Getting nervous about crowds!

[buttercup3]

Last time I was at Disneyland was Feb 10-14, 2013. It was a ghost town! Longest lines we waited in were actually rides we had FP for!
Reading recent posts, it sounds like it is swamped all the time. Like you can't see WOC or parades unless you stake out a spot hours in advance...this was not the case when we were there. We waited 30 min max for the parade, and got a bench right in front of Plaza Inn, and WOC we weren't close but we walked up 15 minutes before show time and still got well into the viewing area.
We're going the week after Thanksgiving and I'm concerned that we need to adjust our plan of attack to be able to see all the entertainment! Why has it gotten so crazy?
Would love to hear others' experiences!

 

[Geemo]

The volume in the parks is high most days. I too remember when you could go to the parks and not have long lines. Those were the days.

I never go during Peak Times to avoid crowds. But the times I do go I notice there are more people spending the day at DLR.

Make a plan for what you want to do during your visit and allow for a crowd.
I went during the same time last year and it was busy. Know what to expect and planned accordingly.

I'll be there again this year with my two younger grand kids (DGS-14, DGD-12).
I try to find times on the school calendar to schedule a four day trip, where they won't miss school. It's hard to find a time when DLR won't be busy.

Don't let it get you down. Just start your day when the park opens and enjoy a peaceful park until the masses arrive.

Geemo

 

[julesann]

I was just there Friday to Monday (and Tue evening) and this was a time of high crowds and we had a grand and magical time. The key was to start at rope drop (be there 30 minutes before) and take a mid-day break and manage your fp. Lines for rides were 90-120 minutes but we never waited more than 15 because of fp (except for TOT) plus we used singe rider for RSR. You will need to allocate more time for fireworks if you want a specific view and WOC needs a wait (except for the dessert party--which I thought was a great way to see it, but I was only paying for 1 ticket).

 

[SMD]

Why has it gotten so crazy?

Because Disneyland is a for profit business and they want as many people in the park as often as they can get them.

 

[Flickor]

Shorter days means more congestion, there are a lot of 8pm and 9pm closings also you have Halloween parties closing Disneyland early and drawing people in to see the theming. In November and December the park hours will be extended longer and you should have parades and fireworks twice on the long days. Don't compare apples to oranges...

 

[chickapin parterre]

1. the week after thanksgiving will be great as this is a start of the three years of that extra week. Posted hours even have disney not concerned about crowds.

2. an hour wait for a Christmas parade is normal unless you plan to be at the end of the parade. We always watch entertainment on Main street if parade ends in that area and when the street entertainment leaves and some of the crowd leaves, there are curb spots for the hour wait.

3. population growth, here in oregon that there was never a problem to show up on A Friday night at a county park and find a camping spot. Now it is standard for aunts and uncles and grandparents to arrive at the county campgrounds on Wednesdays to hold spots for the weekend. Population increase but no increase in campgrounds. Also, the addition of off-site lodging is providing for better experiences and new larger facilitates.

4. The growth of the magic of the holidays, it would take one day just to photograph Christmas at Disneyland.

5. Wednesday mornings are ghost town.

 

[mom2rtk]

Because Disneyland is a for profit business and they want as many people in the park as often as they can get them.

I'm sure the OP feels enlightened now.

 

[SMD]

I'm sure the OP feels enlightened now.

The OP likes Disneyland? So do millions of other people. When the OP wants to be there, so do tens of thousands of other people. In fact, if those tens of thousands of other people weren't there, Disneyland wouldn't bother to show the entertainment the OP is worried about having to wait for. , because they reduce entertainment offerings when they anticipate lower crowds, and nowhere near ghost town, sub-30 minute wait level. They might not even bother to open every day without the higher attendance, because they used to not be open every day. That's how Disney wants to run their business, and they don't hide the fact.

 

[mom2rtk]

The OP likes Disneyland? So do millions of other people. When the OP wants to be there, so do tens of thousands of other people. In fact, if those tens of thousands of other people weren't there, Disneyland wouldn't bother to show the entertainment the OP is worried about having to wait for. , because they reduce entertainment offerings when they anticipate lower crowds, and nowhere near ghost town, sub-30 minute wait level. They might not even bother to open every day without the higher attendance, because they used to not be open every day. That's how Disney wants to run their business, and they don't hide the fact.

