What in the world happened last week?

[socaltexan]

I've spent enough time in and around DLR to generally know the score. My kids are third generation APs. But, I was totally blindsided by the crowds last week.

Yes, the parks are always more crowded now than they used to be. Yes, "slow time" is a very relative term. I get it. But, the spike in attendance last week was unlike anything I've ever seen for this time of year.

Not everybody is a fan of TouringPlans, but their after-the-fact crowd scores generally offer very good hindsight, and their numbers for last M-F are through the roof. We're not just talking about a few points above what they predicted, but record-shattering wait times for the post-Spring break season. Way beyond what we've seen even the last year or two.

What in the world caused it? Was the last week of the Food & Wine Festival THAT big? Did this year's SoCal Flex Tickets drive a huge surge? Are price hikes/tiered pricing upsetting traditional crowd patterns?

Other explanations?

 

[LizzyS]

I was there this past Saturday and wasn't really bothered by the crowds at all and was actually surprised at the wait times for the e ticket attractions because I've seen them way worse. Of course, you could be talking about during the week, I do get that.

On Saturday, there seemed to be lots of young cheer leading groups around.

 

[socaltexan]

We were only there M-F this trip. It wasn't quite Spring Break level, but it wasn't far off.

I wasn't surprised that Monday and Friday were high, but it didn't subside at all mid-week, which I found more unusual. I checked in on the crowd-tracker Web sites, and saw most of them noting crowds far higher than they'd ever seen for that week of the year, and it definitely felt like it.

That said, it didn't spoil our week at all. We managed our time, fit everything in we wanted to do, and appreciated that the CMs were making obvious efforts to run things as efficiently as possible.

 

[tammytam]

So it wasn't just me! Lol. I haven't been to DL in almost 10 years, so with our trip last week, I knew it would be more crowded than what I previously experienced.

But holy cow.. crowded! I wasn't sure if it was just my inexperience with DL.. Or if it really was insanely crowded. Glad to hear it wasn't just me

Sunday of last week (Apr 24th), our first day in the parks, was probably the quietest of our 5 park days. The weekdays were just nuts!

 

[DLgal]

It was spring break still for many areas. And the last week of Food & Wine, AND Dapper Day was yesterday...probably lots of people came several days early.

 

[Snap Crackle Pop]

There were still many things going on last week so it's not really a shock.

 

[kyrkea333]

We've just gotten back and have discussed this at quite some length. We were very taken aback at the crowds.
We saw many, many large groups of students with matching T-shirts. I'm not sure if all of them but some of them were music groups as we saw them dressed for their performance leaving our hotel. They also talked about it in the entertainment Anaheim guide. We think possibly the lead up to dapper days and bats day also might have had an impact. And we noticed a medical convention at the Grand Californian Hotel. We talked to some people from the East Coast who said New York had some sort of a school break right now, and some people from Arizona who also had a school break. And of course the Food and Wine festival.
I don't know if all of these things in addition to all the ride closures can account for the crowd levels but that's what we've come up with.

 

[pirate_smiles]

I was in the park Tues-Thurs (26-28) and also thought the crowds were big. Not what I was hoping for. I think it was a combo of Dapper days, and the last week of spring break. And I am not sure there is a slow time at DL any more :-/

 

[cp11]

Actually, our family has had this discussion a lot. We used to always try to go during the "down" time or slow time. We have come to the conclusion that is a thing of the past and is no longer.

 

[Nevada Jen]

Jewish holidays. Many areas on the east coast get this as a school break (Plus they get a February break).

 

[sheetz]

The Micechat update touched upon this, and it was pretty much a combo of everything people have said: higher crowds, ride closures, cost cutting, dynamic pricing, Food & Wine, etc.

 

[tlovesdis]

Disneyland is busy all of the time now! Slow times are no more. Shoot we went at the end of January and it was super busy.

 

[LizzyS]

Disneyland is busy all of the time now! Slow times are no more. Shoot we went at the end of January and it was super busy.

I think you're right. Something I have noticed on the disboards alone... look at everyone's signatures and see how frequent their trips have been the past 5-6 years. What I have noticed is that Disney is apparently more popular than ever.

 

[jsmla]

We were there 4/27-5/1. I'm not a DLR vet but it was a lot busier than I was expecting. Touring Plans had 4/27-28 listed as level 3 days, both ended up as level 8. 4/29-30 were predicted to be at 6 and 7 respectively and were actually 9s.

We arrived for the 8:00 Magic Morning on 4/28 and, even though we were near the front of the turnstiles, found a 45 minute wait by the time we reached Peter Pan.

 

[JenEMT]

We felt the same! We were also there in December, a relatively busier time. So, expected the crowds to be similar. It felt so much more crowded. My thought was that since so many large attractions were down, others were more condensed.

 

[Amcd33]

We were there from the 26th-30th. It was very crowded. With an 8am magic hour opening on Thursday, there was a 35 min wait for Snow White and Mr. Toad at 8:25!!?? We were expecting crowds but not like that! We managed around them, rode what we wanted and had a great time though. Saturday morning magic hour at 7am was so much better. We rode Matterhorn, Alice, Toad, Dumbo, and managed to be first in line for Hyperspace FP by 8am. California Adventure was way less crowded for the majority of the week.

 

[mom2rtk]

With an 8am magic hour opening on Thursday, there was a 35 min wait for Snow White and Mr. Toad at 8:25!!??

 

[LizzyS]

We felt the same! We were also there in December, a relatively busier time. So, expected the crowds to be similar. It felt so much more crowded. My thought was that since so many large attractions were down, others were more condensed.

We went in December 2014 and that was the busiest I've ever seen DL.

 

[WillowRain]

We went in December 2014 and that was the busiest I've ever seen DL.

YES! We went the 10-13 Dec 2014. Wed was decent, more crowded at night. Thursday was what I would call a 7 even though Touring plans had it less. Friday it rained so that was just an amazing experience. But Saturday the 13th, I've NEVER EVER seen crowds like that, and I went on a 4th of July as a kid. I had to put my kids in their umbrella strollers because I was afraid of them getting lost or trampled. In front of POTC at F! time, we couldn't even move. It was ridiculous! I think FP has a lot to do with it. I mean, does anyone remember waiting in 2, 3, 4 hour lines to ride their favorites? I do. And so figure a few thousand people that used to be in a queue are now just hanging out in the walks. Now I look at a 30 min wait time and say eh, no thanks. We have been spoiled with the FP stuff I tell you.

 

[MomForFrozenAddicts]

I thought it was the Spring Break but I didn't meet many people from the east coast. I had a conversation with a CM at Pixie Hallow, he said the shorten hour really did a number to the crowd level. Also, many rides were operating in a much less capacity especially in the morning which increased the wait time. #ThanksShanghai