I arrived yesterday a little after 2pm. There was no line at M&F and parking was easy. I skipped the tram and decided to walk because I wanted to stop by ESPN Zone to get the light up Death Star that they were selling. I went right to the bar which was full of people. The guy in front of me was buying 6, they only had 2 so I had to wait for them to go in the back and get more. It was $3.99 plus tax, I'm not sure the exact price because I tipped the bartender.
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Then I took the monorail into the park. There was an actual line for the bag check and I had to bypass 2 cars that were completely full. By the time I got into the park everything had taken about 40 minutes. I already called Otto around 2:20 and new that FP for Star Tours was out. When I got to the park just before 3pm there was a decent crowd formed for Jedi Training, but almost no one eating at TLT (it was pretty far past lunch, so no surprise). Then I rounded the corner and wow was it crowded! I've been on May 4th twice before, but not since 2012 and it was never like this. I'm calling it the Twitter effect.
I thought I took pics of the crowds, but when I looked at my phone it was pictures of the concrete. I think it's slow because the memory's almost full. Anyway, more details:
- The line for Star Tours was listed as 40 minutes, I waited 45, and I didn't have to wait for the simulator, as a single rider the put me right in as one was loading, so I'd say it was closer to 50 minutes.
- There were no characters out for greets when I arrived or by the time I left (4:40-ish). There were 2 Stormtroopers wandering around, but they were not posing for photos. More on them later.
- Both pins, the Goofy shirt, the Ewok plush and another beige shirt that wasn't on the blog (http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/bl...-to-disney-parks-for-star-wars-fans-on-may-4/) were all available at 4pm with no line to buy at Little Green Store Command. I didn't see the water bottles, they weren't posted by DisneylandToday on Twitter so they may have just been FL. Star Traders was pretty crazy with items being taken right off carts before they hit the shelves.
- I'd estimate that at least half of the people in saw in TL were wearing a Star Wars shirt or costume. There were so many Han Solo's. The CMs at the monorail greeted me with "May the fourth be with you."
- I didn't see any Darth Vader buckets, including the stand that had them just last Thursday. My guess is they sold out earlier in the day. I did see people carrying Stormtrooper mugs, but didn't check TLT to see if they were in stock or from a previous visit. There also wasn't any special food idea boards at TLT or the carts, I didn't check Pizza Port.
- There was a backdrop with May the Fourth Be With You set up and the CMs were passing out red and blue lightsabers to pose with. There was no PP when I walked by at 3pm and no PP when I got in line around 4pm, but there was by the time I got to the front. I waited just over 35 minutes
The Stormtroopers were wandering around and really gathering a crowd. The first time I saw them as I was waiting in the ST line they had uniformed security clearing the area because it was completely impassible. They were pretty entertaining, though. One was following guests, sort of tiptoeing behind them with his blaster out, and then he'd tap them on the shoulder and watch them react. When they went off stage they had to pass through the indoor mural area of the ST queue and they actually stood in line behind some people and were sneaking up on people in there, it was fun to watch. The second time I saw them they had a CM escort who was clearing an area for them over by the fountain ball. A saw some people try to stop to take selfies. One Stormtrooper would duck out and then the other would swoop into the vacated spot and pose. Again, really fun to watch them be playful. When I got out of the backdrop picture line they were over between ST and Astro Orbitors and it was just a mass of people pushing into the area and forcing them farther and farther apart. There were so many people coming into area and it was basically just lines and crowds. They even had the tape lines down on the ground for food carts. And they moved the GS kiosk for DAS returns away from it's usual spot. Store Command hadn't been pin trading, so I stopped on Main St, checked out the board then I decided to just go to Starbucks, get a half price Frappuccino (S'Mores, surprisingly good) and go home.
On the shuttle I was talking to some people who were surprised how crowded it was and were leaving early. I warned them that it will likely be crowded tomorrow too due to Cinco de Mayo. Although I didn't really check out the rest of the park I was surprised by how crowded TL was. I thought 2:50-3pm was a little early for kids who went to school to make it into the park. Plus the park closed at 7:30 yesterday so I didn't expect that after seeing the relatively low crowds last week.
