Crowd report and final TL construction update

WonkaKid

DIS Veteran
Joined
Apr 2, 2009
Messages
4,718
Folks, crowds were heavy today. In fact, when I arrived at the park at 7:30 (I was late today), the line was 90% of the way to DCA. Yikes! I suspect this is an indication of how crowds will be all this week. Consider the Thanksgiving holiday began last Friday and will extend to a week from tomorrow. I'm not sure if this image captures the insanity completely but it's the best I could do.
IMG_0749.jpg


As I was told would happen earlier in the week, there is now fencing around the new grass at the TL entrance. No flowers, though.
IMG_0754.jpg

Now, as to rope drop: it was a mess. The CM in charge didn't even begin to start taking down the rope until about 40 seconds before that park opened officially. That always makes us anxious for obvious reasons and there's no reason for it. Someone near me then unhooked the shorter rope that was close to us, which she saw and then scolded him. Then she seemed to deliberately go slow with our rope segment in retribution. That was nasty and a bad way to start the day. We didn't have anything to do with it but we and other near us were penalized.

Also, there were about 20 runners (see a few of them in all of their stolen glory below ;-)) once we got through the gate. That really annoyed me. Disney really, really, really needs to be better about enforcing their no-running rule, especially on days like today.
IMG_0752.jpg

Something else that was kind of funny: there was a grown woman who skipped all the way to PP. Skipping is cheating in my book and when CMs saw her they called out "Please don't skip!" but she paid them no mind. That always infuriates me. In any case, I was barely ahead of her as we approached PP. However, the entrance point seems to move often. Sometimes it's at the back towards the castle, sometimes halfway to the entrance, sometimes all the way. This time it was halfway and by the time I realized it, the skipper had already ducked into it. What made it more aggravating is that I went on a date with her about a year ago and she ghosted me. I didn't particularly care because we weren't a good match. But it feels unnecessarily petty and shoddy to do that when you know things will likely be awkward because we're now both obliged to ignore each other at the park. Silly. it was annoying but also, perhaps, slightly amusing.

Not much else to report although I do have a few cool pics. Checkout the new colorful Christmas trees near the tram loading area.
IMG_0747.jpg

IMG_0748.jpg

Also, they've expanded the new Adventureland entrance arch tower slightly.
IMG_0755.jpg

Lastly, a few treats and new HM popcorn buckets.
IMG_0756.jpg

IMG_0757.jpg

IMG_0758.jpg
I'll be back on Thanksgiving - I gone to DL on the holiday for the past three or four years. The forecast includes possible rain and temps in the mid fifties. Hopefully that keeps crowds low. It’s never a guarantee.

I've got a few sets of maps, if anyone would like one. Simply send me a direct message with your mailing address and I’ll etc ;-).
 
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the lines on the app didn't seem to be too insane today. Wonder how lines will be Weds
 
the lines on the app didn't seem to be too insane today. Wonder how lines will be Weds
Wednesday is currently predicted to be rainy and cold, which should keep locals away. But if people are already there for the week I imagine they’ll go to the parks even in the rain. I mean, I would!
 

Wednesday is currently predicted to be rainy and cold, which should keep locals away. But if people are already there for the week I imagine they’ll go to the parks even in the rain. I mean, I would!
Well. That's what I'd hoped last Wednesday. In my experience, rain and cold are the few things that consistently keep people away. That didn't hold true last Wednesday. Disney always likes to keep us guessing, I suppose. Never think we can game their system ;-).
 
Wow, those crowds are massive! :eek:
I guess I should prepare myself mentally for heavy crowds next weekend...

I already did a screenshot from your famous buzz scoring tips, so I hope I’ll manage more points than 60k...
 
Ooh, you posted your Buzz scoring tips? I gotta find this so I can kick my family's collective butts tomorrow. Of course, I already do, since they're all newbs, lol!

CA seemed pretty crazy crowded to me today! When we were in the FP line for RSR the standby line got up to a posted time of 2 hours 30 minutes. GotG was around 90 minutes. I was able to FP everything we wanted to ride, even doing GotG twice, but today was way more crowded than DL yesterday.

Tomorrow is our last day in DL. Seeing that line for today, I'm a little scared!!!
 
Ooh, you posted your Buzz scoring tips? I gotta find this so I can kick my family's collective butts tomorrow.

Here are my tips:

· Only ever shoot diamonds (5,000 points) and triangles (10,000 points – 50,000 when lit). Shoot squares only when lit (5000 points). As I often explain to other guests, shooting one triangle is the scoring equivalent to shooting 100 circles. Don’t waste time on circles.

· Shoot targets multiple times, not just once. I often leave the first room with 250,000 – 300,000 points.

· If you have trouble hitting targets, take a moment to shoot at a blank wall to determine if your gun is shooting high, low or to one side. Often times that’s the key. Not all guns are created equal ;-).

· Make note of where the triangle targets are and go for them as often as possible. For example, in the second to last room (where the second Zurg is), there’s one behind you as you near the exit. You have to shoot the circle beneath it to make it pop up. That alone -- hitting it ten times -- can earn players at least 100,000 points.

