Crowd Levels At DL This Week and Next?

[dnamertz]

I am planning on going to Disneyland around this same time next year (either the week of April 16 or April 23), and I'd like to know how the crowd levels are this time of year.

If there is anyone at DL/DCA this week (Monday Apr 16, 2012 thru Friday Apr 20, 2012) or next week (Monday Apr 23, 2012 thru Friday Apr 27, 2012), please let me know wait times, and how crowded the parks are. I don't plan on going on the weekends, so I don't need to know Saturday or Sunday crowd levels.

If anyone could post current pictures of the wait-time board that is located in the hub, that would be great...or times from some of the major attractions from a wait-time app would also be great (I'm old...I don't have a smart phone). I'm also curious to know if anyone is still on spring break during these two weeks.

 

[skiingfast]

Crowds are very pleasant in April after Spring Break is over. The park is not empty but crowds are small and hours are slightly extended through April. Fridays are busy in the evening and you will want one to catch the fireworks and probably F!.

 

[dnamertz]

Anyone have any updates on the crowd levels last week, or this week?

 

[dchatelain3]

I was there last week on tuesday the 17th. It was pretty slow most of the day. Our longest wait was 20 minutes for dumbo and toy story mania. We walked on to ariel, pooh and the haunted mansion. We were there from 10:30 am to 9:30 pm. The crowds picked up a bit in the evening. I don't ride these rides but I happened to notice that screamin and star tours were a 15 minute wait. I'm going again on Wednesday so I'll let you guys know what the crowds are like.

 

[dchatelain3]

Here is a photo I took on the 17th

 

[dnamertz]

What time was that picture taken?

 

[dchatelain3]

I'm not completely sure but I'm guessing about 11 AM.

 

[ArchOwl]

I am planning on going to Disneyland around this same time next year (either the week of April 16 or April 23), and I'd like to know how the crowd levels are this time of year.

If there is anyone at DL/DCA this week (Monday Apr 16, 2012 thru Friday Apr 20, 2012) or next week (Monday Apr 23, 2012 thru Friday Apr 27, 2012), please let me know wait times, and how crowded the parks are. I don't plan on going on the weekends, so I don't need to know Saturday or Sunday crowd levels.

If anyone could post current pictures of the wait-time board that is located in the hub, that would be great...or times from some of the major attractions from a wait-time app would also be great (I'm old...I don't have a smart phone). I'm also curious to know if anyone is still on spring break during these two weeks.

I will be at DL this weekend, including Friday. I will report back and hopefully have some pics. I have been keeping an eye on wait time apps and it seems generally light. Let me know if you want anything in particular.

 

[Isatricia]

We were there Apr 15-19 and all rides were pretty much walk on with a few having a 20 min wait maximum. I was told by a CM that we picked the perfect week to go since spring break was over but they were still open to 11 pm. This week they are closing at 9 - that is what she told me I didn't check it.

My advice - figure out when spring break is over and go the following week - we chose to leave 1 week after Easter to avoid those crowds.

 

[soaringirl]

Here is a photo I took on the 17th

That's soooo nice!! I'm heading next week, and I so need low crowds!
DH thinks it's going to be packed since several years ago we went to WDW in April & May and both times it was kind of crazy. I haven't discourage him to think otherwise since I'm crossing fingers myself, and I prefer to be surprised. But oh how good it will be that our week looks like that!

 

[DLKiwi]

That's soooo nice!! I'm heading next week, and I so need low crowds!
DH thinks it's going to be packed since several years ago we went to WDW in April & May and both times it was kind of crazy. I haven't discourage him to think otherwise since I'm crossing fingers myself, and I prefer to be surprised. But oh how good it will be that our week looks like that!

I also picked the perfect week, having been there 18th to 20th. Poor sister, who can't handle large crowds, and on her first trip to DL, still thought it was busy. I had to correct her on that!

 

[jetskigrl]

I was there on Sunday (4/22) and it was packed. Not surprising for a Sunday this time of year (when it is the only weekend day that So Cal and Deluxe AP'ers can go). I wasn't surprised that it was busy...just a little busier than I thought it would be considering Spreak Break time is over.

 

[dchatelain3]

That's soooo nice!! I'm heading next week, and I so need low crowds!
DH thinks it's going to be packed since several years ago we went to WDW in April & May and both times it was kind of crazy. I haven't discourage him to think otherwise since I'm crossing fingers myself, and I prefer to be surprised. But oh how good it will be that our week looks like that!

It was so nice! I hope the crowds are nice and low for you too! I'm in the same situation. I took my fiancé last month, he hadn't been in years and he didn't remember liking it very much so of course I had to change that! It was super crowded when we went, luckily he still had a good time and decided he likes Disneyland now. But I want him to go when the crowds are low so he can have more time to appreciate it and learn to LOVE Disneyland I'm hoping tomorrow will be that day for us!

 

[martikus]

Been here since 22nd and honestly I've been surprised by the crowds. Except for first hour, everything is 10-30 min wait. I was hoping for ghost town. Oh well - still having a great time.

 

[dnamertz]

I will be at DL this weekend, including Friday. I will report back and hopefully have some pics. I have been keeping an eye on wait time apps and it seems generally light. Let me know if you want anything in particular.

If you could report back with some wait times for some of the rides that tend to have long lines during crowded days, such as Toy Story MM, Space Mt, Indiana Jones, etc....that would be great. Especially for today, Thursday, or early Friday, before the weekend crowd starts to arrive.

