 

[Eeee-va]

Oh, lilpooh108, I love your sense of humor! <3 Glad you managed to have fun despite the crowds!

I❤MICKEY, how awful about that angry woman! Crowds sometimes bring out the worst in people.

ArchOwl, I strongly agree that Touring Plans doesn't understand DL crowds yet. Granted, Touring Plans probably can't be expected to predict the weather, but still. I think Disney Dreams is probably right that the holiday being Monday was a big factor, though I'm guessing the Southern California passes not being blocked was a factor too. People off work/school + lifting of blockouts in a busy period = crowds. (See the days before Thanksgiving.)

kelmac284, I THINK most people working 8-5 jobs will probably have New Year's Day off, meaning some of the people won't get to Disney until the afternoon/early evening. Not sure if crowds will be substantially smaller 1/2 or not...assuming weather is similar all the days, my guess is that 1/2 next year will probably be a bit better than 1/1.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

Touring Plans needs DL experts. They take their WDW strategy and just apply it to DL. It doesn't work.

I have a dual membership with TP, but I never depend on their DL numbers. I think even historic numbers can be inaccurate.

 

[ArchOwl]

The only difference on the 2nd (vs. the 1st) is the So Cal pass. I don't think they are to blame for the majority of the difference.

I think a huge factor was that the 1st landed on Sunday, making Monday a holiday for most people with traditional jobs. This makes a HUGE difference in Park attendance. It was a 3day holiday weekend.

- Dreams

Well, the 1st was a holiday too. And it was noticeably less crowded than the 2nd AND they didn't have the massive parking problem on the 1st that they had on the 2nd. I am not saying all of those extra people on the 2nd were APs, but I bet a lot of them were. They were blocked out on the 1st and had the 2nd off and went to DL. I am not blaming them or anything, they have every right to use their pass. Heck. I am an AP holder. Just observations about crowds that may help others in the future. When the APs get unblocked, hold onto your hats, it is about to get busy!