Crowds worse than normal? What do you think is going on?

[GeneralTso]

We arrive next Friday, 12/17.
After reading some of these threads, it has me a tad worried about crowds. I've never been in December before, and just assumed that it was ridiculously crowded Christmas through New Years.

Any thoughts on why it's so insane already? Is this typical for all of December?

 

[3TinksAndAnEeyore]

Advertisement, advertisment, and advertisement! Everywhere I turn, I see a billboard, commercial, magazine layout, radio blurb about the wonders of Disneyland at Christmas time. I live in Sacramento (an 8 hour drive away) and I know a number of people who are decided to visit to see all the Christmas decorations they've seen advertised over the last couple of years. With the economy, there are probably fewer people heading for out-of-town vacations which is likely to result in more locals splurging on a day at Disneyland.

Those are my off-the-cuff guesses! I know it will be crowded when we go for our day trip in a couple of weeks, but I'm not worried since as a frequenter of this site, our group will be zigging on while others zag!!!

 

[Raindown]

It is not insane already. It has been quite pleasant at the parks the past two weeks. There was increased attendance during the Candlelight Processionals last weekend but, other than that it has been great.

However, this weekend and the following weeks should start to pick up for the holidays. Early December is a good time to go if you want to see Disneyland all decorated without large attendance numbers.

 

[specialks]

Actually it is getting insane. We were in the parks yesterday (Thurs) and I was speaking to a CM about the crowds. SpcM was out of FPs and had a 45 min wait. 1 hr prior to the parade we couldn't find a single curb spot along the ENTIRE route (trust me, we looked). The CM I spoke to said it was "uncommonly" busy for a Thursday and that the weekend crowds had already picked up in attendance. She said the previous weekend (which was CP) had a 115 min wait for SpcM. We definitely noticed crowds that we were not expecting! We went to CA on Wed and it wasn't too bad at all. However, we were blown away by the crowds on Thurs at DL.
I agree with the PP that Disney has made a huge advertising campaign to push people to the parks. I think the entire west coast (we are from Seattle) were hammered with DLR Holiday time ads via print, radio, and web. Airfares have been low and it makes for an overall affordable vacation when paired with hotel deals that are plentiful.

 

[Raindown]

SpcM was out of FPs and had a 45 min wait.

That's not insane, even on a slower day SM will post a 30 min wait time.

 

[skiingfast]

I think crowding, since nobody has a good idea of what the actual attendance is in any day unless they close the gates which is very, very rare, is mostly a matter of perception. If it is really busy today, go in two weeks and then tell me how busy it really was today. It will change ones view very quick to see what really busy, really looks like.

 

[specialks]

I think crowding, since nobody has a good idea of what the actual attendance is in any day unless they close the gates which is very, very rare, is mostly a matter of perception. If it is really busy today, go in two weeks and then tell me how busy it really was today. It will change ones view very quick to see what really busy, really looks like.

I agree skiingfast! It all is in the perception. One person's junk is another's treasure can change to say 'One person's insane is another person's normal'. Insane might not be the correct word -- but definitely much busier than what we expected at the beginning of Dec and according to the CM I spoke with, much busier that expected.

 

[ttig34]

I would say it is busier than usual. I have been going this week for several years, and the past 2 days have been busier than normal. It was packed last night- realizing it was Friday, but more so than years past. And I heard many other guests braving the crowds saying the same thing.

 

[gethane]

I'm glad we are doing our year of Annual Pass this year before this continues to get worse. I think Disney will see a backlash if it doesn't change soon. I'm already stressed out about our trip next week. After a miserable trip in September due to heat (not Disney's fault I know!), I really hope this one is nice. Since we couldn't afford a DLR hotel, though, we also don't have MM. So I'm doubly worried.

 

[GeneralTso]

So, I think the best attitude is to just brace for the crowd and dive in! It's fun being there and seeing all the beautiful things. I'm not bent on riding every ride, it's mostly the decorations and the atmosphere. We'll be there for 4 days so plenty of time to wander around at a mellow pace and see everything. We got often enough that it's never the "death march" no matter what the situation. We go to have fun---not stress about this, that or the other thing.

Now just crossing my fingers that the weather will cooperate next weekend! Forcast shows lots of rain.

 

[ado121]

We have been here since monday. We noticed a significant difference in attendance on friday (we took a break thursday so it may have started then). One thing to note, a lot of the rides are breaking down, broken down or totally closed. My husband and 2 daughters were about to get onto big thunder, using fastpass, and it stopped working. He was miffed. The ride had been broken all morning and its my 5 year olds fave. So when it opened they were thrilled....to have it break again. Also astro orbitor is down. Another fave of ours.

 

[Belle Ella]

I was there on a Monday-Wednesday and it didn't seem super busy to me. It was actually pretty nice as far as I was concerned. At lot of how busy it is really does vary on an individual basis and I think the biggest problem people encounter is not expecting crowds and them being there - small or not.

