Current Crowd Levels

[Gypsybear]

So, I've been looking at crowd pics for WDW, and was wondering what current crowd levels in Cali were looking like...

If they look much better than WDW, then we may switch our trip to Cali instead.

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[djmeredith]

I look forward to hearing the opinions of locals. I’m visiting in a couple weeks and the wait times (which I know are not necessarily accurate) were surprisingly high for many attractions when I checked later last night. I’m there Columbus Day weekend so I know it will be even busier. I plan to be prepared with strategies and have realistic expectations.

When debating switching to DLR, you may want to wait until the Genie + changes play out to determine how that affects wait times at both.

 

[helenk]

I am in Disneyland now and it is a bit crowded. When I was checking the app last week the wait times were shorter than they have been this week. But the longest wait time that was posted for the Haunted Mansion which is really popular because of the Nightmare before Christmas overlay..was 45 minutes and I actually got on in about 30 minutes. Radiator Springs Racers in California Adventure wait time had been 45 minutes as well but I get in the single rider line and that has basically been a walk on. But most other attractions have been anywhere from 15 minutes to 30 minutes. The hardest thing to do is to find a seat to eat at the counter service restaurants. At least at the Disneyland park. I mobile order and then wander around to try and get a seat. You feel like a vulture waiting for someone else to get up from their table so you can swoop in and get a seat.

 

[l4dyj8]

Same experience as above. Was there 9/10-12 weekend. The start of the OBB Halloween event (the Thurs before our arrival and on Sat and Sun we were there.) We did not attend the event.

It feels at normal capacity crowd levels. Our last visit was in May when it was at decreased capacity and was wonderful. And prior to that was pre-covid and it always felt ridiculously crowded. So, it was as expected but not that bad.

There are crowded spots like Avengers Campus and New Orleans Sq/Adventureland area. The latter always feeling crowded. But wait times, at most were 45 minutes for RSR and HM on a Sunday. Most of the other rides were less than 20. But I will add that it was horribly hot. I know someone who attended Labor Day weekend and ended up leaving early because of the heat.

 

[DLRExpert]

For Disneyland at an 8am opening the park wait times are not bad until 11am. Then it starts to go down once the fireworks are over and until park closing.

For DCA at an 8am opening, RSR is the only attraction that builds a long wait fast. If done correctly you can finish almost everything by lunch time. With park closing at 10pm, the wait times rarely die down.

 

[Gypsybear]

Ok, good to know....it's been 2 years since we were at DL last.....and our plans (vacation) are planned for Oct. 28 - Nov 9th (work schedules won't let us change at this late date in the game).....we're hoping to attend at that time...and we realize with it being Halloween, that it'll be crowded, but the pics of the WDW crowds from this morning really are making us think of switching from FL to CA.

Thanks for the info everyone....it really has been helpful.....I'll share the info with the hubby, and we'll make a decision by tomorrow at the latest.

 

[RJstanis]

For Disneyland at an 8am opening the park wait times are not bad until 11am. Then it starts to go down once the fireworks are over and until park closing.

For DCA at an 8am opening, RSR is the only attraction that builds a long wait fast. If done correctly you can finish almost everything by lunch time. With park closing at 10pm, the wait times rarely die down.

Do you have a basic recommendation on how to start out at each park if rope dropping?

In the past we did Peter Pan first and knocked out Fantasyland after that (like we typically do at WDW). Same philosophy or start somewhere else? If same philosophy one day, where would you recommend starting 2nd day? We are dedicating 2 days at DL and one DCA day (with OBB tacked on the same night). We've yet to experience Batuu or Indiana Jones; and my boys love Space Mountain, and my fav is Haunted Mansion (never seen the NBC overlay).

We've never been to DCA before either.

 

[Gypsybear]

BTW, does anyone have any crowd pics? Recent ones from the last week or two?

 

[Gypsybear]

Do you have a basic recommendation on how to start out at each park if rope dropping?

In the past we did Peter Pan first and knocked out Fantasyland after that (like we typically do at WDW). Same philosophy or start somewhere else? If same philosophy one day, where would you recommend starting 2nd day? We are dedicating 2 days at DL and one DCA day (with OBB tacked on the same night). We've yet to experience Batuu or Indiana Jones; and my boys love Space Mountain, and my fav is Haunted Mansion (never seen the NBC overlay).

We've never been to DCA before either.

From our previous trips, we always rope dropped Indiana Jones at MK. At DCA, we always went for RSR in the past, but we REALLY want to try Avengers Campus.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

BTW, does anyone have any crowd pics? Recent ones from the last week or two?

I would be hesitant to base any decisions on crowd pictures. There was a thread pretty recently where my experience had been that crowds were extremely low, and I had a whole bunch of "empty" park pictures to back that up. Yet, another poster here had a very different experience in the same park on the same day, describing crowds and long waits. I'll see if I can find the thread and link it here.

I will be there tomorrow, and I guarantee that I could take a dozen pictures that would make the parks look scary-packed, and probably another dozen that make crowds look really light.

