Jan 2 to Jan 5 Trip

[oilrok]

Hello All

We recently returned from a 5 day excursion at Disneyland.

It seemed very very busy to us but the only other time we were there was 2 years ago at the end of January so that time we had to put up with refurbs.

I believe in the 5 days at the park the only things we didn't see was the Princess Fantasy Faire and the Pixie Hollow.

With the utilization of fast passes most or out waits were only 15 minutes or less. I believe our longest wait was just under an hour for Toy Story.

We purchased Ride Max and really liked it for the mornings so about 8 till 12....then after that we mainly rode just fast passes.

It was a great trip but I don't think we will go during such busy times in the future.

We rented a house of VRBO for the week for 6 adults and 2 children......this place was great. About a 10 minute drive.

We even think we saw a couple people in the limelight......Kevin Martin a curler up here and the guy with the beard from Hangover

All in all it was a great trip....if anyone has anything specific questions feel free to PM me or ask it below and I will do my best to answer.

 

[ArchOwl]

The parks were the busiest I have seen them, so it wasn't just you! And I was there President's Day, Memorial Day, a July visit, and Labor Day weekend. None of those days even came close to the crowd levels beginning January 2nd.

On January 2nd they even ran out of parking space, so you know it was packed! As always, a lot depends on when holidays fall and when APs are blocked. January 2nd was a holiday for many people and several levels of APs were unblocked, which meant a busy day.

But it is still possible to have fun, especially late in the day. We had a private Jungle Cruise at closing time on 1/2.

 

[oilrok]

I think it was Wednesday the 4th and me and my wife went to the park for most of the day by ourselves and we used the single rider line for California Screaming and that worked awesome.

good job on the private boat.

 

[skiingfast]

But it is still possible to have fun, especially late in the day. We had a private Jungle Cruise at closing time on 1/2.

What spiel did you get from the skipper? Did you ask for a special one or wer you offered one?

We purchased Ride Max and really liked it for the mornings so about 8 till 12....then after that we mainly rode just fast passes.

Having gone over a busy period, if you did it again, would you use ridemax again?

 

[oilrok]

I would definately use ridemax again if I went during a busier time.

It set up which rides to do and which fastpasses to get.

My wife or I would skip a ride or meet up with rest of party in a line if needed when getting fastpasses.

We would also make sure to get fastpasses asap when we could

 

[ArchOwl]

What spiel did you get from the skipper? Did you ask for a special one or wer you offered one?

We didn't ask for one, but in chatting with the CM prior to the start of the cruise, he found out some information about us (where we were from, what we do for a living, etc.) and he actually worked that into the jokes. It was the best Jungle Cruise ride ever! I am actually sending off a compliment letter to Disney because of him. I hope he gets a raise.

 

[KittyKat1978]

What is RideMax?

 

[skiingfast]

What is RideMax?

It's a computer progam that you download. You put in what you want to do, and it make a schedule based on when those things will have the shortest waits. It works well for DLR.

 

[eveandlo]

We had no idea what to expect, as we have only been to WDW at non-peak, dead times. So I am glad to see that it was quite busy, and I did find it manageable. It does wear on you though. By day 4, I had had enough, and just wanted to leave. I have never experienced that before. We got there the 31st, stayed at HoJo's. Too bad the fog kept us from seeing the fireworks. Then I thought the 1st would be busy, so we did Legoland that day. Jan 2nd, we changed to Paradise Pier, and they let us check-in and get our rooms at 8 am. we did California Adventure, and had a fabulous time. Got to Goofy's 4 times in a row, cause there were no lines. 5 minute waits for Grizzly River Run. Jan3th, very enjoyable day at Disneyland. Was contemplating adding a 5th day. Jan4th, busy busy. While at California Adventures, just decided we needed a break, and went back to hotel for swim, then Disneyland. Then January5, back to Disneyland, and by 2pm, had decided NO to a 5 day. I just wanted out. Went back to CA so my daughter could do the big roller-coaster.

It was different, I am glad we went, but just something about the local teenage/young couples out on dates that took away from the family feel we have previously had. Don't really want to explain to my 7 year old why those 2 kids keep kissing, lol. It was still a great trip.

 

[Canadian Disney Mom]

We even think we saw a couple people in the limelight......Kevin Martin a curler up here and the guy with the beard from Hangover

We were in Disneyland Jan 3-6. DH and I saw someone sitting by the pool at the Grand Californian that looked SO familiar and we just couldn't place him. For some reason in my head I thought he was a chef from a cooking show.

Long story short, I just saw a commercial for the Briar and thought - "holy Crap it was that curler". Sure enough I googled Kevin Martin and Disneyland and VOILA! Up same your post.

So THANK YOU for confirming my hunch