Just prepare yourself for any possibility before you go and everything will be fine!

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

We just spent 6 days in the park, returned on Friday. We thought the weekend was a little busy but still totally manageable. During the week we didn't think it was busy at all. In-fact, we walked on several rides more than once, like Pirates.

 

[LisaCat]

Actually it is getting insane. We were in the parks yesterday (Thurs) and I was speaking to a CM about the crowds. SpcM was out of FPs and had a 45 min wait. 1 hr prior to the parade we couldn't find a single curb spot along the ENTIRE route (trust me, we looked). The CM I spoke to said it was "uncommonly" busy for a Thursday and that the weekend crowds had already picked up in attendance. She said the previous weekend (which was CP) had a 115 min wait for SpcM. We definitely noticed crowds that we were not expecting! We went to CA on Wed and it wasn't too bad at all. However, we were blown away by the crowds on Thurs at DL.
I agree with the PP that Disney has made a huge advertising campaign to push people to the parks. I think the entire west coast (we are from Seattle) were hammered with DLR Holiday time ads via print, radio, and web. Airfares have been low and it makes for an overall affordable vacation when paired with hotel deals that are plentiful.

We were there on Thursday as well. It was fine in the morning, but after lunch, we started to notice it getting crowded FAST. We went over to GCH to check out the lobby tree and came back to DL around 3 PM and were SHOCKED that the curb spots were filling up FAST. We went to the restroom, came back out and it was MUCH worse, so we parked on the curb across from Crystal Arcade. This was around 3:15. We had started near the hub and this was the first curb spot we found walking down Main Street. We took turns getting snacks and doing some light shopping, but as we sat there it was a solid flow of people coming into the park. I really didn't expect it to be that crowded on a Thursday 2 weeks before Christmas!

 

[ttig34]

My best advice is to use Magic Morning if it is available to you, and collect fast passes in the morning to use later in the day- that made the past couple of weekend days definitely less crazy for us.

 

[arielchickenofthesea]

Crowds? December? It MUST be the holidays...It is crowded as soon as they ut up the Christmas decorations, right after Halloween. Oh and it is crowde for Haloween too and so it is one long stretch of the Park being criowded for the holildays starting with Haloween.

If you want to get into Disneyland Park on Christmas Eve, Christmas day, New Years Eve and New Years Day, you have to go VERY EARLY in the morning and stay there all day if you plan to see the fireworks.

They WILL close the gates when the Park reaches capacity. And they will NOT let anyone in whether you have a premium pass or a regular park hopper. As people exit, they let an equal number of people enter. It is that way most of the Christymas week. You just have to know that those are the days when everyone goes to Disneyland for Christmas and New Years.

 

[arielchickenofthesea]

I also think more people want to see the decorations at Disneyland because it is so widely advertised, but do not want to spend the holiday there. So they go earlier in the month and spend Christmas with family. We always spend the holidays at Disneyland, so we are used to the crowds, don't really like em, but we are part of the crowd, so we deal. It is beautiful, but be prepared for long waits for everything!

 

[HydroGuy]

I'm glad we are doing our year of Annual Pass this year before this continues to get worse. I think Disney will see a backlash if it doesn't change soon. I'm already stressed out about our trip next week. After a miserable trip in September due to heat (not Disney's fault I know!), I really hope this one is nice. Since we couldn't afford a DLR hotel, though, we also don't have MM. So I'm doubly worried.

It is changing soon and in fact is already changing. DCA's attendance this summer was up by like 20% because of World of Color. New Little Mermaid ride coming on line next May. Then in 2012 CarsLand. Yes this is DCA - not Disneyland - but that does take pressure off DL.

Further, the MiceAge/Al Lutz rumor mill has it that DL is looking to expand significantly with multiple new E-ticket rides. This will create more "people eaters" and take people off the walkways and into queues.

DLR is actively doing projects to improve its ability to handle the increased crowds.

 

[Disney Dreams]

The key is WHERE it's busy. The wait times are not longer than usual. In fact, we were at the Park last Tuesday and there were very low waits on just about everything. Ex: Jungle Cruise line did not even go upstairs. That's a non-busy day line. HOWEVER, 1.5 hours before the parade, people were camped out, saving benches, etc.... People were where the Christmas stuff is. Parades, fireworks, Main Street, iasw, but lines in general were very do-able.

I personally believe that navigating the crowds during the Christmastime at Disneyland is a different strategy than during the rest of the year. You have to think about where most people are, not how many people are at the Park.

- Dreams

 

[3TinksAndAnEeyore]

I personally believe that navigating the crowds during the Christmastime at Disneyland is a different strategy than during the rest of the year. You have to think about where most people are, not how many people are at the Park.

I think you've put it exactly the right way. I remember thinking last year at Christmastime that the walkways were so crowded. The wait times for rides were great, but the park felt uncomfortable at times because of trying to wade through the masses of humanity taking in the Christmas activities.