Crowds on Dec. 18-21 (TH-Sun)??

[Julia M]

We are taking a trip to DL Dec. 18-21 (driving down the 17th and driving home the afternoon of the 21st)

During our earlier Xmas trips, it seemed like the crowds weren't too bad, but it seemed really bad in Dec. 2000, and wasn't so bad in previous years (like Dec. 97 and 98).

So I'm wondering if anyone has any guesses to what the parks will be like this year. I'm guessing that if Xmas is later in the week (it will be TH this year), the Xmas crowds from out of town don't start to arrive until Sun/Mon/Tues. So, we might have lower crowds my date. While in 2000, Xmas was early in the week, so we ran into those travelers. Does that make sense?

I'm hoping crowds will be low, because we are traveling with friends who have 3 year old twins (and an 11 year old). We hope to let the boys go off by themselves a bit, and I'd feel better about it if it weren't so crowded. And of course, we'd prefer smaller crowds with the little ones and the stroller.

Any thoughts?

 

[dsnylndmom]

I haven't been down myself recently, but there are quite a few reports on mouseplanet of it being busier than usual at the park. I'd say be prepared for busy just to be on the safe side, but at least it won't be as busy as the following week!!

 

[justmestace]

Julia,
Last year we were at DL from Thursday to Monday (just like this year) and DL had really light crowds on Thurs & Fri, got busier Sat, still busier Sunday, and crazy on Monday. CA wasn't ever busy, the whole time, except during the Electrical Parade, and at Soarin'. We were able to gon on Calif Screamin' over and over!
Hope this hold true for this year, also!

 

[Kinz Inc.]

We will be there those dates too ! ( BTW this is Judy from Boise, on my DD's account) we will keep a lookout for twins !




ps , I thought it was funny when I read your thread it sounds like the 3yo's are going out by themselves !

 

[Julia M]

Judy, the whole reason our two families are going together is so I can help my girlfriend with the twins. Her husband won't take the trip with just the two of them, and the kids!

I've never let my kids go off by themselves before, but Michael and Kevin (the eleven year olds) will get to do so this trip. They will have a walkie talkie. They are SO excited about being able to do this.....it's a huge step for them.

It should be quite a trip!

Julia

 

[mommykatt]

Hi there! We will also be there at that time (18th & 19th). We went the same time last year, and the crowds really weren't that bad until the Saturday before Christmas (20th this year). We were at the park the 2nd & 3rd and it did seem a bit busier than usual for that time, not not too bad.

We also have a three year old -- you guys should have a blast with the little ones! If the crowds at DL get to be too much for you, go to DCA. Take them to the Redwoods Creek area to let them run off a little energy! DCA is rarely busy, as the previous poster stated.

Hope you have a great time!

Kathleen

 

[mobetsy]

School gets out for most districts nearby on the 19th, so the local crowds begin to hit the park on the 20th. You might want to plan to hit the most popular attractions Thurs & Fri, with some of the ones that move faster/don't have such long lines on Sat. & Sun.

 

[pumba526]

I just returned from DL this afternoon after spending 2 days there. Friday's crowd was okay during the day--we got on quite a few rides at DL and Calif Adventure rides were basically walk-on but at night it got real crowded. We got to DL at opening on Sat morning and found the parks to be uncrowded until about 1pm, then the masses started arriving!! By late afternoon, you could hardly move through the crowds so we left. According to a castmember, the attendance sky-rocketed on Saturday and caught them by surprise...supposedly, there were over 80,000 folks there. We came back to DL at 6pm and it took us an hour to get on the train at Main Street to go to It's a Small World, only to find a 2 hour (!) standby line and the Fast Pass line was over an hour wait. We ended up giving up and leaving..it just wasn't worth fighting the crowds.

But the Christmas decorations are just beautiful so it was worth fighting the crowds!!

 

[goldmanaz]

We just got back last night from DL as well. We arrived on the 9th and had a great week until Saturday. It was unbelievable. We left the park at 1pm to go nap the kids. We went back to the park at around 5pm and by the look of the long lines still waiting to get in, it was still jam packed. Oddly enough we had been able to make a last minute reservation at Ariel's Grotto in DCA and spent the rest of the night there walking on rides or waiting less than 10 minutes max. DCA was pretty empty. My suggestion - do DL Thur and Fri and hit DCA on Sat. Worked well for us and saved the day for my 19mo and 3.5 year old!
We were told by many people that Sat night was shoulder to shoulder and it took 2 hours to get down Main Street from the Castle to the exit!

Enjoy!