· This won’t be an issue for most players, but be aware that if you exceed approximately 2,096,000, your score will reset and you’ll lose everything. This happens to me regularly and it’s very frustrating. The challenge is that once you exceed 1M points, the cruiser will only display 999999. You’ll need to keep track (or try to) in your head. This has been an issue for the past two years or so. I’ve raised it with Disney many times but I think it unlikely that they’ll ever fix it. They tell me that the game is designed to do that; that it's not a bug. It was never meant to allow players to exceed that score. The way it performs now is the way it was always intended to... which seems unnecessary but they’ve done it, in all their Imagineering wisdom.

· On a related note, scores above 1M will only display at the photo kiosks at the ride exit. From time immemorial there’ve been problems with scores flowing through with pictures. I’ve also raised this issue with Disney and hopefully it will be corrected but... we’ll, honesty I doubt it.

· One note: my father was a marksman in the army. When he first taught me to shoot a pistol when I was 12, I hit a dead-center bullseye from 50 yards on my absolute first try. In short, I’ve always been a great shot.
 
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· One note: my father was a marksman in the army. When he first taught me to shoot a pistol when I was 12, I hit a dead-center bullseye from 50 yards on my absolute first try. In short, I’ve always been a great shot.

That's an awesome disclaimer! Thank you for sharing your tips!! We're headed out in a few minutes. I'll report back on how I do. Hope you have a great Thanksgiving in the parks!
 
That's an awesome disclaimer! Thank you for sharing your tips!! We're headed out in a few minutes. I'll report back on how I do. Hope you have a great Thanksgiving in the parks!
Thank you! Hope you have a blast in the park today as well :-). I look forward to a park report.
 
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Folks, crowds were heavy today. In fact, when I arrived at the park at 7:30 (I was late today), the line was 90% of the way to DCA. Yikes! I suspect this is an indication of how crowds will be all this week. Consider the Thanksgiving holiday began last Friday and will extend to a week from tomorrow. I'm not sure if this image captures the insanity completely but it's the best I could do.
View attachment 454645


As I was told would happen earlier in the week, there is now fencing around the new grass at the TL entrance. No flowers, though.
View attachment 454637

Now, as to rope drop: it was a mess. The CM in charge didn't even begin to start taking down the rope until about 40 seconds before that park opened officially. That always makes us anxious for obvious reasons and there's no reason for it. Someone near me then unhooked the shorter rope that was close to us, which she saw and then scolded him. Then she seemed to deliberately go slow with our rope segment in retribution. That was nasty and a bad way to start the day. We didn't have anything to do with it but we and other near us were penalized.

Also, there were about 20 runners (see a few of them in all of their stolen glory below ;-)) once we got through the gate. That really annoyed me. Disney really, really, really needs to be better about enforcing their no-running rule, especially on days like today.
View attachment 454652

Something else that was kind of funny: there was a grown woman who skipped all the way to PP. Skipping is cheating in my book and when CMs saw her they called out "Please don't skip!" but she paid them no mind. That always infuriates me. In any case, I was barely ahead of her as we approached PP. However, the entrance point seems to move often. Sometimes it's at the back towards the castle, sometimes halfway to the entrance, sometimes all the way. This time it was halfway and by the time I realized it, the skipper had already ducked into it. What made it more aggravating is that I went on a date with her about a year ago and she ghosted me. I didn't particularly care because we weren't a good match. But it feels unnecessarily petty and shoddy to do that when you know things will likely be awkward because we're now both obliged to ignore each other at the park. Silly. it was annoying but also, perhaps, slightly amusing.

Not much else to report although I do have a few cool pics. Checkout the new colorful Christmas trees near the tram loading area.
View attachment 454641

View attachment 454642

Also, they've expanded the new Adventureland entrance arch tower slightly.
View attachment 454644

Lastly, a few treats and new HM popcorn buckets.
View attachment 454649

View attachment 454650

View attachment 454651
I'll be back on Thanksgiving - I gone to DL on the holiday for the past three or four years. The forecast includes possible rain and temps in the mid fifties. Hopefully that keeps crowds low. It’s never a guarantee.

I've got a few sets of maps, if anyone would like one. Simply send me a direct message with your mailing address and I’ll etc ;-).

So if I read your report correctly the person skipping infuriated you because you think it is cheating? However you then claim to have been right with them. Were you running? If so, you really don't have much of an argument against someone skipping. Or is it somehow ok when you do it?
 
"So if I read your report correctly the person skipping infuriated you because you think it is cheating? However you then claim to have been right with them. Were you running? If so, you really don't have much of an argument against someone skipping. Or is it somehow ok when you do it? "

What is the point of this post? Just to cause problems or are you a runner?
 
Oh man! That opening was crazy!! We walked by around 7:10 and hardly a line, then went to Starbucks to grab our mobile order, which took another 20 minutes! So by the time we ate, the lines were almost back to DCA! We kinda freaked out. We got in the parks and bought MP right away, immediatly got a FP for Space mountain then high tailed it over there only to find out it was closed! It totally messed up our rope drop morning routine! We made due and actually got in 19 attractions on Sunday! We left around 9:15.
 
They finished putting up the fence around the grassy areas on Monday. It now goes all the way around. It does make the area feel a lot more open, now that the "french fries" are gone.
 
"So if I read your report correctly the person skipping infuriated you because you think it is cheating? However you then claim to have been right with them. Were you running? If so, you really don't have much of an argument against someone skipping. Or is it somehow ok when you do it? "

What is the point of this post? Just to cause problems or are you a runner?
Just stirring it up I guess. Not a runner. More of a rule follower.
 


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