 

[ArchOwl]

If you could report back with some wait times for some of the rides that tend to have long lines during crowded days, such as Toy Story MM, Space Mt, Indiana Jones, etc....that would be great. Especially for today, Thursday, or early Friday, before the weekend crowd starts to arrive.

Cool, I will collect data tomorrow and Friday morning then.

 

[daleenmarine]

We went for the afternoon/evening yesterday (3:30 - 9:00). It was definitely heavier than the picture posted by dchatelain3, but the crowds weren't nearly as bad as the more popular times of year. The crowds at both parks certainly grew into the evening...I suspect many, like us, were people getting off school/work and spending the evening there. Also, CA Adventure got more crowded as it got closer to the World of Color show time.

Many lines were moving so quickly that most of the wait was the time it took to walk from the queue entry to the actual ride. The waits posted for the "big kid" rides were 15-25 minutes but I think we waited less than 15 minutes for any single ride. We didn't use a single FastPass because the portion of the lines you would normally bypass with FastPass were just not there. Fantasyland seemed to have the longest lines, which were shorter than what you'd expect during the summer but still longer than we were willing to wait (like 20-30 minutes for Peter Pan). The character lines were also really short compared to other times of year.

We fit a lot into our short day: took pictures with Gepetto, Space Mountain, Star Tours, Alice in Wonderland, Big Thunder, sat to eat some gumbo, Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones, shopping, hopped over to CA Adventure, Soaring Over California, Grizzly River Rapids, CA Screaming, Tower of Terror, shopping, Monsters Inc., hopped back over to Disneyland for soup & sandwiches at the Jolly Holiday Bakery and were out of the park by about 8:45.

Hope this helps!

 

[dnamertz]

We went for the afternoon/evening yesterday (3:30 - 9:00). It was definitely heavier than the picture posted by dchatelain3, but the crowds weren't nearly as bad as the more popular times of year. The crowds at both parks certainly grew into the evening...I suspect many, like us, were people getting off school/work and spending the evening there. Also, CA Adventure got more crowded as it got closer to the World of Color show time.

Many lines were moving so quickly that most of the wait was the time it took to walk from the queue entry to the actual ride. The waits posted for the "big kid" rides were 15-25 minutes but I think we waited less than 15 minutes for any single ride. We didn't use a single FastPass because the portion of the lines you would normally bypass with FastPass were just not there. Fantasyland seemed to have the longest lines, which were shorter than what you'd expect during the summer but still longer than we were willing to wait (like 20-30 minutes for Peter Pan). The character lines were also really short compared to other times of year.

We fit a lot into our short day: took pictures with Gepetto, Space Mountain, Star Tours, Alice in Wonderland, Big Thunder, sat to eat some gumbo, Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones, shopping, hopped over to CA Adventure, Soaring Over California, Grizzly River Rapids, CA Screaming, Tower of Terror, shopping, Monsters Inc., hopped back over to Disneyland for soup & sandwiches at the Jolly Holiday Bakery and were out of the park by about 8:45.

Hope this helps!

Wow, sounds like you got a lot done in just over 5 hours...thanks for the info. Did it rain at all while you were there? I know someone who likes in the LA area and said there was a little bit of rain yesterday.

 

[mac_tlc]

We were there the week of 4/15, actually went to DL on 4/15, CA on 4/16, CA night of 4/18, DL and CA on 4/19 and DL/CA on 4/22.

One thing I definately noticed: Both 4/15 and 4/22 were Sundays and the park hours were identical (8AM - 12 mid for DL, 10Am to 10PM for CA). However, the crowds on 4/22 were much much greater than 4/15. I think this was due to 4/15 being a blackout date for the SoCal AP's. It made a huge difference. In DL, waits on 4/22 were almost twice what they were on 4/15. For example Indiana Jones was 15 minutes early 4/15, growing to 20-25 later. On 4/22 it was 35 early and maybe 40 min later. At CA, TSM was 30-40 on 4/15, while most of 4/22 it was posted at 60minutes (but we waited almost 75 minutes at about 3PM on 4/22). Another example, Mickeys Fun Wheel -- 5 to 10 on 4/15, almost 60 min on 4/22. TOT was about 20 minutes on 4/15 and 60+ on 4/22.

During the week, crowds and wait times were close to 4/15, maybe a little more for TSM, SOC at CA, and IJ and BTMR.

mac_tlc

 

[daleenmarine]

Wow, sounds like you got a lot done in just over 5 hours...thanks for the info. Did it rain at all while you were there? I know someone who likes in the LA area and said there was a little bit of rain yesterday.

There were several times it sprinkled, but nothing that drenched us and it quickly cleared. I think the rain closes some attractions (I want to say Alice in Wonderland, Dumbo, the rockets- I'm sure someone who knows better than me will chime in), but we didn't see anything closed because of the light rain yesterday. I also seem to remember that the park sometimes closes early (8 pm) if it's raining, but I think that's more because of the small numbers of visitors and not due to the rain itself. And to be honest, I love being there in the rain because there are so few others out and about it's almost like having the park to yourself.

There were a few times the winds kicked up and it got chilly enough to put on my hoodie, but we never felt so cold we'd wished we brought jackets (and we're used to the warm weather of Southern California). The kids got soaked on the rapids ride and they didn't complain of being cold, either.