Current Crowd Levels

[tlovesdis]

I believe AZ schools and a lot of CA schools (up here near where I live) have fall break right now so that is probably why it's so busy!

 

[jandegumas]

I felt like yesterday was an extremely crowded day in Disneyland. When I checked into the Grand, I was told that the entire hotel was completely sold out. Middle of the week without any particular holiday. I wasn't expecting that. Made Oogie Boogie Bash really nice and uncrowded compared to Disneyland during the day.

We’re here at the Grand this week with hoppers. Monday was unbearable. Yesterday was better. This morning and early afternoon was nice and mellow but now it is insane. We came back up to our room for awhile to rest. Hoping this evening is better. Incredicoaster and Guardians are both down so wait times at DCA are currently super long for all the other rides. Also, we got Web Slingers boarding passes at noon and our check in time has gone from 6:00pm to currently saying 8:15pm.

 

[cwbronco]

RSR is currently at 120. Disneyland felt better this morning though.

 

[Britrawr]

I hope it slows down but the 26

 

[AndrewC]

Man, Disney might be a sell out this weekend, current there are NO tickets from ANY buckets (including resort) for either park Sat/Sun EXCEPT for Key holders in one park on Sat....

This is crazy. I didn't expect to see such demand, I knew it would be busy but didn't think it would be sell out busy kind of stuff...

I really really hope Genie and lightning lane come out before my trip which starts on the 16th.... probably low chance of that, but I'm ready to toss some money at something to jump some lines! This will be the first year in the last 5 or so years (not counting last year being shut down) that I have NOT had MaxPass or FastPasses or something... I'm not sure I'm ready for this! (I'm solo so paying a bit extra doesn't hurt the wallet near as much as the large families, I do feel bad for them!)

 

[cruisehopeful]

I think it's normal crowds, only it's more annoying because of the pandemic. There's zero social distancing. When I was in a line for 30+ minutes, my loungefly mini backpack would get bumped several times while I was standing perfectly still. It sticks out less than a foot from my back. Why do people need to be within one foot of me in line? I have no idea, but that's what everyone is doing. Again, that was normal before, but it's much more annoying now considering the pandemic. Same thing with having a person behind me coughing in line. I always hated it. It's bugs me much more now.

 

[ktlm]

I felt like yesterday was an extremely crowded day in Disneyland. When I checked into the Grand, I was told that the entire hotel was completely sold out. Middle of the week without any particular holiday. I wasn't expecting that. Made Oogie Boogie Bash really nice and uncrowded compared to Disneyland during the day.

We were at both DL and CA yesterday and DL was crowded, but CA was insanely crowded. We usually come in the summer and it was way more crowded than summer. Couldn’t even get DD a pretzel because the line was huge and the first mobile order was an hour away. Got shut out from ROTR yesterday and couldn’t get Webslingers this morning so today isn’t looking better. Guess we will waste party time riding it if we can’t get it at noon.

I wouldn’t trust what they told you about the Grand. When we got here yesterday- we requested Fantasy Tower and were told it was no problem because the hotel wasn’t going to be that full last night- as we were in the lobby-a family was checking in with a different person and they asked if the hotel was full and were told it was completely full.

 

[ktlm]

Having no max pass in these crowds stinks. I also did not appreciate yesterday on Jungle Cruise that they put two people with no masks on directly across from us (we were on the middle bench)- it felt like their faces were 3 feet away from ours. If they are packing the boats that is fine- but then they should require masks. DD- who loves all things Disney- is asking this morning if we can change our flights and go home tomorrow instead of Sunday. So far this is our worst Disney trip- and we have been at WDW in a hurricane when they shut everything down.

 

[cruisehopeful]

Having no max pass in these crowds stinks. I also did not appreciate yesterday on Jungle Cruise that they put two people with no masks on directly across from us (we were on the middle bench)- it felt like their faces were 3 feet away from ours. If they are packing the boats that is fine- but then they should require masks. DD- who loves all things Disney- is asking this morning if we can change our flights and go home tomorrow instead of Sunday. So far this is our worst Disney trip- and we have been at WDW in a hurricane when they shut everything down.

Ugh. Sorry to hear that. I didn't ride Jungle Cruise this week, but did a couple weeks ago and everyone was wearing a mask. I was still uncomfortable about having so many different people crowded around my face for that long, but kept my head turned as much as possible.

