Crowds & Heat this week

[ORMom2Four]

I have NEVER seen crowds like this during ANY of our Disneyland trips. We arrived on the 4th of October. Tuesday it took us 30+ minutes just to get through the security gate. Here's a pic of the crowd in Fantasy Land Monday.

This will be our last October trip

On a good note, we won dream fastpasses twice. It would have been 3 times, but we *just* missed the dream team on Tuesday (they were closing their packs as we walked up). The only thing we are doing to win is keeping our eyes and ears open. As soon as I see a group excitedly holding fastpasses in their hand, we head where they were. Here are Dh and the boys today getting dreamed by the castle.

 

[Marciern22]

The heat has been absolutely terrible and Miley's Bday couldn't have helped. I really wish the Dream Squad would pick my son. He would be sooooo super excited. He is autistic and we r there all the time, but just got lanyards with a couple pins once.

 

[disney_love<3]

Yes, the heat is horrible! My DBF and I are taking a little morning trip tomorrow since we both have the day off for Yom Kippur. We'll be there from around 9am when they open to about 1pm. Hopefully the heat and crowds aren't too bad.

Nice that you got dreamed!

 

[CalvaryMike]

Yes, the heat is horrible! My DBF and I are taking a little morning trip tomorrow since we both have the day off for Yom Kippur. We'll be there from around 9am when they open to about 1pm. Hopefully the heat and crowds aren't too bad.

Nice that you got dreamed!

The temp is suppose to drop 10 degrees tomorrow. Have fun!

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

Sorry about the heat and crowds. Looks just like it did last year when we were there. That was our last October trip too. LOL Beautiful this time of year, but the crowds just aren't worth it for us either.

 

[disneegrl4eva]

you know there was several of us on this board who tried to tell everyone about the crowds and for some reason very few people thought we knew what we were talking about...I TOLD YA SO!!!

 

[disneegrl4eva]

has anyone done the halloween tour yet???? really wanting to get some info on it

 

[CrazyDuck]

The temp is suppose to drop 10 degrees tomorrow. Have fun!

20 here in San Diego!

 

[jason417]

We are going this weekend. I guess I'm just one of the few that doesn't seem to care if it's crowded. Sure, I agree that it's a nicer experience when it's not super crowded, but even when it is crowded it's still a lot of fun. Maybe part of the reason it doesn't bother us is because we never stand in line for anything for more than 15 minutes. We live close and have gone so many times that we have a good grasp of the FP system and know when to hit which rides. We typically get about 25 rides in on a day when the park is open 8am to midnight, 30 if we don't take an afternoon break in the hotel. For us, that's more than enough.

 

[CrazyDuck]

I'm going with the expectation that there are going to be crowds? It's fair to expect "summer-like" crowds when we are getting "summer-like" hours! Durring the 7 days that I'll be there (10/11-10-17) Disneyland closes at 11p or 12a every night except Tue and Wed.

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

you know there was several of us on this board who tried to tell everyone about the crowds and for some reason very few people thought we knew what we were talking about...I TOLD YA SO!!!

I didn't want to say it, but I was thinking it. I'm glad you did for me!

 

[Krissy Marissy]

I agree. I dont understand why people assume that oct is still slow there. With all the extra things to draw people over I would guess that it is busy...not quite as busy as christmas time but still quite crowded! And there is also MTOTP and like crazyduck said...long park hours. I think you should always arrive thinking it'll be packed and then if it isn't you will be happy And if it is busy...well you thought it would be anyway!

 

[OnePrincess]

We leave for DL next week and we expect it to be busy. We don't care though. We have the MTOTP on Friday but other than that we have other plans for the weekend. If the days we're there are busy we'll still make the best of it, I mean it is our first trip to DL afterall.

 

[kkgunn]

***we have a good grasp of the FP system and know when to hit which rides. We typically get about 25 rides in on a day when the park is open 8am to midnight, 30 if we don't take an afternoon break in the hotel***


Ok Jason how do you do it?? Yep I'm interested. We are going Nov 2 on a Saturday (wince). Would like to hit most rides and POTC about 5 times (my all time favorite).

