Diamond Celebration: 24 Hour Event @ Disneyland Resort May 22-23!

[figment_jii]

My instinctive guess is that once the new parade and fireworks are done for the night, capacity crowds in DL are less likely. The big draws will be over, so I think it will still be crowded, but I do think the crowds will start to diminish as the evening progresses and folks get tired.

 

[kim3339]

My instinctive guess is that once the new parade and fireworks are done for the night, capacity crowds in DL are less likely. The big draws will be over, so I think it will still be crowded, but I do think the crowds will start to diminish as the evening progresses and folks get tired.

Thanks! That makes me feel better and if it looks dicey I can just stay in the parks. My sister and niece are coming down and meeting me for park open at 8am Sat morning, so I'll need a little break to shower and a quick nap.

 

[imajinable]

My guess (and note that it's only a guess) is that the park probably won't experience capacity closures until late afternoon at the earliest. The lower two levels of APs are blocked and folks do have to go to work and school. The new shows won't debut until nighttime, so my guess is that if capacity is reached, it won't be early in the day or for a really long period. At Christmas time, when capacity is frequently reached, it happens earlier in the day because everyone (well, a lot of people) are off from work/school the whole day. So, I think if you got back to DL before 3:00 pm or so, you should be okay. If you waited until just before your ADR, around 6:00 pm, then I think you have a bigger chance of running into capacity issues.

One other option is to monitoring social media and see if anyone is reporting that they've suspended ticket sales. That's usually the first thing they do when the park is approaching capacity. If you hear that is happening, then head back to the park as soon as possible. I don't know if Disneyland itself would post that they've suspended ticket sales, but I'm pretty sure it would show up on some social media platform by folks waiting in line to buy tickets.

Thank you so much for your advice I think i will play it by ear.

 

[imajinable]

I am right there with you imajinable. I have resisses at CC at 6:30. Was planning at break but at this point I think I am gonna keep an eye out for crowds. If at 130 when I was planning on taking a break, and it is crazy we will stay. Luckily there is a Starbucks in Disneyland to keep me going lol.

Starbucks and maybe a quick power nap at Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln lol

http://blog.touringplans.com/2013/04/03/where-do-you-nap-at-the-disneyland-resort/

 

[Gisele]

Starbucks and maybe a quick power nap at Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln lol

http://blog.touringplans.c/2013/04/03/where-do-you-nap-at-the-disneyland-resort/

Thanks for the link.
I believe though that if you are by yourself and not a guy, it may become a bit dicey.

 

[xjay]

Where would be the best places to see the fireworks and the Paint The Night parade?

 

[figment_jii]

At this point, no one has seen either of the new shows in DL, so it's tough to say where will be the best places to see the shows. From what has been announced, it sounds like the new shows are designed to look good from a variety of locations. For the recent fireworks shows, the main viewing area were Main Street, It's a Small World Mall, or the Rivers of America near New Orleans Square areas. In general, anywhere along the parade route was pretty good.

 

[GenGen22]

I have a question for anyone who attended a previous 24 hour party. Do the shuttles to & from the toy story parking lot run all night? Just curious if I can't last through the whole party if I would be able to get a shuttle back or not??

 

[starshine514]

I have a question for anyone who attended a previous 24 hour party. Do the shuttles to & from the toy story parking lot run all night? Just curious if I can't last through the whole party if I would be able to get a shuttle back or not??

I haven't been, but typically the shuttles run for an hour after park closing, right? So, I would assume it would be the same for the party.

 

[kimber418]

I was told by the performing arts group sales that shuttles would run all night.

The whole capacity thing is stressing me out. I have a group of 350 people going that weekend. It's the dance studio my daughter dances at. They're actually dancing in DCA on the 22nd. Disney won't assign our times for another few weeks. I'm worried about family members not being able to get into the parks to see their dancers.

 

[GenGen22]

I was told by the performing arts group sales that shuttles would run all night.

The whole capacity thing is stressing me out. I have a group of 350 people going that weekend. It's the dance studio my daughter dances at. They're actually dancing in DCA on the 22nd. Disney won't assign our times for another few weeks. I'm worried about family members not being able to get into the parks to see their dancers.

Oh boy, that can be stressful. I think people will be more focused with DL than DCA so, you might be ok. If everyone plans to go early they should be fine. & thanks for the info on the shuttle

 

[JadeDarkstar]

Sorry must say, the whole dance thing is just bad timing. Some one did not do good staff work and Disney should have said "Oh that week may not be good how about moving it". I hope the family's can all get in to see the kiddos dance. Good luck with that.

 

[HappiestHaunt]

Be aware that if you are locked out due to capacity and miss a reservation, DD told me they would cehck that and not charge for the missed ressies.

 

[kimber418]

Sorry must say, the whole dance thing is just bad timing. Some one did not do good staff work and Disney should have said "Oh that week may not be good how about moving it". I hope the family's can all get in to see the kiddos dance. Good luck with that.

I agree. My daughter is a dancer there and I'm the travel agent. We started planning this almost a year ago. I told her then, even before we officially knew about the Diamond Celebration that that was a horrible time to go. She had her mind set though, so we'll make the most of it. Disney will assign you your requested date as long as it's available regardless of what else is going on in the park. I actually think it's a huge honor to these young girls to be dancing the day the Diamond Celebration kicks off. Personally, I'm excited to be there for the 24 hour event but the logistics are a nightmare. Having dance makeup and hair done and trying to make it in the park by 6 am? Yikes!
I talked to the performing arts groups cast members this morning. Dancers will be allowed in backstage regardless of capacity because they are considered cm's for the day. Families will be out of luck if it's at capacity. They also confirmed that there are different levels of capacity but she would not give any more details than that.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

oh wow, well yes I agree it is an honor, i just hope every one who wants to get in can get in to watch the show and that's cool that they are cm's for the day. Hope you take pictures and post a report here for us all to see.

 

[elmoandzoey]

I asked this in another thread but didn't receive an answer - is there a place inside the parks that one can ask if capacity has reached? I am just thinking if we want to hop it would be nice to know before we leave so we don't get locked out. Then we'll just stay in the park and hop when we know for sure we'll get back in.

 

[GenGen22]

I asked this in another thread but didn't receive an answer - is there a place inside the parks that one can ask if capacity has reached? I am just thinking if we want to hop it would be nice to know before we leave so we don't get locked out. Then we'll just stay in the park and hop when we know for sure we'll get back in.

I think you can ask at the gates before you exit. At least that's what I would do.

 

[elmoandzoey]

Are there CMs at the exit? It's been almost 15 years since I last went to DL. I am usually not used to CMs being at the exit at all.

 

[figment_jii]

Yes, there are CM at the exit turnstiles so that guests can get hand stamps. If they do not know, you can probably also walk over to one of the entrance turnstiles and find out what is going on (although, that might not tell you if they've suspended ticket sales or not). You might also try asking at Guest Services/City Hall and/or checking on the various social media platforms.

 

[1rockinmama]

Was going to be just me coming down from Portland and now I have 3 more moms coming with me, plus a possible 4th. Going to be a great mom's getaway. Disney can be even more fun without kiddos in tow.

I'm going as a bday/mom day gift too! My kids are bummed but I did this trip for under $500 and can't wait!