Is there something else you can do in the area to make the rest of the week enjoyable? Have you looked at Knott's, Universal, Warner Bros tour or anything else? Maybe take a day or two away from Disney parks to get less frustrated and then see if you want to finish it out back at DL. You really have my sympathy. I am just a couple hours drive away, so when it's too crowded to do anything, it's not as big of a deal. I just do whatever I can do (shop, snack, ride only one or two rides) and I figure I'll try again another time. I'd hate to have flown and then be stuck for a week in a situation like this. My daughter and I are doing a 2 day visit in a week and a half. I am deciding between a free night at Fairfield or a very expensive night at DLH club and all this crowded stuff, lack of social distancing, impossible to get dining is making me think I should do the DLH club because at least we would have that if everything else didn't work out.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

DD- who loves all things Disney- is asking this morning if we can change our flights and go home tomorrow instead of Sunday. So far this is our worst Disney trip- and we have been at WDW in a hurricane when they shut everything down.

Ugh, so sorry to hear that! I hope the rest of your trip will go much better. How old is your daughter?

Maybe you could take some time and just do a lot of the chill stuff - like all the little things in the Animation building (my daughter loves seeing which characters we are in the Beast's library and drawing in the Academy), watch the band or the cavalcades on Main Street, do some of the playDisney stuff, like maybe the missions around Galaxy's Edge... the Coco show in the corner at DCA is super cute if you haven't seen it yet. It can be fun to hang around Fantasy Faire and watch the princesses and villains walk in and out; if you sit on Rapunzel's tower for awhile you can see a lot of their interactions... just trying to think of some things that are fun to do when it's crowded!

 

[SammyStamper]

Having no max pass in these crowds stinks. I also did not appreciate yesterday on Jungle Cruise that they put two people with no masks on directly across from us (we were on the middle bench)- it felt like their faces were 3 feet away from ours. If they are packing the boats that is fine- but then they should require masks. DD- who loves all things Disney- is asking this morning if we can change our flights and go home tomorrow instead of Sunday. So far this is our worst Disney trip- and we have been at WDW in a hurricane when they shut everything down.

I was there Sun-Tues as a girls trip and was so thankful my son wasn’t with me. It is awful without any MaxPass, no mask adhering, I think we had half the boat without masks on Jungle Cruise since it is “outdoors” I figured it wasn’t required. I wore mine 99.9% of the time even in the 90 degree heat due to zero distancing.
I’m sorry. I have been there and not able to get boarding groups and having my son cry in June. He loved the Play Disney app in Galaxy Edge and other places so that helped. Not exactly what you pay for though when planning a trip.

 

[ktlm]

Thanks everyone. Today is so much better. It is cooler- crowds are lower. We managed to get a Webslingers boarding group at noon and she met Iron Man. My stress level is down by a lot.

 

[ClaudiaKincaid]

Yeah, it’s slightly better today - crowd level 9/10, as opposed to 17/10 yesterday, imo - but I HATE the no maxpass/no EMH thing. We will not be coming back until at least one of those features is also back.

 

[BriannaRuth]

We were in the parks Friday Oct 1 thru this morning. Friday, Saturday and Sunday were pretty good. Monday and Tuesday crazy busy. Wednesday slightly better, this morning not bad but was getting significantly more crowded by around noon.

 

[Tasscrapper]

DD- who loves all things Disney- is asking this morning if we can change our flights and go home tomorrow instead of Sunday. So far this is our worst Disney trip- and we have been at WDW in a hurricane when they shut everything down.

I totally feel for your daughter. It's hard going to a place you have loved and have so many good memories and it just not be anywhere as good as it was. We went September 19th-25th and had 6 straight days including an Oogie Boogie Bash and we were all super excited. Most of our days were HOT and we took breaks. The parks felt too crowded, the poor cast members seemed worn out and worn down ( I think the whole trip I remember 3 CM actually seem in a good mood), food was hard to get and disappointing for the most part, rides kept breaking down for long periods, it's lacking live entertainment, and the app was not kept up to date on rides available and real wait times. The magic was just not there. By the end of the second day I was ready to go home and we hadn't even done the party yet. We live out of state and have had ap's several years since we started coming. Not anymore. We left at the end of the week with no intention of going back until maybe we have grandkids. It is time to explore other options and spend our money other ways. My husband and 21 year old daughter both made swords at Savi's which was one of the only times I can actually remember getting the magic feeling, which of course you have to pay out the wazzu for. I was so frustrated with the whole experience. The only thing I personally spent money on in the parks over 6 days was food. I had no desire to give more of my hard earned money to a company that was delivery such a sub par experience. I have tried so hard to pinpoint what was so different and the best I can come up with was they had to many guests compared to cast members. I truly feel bad for those that are working there right now.