Yeah, I'm just saying that's not a startling revelation that Disney wants to maximize attendance and profits in the parks.

I think the OP is looking for reasons why it might be worse now than on her last trip, and maybe look for some coping strategies.

OP, I recommend maximizing your weekdays in the parks. If you are planning a down day on your trip or a day away to visit other attractions in southern California, try to schedule those on a weekend day instead of during the week. Save the weekdays for Disney parks. Of course maximize rope drop, but also learn everything you can about maximizing fastpass.

Schedule as many "appointments" as possible when you expect crowds to be worst (weekends). We are sure to have ADRs on days we expect it to be busy. We also chose a busy Saturday night for our WOC dessert party since it will guarantee us a spot even on the busiest of nights.

 

[miamimi]

The OP likes Disneyland? So do millions of other people. When the OP wants to be there, so do tens of thousands of other people. In fact, if those tens of thousands of other people weren't there, Disneyland wouldn't bother to show the entertainment the OP is worried about having to wait for. , because they reduce entertainment offerings when they anticipate lower crowds, and nowhere near ghost town, sub-30 minute wait level. They might not even bother to open every day without the higher attendance, because they used to not be open every day. That's how Disney wants to run their business, and they don't hide the fact.

I think everyone on these boards understands that Disney is a business and is out to make money. But I've been going to DLR since the 60's and it's been open 7 days a week for at least 30 years. So back in 2013 when the OP cites the parks being a ghost town, Disney wasn't motivated to close the parks. So your argument that Disney would close it's doors if it wasn't packed, isn't accurate.

 

[soma151]

Been going to Disneyland for 60 years, you should have seen lines 50 years ago. No hand held toys to play with while in line, no fast pass. One time i stood in line for 4 hours with my Mom to see the singing birds. Last time we went not one person was even in that ride. The best time we went, was in 1994? the day after the earth quake, 8.3 it threw me out of my bed and i crawled to the window to see the light post hitting the ground as the ground rolled by, all in the news was the crack at the Disney hotel. The park was empty.

 

[DLgal]

Don't worry. The week AFTER Thanksgiving will be a ghost town, for the most part. I was at DCA yesterday with my son who had a random day off for parent conferences. We arrived at about 9:15 (9:00 opening). By 10:30 we had done Toy Story, Silly Swings, Goofy's Sky School, Jumping Jellyfish, Little Mermaid, and Radiator Springs Racers. Soarin was closed for some kind of testing. Luigi's was down. CA Screamin had a 5 min wait, ToT had a 10 min wait. Monsters had a 5 min wait. Grizzly River Run had probably the longest like at 25 min (tied with Mater's). We had lunch at 11, then went to Bug's Land and rode Heimlich and Flik's Flyers (both were walk ins), had an icee to cool down and left by noon. It was HOT and my son was ready to go since we had done everything he wanted so quickly. So, mid week days while school is in session for everyone are still really slow! My son's elementary school had a day off but the rest of the district did not, nor did any neighboring districts.

As for entertainment, there won't be a parade at night the week after Thanksgiving, will there? Paint the Night is gone for now and fireworks are only on weekends. No Fantasmic until next year and World of Color is all that is left, I thought.

 

[mom2rtk]

As for entertainment, there won't be a parade at night the week after Thanksgiving, will there? Paint the Night is gone for now and fireworks are only on weekends. No Fantasmic until next year and World of Color is all that is left, I thought.

Nobody is sure. A comment in the Holiday blog said PTN would be back on "select nights". They have added Christmas parade times, but only in the afternoon so far. Historically (the years before PTN) they ran the Christmas parade at night, so nobody knows what's happening in the evenings yet.

 

[DLgal]

Nobody is sure. A comment in the Holiday blog said PTN would be back on "select nights". They have added Christmas parade times, but only in the afternoon so far. Historically (the years before PTN) they ran the Christmas parade at night, so nobody knows what's happening in the evenings yet.

I'm gonna guess the week after Thanksgiving is not going to be one of those times they run PtN. I'm fairly confident that "select nights" = the week between Christmas and New Year's.

