Getting pretty freaked about the crowd reports

[Funball]

ok well IF YOUR gonna compare WDW with DLR. DLr is much smaller in size and so it will seem like a piece of chocolate cake!!

 

[daneenm]

Just one more word on FPs...collect the next one as soon as you are able (based on the fine print on your most recent FP). We often sent DH off to collect the next FP while the children and I did a bathroom break. DL attractions are so much closer together than those at WDW, it makes this much easier.

They who re-enter the park with the most FPs for the evening's fun, win!

 

[Lizboo]

Sorry if this is a silly question, but what is a magic morning? Is that like the WDW equivalent of an EMH? TIA

 

[PinkBudgie]

If you buy a three day or more parkhopper ticket you get one Magic Morning. The park opens one hour earlier for MM on Tue/Thu/Sat/Sun (it has been along time since I've had a MM, but I think those are the days). If you have a MM, you can enter the park early on those days. Only Fantasyland and Tomorrowland are open. If you stay on property you get to use MM each day it is offered while you are there.

 

[Lizboo]

If you buy a three day or more parkhopper ticket you get one Magic Morning. The park opens one hour earlier for MM on Tue/Thu/Sat/Sun (it has been along time since I've had a MM, but I think those are the days). If you have a MM, you can enter the park early on those days. Only Fantasyland and Tomorrowland are open. If you stay on property you get to use MM each day it is offered while you are there.

That's awesome! Thanks for the info

 

[Mugglemama]

I am leaving Saturday and will be at the parks Sunday, lets hope that it isn't all that busy cause I would like to be able to get a ton done. I think we all just need to be positive, I just think a few people are reporting it being absolutely nuts and it may not be that bad (One person was there July 5th, day after a major holiday, which was probably why it was so crazy).

Well, it WAS that bad on the days we were actually there. And, I followed these boards tremendously closely last Summer to see which weeks seemed like the best, crowd-wise, and several people reported that the week after the 4th was really good. Also, the CM's at the security tables in the mornings told us that crowds were lower than expected.

Still, it's summer, so even "low" summer crowds still mean pretty heavy crowds.

Aw ~ bummer. We had 2 great MMs and our 2 non MM days were great as well ~ our 1st 2 rides three of our four days were PP followed by Dumbo *we treated our Monday like a MM day ~ noone had an advantage over us* We lined up for park opening no later than 20 min. prior to opening ~ those MM days were hard *7am opening* but it was so worth it.

We also did our non MM days with the same routine that we follow on MM days...PP first, then Matterhorn, then Dumbo, etc. On the non MM days that was great, we waited less than 5 minutes for each one of those rides. However, on our MM day, despite the fact that we were among the first few people in the park that morning, by the time we made it back to PP (which only took us about 4 minutes), the line for PP was already backed up to the chains. We were probably in that line less than 15 minutes, but still, it made us later for the following rides, which meant lines for Matterhorn and Dumbo were longer by the time we got to them, and so on. We were in the security line at 5:55 am on our MM (for the 7am opening). Just not something I would ever do again.

 

[Diznut84]

We go every week, and the crowds this past Saturday were the worst we've ever seen.

 

[Funball]

it's summer at DLR , the crowds will be heavy no matter what day.. just got to plan and use lots of FP's when you can

 

[billwendy]

Does anyone have an idea of what the crowds would be like the first weekend in October or the week before Thanksgiving in November? Will World of Color be going on then?

Thanks!!

 

[HydroGuy]

We're going to be in the park M-F of next week. I have never gone to DL in the summer. I've gone probably 15 times in my life, but always in the off season. I consider 30 minutes a long wait, and we're used to just kind of cruising around, eating whenever we want, grabbing a bench in the shade to rest for a bit, etc.

I've read everything about early mornings and FP and have as much of a plan as I can. However, I am worried about getting my kids up and out early (they get pretty cranky if they don't get enough sleep), and I'm feeling like it's just going to be wall to wall people and just miserable. My MIL was the one that chose these days, and as she's paying for much of the trip, there wasn't much I could say about it!

It won't be that bad, right?