Overall I would try to be there much earlier if I go again next year. From the perspective of a local it was worth it to go down there even just to ride ST. I'm not sure how I would feel if I made it part of my vacation or if I was there for merchandise. I guess the craziness of TL would be mitigated by the fact that you can escape it by going to other parts of the park and just make it a smaller part of your day. I did like the photo op that they had, but I also would have liked a character op as well.
Then I took the monorail into the park. There was an actual line for the bag check and I had to bypass 2 cars that were completely full. By the time I got into the park everything had taken about 40 minutes. I already called Otto around 2:20 and new that FP for Star Tours was out. When I got to the park just before 3pm there was a decent crowd formed for Jedi Training, but almost no one eating at TLT (it was pretty far past lunch, so no surprise). Then I rounded the corner and wow was it crowded! I've been on May 4th twice before, but not since 2012 and it was never like this. I'm calling it the Twitter effect.
I thought I took pics of the crowds, but when I looked at my phone it was pictures of the concrete. I think it's slow because the memory's almost full. Anyway, more details:
- The line for Star Tours was listed as 40 minutes, I waited 45, and I didn't have to wait for the simulator, as a single rider the put me right in as one was loading, so I'd say it was closer to 50 minutes.
- There were no characters out for greets when I arrived or by the time I left (4:40-ish). There were 2 Stormtroopers wandering around, but they were not posing for photos. More on them later.
- Both pins, the Goofy shirt, the Ewok plush and another beige shirt that wasn't on the blog (http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/bl...-to-disney-parks-for-star-wars-fans-on-may-4/) were all available at 4pm with no line to buy at Little Green Store Command. I didn't see the water bottles, they weren't posted by DisneylandToday on Twitter so they may have just been FL. Star Traders was pretty crazy with items being taken right off carts before they hit the shelves.
- I'd estimate that at least half of the people in saw in TL were wearing a Star Wars shirt or costume. There were so many Han Solo's. The CMs at the monorail greeted me with "May the fourth be with you."
- I didn't see any Darth Vader buckets, including the stand that had them just last Thursday. My guess is they sold out earlier in the day. I did see people carrying Stormtrooper mugs, but didn't check TLT to see if they were in stock or from a previous visit. There also wasn't any special food idea boards at TLT or the carts, I didn't check Pizza Port.
- There was a backdrop with May the Fourth Be With You set up and the CMs were passing out red and blue lightsabers to pose with. There was no PP when I walked by at 3pm and no PP when I got in line around 4pm, but there was by the time I got to the front. I waited just over 35 minutes
The Stormtroopers were wandering around and really gathering a crowd. The first time I saw them as I was waiting in the ST line they had uniformed security clearing the area because it was completely impassible. They were pretty entertaining, though. One was following guests, sort of tiptoeing behind them with his blaster out, and then he'd tap them on the shoulder and watch them react. When they went off stage they had to pass through the indoor mural area of the ST queue and they actually stood in line behind some people and were sneaking up on people in there, it was fun to watch. The second time I saw them they had a CM escort who was clearing an area for them over by the fountain ball. A saw some people try to stop to take selfies. One Stormtrooper would duck out and then the other would swoop into the vacated spot and pose. Again, really fun to watch them be playful. When I got out of the backdrop picture line they were over between ST and Astro Orbitors and it was just a mass of people pushing into the area and forcing them farther and farther apart. There were so many people coming into area and it was basically just lines and crowds. They even had the tape lines down on the ground for food carts. And they moved the GS kiosk for DAS returns away from it's usual spot. Store Command hadn't been pin trading, so I stopped on Main St, checked out the board then I decided to just go to Starbucks, get a half price Frappuccino (S'Mores, surprisingly good) and go home.
On the shuttle I was talking to some people who were surprised how crowded it was and were leaving early. I warned them that it will likely be crowded tomorrow too due to Cinco de Mayo. Although I didn't really check out the rest of the park I was surprised by how crowded TL was. I thought 2:50-3pm was a little early for kids who went to school to make it into the park. Plus the park closed at 7:30 yesterday so I didn't expect that after seeing the relatively low crowds last week.
Overall I would try to be there much earlier if I go again next year. From the perspective of a local it was worth it to go down there even just to ride ST. I'm not sure how I would feel if I made it part of my vacation or if I was there for merchandise. I guess the craziness of TL would be mitigated by the fact that you can escape it by going to other parts of the park and just make it a smaller part of your day. I did like the photo op that they had, but I also would have liked a character op as well.
