DCA Sets New Attendance Record

[HydroGuy]

According to Al Lutz's Editor's Note today on MiceAge (http://miceage.micechat.com/)...

EDITOR’S NOTE 6/18: California Adventure set a new daily attendance record with 43,000 people on Fri the 15th, then on Sun the 17th they broke that new record by getting over 45,000. What has Disney executives surprised is that the park felt busy but not overcrowded with those huge numbers, and the first batch of customer service ratings from this weekend are through the roof. DCA has suddenly become a park that can soak up crowds that want to happily stay there all day. - Al Lutz

EDITOR’S NOTE 6/20: After DCA broke attendance records twice over the weekend with 45,000+ visitors per day, they broke the records again on Tuesday with 53,000 visitors at DCA. The suits are smiling as Disneyland held its own with 47,000 visitors on Tuesday. And yes, DCA is now getting more visitors per day than Disneyland. Thrilling the Anaheim team even more is the fact that DCA felt busy with a once unthinkable 53K, but that the overall park vibe was upbeat and had manageable wait times outside of Cars Land. | The Pixar Cars Toon short Time Travel Mater is now on sale online for 1.99 at Amazon.com

and iTunes. It tells the story of how Cars Land's town of Radiator Springs came to be. - Al Lutz

 

[SevrenLuna]

It is a great relief to hear this news. This was a real concern of mine. I never had an interest in going to Disneyland. I am an east costar and never really desired seeing the west cost. Didn't see the need too, we have WDW. However, with all the changes to the DLR I decided to plan a trip next year with my youngest nephews. They will be 5 & 1 at the time of the trip. I am supper excited. They will only be there for Disney, but I will continue on to San Diego to visit friends. It really looks like Disney finally got it right with the upgrades at DCA. I hope it sticks and the crowds are manageable. I have no doubt that CL will be a madhouse for a while yet.

 

[araes2102]

Why are they surprised that the park didnt feel crowded?? Most of the guests were in line for RSR!

 

[sierranevada]

Why are they surprised that the park didnt feel crowded?? Most of the guests were in line for RSR!

This!!

 

[DisneytheKid]

Why are they surprised that the park didnt feel crowded?? Most of the guests were in line for RSR!

too funny!

 

[Califgirl]

Why are they surprised that the park didnt feel crowded?? Most of the guests were in line for RSR!

Not just RSR. There were lines just to get into the stores of CarsLand!

Outside of CarsLand, the park was very manageable.

 

[joelnkelly]

Sounds like Sunday was a nightmare. Saturday was a great day to be at both parks as all the lines were short, except carsland and matterhorn.
We had a blast for our first trip out West and cant wait to return in a few years.

 

[AddictedtoDoleWhip]

I actually stepped foot in Cars Land yesterday on Sunday and while the lines were too long for my liking, I just wanted to walk around and look at all the scenery. It really didn't seem that bad (probably because the majority of them were in the CL ride line), and in line for food and stuff. I only stayed on the street, and the only time it felt like it was crowded was when a huge group stopped in the middle of the street and decided to have a conversation.

I liked the way it looked, and the rides looked fun. I didn't go on any of the rides in DCA, the only thing I did was go to the candy store, get me some mickey cake pops, and fudge. Then I went and got Starbucks, and that line was pretty long, but worth it. I love the AP discount there lol. My drinks are slightly cheaper at DCA and made better too!

 

[starshine514]

Why are they surprised that the park didnt feel crowded?? Most of the guests were in line for RSR!

I was also thinking, yeah a 6-hour-wait for a ride? Very manageable!

 

[daffydude]

It is a great relief to hear this news. This was a real concern of mine. I never had an interest in going to Disneyland. I am an east costar and never really desired seeing the west cost. Didn't see the need too, we have WDW. However, with all the changes to the DLR I decided to plan a trip next year with my youngest nephews. They will be 5 & 1 at the time of the trip. I am supper excited. They will only be there for Disney, but I will continue on to San Diego to visit friends. It really looks like Disney finally got it right with the upgrades at DCA. I hope it sticks and the crowds are manageable. I have no doubt that CL will be a madhouse for a while yet.

SevrenLuna,
I am glad you decided to visit Disneyland California. This is where it all began and I am telling you, this is a magical place that you cannot find anywhere else in the world. Walt put his heart and soul into Disneyland California. Remember, he was long gone (RIP Walt) before WDW ever got off the ground. Hope you have a great time, but you really don’t have much choice!! Make sure you look above the fire station at night to see Walt’s personal apartment, the light will be on to let you know he is smiling down from above and keeping an eye on his wonderful creation.

