4th of July?

[mrsswat]

how crazy is DL over the 4th of July for 2 first time adults trying to do the parks?

 

[TigerLaw]

[don't know ifthis will help or not, but I was at MK on the 4th this year - it opened at 8am for everyone (unusual for MK) and I'd say for the first 90 minutes, it was DEAD. I couldn't believe how dead it was, I was get FPS left and right. By 10am it was starting to fill up, and by 11am you could feel the crowds. I think what happens is that people know there is a chance if they come and try to park hop, they may night get back in, so they know they have to stay all day, so they don't start coming in till 10-11am

 

[mrsswat]

been at DW myself for the 4th. I'm really hoping to find out the info for DL 4th as a first timer. As a vet at WDW, we know how the navigate for a holiday, but not so much for DL. Worse case scenario - WDW for the 4th, then on the DL
SO - I'M STILL LOOKING FOR DL 4TH OF JULY INFO - C'MON DL VETS - HELP ME OUT HERE.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

We were just at DL for the week leading up to the 4th of July. We didn't spend the entire day on the 4th at the park, but my husband took our boys in for about 3 hours in the morning (from about 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.). They said it wasn't bad in the morning, but people were still streaming in all day.

During the week before the 4th, it was pretty crowded but still manageable. We normally would pick another week but my husband had a convention in Anaheim that week. Our strategy was to get to the parks at opening and choose a different area to start in each morning. One morning we went to the Indy/Pirates/Haunted Mansion area first. Another day, we went to Tomorrowland and another day to Fantasyland. We would take advantage of the low crowds to go on rides early. Along the way, we would gather Fastpasses. Each time we were able to get a Fastpass, we would get them and stash them away.

The park would really start filling up around 2:00 p.m. and that's about the time we would go back to our hotel so the boys could swim and my sister could nap! We would go back around 6:00 or 6:30 p.m. and start using the Fastpasses we collected in the morning. We would only get in a line without a Fastpass if it was 20 minutes or less.

We would avoid the river area starting around 7:00 p.m. because people would start staking out spots for Fantasmic. We've seen it many, many times and decided we didn't want to do it this time. We would try to stay on the other side of the park, although we did manage to get caught in the shuffle a couple of times. Around 9:25, they have fireworks on Main Street. If you don't want to watch them, it's good to hang around Tomorrowland until the crowds have cleared.

With a little planning and strategy, the busiest time at DL can still be manageable. Just plan to book a hotel early so you get exactly what you want.

 

[S. S. Columbia]

We were also at DLR for the week leading up to the 4th of July, and our experiences were similar to the previous poster.

The standby line for Splash Mtn sometimes had a posted wait-time of 85 minutes, but we used FastPass and barely waited 5 minutes.

Both Sundays of our trip (June 28 and July 5) were not overly crowded. And there wasn't a single moment when the parks seemed 'crazy crowded.' The fireworks and Fantasmic were very crowded, but overall the crowds weren't too bad.

According to Al Lutz: "On the evening of the 4th of July [2009] at the time the first fireworks shell was launched behind Toontown, Disneyland held just over 48,000 people inside the gates...." Here's the link. Attendance of 48,000 is crowded, but on Friday, June 26 (the last day before the SoCal summer blockout started), DL was very crowded with an attendance of 64,000.

Here are some of the wait times from the trip:

Sunday (June 28):
BTMRR ………………….… 5 minute wait @ 2:00pm (standby)
Mad Tea Party ……….. 3 minute wait @ 3:00pm
Matterhorn …………... 20 minute wait @ 3:00pm

Tuesday (June 30)
Calif. Screamin’ ……… 15 to 20 minute wait @ 11:00am (standby)
Toy Story Mania …... 30 minute wait @ 12:00Noon

Thurs (July 2)
Pixie Hollow w/ Tink.. 30 minute wait @ 12:00Noon

Friday (July 3)
Roger Rabbit (RRCTS). 5 minute wait @ 11:00am (standby)
Pixie Hollow w/ Tink.. 30 minute wait @ 11:00am

Sunday (July 5)
BTMRR ……………………. 5 minute wait in the middle of the afternoon (standby)

Hope this helps.