Disappointing Trip

[Dr. G]

We were there last week. We've been in October before but it has been a while. This was the most crowded I've ever seen. Won't ever go in October again. Actually not sure when we will go back--I've never said this before but it could be a long time. We had a great time last week but it was an effort and tiring to work around the crowds, lose sleep morning and night to rope drop/close out to avoid mid-day, etc. We are thinking we will use our vacation dollars elsewhere for a while. The lines created by Genie+ really turn me off. We used Genie+ 2 of our days to make it enjoyable, but I felt ripped off.

 

[Disco Lemonade]

It is hard, because so many people either like to go in October to enjoy the Halloween theming or have kids and time off of school. We have both situations (like the Halloween season and have a kid who has conferences/break every year at this time), so we tend to just suck it up. If they limited capacity, there would be a lot of bummed people. We booked way in advance, but not everyone can plan way ahead. Would remove spontaneous trips. If neither of those things matter, then yeah, stay away We were there over the weekend and had fun, despite not getting to do a lot of what we wanted. RSR was down a lot, so we just skipped it, for instance. Sunday morning wasn’t too bad. Got a lot in before the crowds showed up. We left around 11 because we got soaked on splash mountain and wanted to change, and noticed that the line to get in at 11 was worse than when we got there for rope drop. Not sure I’ve seen that before.

 

[tx_rach]

The 2 hours is correct however at around 1:30 return time for haunted mansion was already to 630 return time and I was making a 11pm reservation for splash at 4pm. You had no choice but to wait the 2 hours to book. Which makes it a little less convient to me. I feel like genie plus has quite the learning curve to it and not as good of a value especially when the park is packed like it was this weekend. Then once you add in nighttime entertainment to the mix you lose a lot of flexibility.

100%

 

[Mle8308]

I'll be there next week. I'm already not a Halloween fan. Christmas is so much better. But with October crowds, I'm worried that our final trip to DL as a family (before my oldest graduates) will be rated on the low end. Trying to stay positive.

Same! I leave Sunday and I'm preparing myself. Unfortunately I don't have other options on another time of year to visit this time. So it's October or nothing. I didn't have to pay for tickets, so I'll take October!

 

[Cal-Pie]

Do the crowds tone down a bit near the end of October like around the 23/24th or not until November really?

Personal observations here, but I think last week and this week are the Oct peak. I base this on the sell out pattern of OBB and park reservations. It may also be based on wishful thinking since I arrive on the 21st.

 

[Disney0010]

We were there last Wednesday and Thursday and attended OBB. The parks were PACKED! Uncomfortably packed! A three hour wait for HM on on one of the days. We purchased Genie+ for the first time. Used it on a few rides. HM and BTMR. RSR was down just about all of OBB.

Just too many people. I have no desire to head back in October in the future and OBB was a one and done for us. The characters was fun to see. If I want candy I’ll skip the $300.00 OBB admission by heading to Target to buy candy and save $250.00.

We have annual passes so we’re heading back over in December for a few days to enjoy the holidays in the park but we have decided to cancel our stay at GCH. Not paying over $1600.00 for two nights in a room that is not even worth $200.00 a night. Add to that the ridiculous price of parking across the street from the resort = no thanks. Of course none of this matters to the suits at Disney as when one person leaves, another steps in.

 

[StarlitNight05]

I'm honestly considering cancelling after hearing all these reports of bad trips. I will be there right after Halloween, so maybe crowds will be better? We haven't been on a trip in 3 years and I don't want our return to Disney to be a bad one considering how expensive it is. Oof. This isn't a good feeling. I didnt think I'd ever be at a place where I'd be second guessing a trip to Disneyland... but here we are.

 

[DLgal]

I'm honestly considering cancelling after hearing all these reports of bad trips. I will be there right after Halloween, so maybe crowds will be better? We haven't been on a trip in 3 years and I don't want our return to Disney to be a bad one considering how expensive it is. Oof. This isn't a good feeling. I didnt think I'd ever be at a place where I'd be second guessing a trip to Disneyland... but here we are.

Don't cancel! Right after Halloween will be DEAD. It won't pick up again until Nov 11. Take advantage of the lull!

 

[StarlitNight05]

Don't cancel! Right after Halloween will be DEAD. It won't pick up again until Nov 11. Take advantage of the lull!

That's reassuring. I thought that was the case, but it seems like everything I know about DLR is wrong now! Good to know it shouldn't be as bad as the crowds we've been seeing lately.

 

[JulesR1212]

That's reassuring. I thought that was the case, but it seems like everything I know about DLR is wrong now! Good to know it shouldn't be as bad as the crowds we've been seeing lately.

I think you will be ok crowd wise. I think I just got very unlucky due to school breaks and butting up to a holiday.

But just keep in mind there will be ride downtimes. Some ride features are broken. Sometimes service is slow due to staffing. It isn’t peak Disneyland, but you can still find enjoyment in it. We had a not great trip but still had some excellent moments.

 

[Astylla]

I think something to consider for ANY consumer and destination is this :

Does it bring me joy ? if not why do I continue to go/pay for this ?
Is the value I am PERSONALLY getting , worth the cost * I * am paying ?
What could I do different ( if anything) to make this more enjoyable for *me* ?