Here's one example of what blew my mind: On the Friday night we went over to the train station in Tommorowland at I think it was a little before 8:30. There were about 30 people milling around wondering which path was the entrance and which was the exit. The entrance was blocked off with a hand sanitizer stand and there were no employees anywhere to be seen. Some of the people had been waiting for half an hour. The app said the train was a 30 minute wait. After about five minutes I went to that little kiosk around the corner by Innovations and asked the cast members there if they knew what was going on. They had no idea and made a phone call. Turns out Disneyland was in 'phase 4' which meant it was windy enough that they stopped the train until half an hour after the fireworks finished. The cm's said someone would be over there shortly to explain to guests what was going on. I went back and told everyone what they said and people left the area. My kids headed to Galaxy's Edge on their own and I stayed there another 8 minutes before I gave up on the hope anyone official would actually show up. The app was still showing the train running and available. It had been down probably about 50 minutes at that point. It wasn't going to be running again till about 9:45 (if they even told me the truth). I just couldn't believe that they had an attraction down, absolutely no sign saying it was down for an extended period of time, no employee anywhere near it and yet on the app it was listed as available and a 30 minute wait. You know I don't mind if the train has to go down for safety reasons but by golly let your guests know what's going on and not waste their time standing around in confusion. This was our last night and really after almost a week of small niggly things I truly was just flabbergasted by this. It was the final cap to the trip. Well, actually that was the cast member at Bengal BBQ in the mobile order line that stood chatting to her coworker with absolutely nothing to do tell me I had to stand in the standby line that had about six groups of people in it just to get a cup of ice water. I asked her if she was serious as she was standing right by the drink dispenser and she said yes you'll have to wait in line. I looked at her and said no I really don't, turned around and left Adventureland for possibly the last time with tears of frustration in my eyes. Seriously, not even willing to give someone a cup of ice water when they were doing nothing.

Grrr . . . ok getting off my soapbox.

A couple examples of good because there was some good . . .
The alien macaron and chicken fusilli at Alien Pizza planet were good and the sourdough bread from the wharf as well as the soups were good too.
Halloween Screams was a vast improvement on Mickeys Mix Magic and I was so glad to experience that.
The Jungle Cruise update is really well done.
Guardians of the Galaxy was great as always and we enjoyed Rocket going in to rescue Groot.
Incredicoaster was still great.
Galaxies Edge was cool, really big for only two rides one of which you have to get a reservation for. Hubby and daughter enjoyed doing the swords.
Webslingers was fun the one time out of 6 days we managed to get on.
Turtle Talk with Crush was good as it always has been. A great place to rest for a bit.

Anyhow, my hope going forward is that those people that choose to go to Disneyland can find the magic and joy that wasn't there for me. I hope with all my heart that the cast members that are working so hard for other peoples enjoyment will feel appreciated and will get the relief that I think they so desperately need.

Higher ups-- If by any chance you read these boards you lost a die hard family with the overcrowding and understaffing or whatever it is that has changed the feel of Disneyland and I don't think it's because of the pandemic and having to wear masks sometimes. Something has change in the parks. Our money will now go elsewhere.

Castmembers-- thanks for the happy memories over the years. May God bless your lives with the joy you try to bring to others.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

I totally feel for your daughter. It's hard going to a place you have loved and have so many good memories and it just not be anywhere as good as it was. We went September 19th-25th and had 6 straight days including an Oogie Boogie Bash and we were all super excited. Most of our days were HOT and we took breaks. The parks felt too crowded, the poor cast members seemed worn out and worn down ( I think the whole trip I remember 3 CM actually seem in a good mood), food was hard to get and disappointing for the most part, rides kept breaking down for long periods, it's lacking live entertainment, and the app was not kept up to date on rides available and real wait times. The magic was just not there. By the end of the second day I was ready to go home and we hadn't even done the party yet. We live out of state and have had ap's several years since we started coming. Not anymore. We left at the end of the week with no intention of going back until maybe we have grandkids. It is time to explore other options and spend our money other ways. My husband and 21 year old daughter both made swords at Savi's which was one of the only times I can actually remember getting the magic feeling, which of course you have to pay out the wazzu for. I was so frustrated with the whole experience. The only thing I personally spent money on in the parks over 6 days was food. I had no desire to give more of my hard earned money to a company that was delivery such a sub par experience. I have tried so hard to pinpoint what was so different and the best I can come up with was they had to many guests compared to cast members. I truly feel bad for those that are working there right now.