We arrived at DLR yesterday (Monday) afternoon. When I get time I am going to start a thread on crowds based on our experience this week, but I can tell you I was shocked today - at how light the crowds were. It was easily the lowest crowd level I have seen in summer in 5 years. I too have been reading all the complaints about crowds in recent weeks. Either the crowds have dropped off or we are using a different measuring stick.

For those familiar with summer, let me give a few examples...

o We had lunch at Cafe Orleans and headed over to HM at 12:30. The line was posted as 5 minutes long - we waited 5-10 minutes

o POTC at 10:45 was 5 minutes

o Space Mtn after today's Magic Morning - we went to get FPs at about 8:15 and there was no visible line so we rode it standby after getting FPs. It was posted as 20 minutes but was more like 10. We walked all the way past the place where they take FPs and almost as far as the large loading room before we ever saw a line. Granted it was 8:15 but in the past this would be 30+ minutes by this time

o BTMRR at 11:30 - Line posted as 15 minutes. I only was there to get FPs.

o Splash at 9:30 - line posted as 10 minutes - usually by this time it is closer to 30.

Weather was cloudy (July gloom ) until 1PM - and cool temperatures - another shocker - DW needed a hoodie til lunch.

Having fun so far. Tomorrow night is WOC for us. Today is just a DL day.

To the OP - I only have a small data point so far but if I were you rather than be worried I would be celebarating.

 

[NMDisneyMom]

Thanks for the updates on crowds. My DD and I arrive tomorrow for 8 magical days at the Happiest Place on Earth. Can't wait to get there. Have been slightly concerned about crowds, but not overly worried.

Hydroguy, glad to hear the wait times are short. I know we'll be enjoying the people watching just as much as the crowds.

 

[brenda1966]

Weather was cloudy (July gloom ) until 1PM - and cool temperatures - another shocker - DW needed a hoodie til lunch.

I wonder if that kind of weather scares locals away. Was recently chatting with a friend who knew some people who went to CA recently, planned to go to Disney but didn't because of "rain". I was shocked. Disney in the rain is not a bad place to be!

Have a great time. I hope the light crowds continue for you. We had two "hoodie" days ourselves and I LOVED it! You can get so much more done when it's cool like that and the line for splash was really short so we rode it in our ponchos.

 

[PinkBudgie]

Yikes, I was hoping for some warm weather! I'm just freezing up here! Normally, it will be high 80's maybe some 90's. It barely got to 70 today. I'm wearing jeans in July! I've never done that! The forcast for anaheim seems to by high 70's. Which would be ok once it gets there, but it sounds like it means cool mornings and evenings. You would think that I wouldn't need a sweatshirt in August! I don't know how to pack!

 

[corgi_monster]

Just got back last night and I'm happy to report that it's nice and toasty during the day, but pleasantly cool at night.

There are a lot of crowds, but the lines aren't bad at all. We used the following plan on Friday morning and it really helped to minimize any waiting:

Note: We were running late and arrive 45 minutes after park opening *yikes*

Got FP for Indiana
Rode Big Thunder, about 5 minute wait
Ate breakfast
Got FP for Space Mountain

Headed over to DCA and rode Soaring
Got FP for California Screaming
Rode TSMM

From then on, we just wandered around and rode whatever we felt like. We didn't stand in line for more than 20 minutes for any ride. Don't get me wrong, Splash was over an hour long wait, we just chose not to ride at that time.

That night, after WoC, we rode Splash, used our IJ fastpass, and rode HM all within the last hour.

Despite the crowds, it's VERY possible to see and do everything you want and not stand in horrible lines - just make good use of the first couple of hours after park opening and the last hour before the park closes.

Hope that helps!

 

[HydroGuy]

I wonder if that kind of weather scares locals away. Was recently chatting with a friend who knew some people who went to CA recently, planned to go to Disney but didn't because of "rain". I was shocked. Disney in the rain is not a bad place to be!

Have a great time. I hope the light crowds continue for you. We had two "hoodie" days ourselves and I LOVED it! You can get so much more done when it's cool like that and the line for splash was really short so we rode it in our ponchos.

Maybe. But it would seem reports of heat would scare locals away more than moderate temperatures. It was not cold - just never got hot. We never made it to the pool at GCH - we never got hot. We also took a shorter afternoon break because of the moderate temperatures.

Today the sun is shining at 7AM!Gonna be a good day!