 

[DangerMouse]

I am one of those people who would rather not go to DLR at all if it means heat and crowds. I feel bad for those of you who had to endure both this past week.

I still can't believe I let myself be talked into going to DLR next weekend. I think it may be cooler, but it will definitely be just as crowded if not more. . . what was I thinking?? If all else fails, I guess I'll just go plop myself down in Golden Horseshoe and watch the Billies for several shows. That ALWAYS makes me happy.

 

[CalvaryMike]

DangerMouse,

Sorry to say that it looks like it may be heating up again by next weekend.

 

[disneegrl4eva]

I am one of those people who would rather not go to DLR at all if it means heat and crowds. I feel bad for those of you who had to endure both this past week.

I still can't believe I let myself be talked into going to DLR next weekend. I think it may be cooler, but it will definitely be just as crowded if not more. . . what was I thinking?? If all else fails, I guess I'll just go plop myself down in Golden Horseshoe and watch the Billies for several shows. That ALWAYS makes me happy.

aww Callie it will be fine...you know you will have fun

DangerMouse,

Sorry to say that it looks like it may be heating up again by next weekend.

yeah but Mike..DM is from AZ so high 70's to mid 80's wont affect her like it might some people..

 

[DangerMouse]

Yep, anything under 100 degrees is cool to me!

Just checked accuweather and they are reporting 78, 76 and 75 for the days I'm there. That's winter weather where I come from!

 

[jason417]

Ok Jason how do you do it?? Yep I'm interested. We are going Nov 2 on a Saturday (wince). Would like to hit most rides and POTC about 5 times (my all time favorite).

Based on a 8am-midnight day...

I get FP in this order and roughly these times:
Indy (8:05am)
Space Mtn (8:55am)
Splash Mtn (10:00am)
Space Mtn (11:30am)
Indy (1:30)
Thunder Mtn (3:30)
Haunted Mansion (5:00)
Thunder Mtn (7:00)
Depending on the crowds, you might be able to squeeze one or two more FP out. I also grab a Roger Rabbit FP somewhere in the mix since it's not connected to the network. Don't use any FPs in the first couple hours; save them for later.

There's the beautiful hours from roughly 8am to 10am when crowds are light and we hit rides like Buzz, Haunted Mansion, Star Tours, and Thunder Mtn during those hours.

Then there's the busier but still not horrible time from about 10am to 11am and we'll usually ride Pirates and Jungle Cruise.

Use the busy afternoon hours for FP usage, relaxing on a roundtrip on Disneyland RR, Mark Twain, Tiki Room, or resting in the hotel.

Matterhorn is always a shorter line in the second half of the day because of the parades so we don't hit it in the morning. the early evening is another good time for Pirates and Jungle Cruise. Pirates is such a long ride and rarely has a horrible wait so it's a waste of precious morning time to go on a 16 min ride that will only be a 15 min wait at 6pm. You mentioned you want to do Pirates 5 times. I'd hit it a couple times in the late morning (10-11am) and a few more any time after 5pm.

Thunder Mtn is always busier in the dark hours so that's why the FPs come in handy that we grab at 3:30 and 7:00. We typically do Fantasyland after the fireworks. We can usually hit every single FL ride before the park closes (always end with Peter Pan). Sometimes we finish in just enough time to get in line for Indy or Space Mtn by midnight (as long as you're in line by midnight they'll let you on the ride)

People will say, "Don't forget to leave time to enjoy the park." Well, I enjoy the park by riding rides so I'm perfectly content going from ride to ride. My wife likes shopping and soaking up the atmosphere so we usually do that in the afternoon.

 

[kkgunn]

Jason417

Thank you for the plan.. It will be an 8am to midnight day.

I have a question about the FP's. can you collect them sooner than 2 hrs before the return time? Looks like some of the times you have posted for collecting FP's is only and hour or hour and a half apart? OR, are you using some of them up in the early part of the day?

I appreciate a good plan.. just makes the day go that much better.

Oh and What about the Nemo subs? do you know when the best time to ride that is?