Any see the fireworks last night? Or the huge crowds?

[XTinabell]

Yesterday we took an afternoon break and headed back to the park just after 4, the park was so crowded we were barely able to squeeze through the tunnel leading to mainstreet. We eventually made our way to frontierland where it was empty so we caught our breath and rode the train all around the park to tomorrow land where we got squished again. We were going to sit and wait for the fireworks but my entire party pooped out on me and everyone wanted to go home. People were lining up for the fireworks over 2 hours early and were in everyone's way, we got a couple pictures of us in front of the castle with the pretty lights but then my party went back to the hotel and I pouted that we won't get to see the fireworks until Sunday.
So did any of you see the fireworks last night? We could see them from my balcony but I didn't want to ruin it so we didn't watch them. Was it amazing?

 

[ElvisStitch]

We were in the middle of the mass of humanity last night. I staked out a spot on the sidewalk on the outside of the circle near the Mickey/Walt statue, just outside of the entrance Tomorrowland, around 7:45 pm and waited for the family to join me. By the time they got there, they could barely walk across the street to where I was sitting. The show was awesome; we watched from IASW last year so we didn't see the castle, which made all the difference in the world. We saw a preview of the fireworks on Wednesday night from our hotel (Anaheim Fairfield Inn), but seeing it within the park was an order of magnitude better.

 

[Illuminations_Rocks]

I sort of saw them - behind a tree on Main Street, haha. Oh well. We were in Rainforest then went on Small World which took us to the fireworks beginning, just about. Anyway what I saw was good!! I liked the holiday sountrack, and I loved the snow but it really made me miss my family back in PA because I had talked to my mom a few hours earlier and she told me it was snowing. Meanwhile it's barely gotten below 50 at night where I live in CA.

The crowds were insane, though. Still I've been in worse (spring break anyone??). At least there really wasn't much of a wait for any ride, especially before school let out.

Any Ugly Betty fans - I saw the actor who plays Cliff on Small World. He was 2 boats ahead of me.

 

[FunkDoC]

So for any of you that were there today (Saturday the 17th) how did it compare to the previous night? Was it just as crazy?

We flew in today from Chicago which was GREAT...until we discovered the United Airlines decided my 10 and 6 yo daughters didn't need their items and left their bag. We were assured they would be here by 10pm tonight...but called around 11 to learn that the bag was STILL in Chicago. My girls are wearing dirty clothes tomorrow and that makes me furious in all honesty. I can't find a 24/7 clothing store around here! We are heading to Universal tomorrow morning and will be doing DLR M-W...hoping it's not TOO insane.

BTW, we had dinner at Goofy's Kitchen tonight. 135 was more than a little steep for 3 "adults" and 1 child, but Goofy was absolutely great tonight and made it all worthwhile. Also, don't know how often the same person plays the same character, but Cinderella was amazing as well. Jasmine was in a hurry and disinterested.

Well there ya go. A little nugget of my life. HEY UNITED, GET MY GIRLS STUFF DOWN HERE TO MOUSEVILLE OR I AM GONNA GO HADES ON YOU!

There. That actually made me feel a little better.

 

[bouncy54]

Friday night was complete bedlam too. We watched the fireworks from the hub area, right in front of Carnation Plaza. I wanted to make sure I could see the castle, but really...they didn't do anything special on the castle like they do with the "Remember" fireworks, so in hindsight, I could have watched the holiday fireworks from just about anywhere and enjoyed it just as much.

However, the "Enchanted" presentation on the castle must be seen in full view of the castle. That was just beautiful.

 

[Disney Davo]

Where the crowds due to the new Christmas themeing? I have noticed Friday nights starting at about 6 pm the AP holders show up and overcrowd the park. Is this what happend or do you think people just wanted to be first to see the Christmas Themeing? I believe the Christmas decorations went up on the 16th.

 

[ACDSNY]

We flew in today from Chicago which was GREAT...until we discovered the United Airlines decided my 10 and 6 yo daughters didn't need their items and left their bag. I can't find a 24/7 clothing store around here!

Sorry to hear about the lost luggage...I seem to remember a Target pretty close by (Harbor Bl). I'm sure you could get directions from your hotel staff.

