Crowds in July

[rob5589]

We have a wedding to attend in late July in Los Angeles and was possibly thinking about staying in Anaheim 2 nights because a friend has never seen Disneyland (we go to WDW every year). I understand SWGE is opening there too, so is this something we should save for another time? What are some average wait times for a weekday in the summer?

 

[HydroGuy]

Lots of folks like me can tell you about past July's. No one can really tell you about this July.

For the first few weeks of SWGE (into June) there will be a reservation system to keep crowds more manageable. No one can get into SWGE without a reservation. No FPs either. At first.
After June 23 things may or may not change. No one has said.

A few of other thoughts...

DLR handles crowds differently than WDW. The WDW parks are bigger and handle more people easily. However, DLR has lots more rides per park than WDW. So queues tend to not get as long. For example, until WDW added an extra theater to Soarin and an extra track to TSMM, the wait times there were horrendous. On the other hand, DLR's Soarin and TSMM rides (both of those are at DCA) were 1/3 to 1/2 as long. Not because there were fewer people but there were more things for people to do. They still have 2 theaters/tracks. What I am saying is DLR may feel more crowded in the walk ways but feel less crowded in the queue wait times.

One of the huge advantages DLR has over WDW is hotel proximity. You can stay at a hotel where the door of your room is as close to the DLR gates are as some of the bus and boat drop offs are at WDW. Yes, a 5 minute walk. When you stay that close (and I always do - see "HydroGuy's Hotel Rule" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1199862) it makes it way easier to take afternoon breaks. And that helps you manage crowds. You can make rope drop with a 5 minute walk, spend 4-5 solid hours at the parks, head back to your hotel room for some rest from the heat and crowds, then come back a few hours later rested and ready to stay late into the evening. What I am saying is it easier to manage crowds at DLR than WDW if you make a good hotel choice.

Finally, building on the proximity issue I just explained, is MaxPass. It allows you to continue to collect up FastPasses while you are at your hotel resting. See "Comparing DLR's MaxPass to WDW's FastPass+" - https://www.disboards.com/threads/comparing-dlrs-maxpass-to-wdws-fastpass.3726294/.

Hope that helps!

 

[rob5589]

yes this definitely helps for sure. thanks!

 

[scottishgirl1]

We will be there second week in July and were going to go for afternoon breaks if possible as we are staying at Disneyland Hotel but now I am panicking that this will be a risky strategy in case of capacity at parks!

 

[HydroGuy]

We will be there second week in July and were going to go for afternoon breaks if possible as we are staying at Disneyland Hotel but now I am panicking that this will be a risky strategy in case of capacity at parks!

I seriously doubt that will happen.



ETA At least not on any kind of regular basis.

 

[scottishgirl1]

I seriously doubt that will happen.

I hope so!

 

[rob5589]

If the Rise of the Resistance ride happens to open sometime in July, that certainly wont help things.

 

[Diszona]

I seriously doubt that will happen.



ETA At least not on any kind of s regular basis.

Yeah, also keep in mind while there is a influx of people due to SWGE there are also a lot of people with APs that will be blacked out during that time frame. I expect larger than normal crowds but not where it is hitting capacity.

 

[IAmDis]

Well at least you'll be far removed from the July 4th crowds, which are historically always the worst.

If you got there right at rope drop, used Max Pass, you'd normally be fine, especially for 2 days. Buttttt of course, SWGE won't help anything and honestly it may be the worst summer Disneyland has ever had. Seriously. May be the worst crowds they have ever seen, so definitely plan to stay away from the land and do everything else while people are trying to fill every last inch of the new space.

It's funny, DLR has had years to plan crowd control, but they don't even realize what they're getting into. Most of the changes they're making for the upcoming opening won't even help much at all. That trail over there is going to be the worst bottleneck ever seen in Amusement Park history.

They have a 3rd entrance, which may be a saving grace, but again, because DL is small, the walkways and paths in and out of land cannot possibly handle the crowds that will zombie over to see SWGE. It will definitely be a sight to behold, especially since DL has not had any major land open in quite some time.

I always judge how crowded the park is when I stop at look out on Pirates from afar with that hill that slopes up. If that hill is wall to wall humans (like a normal July is), it's crowded. Now times that x 10 when SWGE opens and you'll have your line wait times.