 

[CindyH]

One thing that I like to do is ask our boys to name three rides/attractions that they want to do that day - we'll get to do those, and anything "extra" we wind up doing is just icing on the cake (helps to set the expectations)!

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

One thing that I like to do is ask our boys to name three rides/attractions that they want to do that day - we'll get to do those, and anything "extra" we wind up doing is just icing on the cake (helps to set the expectations)!

Yep, we do this too. There's usually a lot of "icing".

 

[AustinTink]

I too have been reading all the complaints about crowds in recent weeks. Either the crowds have dropped off or we are using a different measuring stick.

Well, one of my measuring sticks is the Jungle Cruise ride. When even it has 30-45 minute waits I know I'm in trouble. The Pirates line was over an hour and stretched way out into the main walkway. BTMRR was 45-60 minutes all day. Just to name a few...

 

[Mugglemama]

I too have been reading all the complaints about crowds in recent weeks. Either the crowds have dropped off or we are using a different measuring stick.

I guess it depends too, on how one measures crowds. For instance, some people measure in terms of how long ride lines are, and some measure in terms of how hard it is to walk through the park, including shops, restaurants, etc.

During our 5 day visit to DLR this month, we encountered heavy enough crowds that walking through the parks was really, really a nightmare, at times (not during the first 2 hours or anything). We were still able to make it onto a lot of rides during our time in the parks, and usually without terribly long waits (of course we utilized all of the tricks of the trade for avoiding long lines, but I will say that the waits for things like POTC and HM and even BTMRR were pretty reasonable each time we were in that area of the park).

This was our first time in the parks without a stroller in 14 years. Plus, we had our 2 young nieces with us, and since DH was pushing MIL through the parks in a wheelchair, it was up to me and my 18 year old daughter to keep track of the 5 little kids. In the crowd levels we encountered, it was really, really challenging.

However, for somebody going with all older kids, or with only one kid, or no kids at all, it might not feel too challenging.

Shops and restaurants were also extremely crowded (although, to be fair, we DID have to find seating for 10 people - obviously it would be easier to find seating for a smaller group).

So, for those whose reservations about crowds revolve solely around the issue of making it onto a lot of rides, perhaps the current crowd levels won't seem too bad. But for those who have to manage large groups of small children, etc., the crowd levels might put an entirely different spin on their trip.

Know what I mean, jelly bean?

 

[Tikestoublie]

We arrived at DLR yesterday (Monday) afternoon. When I get time I am going to start a thread on crowds based on our experience this week, but I can tell you I was shocked today - at how light the crowds were. It was easily the lowest crowd level I have seen in summer in 5 years. I too have been reading all the complaints about crowds in recent weeks. Either the crowds have dropped off or we are using a different measuring stick.

For those familiar with summer, let me give a few examples...

o We had lunch at Cafe Orleans and headed over to HM at 12:30. The line was posted as 5 minutes long - we waited 5-10 minutes

o POTC at 10:45 was 5 minutes

o Space Mtn after today's Magic Morning - we went to get FPs at about 8:15 and there was no visible line so we rode it standby after getting FPs. It was posted as 20 minutes but was more like 10. We walked all the way past the place where they take FPs and almost as far as the large loading room before we ever saw a line. Granted it was 8:15 but in the past this would be 30+ minutes by this time

o BTMRR at 11:30 - Line posted as 15 minutes. I only was there to get FPs.

o Splash at 9:30 - line posted as 10 minutes - usually by this time it is closer to 30.

Weather was cloudy (July gloom ) until 1PM - and cool temperatures - another shocker - DW needed a hoodie til lunch.

Having fun so far. Tomorrow night is WOC for us. Today is just a DL day.

To the OP - I only have a small data point so far but if I were you rather than be worried I would be celebarating.

Yes, I think you may have gotten lucky. We were there last week and it was the first time in quite awhile that I had seen lines for POTC stretching down to the ROA fence! I was shocked. Other rides were equally as challenging, Splash frequently was at 60+ minute wait time. FP were definitely our friend for rides that did not accommodate GAC as well. I am sure there have been days when it has been worse but this was pretty crazy. I think one thing that made things worse was that many of the rides kept having malfunctions.

Glad your days are going easier and hope that continues.