 

[JLS]

We were there last night. The very middle hub part was packed by 8:40 or even earlier, but at 8:55 there was plenty of space near the tomorrowland side of the castle in the roped off areas. The rope offs are helping crowd control so people can't just stop and block the walkways. But that area where I was is behind two trees so not the best view.

IMO, the holiday fireworks were a disappointment compared to the absolutely unbelievable fireworks show over the summer. The fireworks this summer are the best I have ever seen in my life, and the soundtrack to all of the different park rides was fantastic. Lots of tinkerbell flying, too. There was no tinkerbell in the holiday fireworks. The castle looks gorgeous with the snow. But I thought the opening and finale song (versions of the same song) were rather cheesy (probably just me, but that was my reaction). Enjoyed the other holiday music. The show seemed considerably shorter than this summer's fireworks, too.

 

[bouncy54]

Where the crowds due to the new Christmas themeing? I have noticed Friday nights starting at about 6 pm the AP holders show up and overcrowd the park. Is this what happend or do you think people just wanted to be first to see the Christmas Themeing? I believe the Christmas decorations went up on the 16th.

I don't think so. The line at the turnstiles at opening was longer on Friday than on Wednesday and Thursday too. I think a lot of people chose to start their vacation on that Friday because of the holidays. I did notice that the park got way more crowded after dark, so the locals just added to the already crowded park. Even DCA was noticeably more crowded on Friday morning.

 

[bouncy54]

We were there last night. The very middle hub part was packed by 8:40 or even earlier, but at 8:55 there was plenty of space near the tomorrowland side of the castle in the roped off areas. The rope offs are helping crowd control so people can't just stop and block the walkways. But that area where I was is behind two trees so not the best view.

IMO, the holiday fireworks were a disappointment compared to the absolutely unbelievable fireworks show over the summer. The fireworks this summer are the best I have ever seen in my life, and the soundtrack to all of the different park rides was fantastic. Lots of tinkerbell flying, too. There was no tinkerbell in the holiday fireworks. The castle looks gorgeous with the snow. But I thought the opening and finale song (versions of the same song) were rather cheesy (probably just me, but that was my reaction). Enjoyed the other holiday music. The show seemed considerably shorter than this summer's fireworks, too.

We too, were disappointed in the holiday fireworks. And yes..they were very short compared to the Remember fireworks.

 

[arliepooh68]

we were there yesterday, didn't stay for the fireworks as I was done with people running into me. . . really done with being a human freakin pinball. . . however we did watch the 330 parade . .. who is this new person from enchantment???? and we were at the train hub and they were filming two people doing some sort of presentation, perhaps one of those behind the scene shows that the travel channel does??? earlier in the day they were handing out fastpasses by the wishing well and filming everyone as they were handed them, that is whywe stayed, we had rides to ride! was disappointed that dca wasn't that decorated. . . we also stayed in the hub for the flag ceremony, to this day I just cannot get through that song without shedding a tear or two. . . but all in all we had a good time. OH while waiting in line for HM they had a "technical difficulty", not obvious at all what happened with all the cleaning crews that showed up and disappeared , but they were pretty quick about it!

 

[Disney Davo]

Does anyone know what the crowds are like today? Or tonight? I was thinking about going to see the snow.

 

[LisainCalifornia]

 

[JLS]

ArliePooh - DCA is decorated. It just is not decorated as much as Disneyland. But there was a lot of holiday decoration in the entrance plaza.

 

[ctamama]

I was done with people running into me. . . really done with being a human freakin pinball. . .

yeah, that was for sure!! I watched the final few minutes of the fireworks from behind the Christmas tree as you first enter Main street. Very Pretty--loved the "snow"!! But, it was a madhouse on Friday night. We did not go to DL on Saturday--we went to downtown Disney....but the parking stuctures all looked VERY full on Saturday!

 

[FunkDoC]

Okay, an update on the lost luggage!

We got it tonight finally...after getting back from Wal-Mart where we had to go buy a new digital camera after having mine STOLEN at Universal Studios. I'm not kidding! The guy next to me at Waterworld stole my camera and disappeared! I set it down for a minute while getting into the show and that was it. I had already taken 150+ pictures including Goofy's Kitchen, all of Downtown Disney, AND a full day of great pictures at Universal Studios. Plus, we had to leave the park and talk to security about the incident and werent able to do Terminator 2 or the House of Horrors as the park closed while we were going through the process.

