Reflecting on my whirlwind, one day DL trip last week.

That's interesting. I've never noted DLR to be dirty or unkempt, but when it's that busy, I'm sure it can be hard to keep up at times. A lot of people are pigs, unfortunately.

My husband always jokes he wants to drop pieces of trash and sit back and watch to see how fast a CM with a broom and dust bucket swings by and gets it, lol.

emsstacey said:

I forgot we did haunted mansion, too but it stopped several times with problems.

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Haunted Mansion slows or stops when people need assistance getting on and off. Many people think there's problems with the ride, but there isn't.

emsstacey said:

As far as single-rider line at Matterhorn, we literally stood still for 20 minutes without a single-single rider being let on. It was the CM because after they switched, it moved a bit and we finally got on. We waited longer than the regular wait, unfortunately.

As far as being filthy, the bathrooms were disheveled with toilet paper everywhere, trash scattered throughout the park. Now, mind you, it was not terrible-- but just not Disney, if that makes sense. That is one of the things that always stands out to me with Disney-- everything is pristine. That was just not the case. CM's looked disheveled with shirttails untucked, hair however, and paper trash throughout. I'm sure it was the large number of people there that makes it hard to keep on top of. I just left WDW that last time thinking that they were magic to keep it all so nice and clean. I did not feel that way last Wednesday.

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That is a bummer. It's hard when it's such a busy day. We have had that same experience at WDW at Christmastime when it's just so busy. It's hard to keep up, but it doesn't make for the same "magical" experience.

With 80 minute waits I imagine at least some of the line cutting was people who genuinely had to use a restroom. It would be nice if they were polite about trying to get back in, but I can also imagine if they've been receiving rude comments as they try to go through the line, their graciousness runs out at a point. When people have to reenter the line I'd rather they just say excuse me when they pass and sorry if they bump me and just go on. And not have a Mickey bar in their hand, since that is not a necessary reason to get out of line...

emsstacey said:

As far as single-rider line at Matterhorn, we literally stood still for 20 minutes without a single-single rider being let on. It was the CM because after they switched, it moved a bit and we finally got on. We waited longer than the regular wait, unfortunately.

As far as being filthy, the bathrooms were disheveled with toilet paper everywhere, trash scattered throughout the park. Now, mind you, it was not terrible-- but just not Disney, if that makes sense. That is one of the things that always stands out to me with Disney-- everything is pristine. That was just not the case. CM's looked disheveled with shirttails untucked, hair however, and paper trash throughout. I'm sure it was the large number of people there that makes it hard to keep on top of. I just left WDW that last time thinking that they were magic to keep it all so nice and clean. I did not feel that way last Wednesday.

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I wonder if there was holding back of the single rider line it was kind of a message to couples and groups that by joining the single ride line they will not get their wait shortened? Single rider lines were put in place to fill any empty spots on attractions to allow the line to move quicker for all! Their intention is not allow couples and families to split up on the attraction to shorten their own person wait times!

dsny1mom

I do single rider almost exclusively on Matterhorn since they started offering it. It has always been faster for me than standby, even when I've waited 20 minutes or more. It's a nice covered straight line, unlike the standby line which is partially uncovered and has tight switchbacks in that last part. There have been times when they've stopped handing out SR passes, so they do control the number of people who they'll allow to queue. There are 2 things that work against SR here. First, there is a single CM handling loading the ride from the regular queue, the SR queue, all the DAS and HA returns and VIP tours. It's a small loading area and there isn't anywhere for DAS/HA/VIP to wait. Watch what happens when a group comes through there. The standby line doesn't move until they clear the loading area, not just the SR line. The other thing is that they split up even numbered parties across seats 3 & 4. On RSR there are 3 seats per row, but they'd never split a party of 2 in the front and back row. On Matterhorn there are 3 seats per sled but they will split a party into 2 connected sleds, leaving less open seats that need to be filled. When they added SR they probably didn't expect to split so many parties like they do across rows 3 & 4.

Sort of OT, but just a thought here: while line cutting that truly is line cutting is not excusable by teenagers or anyone else (and we've even seen parents encouraging their kids to cut to the front of the line), there are times when what looks like cutting actually is someone dealing with a non-visable disability. Stuff happens, and sometimes a "normal" looking person has to leave and rejoin the line. On a different note, we also seen a dad and and son cut to the front of a line by pushing others out of the way, only to be escorted off the ride by CMs. So DL does deal with it, but perhaps not as often as we'd like.

I'm sorry to hear you didn't enjoy DL as much as you had hoped. I won't harp on it, since it was the first thing you pointed out, but you're correct that not arriving at rope drop during such a busy season did put you "behind" in the day. I feel like if are there for those first few hours, we are able to stay ahead of the crowds for the most part.

I am surprised to hear about the trash/filth you exprienced. We have been there during some of the busiest times and never experienced that.

I will say, personally, I've realized the heat is not my friend. We were there in June and although we've gone during much busier times, my patience level is so low when I'm overheated.

I understand cost is a factor, but I hope you'll eventually give DL another chance and for more than 1/2 a day! I think you'll find you enjoy it more.

I checked MouseWaits and called Otto yesterday and crowds/wait times didn't look too bad. It's A Small world only had a 20 minute wait, which was less than what we waited at WDW in October.