 

[emmysmommy]

We knew it was going to be crazy busy in the parks yesterday when they had the parking structure closed and were routing cars to the lot off of Katella. We ended up going on rides like Symphony Swings (5 min. wait), Little Mermaid (10 min.) and Screamin' (25 min.) RSR standy by time was 210 minutes at 3pm.

 

[HydroGuy]

Bump:

According to Al Lutz's Editor's Note today on MiceAge (http://miceage.micechat.com/)...

EDITOR’S NOTE 6/20: After DCA broke attendance records twice over the weekend with 45,000+ visitors per day, they broke the records again on Tuesday with 53,000 visitors at DCA. The suits are smiling as Disneyland held its own with 47,000 visitors on Tuesday. And yes, DCA is now getting more visitors per day than Disneyland. Thrilling the Anaheim team even more is the fact that DCA felt busy with a once unthinkable 53K, but that the overall park vibe was upbeat and had manageable wait times outside of Cars Land. | The Pixar Cars Toon short Time Travel Mater is now on sale online for 1.99 at Amazon.com

and iTunes. It tells the story of how Cars Land's town of Radiator Springs came to be. - Al Lutz

 

[AquaDame]

I liked the way it looked, and the rides looked fun. I didn't go on any of the rides in DCA, the only thing I did was go to the candy store, get me some mickey cake pops, and fudge. Then I went and got Starbucks, and that line was pretty long, but worth it. I love the AP discount there lol. My drinks are slightly cheaper at DCA and made better too!

Is it just black coffee there or do they do espresso drinks too?

 

[sheetz]

The interesting thing to me about the attendance records is that biggest crowd came on a Tuesday instead of Sunday like they were expecting. Although maybe Sunday being Father's Day might have reduced crowds a little?

Can't wait to see what happens next week.

 

[disneyfan4ever54]

Is it just black coffee there or do they do espresso drinks too?

They have a full menu of drinks! Here's a link to the photo

http://datelinedisneyland.smugmug.c...d-Update-Photos/i-8bL7nGJ/1/X3/IMG2785-X3.jpg

 

[DISHoppy]

The park overall may not have felt crowded, but Cars Land is way crowded, while parts of the park are almost empty. We've spent most of two days now in the Pier and Cars Land, and barely ventured into other areas.

-Kevin

 

[DisneytheKid]

Wow, 2 days. That says a lot about the crowds!

The park overall may not have felt crowded, but Cars Land is way crowded, while parts of the park are almost empty. We've spent most of two days now in the Pier and Cars Land, and barely ventured into other areas.

-Kevin

 

[BayGirl22]

Bump:

According to Al Lutz's Editor's Note today on MiceAge (http://miceage.micechat.com/)...

So what are your predictions for when the Carsland crowds will die down? Will it be a summer thing or will there still be significant crowds there even after Labor Day when things usually quiet down?

 

[HydroGuy]

So what are your predictions for when the Carsland crowds will die down? Will it be a summer thing or will there still be significant crowds there even after Labor Day when things usually quiet down?

I am not an expert on this and am only making an educated guess.

I would predict once the AP blockouts come on June 29 (and grad nights finish this week) there will be some reduction in crowds from the current Cars Land insanely crazy to a just normal crazy. I think the rest of DCA and DL will have normal summer crowds as folks will be in CL and BVS.

Crowds will die down a lot in September after Labor Day like they normally do and then pickup into October and then come January they will settle down again. By summer 2013 it will go to whatever the new normal is.

For anyone who wants to visit DLR but skip CL I think any time after June 29 will look pretty good. If someone wants to do CL they will need to add an extra day to their normal trip or delay their trip until 2013 sometime.

 

[BayGirl22]

I am not an expert on this and am only making an educated guess.

I would predict once the AP blockouts come on June 29 (and grad nights finish this week) there will be some reduction in crowds from the current Cars Land insanely crazy to a just normal crazy. I think the rest of DCA and DL will have normal summer crowds as folks will be in CL and BVS.

Crowds will die down a lot in September after Labor Day like they normally do and then pickup into October and then come January they will settle down again. By summer 2013 it will go to whatever the new normal is.

For anyone who wants to visit DLR but skip CL I think any time after June 29 will look pretty good. If someone wants to do CL they will need to add an extra day to their normal trip or delay their trip until 2013 sometime.

Thanks! Just looking for a guess that is more educated/experienced than my own.

We are going the week after Labor Day - lowest crowds of the year typically. I expect everything else will be normal by them, but I'm wondering if RSR FP's will still be in demand, making EE for DCA worthwhile. Park hours will be shorter too, so smaller crowds but squeezed into less time.

We'll manage either way, but it will be interesting to see the fluctuations. This is the first time in a while there's been an entirely new "land" vs. just one ride. So hard compare with other reopenings in the last few years, I assume.