Crowd levels compared to 11 years ago

[DawnM]

We moved out of LA 11 years ago. We always had APs.

We are moving back (YAY!!!!) but I am reading that DL is far more crowded now?

Any statistics? I can't seem to find them.

 

[GatorChris]

I found this website: http://www.scottware.com.au/theme/feature/atend_disparks.htm

It looks like 11 years ago, it was in the 14.5 million. Now it looks like it's around 19 million. And sister, you can feel it. When we went in 2006, it wasn't too bad. Shoot, when we went in 2013 and 2014 it was pretty good. But once 2015 hit, it's been like a zoo inside DL.

 

[DawnM]

Thanks. I guess that is why the price has hiked up.

I used to work in a year round school and it was so nice to go down off-track and enjoy the day with my pre-schoolers.

Now all the schools are pretty much traditional calendar, so I imagine that affects things too since I will only be able to go on days I am off or *sick*.

 

[mom2rtk]

Our first visit was in 2005. Our most recent visit was this past November.

It's a completely different animal.

 

[Albort]

Worked there for 5 years... honestly, the biggest boom are when disney were doing the monthly payments for APs.

 

[SMD]

If you haven't been to DCA since the 2.0 changes, it's a completely different park. One year post 50th Disney started the Year of a Million Dreams promotion. If anyone experienced that, there were CMs with random gifts (ears, lanyards with pins, FPs) throughout the park and if you found one before they ran out of stuff you got something. Think of the new micro-promotion model (it's like Limited Time Magic from 2013), except with social media and the apps the experience gets swarmed almost immediately because they can't hide this kind of stuff anymore.

 

[dreeger]

I agree that it's become much much busier. Been going regularly since 2010 and noticed a severe increase this past year. Went Aug 2016, Dec 2016, and this past weekend (which was a holiday) and it's insane. I've been previously on 4th of July and Thanksgiving and this past year feels much busier than those trips.

 

[DawnM]

Wow! It sounds awful. I remember going with my toddlers and up through age 8 or so with them and walking on rides.

 

[Geemo]

We book trips during what WAS considered SLOW TIMES to avoid crowds.
The volume in the parks during what use to be slow times has SKY ROCKETED!!!
We've been going 1-2 times a year for the past 13 years.

We find the parks aren't too bad first thing in the morning. Especially for the earlier opening times.
Once it approaches lunch time the walkways are beginning to be busier and you see it in the lines too.
By and after dinner time it's so busy there are CM's out and they begin directing people on the walkways into ONE WAY flow in some of the areas.
I feel so bad for those with strollers, wheelchairs and EVC. It's a real challenge for them to manure through the crowds.

I'm sure the special offers for AP's to the SoCal residents contributes to the evening volume.

I know if I lived an easy drive to the parks, I'd have one of the SoCal passes.

Good luck with your move.
Geemo

 

[DawnM]

I know if I lived an easy drive to the parks, I'd have one of the SoCal passes.

Good luck with your move.
Geemo

Thanks. I am so excited, but we won't move until we sell this house and secure jobs out there. I shouldn't have any problem getting a job, and DH probably won't either, but he will start sending resumes out in mid to late April.

We have so many reasons we are moving back, so I won't bore you with details.

I am just very happy to have started the process.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

We book trips during what WAS considered SLOW TIMES to avoid crowds.
The volume in the parks during what use to be slow times has SKY ROCKETED!!!

We find the parks aren't too bad first thing in the morning. Especially for the earlier opening times.
Once it approaches lunch time the walkways are beginning to be busier and you see it in the lines too.
By and after dinner time it's so busy there are CM's out and they begin directing people on the walkways into ONE WAY flow in some of the areas.
I feel so bad for those with strollers, wheelchairs and EVC. It's a real challenge for them to manure through the crowds.

I'm sure the special offers for AP's to the SoCal residents contributes to the evening volume.

I know if I lived an easy drive to the parks, I'd have one of the SoCal passes.

Good luck with your move.
Geemo

As a long-time AP, the lack of "slow times" is the big difference to me. Crowded times have always been crowded... But the days of showing up mid-November or February and having an empty park are pretty much over.

In December, they randomly had 8am openings on a few Thursdays when the rest of the week opened at 10am, and those mornings were EMPTY like the old days, and every now and then we'll stumble on a random Wednesday or Thursday without crowds... But they're very unpredictable.

I'm still there about once a week with my three-year old because we love it. To her, watching the Emporium windows change scenes, maybe hitting one ride, seeing some characters, and getting a snack = a fantastic day at Disney, so we can have a blast no matter the crowds... But I do find myself feeling increasingly bad for tourists who planned trips thinking they were getting "off-season" and then finding big crowds with reduced park hours and offerings.

 

[agamble]

watching the Emporium windows change scenes,

Ooh, glad to read those are still there. They started right after our last trip. Still bummed all the special picture ops are gone.

 

[disneycat321]

We were local AP holders from 2009-2014, and we felt a big difference from the beginning to the end of just that 5 year period. The difference is the "slow" days. Meaning, there aren't any anymore. Or if they are, you never know when they'll happen. I think crowds during off season used to be more predictable, too.

Now that we are in Nor Cal and can only go during my breaks (I'm a teacher), we just know it will always be crowded. We've gotten great at rope drop arrival and fast pass accumulation.

 

[alvernon90]

As a long-time AP, the lack of "slow times" is the big difference to me. Crowded times have always been crowded... But the days of showing up mid-November or February and having an empty park are pretty much over.

In December, they randomly had 8am openings on a few Thursdays when the rest of the week opened at 10am, and those mornings were EMPTY like the old days, and every now and then we'll stumble on a random Wednesday or Thursday without crowds... But they're very unpredictable.

I remember going on a random weekday in early December about 25 years ago, and the park was so empty and looking so great decorated for Christmas (though not nearly what they do today, admittedly). The old parking lot did not run trams because all the cars could park within an easy walk from the gates. Not a single ride in the park has a line longer than 10 minutes. Stores and restaurants had no lines at the registers. The sky was crystal blue and the temps were in the mid-60s, cool enough to feel like holiday time but not cold at all. Characters roamed the streets greeting guests with no crowds around them. And the ticket cost about half what it costs today in inflation-adjusted dollars.

I'd love to have a Disneyland experience like that again, but I'm afraid those days are gone forever. Those prices sure as heck are gone forever.

 

[NannyBeBe]

My husband first went to Disneyland in 1955. My first trip was in 1959. We have been going approximately every two years since around 1980. So you can imagine the changes we have seen. We still enjoy it. Patience is a virtue, and one that must be exercised in DLR. A rude and inconsiderate person can ruin a day much more than the crowded conditions. My advice to anyone going would be to plan as many days as you can and go slowly.