Here's one example of what blew my mind: On the Friday night we went over to the train station in Tommorowland at I think it was a little before 8:30. There were about 30 people milling around wondering which path was the entrance and which was the exit. The entrance was blocked off with a hand sanitizer stand and there were no employees anywhere to be seen. Some of the people had been waiting for half an hour. The app said the train was a 30 minute wait. After about five minutes I went to that little kiosk around the corner by Innovations and asked the cast members there if they knew what was going on. They had no idea and made a phone call. Turns out Disneyland was in 'phase 4' which meant it was windy enough that they stopped the train until half an hour after the fireworks finished. The cm's said someone would be over there shortly to explain to guests what was going on. I went back and told everyone what they said and people left the area. My kids headed to Galaxy's Edge on their own and I stayed there another 8 minutes before I gave up on the hope anyone official would actually show up. The app was still showing the train running and available. It had been down probably about 50 minutes at that point. It wasn't going to be running again till about 9:45 (if they even told me the truth). I just couldn't believe that they had an attraction down, absolutely no sign saying it was down for an extended period of time, no employee anywhere near it and yet on the app it was listed as available and a 30 minute wait. You know I don't mind if the train has to go down for safety reasons but by golly let your guests know what's going on and not waste their time standing around in confusion. This was our last night and really after almost a week of small niggly things I truly was just flabbergasted by this. It was the final cap to the trip. Well, actually that was the cast member at Bengal BBQ in the mobile order line that stood chatting to her coworker with absolutely nothing to do tell me I had to stand in the standby line that had about six groups of people in it just to get a cup of ice water. I asked her if she was serious as she was standing right by the drink dispenser and she said yes you'll have to wait in line. I looked at her and said no I really don't, turned around and left Adventureland for possibly the last time with tears of frustration in my eyes. Seriously, not even willing to give someone a cup of ice water when they were doing nothing.

Grrr . . . ok getting off my soapbox.

A couple examples of good because there was some good . . .
The alien macaron and chicken fusilli at Alien Pizza planet were good and the sourdough bread from the wharf as well as the soups were good too.
Halloween Screams was a vast improvement on Mickeys Mix Magic and I was so glad to experience that.
The Jungle Cruise update is really well done.
Guardians of the Galaxy was great as always and we enjoyed Rocket going in to rescue Groot.
Incredicoaster was still great.
Galaxies Edge was cool, really big for only two rides one of which you have to get a reservation for. Hubby and daughter enjoyed doing the swords.
Webslingers was fun the one time out of 6 days we managed to get on.
Turtle Talk with Crush was good as it always has been. A great place to rest for a bit.

Anyhow, my hope going forward is that those people that choose to go to Disneyland can find the magic and joy that wasn't there for me. I hope with all my heart that the cast members that are working so hard for other peoples enjoyment will feel appreciated and will get the relief that I think they so desperately need.

Higher ups-- If by any chance you read these boards you lost a die hard family with the overcrowding and understaffing or whatever it is that has changed the feel of Disneyland and I don't think it's because of the pandemic and having to wear masks sometimes. Something has change in the parks. Our money will now go elsewhere.

Castmembers-- thanks for the happy memories over the years. May God bless your lives with the joy you try to bring to others.

This entire post made me so sad. I’m sorry you had such a bad visit.

 

[Version 6]

What has it been so busy the last few weeks? Isn't the last week of September and first week of October normally relatively good crowd wise (particularly mid week)?

Is it just pent-up demand?

 

[theluckyrabbit]

What has it been so busy the last few weeks? Isn't the last week of September and first week of October normally relatively good crowd wise (particularly mid week)?

Is it just pent-up demand?

Halloween Time is one of the busiest times of year at DLR. And October has fall breaks for a lot of school districts, both in CA and in neighboring states. September and October have been getting increasingly busy for some time.

 

[Version 6]

Halloween Time is one of the busiest times of year at DLR. And October has fall breaks for a lot of school districts, both in CA and in neighboring states. September and October have been getting increasingly busy for some time.

Interesting. I was planning a trip for last week of September 2022, visiting on weekdays. I picked that time based on the crowd calendar on Touring Plans (I know, I know).... Should I avoid that time?

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Interesting. I was planning a trip for last week of September 2022, visiting on weekdays. I picked that time based on the crowd calendar on Touring Plans (I know, I know).... Should I avoid that time?

I think this depends on your tolerance for crowds and possible heat. If you give yourself plenty of time to research and plan (and you can be flexible), there's no reason why you couldn't have fun in the parks. Be aware, though, that fireworks at that time may be projections only on weekdays.