 

[mom2rtk]

I'm gonna guess the week after Thanksgiving is not going to be one of those times they run PtN. I'm fairly confident that "select nights" = the week between Christmas and New Year's.

That's certainly a possibility. I also think it's a lot of trouble to go to bring the parade back for just one week. I was sort of expecting weekends through most of the season, and every day during Thanksgiving and Christmas week.

But it's still perplexing that they listed the Christmas parade during the day but not at night on all those other days.

They do make it hard to plan. They don't even have fireworks times posted past the 17th right now.

 

[SMD]

They don't really run the holiday parade at night, though. They run it as late as 5:45, which is either right at or right after sunset and not really dark yet. PTN runs at 8pm or later. Even before PTN they'd run the holiday parade at 1pm on some days and then not until after 4pm on other days. Or run it twice and the last one would be at 3:30. I don't think the absence of a 5:45 showing means PTN will be run on those days. Although if they were say, only going to run fireworks on weekends, it would be nice to have PTN during the week, as an either/or type thing. They never ran PTN on weekends only, so even though they do that with most of DL's night time entertainment, I think it's likely it will just run every night for the 2 weeks that signature APs are blocked. I don't see them keeping it into January, since MSEP is supposed to be back early next year.

 

[mom2rtk]

They don't really run the holiday parade at night, though. They run it as late as 5:45, which is either right at or right after sunset and not really dark yet. PTN runs at 8pm or later. Even before PTN they'd run the holiday parade at 1pm on some days and then not until after 4pm on other days. Or run it twice and the last one would be at 3:30. I don't think the absence of a 5:45 showing means PTN will be run on those days. Although if they were say, only going to run fireworks on weekends, it would be nice to have PTN during the week, as an either/or type thing. They never ran PTN on weekends only, so even though they do that with most of DL's night time entertainment, I think it's likely it will just run every night for the 2 weeks that signature APs are blocked. I don't see them keeping it into January, since MSEP is supposed to be back early next year.

After dark is what I meant by "at night". Right now the latest it is scheduled, even including Thanksgiving day, is 4:15 which is still before dark.

It was completely dark when I shot this at the 5:45 parade in 2014:

A Christmas Fantasy by mom2rtk, on Flickr

 

[SMD]

I don't think they intend to run the holiday parade at night. I think they sometimes schedule as late as sunset and it happens to be dark by the time it reaches the other end of the route. That's not the same at PTN which is a night time parade. I highly doubt that not running the holiday parade as late as 5:45 has any impact on whether PTN could be run at 8:45 or later. It might be tight to clear one parade and stage another in 2 hours, but PTN hasn't always run as early as 8pm.

 

[mom2rtk]

I don't think they intend to run the holiday parade at night. I think they sometimes schedule as late as sunset and it happens to be dark by the time it reaches the other end of the route. That's not the same at PTN which is a night time parade. I highly doubt that not running the holiday parade as late as 5:45 has any impact on whether PTN could be run at 8:45 or later. It might be tight to clear one parade and stage another in 2 hours, but PTN hasn't always run as early as 8pm.

That parade photo was at the beginning of the parade route on Main Street when it started on Main Street.

The year before I took this shot by Small World, although that one might have been at the end of the route.

I'm just saying it's pretty typical to run it after dark. Many people prefer it that way. I pay particular attention to those times because I enjoy shooting it at night.

But yeah, I could be totally wrong. I understand they might just go with the times currently listed. But I just hope not, and have a hunch that while it won't be every night, it will be more than just Christmas week.


IMG_5747 by mom2rtk, on Flickr

 

[miamimi]

That parade photo was at the beginning of the parade route on Main Street when it started on Main Street.

The year before I took this shot by Small World, although that one might have been at the end of the route.

I'm just saying it's pretty typical to run it after dark. Many people prefer it that way. I pay particular attention to those times because I enjoy shooting it at night.

But yeah, I could be totally wrong. I understand they might just go with the times currently listed. But I just hope not, and have a hunch that while it won't be every night, it will be more than just Christmas week.


IMG_5747 by mom2rtk, on Flickr

Thanks for sharing. Those are great pictures. Makes me wish I was visiting during the holidays.