The time that you're planning on going is mostly in between Halloween and Christmas, so it might be lighter crowds (other than Halloween weekend), but will probably also have shorter hours.

 

[Gypsybear]

I would be hesitant to base any decisions on crowd pictures. There was a thread pretty recently where my experience had been that crowds were extremely low, and I had a whole bunch of "empty" park pictures to back that up. Yet, another poster here had a very different experience in the same park on the same day, describing crowds and long waits. I'll see if I can find the thread and link it here.

I will be there tomorrow, and I guarantee that I could take a dozen pictures that would make the parks look scary-packed, and probably another dozen that make crowds look really light.

The time that you're planning on going is mostly in between Halloween and Christmas, so it might be lighter crowds (other than Halloween weekend), but will probably also have shorter hours.

True enough, but the pics were mostly to see how prevalent masking is.....looking at the FL pics....I hardly saw a mask....there were a small handful....emphasis on the small.....lol

We normally visit DL the first weekend of October...so going this last weekend has us a bit worried because we've not seen the actual Halloween crowds at DL. Florida is another story entirely. We've done Halloween week at WDW MANY times....and we remember, the dare I say it, crowds from WDWs 40th anniversary (yes, we were there without even thinking about it when we booked)....

 

[Skyegirl1999]

Ah, if you’re looking for masking, here’s one from this past Sunday that shows people in the background.

I’d say it’s about 60-70% masked outdoors, anecdotally. A bit less if it’s super hot. Required indoors, obviously.

 

[Gypsybear]

Ah, if you’re looking for masking, here’s one from this past Sunday that shows people in the background.

I’d say it’s about 60-70% masked outdoors, anecdotally. A bit less if it’s super hot. Required indoors, obviously.View attachment 606884

That's exactly what I needed to see......soooooo much more masking than at WDW.

Thank you for the pic....think that sealed the deal for us (yes, we're older, so we're trying to be careful, while also trying to enjoy the Magic that we love so much)...

VERY much appreciated!!

 

[Gypsybear]

Ah, if you’re looking for masking, here’s one from this past Sunday that shows people in the background.

I’d say it’s about 60-70% masked outdoors, anecdotally. A bit less if it’s super hot. Required indoors, obviously.View attachment 606884

BTW, that pretzel looks gooood

 

[deejdigsdis]

True enough, but the pics were mostly to see how prevalent masking is.....looking at the FL pics....I hardly saw a mask....there were a small handful....emphasis on the small.....lol

We normally visit DL the first weekend of October...so going this last weekend has us a bit worried because we've not seen the actual Halloween crowds at DL. Florida is another story entirely. We've done Halloween week at WDW MANY times....and we remember, the dare I say it, crowds from WDWs 40th anniversary (yes, we were there without even thinking about it when we booked)....

I was there Sept 10 and 11 and was very impressed with the mask compliance. When I rode some outside rides in close quarters (Main Street vehicles, Storybook Land Canal boats, etc) that didn't require masks, I was pleasantly surprised that everyone in my particular vehicle/boat masked up anyway. Lots of people wore masks while in outside switchback lines.

 

[JoMarch]

I was in DL 9/11-9/16. It was manageable in the early part of the day (from rope drop) but became crazy crowded at about 12 noon ish.

As for mask wearing, I felt the mask wearing was way better at DL than WDW (I went to WDW in June.)

 

[jordan13402]

we were at WDW from june 26th to july 3rd (when masks werent required anywhere) and mask usage was about 10%

 

[l4dyj8]

True enough, but the pics were mostly to see how prevalent masking is.....looking at the FL pics....I hardly saw a mask....there were a small handful....emphasis on the small.....lol

We normally visit DL the first weekend of October...so going this last weekend has us a bit worried because we've not seen the actual Halloween crowds at DL. Florida is another story entirely. We've done Halloween week at WDW MANY times....and we remember, the dare I say it, crowds from WDWs 40th anniversary (yes, we were there without even thinking about it when we booked)....

YouTube is helpful in terms of that. (We mainly watch a lot of the food ones.) It helped prepare my kids on crowds/masks. And in our experience 2 weeks ago. It was a mix. But heavy on many with mask outdoors.)

 

[Araminta18]

We were there 9/12 to 9/17 -- it felt pretty crowded. We're WDW vets, so no real frame of reference, but good rides were consistently over 30 minutes, and the walkways with all the strollers always felt super cramped in Disneyland, especially in Fantasyland. It felt shoulder to shoulder, since the walking space was so reduced with all the strollers. And all the rides were 15/30 min waits in Fantasyland...Roger Rabbit was consistently 35... Like I said, no frame of reference, but it felt much more crowded than I would have expected with COVID and with school theoretically being back in.

Masking outdoors was ok -- maybe 40/50%? Indoors was much better.

 

[Whistlebee]

My daughter and I went on Sept 24th and I felt that outdoor masking was about 30-40%. I will say that number goes up drastically if you’re in a crowded area. We did morning rope drop for RSR and no one bunched up tightly together so very few people had masks on then, but later when walking through congested areas (Fantasyland, Adventureland) a lot of people had masks on, rough estimate but 70%.