My daughters were devastated, my wife was unhappy to say the least. The luggage, the bad room, a/c not working, internet not working, STOLEN FRIGGIN CAMERA, sad children, grumpy Dad...I think this trip is seriously cursed. This is our first trip to California (from Illinois) after lots of amazing trips to Orlando. I just feel like each day ahead is full of doom before we leave the room at this point.

Somebody help me turn this mess around!!!

 

[dwelty]

Does anyone besides me think that the crowds have reached dangerous levels over the last few years at Christmas? It can take 30 min easily to get from the castle to Main Street. Where is the fire marshall? If there was an emergency this could be really bad. I think Disney should lower the threshold number it uses before it closes the park to new visitors.

 

[XTinabell]

Well we watched the fireworks last night...MAJOR disappointment. We showed up 2 hours early and people were already lining up so we layed our blanket next to another guys blanket right at the front, in front of the castle. We had such a good time sitting there talking, listening to guests yell at eachother that none of us really noticed all the people walking in front of the castle. Then we were told to stand and we noticed all these people walking, blocking our view of the castle and we thought, uh-oh is this going to happen during the fireworks?? It was awful. As soon as the fireworks started people started walking around on the crosswalk with their video cameras out, children on shoulders and walking slow. We had several people stop right in front of us and I got mad and pushed them and said "KEEP WALKING, WE'VE BEEN HERE FOR 2 HOURS!!!" We were so upset, we couldn't see anything, and on top of everyone blocking our view the sky was clouded so many of the fireworks weren't visable. We asked a CM why we weren't told that the crosswalk was in front of the show when they noticed us sitting there two hours early, and then the CM yelled at us. He was very rude so that didn't help our situation. I can understand why the CM was frustrated but it was still unnessesary to yell at us.
THEN...after the short firework show was over we were trapped. We barely made it down mainstreet, I got taken out by a balloon. A big mickey balloon slammed into me and then I was trapped behind it because the guy had lowered the balloon so it in my face and chest, my step mom got shoulder checked hard and I got rammed by strollers. We ducked into a store and I got trapped in there and a stroller ran over my foot the whole time the mother watching as she drives over my foot and doesn't even apologize. GRRRRRRRRR, it was so crazy. I can't imagine the park getting any busier than it was yesterday and last night. Anyways, this is a long little review, but I'll be issuing a complaint to the address city hall gave me, because looking on the disneymap it appears that people can be directed behind the castle and behind the main show. It isn't necessary to be walking in front of the show. It wasn't like that last year, last year we got to sit and there was nobody walking in front of the castle. K, that's my vent.

And sorry to hear about the stolen camera! That's awful. People make me mad sometimes.

 

[BillyFan]

Oh my gosh you guys! I feel so bad for you. You need to get into a better frame of mind to recover the last part of your vacation!!! We were in the parks Thursday thru Sunday and had a great time! Yes, it was crowded in the evenings, but the first couple of hours in the mornings were fantastic! Try to get to the park early and collect fast passes as much as possible. Save them to use in the evenings, when crowds are heavy. Yes, the fireworks were a bit disappointing. They really didn't seem as good as in Christmases past.
BTW, we finally got dream fast passes, so that was a plus for us, especially since we've spent more than 30 days in Disney parks since the promotion began 13 months ago!!!

 

[XTinabell]

Oh my gosh you guys! I feel so bad for you. You need to get into a better frame of mind to recover the last part of your vacation!!! We were in the parks Thursday thru Sunday and had a great time! Yes, it was crowded in the evenings, but the first couple of hours in the mornings were fantastic! Try to get to the park early and collect fast passes as much as possible. Save them to use in the evenings, when crowds are heavy. Yes, the fireworks were a bit disappointing. They really didn't seem as good as in Christmases past.
BTW, we finally got dream fast passes, so that was a plus for us, especially since we've spent more than 30 days in Disney parks since the promotion began 13 months ago!!!

I tried to keep an eye out for you but there was so many ppl at the hotel I didn't want to start asking everyone "Are you billyfan?" You're not still here are you? I am but sadly tomorrow is my last day