Here now 2/10/13

[theworldneedscolor]

We had the same experience Fri Feb 1 through Sunday Feb 3. Insane crowds and lines after lunchtime.

In the past year we've been over presidents week, spring break (inc Easter day) , labor day week (inc marathon day) . All those dates included weekends and were nothing like this past trip. It was enough to make us book another longer weekday trip in a few months just to get a few more quiet mornings in.

Wow! I wonder what is causing it?

 

[christinaspring]

Here today (monday) and its WAY more crowded than I anticipated!!! Even for a "semi" holiday weekend. Still having a blast though!

 

[Jperiod]

Anyone know why WoC didn't run tonight??

 

[DadsRmatt]

Anyone know why WoC didn't run tonight??

We were just wondering the same thing

 

[Jperiod]

Must have been technical cuz they're testing the fountains now with no audio. Looks like something for the lunar new year and they've been moving the projections around on the water.

 

[LoveDisneyAZ]

We have been in the parks the last 3 days and were surprised at how busy it was, especially yesterday and today. We got there at opening yesterday and it wasnt bad in the morning but got busier and busier as the day went on. We ended up heading back to the hotel early to rest, thinking it would be alot less busy today. We were there a little before opening and were surprised to see how many people were there! We wednt right back to peter pan and wait was aleady 35 minutes!
It was still an awesome trip, we were just surprised by the crowds, thinking we were going on a quieter weekend...

 

[RayB]

Thanks for the report will be there Wed, Thurs, Fri, never a bad day at DL...

 

[DaveNinja]

We were there this weekend and it was way more crowded on Saturday and Sunday than I was expecting. We took mid-day breaks both day, which is something we didnt do on our previous trips

 

[AC7179]

Same. Oh well. Can't be worse than the day last year when AP's were gonna be blocked for the summer..it was HORRIFIC

That happens to fall in the week we are going this summer. Can you tell me more about it? Doable with Fastpasses?

 

[TexasJule]

So glad you posted this!! It is so helpful!! At what temp were capris comfortable in? Are you all wearing long sleeve shirts with your jackets? I can't seem to get a good grasp on what to wear with the temp. In Texas we are good in shorts in the 60's because of the humidity.

 

[ashley0139]

I was there Saturday to Monday and also couldn't believe the crowds!! We used our fastpasses well though and didn't really wait in anything longer than 30 minutes, except for Toy Story Mania.

I couldn't believe it when I saw 150 minutes for RSR and 75 for Space. We still had a ton of fun though!

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

I was there Saturday to Monday and also couldn't believe the crowds!! We used our fastpasses well though and didn't really wait in anything longer than 30 minutes, except for Toy Story Mania.

I couldn't believe it when I saw 150 minutes for RSR and 75 for Space. We still had a ton of fun though!

Don't know how much of an impact it is, but I thought I heard there was some sort of big convention in town again this week. With the current hype and popularity of Disneyland, maybe even more convention-goers are coming early to check out Disney and bringing their families too. Also, nice weather, the AP early entry offer, and fear of coming with later-in-the-season (spring break) crowds may be enough to bring out lots of locals. I doubt any of the AP holders were blocked out on Sunday or Monday during this "slow season". Some schools even had Monday as a holiday. Finally, with lots of closures and some rides perhaps not being amped up to maximum capacity, when those crowds do come, the lines will balloon since there aren't as many activities to distribute the people to.

 

[DaveNinja]

good: Banana Foster Beignets and Pork Baos were really good

bad: no Cristo Nuggets at the Stage Door. my quest to try the Monte Cristo was delayed to next trip

 

[Greysword]

The morning was perfect and a walk on for the rides.
But after 12 the lines just keep getting longer and longer.

So, what I'm hearing is that it was great until the locals showed up

 

[sunnygal041]

I was there Saturday to Monday and also couldn't believe the crowds!! We used our fastpasses well though and didn't really wait in anything longer than 30 minutes, except for Toy Story Mania.

I couldn't believe it when I saw 150 minutes for RSR and 75 for Space. We still had a ton of fun though!

How cool was it to be able to walk where Walt walked?

 

[Disney Dreams]

...and fear of coming with later-in-the-season (spring break) crowds may be enough to bring out lots of locals. I doubt any of the AP holders were blocked out on Sunday or Monday during this "slow season"....

Before we blame the "locals" yet again for the crowds...

• So Cal Select AP Holders were blocked out on Sunday. (They are blocked every Saturday and Sunday --- amongst many other dates as well.)
• Sunday was Chinese New Year and Disney had lots of events planned celebrating it.
• There was a HUGE medical convention in town that had specialty discounted Disneyland tickets that were valid for use starting this past weekend.
• Lots of people had a long weekend (across the country) for Lincoln's birthday and may have planned a weekend getaway.
• Those who live nearby are not going to rush to the Park in mid-February because of Spring Break which is still a month away.

Just a variety of reasons that I don't think the infamous "locals" are to blame,
Dreams

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Before we blame the "locals" yet again for the crowds...

• So Cal Select AP Holders were blocked out on Sunday. (They are blocked every Saturday and Sunday --- amongst many other dates as well.)
• Sunday was Chinese New Year and Disney had lots of events planned celebrating it.
• There was a HUGE medical convention in town that had specialty discounted Disneyland tickets that were valid for use starting this past weekend.
• Lots of people had a long weekend (across the country) for Lincoln's birthday and may have planned a weekend getaway.
• Those who live nearby are not going to rush to the Park in mid-February because of Spring Break which is still a month away.

Just a variety of reasons that I don't think the infamous "locals" are to blame,
Dreams

I'm not a person who has a problem with the locals or with navigating the parks when they are busy. The part of my post you quoted was part of a list of reasons I put forth for why the parks may have felt busy. If you had read/quoted the whole post, you would also see mention of the convention, the holiday, the weather, and ride closures as contributing factors. Guess I should have remembered about the special events going on at the park too like Lunar New Year and the end of the Mardi Gras stuff so my list would have been even more complete.

BTW, I certainly realize that not all AP holders are locals either. My mother-in-law lives a 6 hour drive away and was there Monday and Tuesday with her AP to visit the parks before the busy spring break season hit. My family lives a 7 hour drive away and we have APs too. We just choose to go during the busy times so the kids don't miss school. I do think it's easier for the locals to show up on short-notice though if park-going conditions seem good. I can look out the window and say, wow, it's great weather, I wish I could head over to Disneyland for a couple of hours, but it's not practical for me to follow through on that. If I was more local to the park, it would be a realistic option though, and I would certainly go even more often than I do.

 

[VandVsmama]

Time off for kids from school due to President's Day holiday is a definite possibility. Coming up at the end of next week, all of the Tucson, AZ area schools have Thurs 2/21 and Fri 2/22 off for Rodeo Days, so ya'll might see a lot of Arizona license plates on those days.

But hey...a busy day at Disneyland is better than a day at home working! Hope everybody's having a fabulous time!

 

[todzwife]

So schools had LAST Monday off instead of this coming Monday which is actually the holiday? Man. It sounds like the days of slow February are gone too.

 

[Jaina]

good: Banana Foster Beignets and Pork Baos were really good

bad: no Cristo Nuggets at the Stage Door. my quest to try the Monte Cristo was delayed to next trip

Wait, what?? As in Monte Cristo nuggets? This is the first I've heard of this. Please tell me more!