Unpopular opinion time but Disney has and always will be a LUXURY. Everything has changed even before Covid was an excuse
( or in some cases valid points) and the idea that everything will or should remain the same just isn't how businesses operate.
Yes , Disney to me first and foremost is a business and I have no rose colored glasses about that. However in my personal experiences there is value in just being at Disney , FOR ME.

For the next person sitting next to me they may see value in their starbucks everyday in which I literally will never have an interest in and consider a waste of money , to each their own !

Trip reviews lately are focused on one thing - "Price paid vs perceived value in return."
As humans we tend to especially now with rising costs of everything , expect a high price tag to come with the best of the best with absolutely little to no issues at all, I mean I am paying this much so why am I not getting what I FEEL I should be ?
And that right there is both the issue and solution.

Every single resort , destination , country , city has it's good and bad. Tell me how many good experiences you hear over the bad on average ? It's easily 5 bad experiences or issues to 1 good.
Social media also has a part in this when I daily see influencers sharing "inside tips and tricks" , some of which were random pixie dust moments that CM's had ability to provide are now seen as being expected and the this puts unrealistic expectations on guests and of CM's many of whom make minimum wage , but as a company yes many including Disney could and should do better , but that is another discussion in itself.

I'm no blind loyalist , in fact I've had several dissapointing experiences while at DLR the last year. However none of that I have remembered past the day until I had to really focus on it.
I also acknowledge as a Magic Key holder in the northern California area gives me a better chance to experience more and so I can be picky what I do and when to go , at some point it's okay to decide that right now , Disney parks aren't a good fit for me.

I fully believe if you are stressing about a vacation , the bar is already set up to fail and anything less than spectacular could "ruin the magic". Don't let that happen , we are still in control of how we choose to enjoy the parks and how.

I encourage both positive , negative and even suggestions always through the app and email. It may feel like one voice doesn't matter but thousands together are harder to be ignored.

 

[HIRyeDVC]

A crowded day at Disney is still better than not being at Disney? It's all perspective.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

A crowded day at Disney is still better than not being at Disney? It's all perspective.

This is honestly just not always true. For those who come once a year or only every few years and spend thousands of dollars, then face ride closures and long ride lines, entertainment cancellations, difficulty obtaining food, and struggle simply navigating through immense crowds, it can be very challenging and discouraging.

 

[DLgal]

A crowded day at Disney is still better than not being at Disney? It's all perspective.

Yeah, I don't feel that way at ALL. I could be at Disneyland right now if I wanted. I'm not. Its too crowded. I'm perfectly happy sitting at home scrolling Disboards!

 

[KKB]

My understanding of genie + is that you do not have to wait until 7pm to get another one, just two hours.

I don't think OP said they had to wait until 7pm to make a new one...but that the only times available were after 7PM when they could get a new one.

 

[HIRyeDVC]

This is honestly just not always true. For those who come once a year or only every few years and spend thousands of dollars, then face ride closures and long ride lines, entertainment cancellations, difficulty obtaining food, and struggle simply navigating through immense crowds, it can be very challenging and discouraging.

Yeah, I don't feel that way at ALL. I could be at Disneyland right now if I wanted. I'm not. Its too crowded. I'm perfectly happy sitting at home scrolling Disboards!

I suppose its because I don't live in the area and I don't get to go to Disney very often. But I have been there often enough to just enjoy being there soaking in the atmosphere. Of course I'd rather the parks be less crowded. But what is there to do about it? Not go? So far, I've found ways around the crowd by taking advantage of early morning hours, paying more for hard ticket after hours events like OBB, and getting on E-ticket attractions during shows and fireworks in the evenings. Since we're DVC, we like to hang at the hotel, or enjoy a table service dining, and rarely try to ride rides between 11-6.

 

[serendipityaey]

I don't think OP said they had to wait until 7pm to make a new one...but that the only times available were after 7PM when they could get a new one.

They said at 1pm they made a reservation for 7pm. Then they said: “Once 7pm came everything else was taken.”

If they made one res at 1pm they could’ve checked again at 3pm.

 

[KKB]

Personal observations here, but I think last week and this week are the Oct peak. I base this on the sell out pattern of OBB and park reservations. It may also be based on wishful thinking since I arrive on the 21st.

I was hoping so...
This AM you could still book the 18th when we are to go.
Nope, not anymore.
Glad we are going in aware of the situation & bringing our patience.

 

[tx_rach]

I don't think OP said they had to wait until 7pm to make a new one...but that the only times available were after 7PM when they could get a new one.

Correct. At 1 we could make a reservation at 7. We could then make another one at 3, but everything was either gone or only had reservations at 11:30 or 11:50pm.

 

[asumom]

It's just always crowded now, it seems. A random less crowded day will pop up and be reported on but can't plan on any slow days anymore. There used to be slow seasons, but disney added specials events to those times so the traditional slow seasons are now the busier times. We went on a Tuesday in mid May, before schools got out and not around any holidays. A quick one day trip on our way to AZ. Rope dropped and stayed til midnight. First and last hour were good, although there were still some long lines in that last hour. Did not get all rides done like you used to be able to do in a full day, and didn't ride anything twice.