I'm on the side of how bad it's going to be. I know others feel it will help alleviate some of the other park stress, and think the extra hype will prevent others from wanting to go, therefore dispelling some of the crowds, but I'd rather play the better odds and predict it will be their worst crowds they have ever seen in its history, creating massive choke-points all over the park.

It makes me not even want to go at all, because I don't want to be part of the problem. For me, it's hopefully an AP-preview visit to SWGE and/or a "wait-read a trip report-and see" kinda thing.

- Also, they're not building that huge extra parking structure for no reason, they know they're going to hit capacity a LOT. If they did not feel that, they would not build all that extra parking this quick.

Good luck to us all!

 

[HydroGuy]

Well at least you'll be far removed from the July 4th crowds, which are historically always the worst.

Personally I would not dare to go on or around July 4, but I believe folks have said the last few years it has not been bad at all.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

Personally I would not dare to go on or around July 4, but I believe folks have said the last few years it has not been bad at all.

Correct, we went on the 4th itself in 2017, and the parks were not crazy at all. Many multi-day visitors commented that it was lighter than the days preceding. We left by mid-afternoon, though; I know it does get quite busy for the fireworks show...

And of course, all bets are off for this year with SWGE opening... but I wouldn’t avoid July.

 

[Diszona]

Personally I would not dare to go on or around July 4, but I believe folks have said the last few years it has not been bad at all.

Is it me or does it seem like the crowd patterns are shifting the last few years. Things like what you mentioned or the crazy Monday crowds. I have also heard from a couple of people that while the week after Christmas has been crazy Christmas Eve and Christmas Day have not been as bad as in years past. I wonder if after hearing how bad weekends are or certain days more and more people are adjusting to other days to try to compensate.

 

[agamble]

Is it me or does it seem like the crowd patterns are shifting the last few years. Things like what you mentioned or the crazy Monday crowds. I have also heard from a couple of people that while the week after Christmas has been crazy Christmas Eve and Christmas Day have not been as bad as in years past. I wonder if after hearing how bad weekends are or certain days more and more people are adjusting to other days to try to compensate.

It is also more expensive to buy single day tickets during these days and only the most expensive APs are unblocked during Christmas. These measures were supposed to help spread around crowds.

 

[tarheelalum]

I was there on the 4th a few years ago and it was very pleasant. But the traffic going home on the 4th, down the 5 or going to the beach was horrific.

 

[dieumeye]

I was there on the 4th a few years ago and it was very pleasant. But the traffic going home on the 4th, down the 5 or going to the beach was horrific.

The least crowded I have ever seen DL was a Saturday evening after 4th of July. This was quite a few years ago at this point (10 maybe?) but I literally walked from Fantasyland thru Big Thunder Trail into Frontierland and did not see a single other person, even looking over to ROA. It was late and I literally thought the park might have closed and somehow I didn't realize it. Finally as I was outside Golden Horseshoe, I see some people walking in from the hub. It was definitely an odd few minutes. And I certainly haven't seen the park that empty since!

 

[midnight star]

Well at least you'll be far removed from the July 4th crowds, which are historically always the worst.

I went on 4th of July this past summer (2018), with my aunt who goes once or twice a year. It wasn't bad at all. We finished all the major headliners for both parks by 3 pm, then did other rides just to waste time. My aunt mentioned that she was surprised at how easy it was that day. We left around 6 pm. The crowds did come for the fireworks, but seemed to clear out after, and didn't really change the wait times for the rides.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

For those worried about gate closures/hitting capacity: Remember that the parks rarely have gate closures that are long lasting. Most gate closures last only long enough for X number of people to leave the park in question so that more people can enter, e.g. the gates may be closed until after a parade or the fireworks end and lots of people leave. I've never seen a gate closure last all day.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

For those worried about gate closures/hitting capacity: Remember that the parks rarely have gate closures that are long lasting. Most gate closures last only long enough for X number of people to leave the park in question so that more people can enter, e.g. the gates may be closed until after a parade or the fireworks end and lots of people leave. I've never seen a gate closure last all day.

Also, gate closures are very, very rare. Yes, SW will bring lots of people, but other than the main release days and things like that, those people should be spread around - there’s no reason to think that a random day in July would actually hit capacity.